[IanRTL]

You should set aside a day that includes a 15 mile round trip on the freeway, or at least an expressway, per week. The rest of the vehicle, including the engine oil, needs to reach temperatures hot enough to boil off moisture. This is even more critical in winter.
The people hitting the freeway at least every few days to commute will rack up a lot more miles. But those miles will likely be more trouble-free over the years.

Vehicles can come with batteries that have partially depleted due to sitting on the lot. It's possible that the battery never had a full charge during your ownership if most of your trips are short.

If you have further trouble of this sort, consider getting a start/deep-cycle AGM battery. They accept a recharge much more quickly and won't take damage from depletion. That would be an Optima Yellow Top, Orbital Extreme, or Northstar. There are store-brand variants as well. It will cost you out of pocket, but it will provide better reliability for your normal habits instead of needing to change your habits.

Totally agree with these guys. I was having issues with regular lead-acid batteries not lasting very long. My commute went from 25 miles one way to 3 miles one way per day. The truck never sits for longer than two days without starting and running for a bit, but I do put on many short trips. With the cold winters and hot summers we have here, I had two batteries go bad within two years. The first went dead when it was extremely cold out and was never able to hold a charge again. The second was simply a bad battery and wouldn't hold a charge longer than 12 hours even in temperate climates. I used my warranty and upgraded to an AGM battery. It's not an Optima or Northstar, but an Autocraft Platinum from Advanced Auto. It is much more robust than the lead acid battery and it charges WAY faster. I still get the truck out on the highway and take it for a longer run once every week or two, but this battery is WAY better than anything I've ever had. Even in extremely cold temps, it cranks up with no issues.

 

[IanRTL]

That's a great tip!

My last battery came from Advanced Auto and they have a specific device that plugs into the OBDII port for Honda vehicles when they change out batteries. It kept all of the parameters in line while the three minute swap happened. I never had to do a thing.

 

[IanRTL]

Very common with the Honda's, most of them use Panasonic (has always been a weak area for them) after Warranty has passed by an Optima Red or Yellow top and be done with it. I have an 07' RTL started having issues in 10', because the warranty was pro-rated I replaced with a Yellow top in 10' and to date use the same battery with NE cold start winters, run inverters and all kinds of other accessories and still rock solid to date!

Big fan of AGM's in general. I currently have an Autocraft Platinum AGM in my truck. It's been serving me very well for two years now and has gone through two of the coldest winters I can remember in the last two years. I have faith in it to keep going for at least 2-3 more years.