Replaced 12v battery with Optima

Yes that is correct, all accessories off too.

 

91K miles on my 2004. I decided to replace the original equipment 12V auxiliary battery today as a preventive move, as cold winter weather is approaching. This morning with temp in the high 30s F, the battery voltage was 12.2V with the car IG-OFF.

The correct battery cost $138.70 plus tax at the parts counter of Precision Toyota of Tucson. It would have cost a few dollars more at Desert Toyota, Tucson.

The part number is 28800-21170 and the battery was manufactured in July 2009. That part number is for 2G Prius that have Smart Entry / Smart Start. Base Prius use a smaller-sized battery. The voltage was 12.9V out of the box.

 

Well I got a new Optima from Amazon and immediately took it to Auto Zone to be trickle charged. They said that on their machine, it reported a reading of a 50% charge. I let it stay there for 24 hours and when picking it up, they said the reading was a bit above 100%. Installed the new battery and works flawlessly. No more flashing/dimming lights, no weird alarm chirps, and no clicking noises. Guess the old battery needed a good trickle charge before being installed.

 

Thanks for the update. Apparently, unlike eLearnaid, Amazon does not charge the battery immediately before shipping.

 

Patrick, thanks to you price guidance I saved +40 bucks. I called my toyota for a replacement battery, they wanted 188. I tried calling the other toyota parts place today (its usually cheaper) for a price quote and they were closed. I called back the closer toyota and said the other one said they would sell me it for 139, could you match it. With no hesitation the guy said yes.

 

Can a trickle charger be connected under the hood (relay box- just like charging the battery) while replacing the 12V so as to not lose any radio, GPS Navigation, etc. settings?

I've heard of people using a spare battery to give the car constant juice so the settings are not lost. I would think a charger would do the same.

 

That has worked for me on previous cars. I have other chargers, but for that application used a 0.5 amp charger, originally intended for charging motorcyle batteries. All you need to accomplish is to supply enough voltage for the memories.

In my case the battery was under the hood, and I clamped the cables to the battery cable positive lead and a ground. But I think with prius what you've described would work fine.

 

It depends on the charger. Some will click off as soon as you remove one of the terminals in the back. A jump pack works better.

 

Or any 2nd battery or another car with jump leads attached to the terminals while removing battery.

 

I used a trickle charger when replacing the OEM 12v with an Optima yellow top...worked perfectly...no settings lost no triangle of death, etc...

 

I do have a riding lawn mower battery. Would connecting jumper cables from that to the connection on the fuse box do the trick?

 

It would.

Owners who use an auxiliary 12V source when replacing the 12V battery need to be very careful not to short the positive terminal to ground when removing the cables.

 

There is currently a direct replacement battery for optima for the prius the number is DS46B24R which requires no changes to the car. It is a direct fit. LDD:mod:

 

Just got my yellow top online direct from Optima. Couldn't be easier transaction. Does the car run better with the Optima? Could be....

 

It would be nice to see some numbers from testing these Optima batteries. For example, turn the car IG-ON by pushing the power button twice without pressing on the brake. Turn the climate control fully off. Then turn the headlights on. What is the battery voltage? Then turn the rear defogger on. What is the battery voltage?

 

Was getting weird DTCs with a low battery which would only charge to 12.2v (50% SoC) so I replaced my 4 year old Optima D51-T1 with one of these. New 12V 12AH LiFePo4 Lithium Battery Storage Replace SLA >7Ah 9Ah with Charger | eBay.

Removed a couple of parts. The hardest part was making up a new bracket to hold it down.