You can typically find the date on a car battery in one of a few common locations: a small sticker on the top or side of the case, or a code stamped directly into the plastic housing, often on the top near the terminals. The most important thing is to understand the code format, as it tells you the manufacturing date.
The date code is crucial because a battery's lifespan begins the day it's made, not the day you buy it. A battery sitting on a store shelf for a year has already lost a significant portion of its service life. Most batteries are stamped with a letter and a number. The letter represents the month (A for January, B for February, etc., skipping the letter 'I'), and the number is the last digit of the year. For example, a code of "C3" would mean the battery was manufactured in March 2023. Some brands use a different format, like a four-digit code where the first two digits are the week of the year and the last two are the year (e.g., "2532" for the 25th week of 2022).
| Common Battery Date Code Examples | Interpretation |
|---|
| Sticker: "MFD: 09/23" | Clearly states Manufacture Date: September 2023. |
| Stamp: "C3" | Stamped code: March (C) of 2023 (3). |
| Stamp: "2532" | Stamped code: 25th week of 2022 (32). |
| Stamp: "J4" | Stamped code: October (J) of 2024 (4). |
| Sticker: "Ship Date: 11/22" | Indicates when it left the factory; use as manufacture date. |
When you locate the code, clean the area with a rag for a clearer view. If you're buying a new battery, always check this date. Ideally, you want a battery that is less than six months old. If the code is faded or missing, it might be very old, and you should consider a different battery.
