Had to replace the Aux battery today

I'm at about the same age and mileage with my 2010. Is there a way to check the status of your battery before you replace it?

EDIT: Just found this 12 V Battery Testing ... | PriusChat

 

Glad to hear. I am a bit surprised that yours is already in need of replacement. I have a 2011 that just turned 3 years old with 91k, and the battery still tests out excellent with a midtronics tester.

 

Yours lasted two years longer than mine did.

 

How's the fit, any size difference messing up the hold-down bracket?

Is it Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) per the OEM, or traditional lead acid?

Does it have connection for the gas venting tube?

 

what brand of battery did you get?

 

Even the terminals? That's good.

 

thanks, first i've heard of it. all the best!

 

Your old battery probably just needed water, like ALL lead acid batteries. Unfortunately, it's a "Maintenance Impossible" battery. Meaning they hide the fill holes. So unless you're insistent like me, you replace the battery rather than fill it back up with water (to the top of the glass mat).

On that topic, Pearl, a 2007 Prius, is now over 7 years old, and still using the original battery. I pealed the label off the top and added distilled water three years ago, when it started to indicate it was going to fail. Current owner tells me it's just fine (I was telling him of his options re replacements, such as a Toyota one, an Optima from Saskbattery, etc.). He can check it using his Scangauge before putting the car into "ready" in the morning.

 

Does Costco carry these batteries?

 

Mine made it about 5 years and 72,000 miles. To the poster above that's said all we need to do is add some water needs to do some thinking before they say that. There is no water in my battery.

 

Perhaps a review of what is required to create an AGM battery (Absorbed Glass Mat) is in order.
VRLA battery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Describes the group of lead/acid batteries known as VRLA (Valve-Regulated Lead Acid) batteries of which Gel Cells & AGM batteries are the two primary types. Both use an electrolyte of sulphuric acid & water.
Here is a single line quote from the above wikipedia entry:
"AGM batteries differ from flooded lead acid batteries in that the electrolyte is held in the glass mats, as opposed to freely flooding the plates."

 

Funny, stuff that goes around. Left an office today, tried to turn on the car: A blink from the dash lights then nothing. You know it's a low battery problem when the dome lights are very, very faint.

Luckily, my wife was relatively nearby at home; she snagged a couple-three wrenches and a voltmeter and drove over. I did the find-the-latch-for-the-first-time on the rear door and fished the jumpers out of the under-deck storage.

Jumping the car wasn't as hard as I had thought; it booted right up, following the car manual's instructions. Drove over to a nearby auto parts place, no discount, but at least they had the Yellow Top in stock. Replaced the battery, car came right up.

Oh, yeah: 5.9V on that 12V battery after the failure. Well, bought the car in late 2009, so it's 4.5 years, not bad, I guess. As the OP stated, easy to get the thing out of there.

Still wondering if it was an 300V->12V inverter fault; but, I guess that if it was one of those, some alarm code should have come up, first. We'll see.

KBeck.

 

After reading all these stories, I've moved firmly into the "Must" category for 12v replacement before winter comes again. At near 90k miles on my 2010 I'm sure it's due and I'd rather do it early than get stranded.

 

If you worry about getting stranded, carry a jump starter. I carry a 1000 amp jump starter / air pump / portable power supply. It has the added bonus of allowing me to be a good Samaritan, since the Prius can't jump start anything else.

I'd think it is more environmentally responsible than preemptively replacing a lead acid battery.

 

Your jump starter is battery powered, that will be environmental waste one day.

 

The key phrase is trashing something preemptively.
The jump starter is more than a spare battery, it does other work.

 

I carry a 1000 amp jump starter / air pump / portable power supply

One can argue you wouldn't need to buy a jump starter if you had replace your battery before it died and/or ask someone to jump start when the time comes. Use air pumps at the gas station or tire shops. Portable power supply is like having emergency food when the earth freezes over.....I can't see anyone using it, just comforts them in having it.

 

I think it is wise, and an entirely valid approach to BOTH...own a jump starter ( I do, for emergencies potentially involving myself and others) AND also keeping an eye on Aux Battery performance and replacing before ultimate failure.

When the battery ages, it IS eventually going to need to be replaced. I feel no environmental imperative to use the battery down to it's last boot up the system spark.

Also my portable power system is not only a jump start system but also a portable plug in power supply and a air compressor. This makes it a multi-function tool that I personally think is simply nice to have for a variety of applications and reasons.