I have the Sears Die Hard Platinum and the battery has a 6 year warranty. I looked at Advanced Auto and Auto Zone and the guys there said that they gave the red and yellow tops a 2.5 year warranty each.
At Auto Zone, I asked why such a short warranty and I was told that Wranglers shake a lot off road and that damages the battery, that the Wrangler gets in wrecks and damages them too.

I call bullshit.

I think I will stick with the Die Hard.

By the way, a big "Hello" to everyone in the great state of Tennessee.

 

Right... If at all, then deep cycle gel batteries, like the Optima Yellow or Blue tops, can survive offroad shakes better than wet batteries.

 

And where do you get this information that these problems have been solved, seeing that people are still reporting premature failures on so many forums.
Perhaps I would put a bit more credence on your statement if you would save said Johnson Control, (battery division) has solved production issues, as Optima is the brand name of the battery, not the manufacture.
In addition the Optima battery is not a "gel cell" , but rather an AGM battery. The only diference between other AGM battery manufactures is it's sprial tecnology. I do agree it can withstand greater shocks and can be placed on its side and still work, however so can any other sealed AGM type battery.

 

Not going to argue for or against Optimas, but rather relate my experience since I just replaced two of them (with Sears DieHard Platinums on 100 month warranty, which is now reduced to 48 months on all future sales):

1. Had one battery fail after 1-1/2 years. A friend had bought this for me through Sam's, and he was no longer around to arrange for warranty replacement through Sam's. So ate the cost of a third Yellow Top. It probably failed from being too close to the engine/hot water hose with my dual-battery install. Battery showed some obvious warping of the case.

2. Two weeks later, a 3-1/2 year old Yellow Top failed. It was next to the other one in my Jeep. This was out of warranty. I decided enough was enough and bought two Diehard Platinums and pulled out the essentially new (third) Yellow Top. As I mentioned, I bought the DieHards before Sears changed the warranty.

Just FYI, both batteries failed within days of completing 160+ miles of off-road travel through the Arkansas Ozarks. One other Jeep, with an OEM battery, also had a failure. Vibration from off-roading is a very real problem.

 

[/I]My first yellow top lasted 2-1/2 years and my second a little over 2 years. will never by one again. thought maybe the first one was just defective,but then 2 years later the other battery is done. [[/I][/I]

 

You guys are convincing me that I may not want to install the genesis dual battery tray. I was planning on this set up with dual yellow tops. Disappointing.........

 

I've bought Optimas for years and never had what I'd consider a premature failure. I didn't buy one during the problematic changeover period, however.

Given the comparative cost and warranty, I didn't hesitate to opt for red and yellow top Optima batteries for my recent dual battery install in the 2012.

Every battery will fail eventually and every battery will fail sooner in sub-optimum conditions. The Optimas are still solid in my experience.

 

You know I think I replaced my factory prematurely with an Optima. Try just putting the Jeep in neutral. My parking switch needs an adjustment somehow

 

All batteries fail. The biggest issue is poorly charged and poorly recharged batteries. The optimas are good batteries. Best? No. But good. Diehard platinum better? Yes. But not fail proof. They still fail at the same rate as a Optima. The problem isn't the battery 90% of the time. It's the application of the battery and the proper charging/discharging rate of the battery in its new employment. The battery(ies) need to match the load of the gear using the current and have a charging system that is rated ABOVE the load. Two batteries on a alternator that is designed to charge a factory lead acid battery is a cause for failure of both batteries and a charging system. Also, AMG style batteries are not the healthiest design for a Jeep charging system. The alternator is regulated by an ECM that is calibrated for a battery with higher resistance. So the possibility of over/under charging in a canbus controlled electrical system is a real issue. Best scenario? Use a lead acid battery for the main battery and use a big ass AGM for accessories. And use a conventional diode style battery isolator between them. This will help to keep the resistance load on the factory charging system happy and also allow for the AGM to get a constant voltage of over 13.3 volts or so to keep it properly charged.

 

Mine lasted alil over 2 years. For the price I payed I wasn't happy at all!!!!