[Boomer Guy]

From being a mamber of a Fit forum, the 51R is considered an upgrade to the tiny 151R or whatever it is they stuck in Fits....bought our '15 used in '16, afaik, it's the same factory battery, still no problems.....but, good lord, it's the tiniest battery I/ve ever seen in a car, like the size of my small lawn tractor/mower battery, for crying out loud, but so far, so good, and I probably just jinxed myself....LOL

I wouldn't worry about it. The tiny battery in the trunk of my 2001 Miata fit underneath the luggage floor with room to spare. It was also the size of my lawn mower battery, but it was a very powerful AGM model which refused to die. At 6 years old, it was still going strong. Size doesn't matter as much as it used to. At least that has been my experience. I've owned Honda's for over 30 years and the only batteries that failed were new ones that were recently installed with factory defects. Those were replaced under warranty and life was good.

 

[JC WHITNEY]

From being a mamber of a Fit forum, the 51R is considered an upgrade to the tiny 151R or whatever it is they stuck in Fits....bought our '15 used in '16, afaik, it's the same factory battery, still no problems.....but, good lord, it's the tiniest battery I/ve ever seen in a car, like the size of my small lawn tractor/mower battery, for crying out loud, but so far, so good, and I probably just jinxed myself....LOL

Tiny is as Tiny does. Leave it be.

 

[JC WHITNEY]

Awesome, about to do the same. So mine is pretty covered in battery acid. Did some cleaning of it with a baking soda/water solution and wire-bristle brush. Someone is telling me I need to replace the entire negative connection... Pictured below (NOT MY PICTURE)

View attachment 30892

Is there somewhere this unit/connection is sold specifically for our cars? Haven't been quite able to find the exact piece.

Acid discharge indicates battery high charging rate due to internal short. Dump it before it damages something else and leaves you short of a ride.

 

[rsdx]

We had a Toyota Tercel once upon a time (bought new in '91??? dunno ) Had a Panasonic battery that lasted for 10 yrs....I was amazed, longest lasting auto battery I've ever experienced...but then again, the car was pretty old school, manual trans and not really any electronics other than ABS, if that. But I was impredded with it's life. Being's as it seems to be a commomon upgrade to Fits, may go with a 51R when the time comes, who knows? Or maybe I'll go to The Home Depot and buy a lawn tractor battery LOL

 

[CalgaryHRV]

Well, my used or remanufactured 56R battery started leaking fumes from the battery posts so I decided to just replace it with a 51R from Costco.

I'm surprised that you didn't replace your larger 56R battery (590CCA) with a new 56R battery rather than going back to the small 51R battery (500CCA).

Was there a reason? Perhaps availability of the rare 56R versus the commonly available 51R battery?

 

[SlowFosho]

I'm surprised that you didn't replace your larger 56R battery (590CCA) with a new 56R battery rather than going back to the small 51R battery (500CCA).

Was there a reason? Perhaps availability of the rare 56R versus the commonly available 51R battery?

Yes. That and I like Costco's 36 Month replacement warranty.

 

[Boomer Guy]

We had a Toyota Tercel once upon a time (bought new in '91??? dunno ) Had a Panasonic battery that lasted for 10 yrs....I was amazed, longest lasting auto battery I've ever experienced...but then again, the car was pretty old school, manual trans and not really any electronics other than ABS, if that. But I was impredded with it's life. Being's as it seems to be a commomon upgrade to Fits, may go with a 51R when the time comes, who knows? Or maybe I'll go to The Home Depot and buy a lawn tractor battery LOL

I think that was the same battery in my Miata. It was intermediate old-school with coil packs, etc., but no ABS, traction control or anything else very advanced.

 

[Miller761]

The 51R battery in my HRV has died and needed a jump start a few times in the last 3+ years of owning it. Just recently, the dash lights went bonkers and flashed on and off and clicked violently and wouldn't let me turn the car on or off for several seconds. I've read about this happening to others and it went away after a jump start. I figure the battery is on its last legs.

We have several threads that mention how bad and small 51R batteries are. I know many here have replaced them but it looks like most are getting replaced under warranty with another Honda battery or another 51R battery. Has anyone upgraded theirs to a bigger battery?

