Who makes Kirkland Signature Automotive Battery (lead-acid; discontinued, replaced by Interstate)?
No reliable public evidence identifies the manufacturer of Kirkland Signature Automotive Battery (lead-acid; discontinued, replaced by Interstate) as of July 5, 2026.
The common claim
What most answers say — and what the evidence supports
Top answers name Clarios (formerly Johnson Controls) - historically a major battery supplier to brands including the Interstate line Costco now sells - as the source of 'Kirkland' car batteries. Two problems: Costco no longer sells a Kirkland Signature-branded automotive battery (it was reported discontinued around 2015-2016 and replaced by the Interstate brand stocked at Costco tire centers), and the maker of the former Kirkland car battery was never documented. The names offered - Clarios/Johnson Controls, plus East Penn, Exide, GS Yuasa, and even Interstate itself in one unverified employee account - contradict each other and rest on no tier 1-5 evidence. This is separate from Kirkland Signature ALKALINE household batteries, which a 2016 Costco CEO statement attributes to Duracell.
Evidence & sources
Costco does not disclose its suppliers, and no tier 1–5 source names the maker of this product. Below is the documented search — every database and record we checked, and what each one returned.
Product-existence check - Costco automotive-battery pages (costco.com/automotive-batteries.html; costco.interstatebatteries.com; costco.com blocks automated fetch, read via search snapshots) July 5, 2026
Costco's current automotive batteries are sold under the INTERSTATE brand ('Interstate Car & Truck Batteries'), not the Kirkland Signature name. Multiple shopper and blog accounts state Costco discontinued its Kirkland Signature-branded car battery (reported around 2015-2016) and replaced it with Interstate. There is no current Kirkland-branded automotive battery to attribute; the question concerns a former product.
CPSC recall database (SaferProducts.gov REST API) July 5, 2026
Zero automotive-battery recalls naming Kirkland. The two 'Kirkland' recalls on file (Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG bottles; Kirkland Signature saute pans) are unrelated to batteries. No co-packer surfaced via the recall route.
News / executive-statement / trade-press sweep July 5, 2026
No source names the maker of the former Kirkland Signature car battery. The well-known 2016 Costco CEO (Craig Jelinek) statement about Duracell concerned ALKALINE household batteries (AA/AAA), not automotive lead-acid. Content-mill articles offer contradictory, unsourced guesses: vehiclefreak.com says Clarios/Johnson Controls ('most likely since their appearance'); theoffroading.com lists Johnson Controls, East Penn, Exide, and GS Yuasa. None cites a date code, plant letter, executive statement, or document.
Federal court records (CourtListener/RECAP) and SEC EDGAR full-text July 5, 2026
No litigation or public filing found naming a supplier of Kirkland Signature automotive batteries. Clarios and East Penn are private/PE-owned and do not disclose a Costco/Kirkland relationship in any filing surfaced.
Costco help/FAQ pages (via search snapshots; costco.com blocks automated fetch) July 5, 2026
No Costco page names a Kirkland automotive-battery maker. Costco's automotive-battery pages route buyers to Interstate and describe warranty terms only; the chemical-disclosure/SDS route that names makers for Kirkland detergents does not exist for batteries.
Community/rumor scan (Car Talk community, ToyotaNation, Cummins Diesel Forum, Reddit r/Costco) July 5, 2026
Contradictory and evidence-free. The recurring, specific claim - that Interstate itself made the old Kirkland battery and Costco merely sold it under the Kirkland name - traces to an unverified member/employee comment, not a document. Others assume Johnson Controls/Clarios by analogy to Interstate's supply chain. No consistent, sourced name emerges.
Frequently asked
Who makes Kirkland Signature car batteries?
Does Costco still sell Kirkland car batteries?
Are Kirkland car batteries the same as Interstate?
Who makes Kirkland alkaline (AA/AAA) batteries?
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