My OEM battery lasted 3 years and some, called the local dealer who was awesome and gave me some advice.
Buy one at local walmart autozone etc etc, fit might be less than 100%, get one from us and install it yourself, it you get fault codes we will clear them for free or come and we can install it for you.
Paid 180-200, got one from them 15 minutes to install and have been good since then

 

The Walmart Everstart Maxx H7 is an exact fit replacement for OEM and it's about $120.

 

I guess I get an A+ for supporting my local dealer :-)

 

I'd rather pay $120 to Walmart and give the $60 I saved to a charity.

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Since there have been several threads recently on dead batteries, what is the general length of reliable service on the original from new OEM battery? I understand the rule of outliers regarding extended storage and the problems this causes, but what should be a good target for replacement of the original battery for a 997? 48 months? Personally, I'd rather not have the hassle of discovering a dead battery. Appreciate inputs.

 

Good aftermarket batteries (Interstate, Everlast, Optima and others) have 3 year replacement warranties so that gives you some idea. OEM battery doesn't come with that type of warranty so draw your own conclusions. Driving the car and using a battery maintainer should help prolong the life but batteries are real weak links with the new Porsches (and BMW's) and other new cars with high tech electronics.

 

My guess : if you have an 09 not a daily driver. You will be due soon. If it is a daily driver based on the climate, maybe a year or a two left.

 

just a couple of thoughts on your battery issue:

A battery is basically a box that stores electricity based on chemical reactions in the battery. It can give the symptom you describe (not enough juice coming out) for a bunch of reasons. You really need to stop and think about the sytem to help troubleshoot the issue. To give you some things to consider, here are a few (at least all that I could come up with) reasons that a battery isn't giving enough juice to start you car:

1) Battery is not being charged, but through use it is being discharged. This could be due to a failing alternator or similar
2) Car has not been driven for a long period and no battery charger has been used. Small draws from battery have reduced it's charge.
3) Temperature is low...batteries work based on chemical reactions that are slower at low temps.
4) Draw while driving exceeds abilty of alernator to re-charge. This could be due to large draw accesories such as a huge stereo.
5) Poor connection between battery and electrical system prevents good current flow
6) During starting, other devices are drawing current, limiting which goes to starter. For example, don't have rear defrost, seat heaters, headlights on when starting.

Hope these give you some thoughts in terms of how to track this down...

 

From what I have read, if a battery is totally drained flat, it can be charged but will never hold the charge for the normal length of time. If the PO didn't lock the car and let the car sit the parasitic draw could have done this. I agree with others, change out the battery, buy a maintainer for when the car sits for a period of time, and keep it locked so the systems shut down.

 

The duration of trips also affects things. If your drives have lots of 10-15 minute drives where you then shut down again, then the car cannot get that battery fully charged back up on its own.

Locking the car is also important as it shuts down many systems and reduces the draw on the battery before the car goes to total sleep.

I've had my car since Oct 2008, and it still sits for 2 weeks between drives, but my trips are at least 30-45 mins each, and I've not had any battery problems yet. Though, based on all of my car ownership, I am expecting that at the latest by year 6 or 7 it will be time to replace the battery.

 

Minok.. are you a betting man??? Your battery won't last that long... It if 4 years right now... so count on replacing it this year. :-)

 

Well I replaced mine on an '05 C2S this summer. Original ! 7 friggin years! Awesome!
It's a weekend driver only. Plug it in Sunday nights and unplug it Friday mornings like clockwork.

 

Ok, lets see how long it goes. Car was build Sept 2008. Still on original battery. Car had sat in garage for the past 3 weeks. Fired up this morning just fine and drove it to work. I'll let you know when I replace the battery (if I remember about this thread ;-) )

 

The first signs of a failing battery may not be what you expect it to be. These batteries just DIE, little or NO warning!!

 

That's exactly what happened to me at the 3 year mark - alive one day and very dead the next - no warning.