Quick question – how much do you know about your car’s battery? Do you know how to change it? Do you know how long it should last? If you don’t, well… keep reading. We’ve got a guide for changing your battery that might just change your LIFE! Not really, but, hey. It’s a great skill to have that will ensure your car is in great shape for years to come. Nobody likes getting stranded with a dead battery, and being able to change your battery and having the knowledge about how old your battery is can be super valuable. Read on for more!

First of all, the location of your battery is going to be in your owner’s manual. If you drive anything other than a regular old gasoline vehicle (i.e. a hybrid) you should 100% be checking your owner’s manual for instructions on how to change the battery.

When you’ve located the battery, make sure you know which post is the positive one and which is the negative, and which color the cables are that are attached to them. The positive post will probably have a red plastic cover, a red cable, and a plus sign (+) stamped on the battery next to the positive post. If the cables are not color coded, put some tape on them and label the cables.

With a wrench, loosen the nut or bolt that keeps the negative terminal and cable attached to the battery. Remove them from the battery, and then move on to the positive terminal. ALWAYS DO NEGATIVE FIRST!

Check your battery to see if it is being held down by clamps or tiedowns or similar and remove them if they are there. Set all of your loose parts aside where they will not be misplaced while you switch out the battery.

Now, lift out the battery without jostling it or tipping it. It is heavy, so be careful!

Next, it’s time to install the new battery! Place it into the same spot the old battery was in and make sure it is oriented the same exact way the old one was. Take the plastic caps off of the battery posts, and if there are anti-corrosion washers included then slide those on. A good idea is to smear a thin layer of Vaseline onto the posts before attaching the terminals to the battery to prevent corrosion and make sure your vehicle is always getting as much power as it needs.

Attach the terminals back on, positive first, and fasten it back down with the clamps/tiedowns that you removed before.

Give the battery a little wiggle and make sure it doesn’t move. If it does, tighten the clamps holding it down. And… you’re done! Great job! Make sure you recycle your old battery – a quick Google search will let you know the best place to do that.