How long do Optima Yellow Top batteries last in a 2G Prius?

Good question! Hope some answers. I just installed Optima yesterday at 91K miles (orig was 4.75 yr old). I call your attention to the very last comment on the Optima instructions, they said you can make battery last longer by disable of smart key if you are parked more than a couple days. Apparently this can drain battery.

 

Since the OE battery can last a long time if:

1. You make long trips which keeps it fully charged.
2. You NEVER accidentally fully discharge it

The "Yellow Top" has more capacity and is harmed less by being discharged. So it can last a long time. My OE battery in my 2004 at 7.5 years and 200k miles is still viable.

JeffD

 

Thanks jdenenerg.

I bought my D51 in the spring of 2009. It is at about 75% capacity now (voltage stays at 12.4v after surface charge dissipates). I have a very large stereo system which puts a strain on the battery so that may be why my battery is not at 100%. I have not fully discharged this battery though so it has not been abused other than the stereo. I also drive 100+miles/day during the week so charging is not an issue.

 

This is only a "strain" if you run the stereo in ACC mode (no support from the charging system).

If you discharge your battery somewhat before shutting down the system, you can hurt the 12v battery. All lead acid batteries need to be kept fully charged or the plates develop crystallized sulfur and this reduces capacity. If the problem has not progressed too far, you can reverse it with a desulfating charger like:

BatteryMINDer® Plus AGM/OPTIMA Maintenance Charger / Desulfator-Conditioner 12 Volt – 1.0 Amp | All | Battery Chargers by BatteryMINDers.com

Which sometimes can be found discounted to $40 or so. This is BatteryMinder's AGM specific model so it is the one to buy for the Optima Yellow Top.

JeffD

 

please note! I just replaced with optima d51 .The extra parts are no longer shipped in a plastic bag but are stuffed in the crevice in bottom of the battery. You must turn it over to get them out. This my second buy from elearnaid and the apprised me of this change after I had installed They have been good enough to send me the red vent plug and vent hose .

 

Yes I just mentioned the "easter egg hunt" in another post.
I do not think I even got the photo showing the parts shipped.
So I had to go to eLearnAid web site to see what I was supposed to be getting, and then started hunting. This was after the OEM battery was out, so I was of course hoping I had the parts.

 

And that no-one has chimed in with a failed Optima, exactly the data we want to hear. The longer before we get data, the better, in this case.

 

I have an '05 bought on 2-2-05. I replaced the OEM on 1-29-09 with an Optima Yellow Top. I am currently on a business trip and am told that the Yellow Top has failed. Though I can't perform any troubleshooting till I get home next month. I just bought a BatteryMinder. And I am considering another Yellow Top. But the price has gone up. And I am now wondering weather or not a warranty is applicable. Is it possible that the BatteryMinder can restore the Yellow Top?

 

Agree with you, lasting life of car would be great, one less thing.
I hesitated on Optima due to some (Red Top) user reviews on Amazon, however the Yellow Top model for Prius has all good reviews from Prius owners over there. So I went for it, but got it from eLearnaid.

 

Update...

I have contacted eLearnaid about any potential warranty. They responded the next day saying that they had found my invoice and asked me some questions. Like what is the battery voltage? ( I responded that I would know in early Aug) How long has the car sat without starting? (originally one week before it needed a jump) Do I have any aftermarket electrical accessories (no). How much I drive it? (less than 85K miles) Do I drive it often? (except for recent business travel, it is my daily driver). I asked my wife to search my maintenance file for the receipt. She scanned it, sent it to me and I forwarded it to eLearnaid with my response... Nothing heard.

If it goes another couple of days with no response. I will e-mail them again and ask them if I can get a discount on a replacement. I need to get this car running again as soon as I get back home. If I had a replacement battery on hand. I wouldn't have to wait a few days for them to send one.

Any suggestions?

 

Take this as heresay, but on Amazon there is one complaint (non Prius owner) saying the Yellow Top is not guaranteed if bought from Amazon. So I was wondering about eLearnAid policy. I think eLearnAid is in CA so free shipping to you is usually fast. Was fast to me about 4 days to me on right coast.

 

Hello Everyone,

My new Yellow top and Battery Minder were waiting for me this morning. I installed them and the Prius now boots up normally... I sent some pictures to Bernard Littman at eLearnaid who has been my point of contact. One picture was the battery on my bench with an volt meter connected showing less than 1.4 VDC. Bernard responded that he had provided me a full refund for my first failed Yellow Top.

I have no complaints with eLearnAid. They were prompt and efficient and provided a fair service after purchase!

 

Glad to hear! I purchased a yellow top last night and it'll arrive via ups tomorrow.

 

I just finished installing my new eLearnAid Yellowtop replacement battery.

It would be an easier install if you bought a replacement 6" Negative cable. If you choose to reuse the original cable, take the clamping bolt out of the old Negative terminal clamp and expand the terminal diameter. Then use the longer clamping bolt out of the old Positive terminal on the Negative terminal clamp.

I didn't see any mention in my Installation Instructions of the original Prius Negative clamp being too small to fit the new battery.

 

I found something on the elearn site that led me to buy the "adapter" when I first bought my YellowTop. I can recommend it!

-J