12-Volt Battery keeps needing jump, do I need to replace it?

If it is the original battery, then it might be time for a new one. Some auto parts stores will test it for free.

Though I would have expected another year or two from it. Perhaps something is straining the battery, causing more wear. Do you drive mostly short trips? Those would generally not be long enough to fully charge the 12V back up. Lead-acids last longer when kept at 100% charge. Being below that will lead to a shorter life.

 

prime suffers from major 12v battery drain and poor recharging. there are threads here for anyone interested.
get a free load test and replace if necessary. if it is good, give it a full charge and see if it holds. if not, you have a drainage issue when the car is off. that is a more complicated issue

 

Batteries age out. This is a direct replacement from Walmart. No brainer.

 

Was it completely off, or listen-to-the-radio-off? That might do it, with a borderline battery.

Most automotive retailers that are selling batteries will have a battery assessment device. The modern ones hook up directly to the posts and assess Cold Cranking Amps, basically a health check.

You can also get a prosumer level one for around $50~100 USD. My pref would be Solar BA9 if shopping; I’m just used to the brand.

 

I connected a full sized 12v battery with wires and band clamps to the standard battery and left it in the rear deck area. Not a very proper fix but it got me by until I was able to get a replacement. As mentioned elsewhere the draw on the 12v battery is small .

 

I'm thinking that your battery is just low; but get it tested at an auto parts store.
If you do a bunch or short-hop trips w/o running the engine and not unplugging the charger, after it finishes charging - You'll slowly drain the 12VDC battery. It probably just needs a recharge and retest.
I check my battery with a DVM about every month. I find it extremely low about once a year (ie. <11.75VDC) Put it on a charger for a few hours @ 6A charge and it's fine for another year. The problem with this is that running a battery low will slowly shave off a bit of longevity on the batteries physical life span.

Hope this helps....

FWIW; I've found that the car won't start if the battery gets below 11VDC. This would sometimes cause phantom errors to pop up, due to the electrical system and sensors being starved for power.