Yes. I experienced battery failure 2 years after owning my HRV 2016.
I know some people may disagree, but those corrosion pads and gel will help you keep your battery much longer.
Makes sure before changing the battery, you thoroughly clean the connectors.

 

[JC WHITNEY]

Yes. I experienced battery failure 2 years after owning my HRV 2016.
I know some people may disagree, but those corrosion pads and gel will help you keep your battery much longer.
Makes sure before changing the battery, you thoroughly clean the connectors.

My rule is that any battery that fails must be replaced ASAP.
The condition that causes this is sulfation, which means that the plates inside are disintegrated.

 

[Miller761]

Just remember when they fail, they don’t really give you any indication, they just go out. An interstate is only a $70 purchase, I’d replace it. My buddies civic went out at 1am in the morning, as he was coming out of a bar, not wasted but he certainly didn’t want to be hassled… The AAA cost was more than the battery.

Suggestion to people. Clean your connectors and used the corrosion pads with the gel. It is truly worth it. Especially duribg the winter weather.

 

[JC WHITNEY]

Suggestion to people. Clean your connectors and used the corrosion pads with the gel. It is truly worth it. Especially duribg the winter weather.

The failure is the indicator.

 

[Dr. Toboggan]

This is at idle without the lights on after driving around the block.

 

[JC WHITNEY]

Looks great. Use a voltmeter on 3vdc scale and check between b+ alternator and b+battery. There should not be more than a .25 drop.
Your ECM is doing fine not overcharging.

 

[Pgh Biker]

Looks great. Use a voltmeter on 3vdc scale and check between b+ alternator and b+battery. There should not be more than a .25 drop.
Your ECM is doing fine not overcharging.

True... but voltage drop isn't as much of an issue since the alt output is controlled by what the ECM sees. It will command the alt to put out higher voltage until it sees proper voltage from where the ECM is reading it from, the battery. Of course a large voltage drop means excessive resistance along with heat which could eventually damage the wiring/connectors. Just some food for thought.

 

[Miller761]

I'm interested as well, I'm going on year 3 in harsh Wisconsin weather and it already doesn't sound too enthusiastic to start. Last I looked the expensive AGM batteries actually had less CCA in this size, but that was a while ago

WOW! Yes. I had to replace the original battery.
Use corrosion pads and corrosion gel after cleaning the connectors and replacing the battery.

This worked for me. I still have the same battery from 2018.

 

[CalgaryHRV]

WOW! Yes. I had to replace the original battery.
Use corrosion pads and corrosion gel after cleaning the connectors and replacing the battery.

This worked for me. I still have the same battery from 2018.

The analysis of the HRV battery issue and this Battery Upgrade thread is way beyond simple corrosion on the battery terminals...

 

[bogied]

-- I am SO HAPPY ... so many times my battery died ... i finally found an easy way to upgrade the battery ...
-- Plus I added a bunch of lights, camera, inverter, I car camp, and I also wanna make sure battery won't die in the winter so I wanted a better battery
1- pretty easy to replace, no special tools.
2-you need
2a-2 pieces about 6-8 inches long of 2x4 wood,
2b-an adjustable battery hold down amazon ASIN B09BJ6SG8Y,
2c-maybe some thin cable or rope or a better way to attach the battery hold down rods
3- i bought the H6 group 48 AGM ( definitely get AGM) battery from Costco 760 CCA... for $170 ( 190w/tax in 2023)
4a- I used an angle grinder to cut a small metal corner, but in the end that was NOT needed , so ignore that in the pics
4b-instead take off the screw in the picture, move that bracket like 1/2 in, put the screw back with a washer overlapping the bracket
5-place to 2 pieces of 2 by 4 wood, and drop in the battery
6-find a way to attach the battery hold down rods ... i used a rope/cable
7-the negative cable to the battery, you need to put it upside down, it's easy and obvious why you need to . PHOTO

 

[rszappa1]

