Not true?
Son, have you ever heard of a hygrometer? Do you know what is in a lead-acid battery? That liquid is a solution of sulfuric acid and water. For peak performance, you need an ideal mixture.
Although there are true maintenance-free lead-acid batteries, the ones in most cars just use more electrolyte, in hopes of keeping the battery at least nominal until the warranty is up. As full-service gas stations foundered during the oil crises, so-called "worry-free" batteries were welcomed and promptly forgotten.
Back when I worked as an auto mechanic, I had plenty of "dead" car batteries to futz around with. It didn't take long to figure out that the two plaques that warned against many things came right off and exposed the fill holes that every old car battery had. There were even meniscus rings to show when each cell was full. It didn't take long to get back in the habit of maintaining our own batteries, and using a hygrometer to show customers that their batteries had a bad cell etc.
It should go without saying that maintaining the electrolyte will not prevent the plates from eventually failing. Common sense, folks. But IME checking and replacing the electrolyte on a regular basis, against the manufacturers' warnings, increases battery life significantly and can maximize things like cold cranking amps for winter starting. What's wrong with that?
I should have said "new" in the last paragraph of my last post. However had faith that (at least most) readers would understand, given the context...
