I have a 2015 with 82k miles. Original 12v battery. I’m wondering if any experts on here recommend a preventative replacement time for this, or should I rely on a battery test? How reliable are auto shop battery tests? Any recommendations on brand of replacement?
Yuasa or hi grade AGM or gel 12 battery. Yuasa and old Deka are very difficult to find . Sears has a good unit MFD for them blueish label on it. Some of these high-end battery tester that the big box stores are using now are quite costly and put the battery through quite a bit of paces so generally they should be quite accurate.
Test the voltage with a multimeter first thing in the morning, for a rudimentary assessment. With an electronic load tester you can get a much better idea. Solar makes prosumer level ones, and a lot of battery retailers will have one one hand, do gratis tests. the fact that it’s still viable is testament you’re doing something right, say frequent/longer drives, and not having accidental drains.
Agreed - letting the battery die is the best way to kill your battery. I would also agree with the suggestion to get it tested. It could die in five years, or it could die next week at this age. I just bought my 2010 prius with 262k miles and the original battery, so it could certainly give you a few more years! But there's no way of knowing whether it's next week or 5 years unless you get it tested.
8 years is a good run. either replace it with an oem, or if you want to get the most out of it, carry a jump pack and replace it when it won't start the car.
Go to the Toyota dealership and get the OEM battery. It's the BEST one for the car. They get a 4 amp agm charger and charge it for 8-12 hours so it is fully charged. They do not charge them at the dealership or any other store.
If you can afford the luxury of a dead battery then run it to death. At 8 years you have had a good run. I bought a Topdun BT100 battery tester (The Car Care Nut recommended the brand (he tested the BT200 which has a 6 volt setting that the 100 doesn’t)). Nice thing about it is it shows you the Internal Resistance so you have an idea of how well it can perform and you can track it.