-- I am SO HAPPY ... so many times my battery died ... i finally found an easy way to upgrade the battery ...
-- Plus I added a bunch of lights, camera, inverter, I car camp, and I also wanna make sure battery won't die in the winter so I wanted a better battery
1- pretty easy to replace, no special tools.
2-you need
2a-2 pieces about 6-8 inches long of 2x4 wood,
2b-an adjustable battery hold down amazon ASIN B09BJ6SG8Y,
2c-maybe some thin cable or rope or a better way to attach the battery hold down rods
3- i bought the H6 group 48 AGM ( definitely get AGM) battery from Costco 760 CCA... for $170 ( 190w/tax in 2023)
4a- I used an angle grinder to cut a small metal corner, but in the end that was NOT needed , so ignore that in the pics
4b-instead take off the screw in the picture, move that bracket like 1/2 in, put the screw back with a washer overlapping the bracket
5-place to 2 pieces of 2 by 4 wood, and drop in the battery
6-find a way to attach the battery hold down rods ... i used a rope/cable
7-the negative cable to the battery, you need to put it upside down, it's easy and obvious why you need to . PHOTO

Nice job...

 

[CalgaryHRV]

-- I am SO HAPPY ... so many times my battery died ... i finally found an easy way to upgrade the battery ...
-- Plus I added a bunch of lights, camera, inverter, I car camp, and I also wanna make sure battery won't die in the winter so I wanted a better battery
1- pretty easy to replace, no special tools.
2-you need
2a-2 pieces about 6-8 inches long of 2x4 wood,
2b-an adjustable battery hold down amazon ASIN B09BJ6SG8Y,
2c-maybe some thin cable or rope or a better way to attach the battery hold down rods
3- i bought the H6 group 48 AGM ( definitely get AGM) battery from Costco 760 CCA... for $170 ( 190w/tax in 2023)
4a- I used an angle grinder to cut a small metal corner, but in the end that was NOT needed , so ignore that in the pics
4b-instead take off the screw in the picture, move that bracket like 1/2 in, put the screw back with a washer overlapping the bracket
5-place to 2 pieces of 2 by 4 wood, and drop in the battery
6-find a way to attach the battery hold down rods ... i used a rope/cable
7-the negative cable to the battery, you need to put it upside down, it's easy and obvious why you need to . PHOTO

^^ So many issues with this.. I hope you can take some constructive criticism..

I will say that this battery install would fail a safety inspection.

In addition to all the other issues I see, it looks like you had to flip the negative battery connector upside down to fit the recessed H6 battery posts.
Choosing a battery that did not have recessed battery posts would have been better.


Its not easy to install a larger battery in the HRV. It took me a while to come up with a plan and a while to execute it.
A vehicle battery has to be really secure for safety and shorting out reasons.


I recommend to make some changes and improve your larger battery install..

Perhaps have a read thru my post from 3 years ago with how I did it.
We have had zero issues with how I installed the larger battery and zero battery voltage issues with our HRV all this time.

https://www.hrvforum.com/threads/51r-battery-upgrade.40299/page-3#post-460248

 

[CalgaryHRV]

Well the time has come to toss the useless, small 51R battery in our 2019 HRV.

We bought this HRV last spring, drove it a bit this summer, (5000km/3000miles).
We will park our nice vehicles for the winter and drive the HRV in the winter.

It has been mostly trouble free. Cleaned it up, checked everything, changed all the fluids.
96000km/60000miles on it now.

It came with a Costco Kirkland 51R 500CCA flooded lead acid battery dated 10/2023.
It's 2 years old, no issues since we bought the HRV.
But I don't trust any 51R battery. Earlier in this thread, I installed a much larger 124R (700CCA) in our previous 2016 HRV.
It was a lot of work to do, finicky to do but that HRV never had a battery issue for 3 years when it was totaled off from hail damage.

I wasn't going to do all that work in our current 2019 HRV.

So...went with a Interstate 56R battery. 590CCA.
Identical to what Slowfosho did earlier in this thread.
It's a rare and pricey battery and mediocre 2 year replacement warranty.


It's a virtual drop in. The 51R plastic tray and insulator won't fit but no big deal.
I cut a piece of rubber about 10"x6" to fit under the 56R battery.
Had to flatten the tab on the battery cross holder, bend the battery tray tab with the hole for the J-hook on the ECM side.

590CCA versus 500CCA, looks factory.

Pics: