AGM Battery in 2016 Yukon SLT

[kaiserwillie]

I replaced my factory lead acid battery with an AGM battery in 2020. Now in 2025 the battery voltage shows 12.4 volts in the morning. I have put it on a NOCO GENIUS 5 charger a couple times and once the charge is complete voltage is around 12.6 to 12.7 volts but within a few days it drops to 12.4. The lowes t it's gotten down was 11.6 but the truck still started. Seems like a replacement is needed but should I go with another AGM? I pickup my nieces from school every day so I do listen to the radio for 10 minutes or so at each stop with the truck not running. I don't do alot of highway driving since I was laid off so it doesn't seem to be fully recharging. Is it the battery or are our vehicles not setup to properly charge an AGM battery? I had the battery and alternator tested at Advance Auto and using a cheap TOPDON BT20 battery tester and both results were they passed.

 

[jyi786]

Battery is at the end of its lifespan. Don't overthink it. Just get another AGM. You getting 5 years out of that is pretty amazing. My "regular" batteries have always lasted 2-3 years tops.

Sure, our trucks don't support AGM, but that doesn't stop it from being a really good battery. You can get scientific all day about the pros/cons of installing an AGM or not, and it would essentially be a waste of time.

Just install another AGM and be done with it.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

^^^^^x2^^^^^ You've gotten your money's worth out of your existing battery. Replace it.

 

[swathdiver]

I replaced my factory lead acid battery with an AGM battery in 2020. Now in 2025 the battery voltage shows 12.4 volts in the morning. I have put it on a NOCO GENIUS 5 charger a couple times and once the charge is complete voltage is around 12.6 to 12.7 volts but within a few days it drops to 12.4. The lowes t it's gotten down was 11.6 but the truck still started. Seems like a replacement is needed but should I go with another AGM? I pickup my nieces from school every day so I do listen to the radio for 10 minutes or so at each stop with the truck not running. I don't do alot of highway driving since I was laid off so it doesn't seem to be fully recharging. Is it the battery or are our vehicles not setup to properly charge an AGM battery? I had the battery and alternator tested at Advance Auto and using a cheap TOPDON BT20 battery tester and both results were they passed.

When a battery's state of charge is below 65% it is due for replacement. After 5 years I'd say you got your money's worth.

Replace the battery, the current GM recommended replacement is a 48GHRA or 94R/PG.

AGM batteries do not like to be charged at 15 volts which our charging systems are programmed to do when necessary. That will shorten the life of the AGM, generally speaking.

Either works, you've experienced it.

 

[kaiserwillie]

I think I'm going to replace it. It hasn't died on me yet but with cold temps rolling in it has started losing voltage. I got ut in 2929 during the pandemic from Walmart after it had been sitting on the shelf for 5 or 6 months. I gave it a full charge once a month along with my sister's Hyundai Elantra and never had to jump it but the battery in the Elantra had to be jumped twice (non AGM). Think I'll get another one from Walmart or Costco.

 

[CrashTestDummy]

Just replaced the battery in our '18 PPV. I was actually surprised to find it only lasted 3 years, but figured the people we bought it from went cheap before the truck sold. It's her DD, and does get driven nearly every day. We did replace it with an AGM, so will be interested to see how long that lasts.

Every other vehicle we have is on a battery tender, and we frequently get more than 10 years out of the batteries. That's why my surprise with the dead battery at 3 years.

If you don't drive your vehicle nearly every day, I highly recommend getting a quality charger/maintainer and plugging it in. They really do help.