Dealer pushback with Optima battery

Well, that's a new one. Assuming that the Optima was installed correctly, for example with the eLearnaid adapter kit and not some hack job, then the dealer is blowing smoke. If it is a hack job then the dealer's work has been made harder.

What problems are you having with the car?

 

Go elsewhere. There are some good, and not so good, service departments in the PHX area.

 

I would talk to the Service Manager, not the bathroom attendant!
Someone is trying to blow smoke up yer butt! As long as the Optima was installed correctly, it will out perform the OEM battery every time!
There is hopefully another dealer in town you can deal with.!
The guys lucky he did not try to tell that to me.....

 

That would be like my dealer refusing to service my wife's Tacoma because it's battery has been replaced with a non OE Toyota battery. I would suggest going elsewhere also, it is odd that a dealership service department would not want to service your car because if an aftermarket battery. Usually a dealer service department will try every way they can to get your money.


Posted from my iPhone via the Tapatalk app.

 

are you hearing that? or asking if anyone else has before deciding on the optima?

 

Excellent question!!! I see that after 3 days your question has not been answered.

 

I herd of a Jeep dealer doing it one time. They said the the battery had too many cc amps. This is a ridiculous statement, but it pays off for them.
This was a new battery and I'm sure it ended up in one of the mechanics car.

 

I don't know what changes were made to the cables and wiring harness, but using our Prius-specific YellowTop should not cause any issues with a vehicle.


Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
Optima Batteries - Automobiles and Parts - Milwaukee, WI | Facebook

 

I am hoping Optima Jim can clarify what the exact differences are between the "Prius-specific Yellow Top" and the other "Group 51 Yellow Top" Optima batteries.

1) Are they all the same dimensions (Group 51), amp-hour capacity and with the same size venting hole?

2) Are only the "Prius-specific Yellow Top" battery posts the small Japanese style?

3) Are there any other differences I might not have thought of?

 

I was thinking about switching to a Prius-yellow top when my battery starts to go... I'd like to know the difference between the prius specific and group 51 yellow top.

And to answer PoutyPrius, I agree with everyone else's opinion, if the dealer is giving you a hard time about the yellow-top, find another dealer, or go to an independent prius repair shop.

Btw, what issues are you having that require you to go to the dealer for service?

 

My Pencil Post (Japanese size terminals) Yellow top was an easy drop-in for my 2004 Prius. The difference is the size of the terminals (standard Yellow Top size 51 have SAE terminals). The only issue I had was that the vent hose fitting didn't fit well.

JeffD

 

Apparently PoutyPrius isn't bothering to respond to requests for additional info (isn't even responding to PMs). He must be Pouty about something!

 

I was starting to wonder if the dealer objected more to the replaced wiring to accommodate a regular Yellow Top Optima battery than to the Optima battery itself. I could possibly understand it too if somehow the negative cable was replaced with a smaller gauge wire, or wasn't crimped correctly.

 

Which dealer was that. They should be ashamed. Everybody knows the weird christmas tree on the dash was caused by the original stupid baby battery which holds little reserve and the optima can do a great job and it' is design for heavy current demanding.

 

Installed the Optima (Optima DS46B24R) last week. Took me about 90 minutes. It wasn't a difficult installation at all and a perfect fit. I've got a really bad back which failed me in '86. Being in that bent over position while installing the battery causes me a lot of pain. I took my time and straightened up quite a bit. I had my 120k service done at the dealer and spoke to them about the Optima battery. They had no problems whatsoever.

 

Hi sub3marathonman, Optima Group 51s available in the USA and manufactured before late-September/early-October of 2011 have SAE posts and two DIN-style vent ports. DS46B24R (Prius-specific batteries) available in the USA have JIS (pencil) posts and one “Prius-style†vent port in the same location as the current Group 51s, produced after early-October 2011, which have the SAE posts.

For many years, we have made a JIS Group 51 battery, but it was exclusively produced for the European and Asian markets. This battery did have the pencil posts and DIN-style vent ports that didn't directly fit the Prius vent system. Internally, the batteries are the same.


Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries