Whenever possible, you want to make sure that you get the OEM battery, or Original Equipment Manufacturer. A 2008 Dodge Avenger battery is simply the best fit for a 2008 Dodge Avenger. But this car was made over a decade ago, so what if you can’t find an OEM battery?
What’s the best battery for a 2008 Dodge Avenger?
You’ll want to check your battery and your owner’s manual to be sure, but your Avenger is probably carrying a lead acid 525CCA group size 26 battery. Now… what the heck does all of that mean? It looks like just a bunch of letters and numbers, right?
It may seem pretty complicated, but once you figure out how BCI battery group sizes work, you’ll see that it’s only sort of complicated. Don’t worry, you don’t need to be an expert, but there are a few things you should know. Read on.
Battery Group Sizes Explained
Car batteries are typically coded by BCI group size. BCI stands for Battery Council International, and this system is used to make sure that batteries are universal around the world.
If you get a car battery from Europe, the size is going to be in centimeters instead of inches, right? But your Avenger’s measurements are in inches. So you might not know if you have the right size. BCI numbers clear all of that up.
A group size 26 battery will be 8 3/16 x 6 13/16 x 7 3/4 inches in length, width, and height.
Unfortunately, it’s not a system that’s easy to memorize. The numbers don’t add up to 26 or anything. If you want to know what each group size means, you’re going to have to read the BCI chart.
Fortunately, it’s not your day job to sort them, so you don’t have to worry about any battery group size except the one you’re looking for.
As for the 525CCA, that just means the battery can deliver 525 Cold Cranking Amps. CCA refers to the performance you can expect from your battery in freezing weather.
Lead Acid, Lithium-Ion, or SLI?
Your 2008 Avenger battery is probably a lead acid. Again, check the battery and check your owner’s manual, but that’s the battery type most of these cars were equipped with.
In recent years, many automakers have started to phase lead acid batteries out for AGM, or Absorbed Glass Mat batteries, which do not carry liquid acid like conventional batteries. Yet another reason you might have trouble finding an OEM battery.
In some vehicles, you can replace an AGM with a lead acid battery, but you can’t replace a lead acid battery with an AGM. They are recharged at different rates, so it’s like plugging a fire hose into a water pistol. You have to stick with lead acid.
OEM vs. Aftermarket: What’s the Difference?
The reasons to go with OEM over an aftermarket battery… there are too many to list in full.
But to cover some of the big ones:
- Aftermarket batteries don’t come with the same guaranties as an OEM battery.
- OEM batteries are designed by the same people who built your car, so they fit like a glove.
- It just means fewer headaches. Asking your dealer for a “2008 Dodge Avenger battery” is easier than memorizing the battery size and type and comparing brands.
If you can find an OEM battery for your car, get the OEM battery. But, as we mentioned, that might not be an option. Once a car is over ten years old, the automaker is going to wind up phasing out all those old replacement parts.
So, what if your Dodge dealer doesn’t have any OEM batteries for sale?
If You Must Buy Aftermarket…
Make sure you have your battery size written down, and make sure that whatever battery you’re buying, it matches exactly what you wrote. Better yet, just bring your owner’s manual right into the shop with you so you can reference anything you need to reference.
As for preferred brand, you can generally expect decent results from lead acid batteries made by DieHard and Duralast. They won’t last like an OEM battery will, but they’ll get the job done.
