+61 485 867 117
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info@carrickmotors.com.au
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27 Carrick Dr, Tullamarine VIC 3043, Australia
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Home › Services › Car Battery Replacement
BATTERY TESTING & REPLACEMENT, CARRICK DRIVE TULLAMARINE
Drivers from Gowanbrae and Tullamarine bring their cars to Carrick Motors at 27 Carrick Drive, Tullamarine, for battery testing and replacement, usually done while you wait. Gowanbrae is only a few minutes from the workshop, and we can do your car service or logbook service in the same visit. Call 0485 867 117, Monday to Saturday, 8am to 5pm.
We load-test the battery and the charging system first, fit the correct type for your vehicle, and register the new battery to the management system (the car computer that controls charging) where the car requires it. The battery is also a roadworthiness inspection item in Victoria.
What is involved
A flat battery is a symptom, not always the fault. Before selling you one we put the battery under load and check what the alternator is actually producing, then look for a parasitic drain if the car keeps going flat overnight. A battery that fails a load test gets replaced. A good battery that keeps dying points somewhere else, usually a charging fault or a circuit staying awake.
Fitment matters more than it used to. Cars with stop-start need an AGM or EFB battery rather than a conventional one, and many need the new battery registered to the battery management system with a scan tool. Skip that step and the car keeps charging to the profile of the old worn battery, which shortens the new one’s life and can stop stop-start working. We also keep memory power on the car while the terminals are off, so radio codes and learned settings survive.
Symptoms
Batteries rarely fail without warning, but the warning is easy to miss in a Melbourne summer. Heat damages the plates, then the first cold morning in autumn exposes it. Short suburban trips make it worse, because a five minute run to the shops takes more out of a battery than the alternator puts back.
The starter turns but sounds like it is dragging, worst on the first start of the day. Usually a battery losing capacity. Get it tested this week rather than next month.
Many cars disable stop-start when the battery falls below a set state of charge. It is often the earliest honest warning you get, and it appears long before the car refuses to start.
Lights that brighten when you rev point at charging output rather than the battery itself. Could be the alternator, a slipping belt or a bad earth. Worth diagnosing before buying a battery.
A bulging case means the battery has been overcharged or cooked by heat. Do not keep driving on it. Replace it, and have the charging voltage checked so the new one does not go the same way.
Low voltage during cranking can wake up unrelated dash lights: ABS, traction control, power steering. If they clear once running, suspect the battery before assuming an expensive electronic fault.
A healthy battery holds charge for weeks. Going flat over a long weekend usually means a parasitic drain, often an aftermarket accessory or a module not shutting down. That needs measuring, not guessing.
How the job runs
Pricing, honestly
Published Australian guides put most passenger car batteries between roughly $120 and $450 fitted, with basic flooded types at the bottom of that band and AGM units for stop-start vehicles well up it. Treat those figures as indicative market guidance only, not a quote. Three things move the number: the type the car specifies, the cold cranking amps and group size it needs, and whether the battery is buried under a seat, in the boot or behind a wheel arch rather than sitting on top of the engine bay.
Registration to the management system adds a short scan-tool step on some European models. If you want the cost broken down before booking, send us the registration number and we will price it.
| Battery type | Vehicles that use it | Why it is specified | Indicative market band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conventional flooded | Older petrol cars without stop-start | Lowest cost to make and simple to fit | Lower end of the published range |
| Calcium maintenance-free | Most non stop-start cars sold in the last decade | Better resistance to Australian heat, no topping up | Low to middle of the range |
| EFB | Entry-level stop-start systems | Handles far more shallow charge cycles than flooded | Middle of the range |
| AGM | Stop-start with regenerative braking, and many European models | Deep cycling, sealed, tolerates high electrical loads | Upper end of the published range |
| Auxiliary or backup battery | Some hybrids and European models carrying a second small battery | Runs electronics when the main battery is disconnected | Priced separately from the main battery |
Makes and models
It changes it a lot. Toyota, Mazda, Nissan and Mitsubishi models are usually straightforward under the bonnet. Ford, Kia, Hyundai and Holden vary by model year, and several use EFB where an older equivalent used flooded. Volkswagen and Subaru are the ones most likely to need registration or a specific tray. Workshops can buy the procedures under the scheme that opens manufacturer repair data to Australian repairers.
Worth knowing
Heat, not cold, is what kills most batteries here. High under-bonnet temperatures over a Melbourne summer accelerate grid corrosion and water loss inside the case. The damage is invisible until the ambient temperature drops and the battery has to deliver full cranking current on a July morning. That is why so many batteries appear to fail suddenly in autumn when they were actually damaged months earlier.
Driving pattern is the other half. A car doing short runs between Tullamarine and Gladstone Park never gets a full recharge, so the battery sits partly discharged and slowly sulphates. If that is your pattern, a longer drive once a fortnight or a smart charger overnight genuinely helps. The battery is also checked during a Victorian roadworthy inspection, so a marginal one can matter when you are getting a car ready to sell in Victoria.
Where we work
All battery work happens at the Carrick Drive workshop, not roadside. Gladstone Park customers are a few minutes away, Westmeadows customers come in via Mickleham Road, and Melbourne Airport customers who have returned to a flat car in long-term parking usually need a jump start first. Gowanbrae, Attwood and Keilor Park are close too.
Worth reading before you book: what actually changes on a hybrid or electric car.
Questions we get asked
Yes, and the test takes minutes. We measure the battery under load, then measure charging voltage at idle and with lights and blower running. A battery that fails load testing is replaced. Charging output that sits low or wanders points at the alternator, a slipping belt or a corroded earth strap. Replacing a battery on a car with a charging fault just kills the new one.
If the vehicle was built with AGM, fit AGM. Stop-start systems cycle the battery hundreds of times a day and a conventional battery is not built for that duty, so it typically fails within a year or two. An EFB is acceptable where the manufacturer specifies EFB. Downgrading saves money once and costs it back quickly.
Not if the fitting is done with a memory saver keeping power on the car. Without one, some vehicles lose radio security codes, seat and mirror positions, throttle adaptation and sometimes the steering angle sensor calibration. Those are recoverable, but they take time. It is easier to keep the power live during the swap than to reprogram afterwards.
In Melbourne conditions, three to five years is a realistic working life for a conventional battery and often a little more for a good AGM. Short trips, high heat and long periods parked all shorten it. We do not attach a warranty claim to that figure. Battery makers set their own terms and we pass on whatever the manufacturer offers.
No. A healthy battery in a healthy car should hold enough charge to start after several weeks. Going flat in a week usually means a parasitic drain: a dash camera wired to a permanent live, an alarm, a boot light staying on, or a module that never goes to sleep. We measure the draw and trace it circuit by circuit.
It goes for recycling. Lead-acid batteries are among the most recycled products in Australia because the lead, plastic and acid all have recovery paths, and they are classed as hazardous waste so they should never go in a household bin. We take the old unit as part of the job and you do not need to transport it anywhere.
Service recommendations, repair costs and completion times vary with the vehicle, the nature of the fault and parts availability. A vehicle inspection may be required before a final quote can be provided.
Call 0485 867 117 with your registration and we will confirm the right type before you drive over. Testing takes minutes, and car battery replacement Tullamarine drivers book in the morning is usually finished while they wait.