Gen 2 Aux Battery replaced - message appearing

Those are just driver settable reminders that have no interaction with the car's computers. They work conceptually in a similar way to the reminders app on a smartphone.

You just can simply delete the reminder. Problem solved. You might want to check what other reminders are currently set and delete any others that are not useful to your sis.

You use these to remind you to service any of the systems for which you can set a reminder. You then nominate a date or ODO reading which will trigger the reminder.

I did play with them, but really they are more a gimmick unless you have a level of OCD where you can be bothered with the admin overhead.

 

the lack of vent, on the other hand, might be an issue. pm @Britprius , i think he has a whole exide thread.

 

The Exide battery you bought is the excel, and strictly speaking is the wrong battery you should have used the Exide Edge battery.

The battery you have is a standard flooded lead acid battery, and the Edge battery is an AGM battery (absorbed glass matt). There is no free acid to splash around in the AGM battery, and it does have the vent tube.

Having said all that the battery you have will work fine. The vents are tiny holes in the in the caps one for each cell. Under normal circumstances the battery does not vent anyway. The cranking amps are irrelevant for the Prius as the 12 volt battery is not used to turn over the engine for starting. The Prius has no starter motor in the normal sense, and it does not have an alternator.
The battery is used basically to run the computers and ancillaries such as the lights. It lives an easy life.

The reminder you are getting is for something else (like an oil change) but you can remove it in the menu.

John.

 

thanks john!

 

There should be a bung to plug the hole not used, but unless the Varta is an AGM battery you are not going to be any better off, so you may as well stick with what you've got.

 

Not sure of the risk profile that is involved, but I'm not sure you can assume that. They probably recommend the battery just on physical size.

The OEM vent hole is a bayonet type connection, which the Varta is most likely not, so the vent tube may not fit in the Varta hole with out some modification.

The real risk is not the venting of hydrogen into the cabin, but rather if you have a rear end crash involving the RH rear and the battery gets crushed, rear seat passengers could get splashed with sulphuric acid. If that worries you, you need to get the Toyota OEM AGM battery. If you can live with that risk, you needn't do anything.

 

Apart from the vent tube the Varta battery is no different to the one you already have. It is still a flooded lead acid battery.
The caps on the battery you have contain a catalyst that turns the gasses produced when being charged back to water, This is returned to the cells. The gassing only rely occurs when the battery is being over charged usually by an alternator in an ordinary car sometimes by as much as 80 amps.
In the Prius the battery is charged by a DC high voltage to DC low voltage12 volt converter "in simple terms a very sophisticated battery charger". This reduces the charge rate to the 12 volt battery to a low level as the battery becomes charged. This level is below 4 amps at this level no gassing occurs.
AGM batteries are sealed cell batteries with a pressure relief valve over each cell "where the filler caps would be in a flooded battery". This valve opens briefly if a cell produces to much gas for the catalyst to convert back to water to release pressure. The gasses released are passed by the vent tube to the outside of the car. The battery will dry out becoming useless if this happens constantly. This is why the Prius charging system is so sophisticated. Remember the AGM battery has no free liquid acid only the acid soaked into the mats between the lead plates so it would dry out quickly if over charged.
With the battery you have this loss of water can be replaced by topping up through the caps, but I would be surprised if you needed to top it up when used in a Prius for the life of the battery (5-8 years).

John.

 

The Prius uses a valve regulated lead acid AGM battery. Think about it. Would you want a container of sulfuric acid inside the car's passenger compartment in a crash?

 

They cannot say with 100% certainty that there is no chance!

They may believe the risk of acid spilling on a passenger is very low (and I'd have to agree), but the chance it can happen is still there.

No, as much as people like to shift blame, the ultimate responsibility for the safety of your car is you. You need to evaluate the risk and if you agree with those 2 mechanics, then go ahead and stay with the flooded Lead/Acid battery.

How do you think you will feel when you visit your passenger in hospital with acid burns (to may be their face) and inform them how sorry you are, but I have an email from Varta and Exide stating that their batteries are safe and suitable for my car.

Anyway not trying to sway you one way or the other, you just need to research and work out what level of risk you can tolerate.