12V Battery's Life Expectancy

exceelent! you take care of it, and it takes care of you.

 

7.5 years on my 12v battery which I suspect needs to be replaced now as it was dead yesterday. I don't drive long distances at all lately as I've been working only 2.5 miles from my house until a month ago and now I'm working at my house so it's been used every 3 days or so lately for short errands.

I was able to get the battery to charge and I took the car in to the dealer expecting to replace it and get the airbag recall done, but they called and said the battery passed their test so I decided to do it myself during the next week sometime. Charging it now with my BatterMINDer maintainer which also desulfates it and will check it after it's done and then 24 hours later to see if it holds the charge.

 

Very strange, that a dealership (the guys that normally advocated parts swaps early) would advise against swapping out a 7.5 year old battery. Personally, every 4~5 years, I put in a new one, don't think twice. If your pockets are deep enough, and you want to be up on your battery's health, and this is something that'll pay for itself over time, consider getting a Solar BA5, digital load tester. I think they're something like $60~70 in the 'States?

Apologies if I'm repeating myself, can't recall what all's transpired in the other discussion.

 

Might look into that, thanks.

I just went out to check my battery with my voltage meter and nothing happened. I can check it at the charge point under the hood, right? Or do I need to do it on the actual battery? My meter connectors are pointy metal. I touched the positive to the charge point and the negative to a ground point. The meter was set to 20v reading. Here's a pic. Am I doing something wrong?

 

Does the display show 0.0 or does it stay blank. If blank, you need to change the battery in the meter.

JeffD

 

It shows 0.01.

 

You did:

1. Flip the red cap off the jump start terminal? (apolgies, know it's obvious, just had to ask)
2. Try various ground points? Substantial parts on the engine are good.

 

Yes to red cap, no to various ground points. So I tried different ones and found a good spot. It read 12.56. Not going out today so I'll check it again in 24 hrs. I'm going to replace it within week anyway, but I like doing this.

Found a local shop that will sell me a battery for $247 + tax and no charge for installation. That's $100 less than dealer so I'll probably just do that. Or I'll buy the Optima from Amazon for $160 and do it myself, I'm just confused if I still need a terminal and cable kit with it and what to get if I do. I also don't want to have to do any custom mods but I read this one is a perfect fit:
Optima Batteries 8171-767 (DS46B24R) YellowTop Prius Battery

 

There are replacement batteries now that are exact fit, no need for extra cable, have the vent port. This is what I went with, was I think $229 up here:

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Optima Yellow Top:
Group Size: GR#51JIS: 46B24R
CCA: 450
CA: 575
Length: 9.272 in
Width: 5.024 in
Height: 8.885 in
web page:
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Exide makes one too. Try various dealerships too, $247 seems kind of high for the States.

 

Checking battery health is not done by volt status...but with device that check current under load and calculated the voltage drop from known algorithm..depends on type of battery and CCA

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Yeah, I figure he's making his install fee on a little profit on the battery. I just went ahead and bought the Optima from Amazon since I saw a comment from someone saying they put it in their 2010 Prius with no modifications at all.

 

Or make your own brackets and go cheaper ......for as long is same or more CCA it is same as factory minus...expense...and some home fabricating

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

CCA is of no consequence in a Prius as the 12v battery is not involved in starting the engine. The important features are physical size (so it fits), AH capacity (more is better), deep discharge capability (in case you leave the lights on) and a vent tube since the battery is in the passenger compartment (no longer true in Gen4).

JeffD

 

My intention was to have bigger battery than stock...and yes I do know that Mr. Jdenenberg.....


Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

hello all. My wife and I both own a 2011 prius. The accessory battery in her Prius was just replaced as it had died without a warning. She elected to use a Toyota brand...priced at $230.08. The accessory battery in my 2011 Prius still has not failed. However, I am looking into replacement batteries as it is not that difficult to replace. Her accessory battery lasted 5 years and 5 months. That is pretty good for a sealed lead acid battery in Florida. Current searches indicate that AC Delco, Optima, and Duracell show promise. Alll are AGM batteries.

 

I replaced our 12v starter battery today. 2-17-2022. 2017 Prius Prime with 17,000 miles. BTW, the Toyota replacement was very competitively priced (if you install yourself!) and the warranty is far superior to any aftermarket battery i could find.

 

With the jump box, the ones I am looking at to buy appear to have very short cables. Where does the negative clamp go when connecting the positive clamp to the positive terminal under the hood? The negative cable does not look like it will reach the negative clamp connection spot indicated in the manual. Thank you!

 

I usually stick the clamp jaws right on the nearest cover bolt of the inverter assembly, which is right next to the fuse box, easy reach. The inverter assembly contains the DC/DC converter (the source of the car's 12 volt system), so a better ground connection than that will be hard to find short of taking that cover off . (Which, by the way, don't do; just making a point. There's high voltage under there, and a safety interlock that will disable it if removed.)

 

this worked for me, the nut/stud combo on EGR valve: