How Much Does A Car Battery Weigh?

We’re confident that you know your car has a battery, but do you have any idea how much it weighs? We won’t be surprised if you’re not sure. “How much does a car battery weigh?” is not exactly a common question on the minds of most drivers.

Given that you’ve probably never had to pick up a car battery, you likely have no idea at all how heavy or light it feels. It’s not one of those components or tools that you have to move into place yourself or move out of the way. When you want to do some basic car care like washing and detailing. The truth is that they are probably heavier than you imagine. But there’s also quite a bit more to the story of car battery weight than meets the eye.

The General Picture

How much does a car battery weigh? The simple answer is typically somewhere between 25 and 60 pounds. You might wonder how there could be such a wide range on a single component. We will explain this in more detail below.

If you’re curious about the exact weight of your car battery, you can first locate it within the engine structure and check the surface for a label. The net weight of the battery is usually printed on there (though not always). So you may be able to get a quick answer for your own car without any trouble.

In the absence of a clear label, then you may have to investigate for yourself by doing some digging. Alternatively, we can give you pretty good insight here in this article.

What Affects Battery Weight?

When thinking about how much does a car battery weigh, there are several influencing factors to consider:

1. Vehicle Model

It probably won’t be so surprising to learn that, in general, larger vehicles have heavier batteries. If you look that the top 10 best-selling car models in the US, and compare their battery sizes, you start to see a general picture. Below the list, you find some pickup trucks like the Ford F-150 and Dodge Ram. As you may expect, their batteries are both more than 40 pounds (42 and 49 respectively).

Popular SUVs like the Nissan Rogue and Toyota Rav4 come in with batteries of 40 pounds. At the lower end, you can find the Honda Civic with a battery weighing just 29 pounds. It’s not a universal science, however, since hybrids like the Toyota Corolla battery, for which you might expect something lighter, weighs in at 30 pounds.

2. Reserve Capacity

Another key factor is how much power can be stored up to use for lights, pumps and other electrically driven components in the event that the engine dies. To know this, you have to look up the car’s “reserve capacity,” which is a number indicating the number of minutes a battery can maintain a discharge of 25 amps at 80˚F. Once again. You may be able to guess the rule of thumb — the bigger the reserve capacity, the greater the battery weight. For example, a battery with 80 capacity might weigh 30 pounds, but a battery with 120 capacity might weigh 41 pounds.

Other factors like BCI group numbers get a bit more complicated, but the specific BCI number will also indicate to you the likely weight of your car battery, should you not be able to see it there on the label.

Why Do We Need to Know?

At this point, you might be wondering why it even matters to learn how much does a car battery weighs. In short, if you are at all concerned about the overall weight of your car. Then the battery is a component that forms a significant part of it. Let’s say you’re preparing a car for the race track, or you wish to lighten the load as part of fuel savings. The battery can add up to 60 pounds or more to your car’s overall weight. As an individual component, that’s significant.

In general, batteries for hybrid cars typically weigh less because of their makeup. Lithium-ion is, on the whole, lighter than the lead-acid design. The Honda Accord, for instance, has a 520 CCA (cold-cranking amperes) battery that weighs a rather dainty 28 pounds. The Subaru Impreza, on the other hand, dwarfs this with its mighty 900 CCA battery weighing in at a hefty 61 pounds.

Lightening the Load

There are options for those wishing to ease the burden on their car with a lighter battery. Some models exist weighing between just 10 and 20 pounds. The reduced weight can contribute to better handling and overall performance. There are some potential pitfalls, however, such as selecting a light-weight battery that is incompatible with your car’s power requirements. If the CCA rating is too low on the lighter battery, then you’ll have to get something larger.

Know Your Battery; Know Your Car

Understanding key information about your family car is important. It helps you better maintain it, and also to know its capabilities and limitations. If, on the other hand, you are still feeling a bit lost with regards to any part of your car, you can consult your car’s manual, or speak with your local mechanic to learn more.

Bonus: How Long Does It Take to Charge a Car Battery?