I have a 2008 GSR that has been in storage for a year, so before going to pick it up I grabbed a new battery from the dealership. They delayed for more than a week, every day saying it would be in the next day. Finally it arrived and picked it up.

When going to install it in the car, I find that it doesn't have a vent port. The battery had a hole on either side of the red top that I thought was the port, but when I got it to the car I see that it's much too small for the hose fitting.

Does the dealer Optima red top have a vent port, or did they just send someone out to Auto Zone to pick up a generic one and sell it to me at 100% markup?

The battery has no Mitsubishi markings, and has an Optima label on the top. I attached a picture.

 

The Optima Red Top is a standard replacement for the OE Panasonic. As long as they didn't change you more than $200, it's a good thing that they put in a Red Top, as most people say that they're better.

As to venting a Red Top: https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...tery-vent.html My Red Top is vented (on the side towards the middle, near the negative terminal). The dealership should not have given you back your car without the vent hooked up.

 

I'm aware the red top is the replacement, but what I've read here and elsewhere is that its a variant of the standard red top that has the required vent port. The one I received does not have the port the OEM battery does.

I'm just trying to confirm that before I get angry with someone.

Edit: Thanks for the edit, I'll look for it again. It's on the negative half of the battery? Long side or short side? I looked pretty close and didn't see anything. Won't hurt to check again.

It was $350something, but I picked it up, they didn't install it.

 

Wow, $350 for just the battery, you picked it up at the stealership and installed it yourself? Seems a bit steep? Hopefully, you can locate the side vent.

 

So I felt along the whole negative side of the battery, and couldn't feel a port anywhere. I'm not sure if it's hidden somewhere on the grey portion or what, but its definitely not on the red top anywhere. If someone has a picture of what I should be looking for that would be huge and I'd appreciate it. Though at this point I'm pretty sure they just got me a regular old Optima battery and charged me Mitsubishi OEM price for it. On the Panasonic the port is about an inch in diameter. There's certainly nothing like that on it.

From what I saw online $350 is about right. The cheapest I could find online was $325 plus shipping.

 

The vent is a small black plug, on the short side, right at the top edge. There is one on each end.

$350 for a Red Top is a complete rip-off. Several site sponsors charge around $200.

 

Autozone sells them for about 200...

 

Rich: $200 for the standard red top is the retail price. The OEM version has an additional vent plug that the retail version doesn't have or I just would have gotten that.

I got a quote on here for $300 and about 14 days for delivery, and the usual Mitsubishi parts places all quoted about $320. The dealer wanted $320+ tax and claimed to be able to get it in two days, so that's why I went that route. If someone could have sourced the Mitsubishi part for the price of the standard red top I would have done that no question, I just couldn't find anyone to do it.

 

I like the look of that battery though!. Too bad it is in the trunk eh?

 

Apologies for what I wrote earlier. I now agree.

 

As an FYI in case anyone comes across this later...

When the dealer receives the battery it comes in a big box. Inside the box is a white elbow joint. You need to pull hard on the black elbow joint connected to the hose from the old battery to remove it. Then install the new elbow. This will allow a connection to the battery's vent port.

Also in the package is a black plug. The battery has vents on both the positive and negative sides. You must use the plug to block the port opposite of the one you actually used.

Once that's done the red top will be properly vented for use in the trunk.