When to change 12v battery @ 5 years

So I didn't take my own advice and change out the battery when the Prius turned five and I got the dreaded phone call from my wife my car won't start. Of course it is stranded in the Downtown parking garage which complicates things but I told her I knew exactly what was wrong with it. I went and bought a battery and installed it.

I'm just glad the battery died here in town and not during a road trip when we are on vacation which would have been absolutely disruptive so if your Prius 12 volt battery is 5 years old go ahead and change it don't wait and be a dummy like me my battery was 68 months when it died I should have changed it at 60 months.

The only tool you'll need to change it is a 10mm wrench. It's located in the lower right corner of the V (wagon). It was a trick getting the hatch open with the dead battery it took several tries before it finally opened I thought oh my gosh if I have to change this crawling over the backseat I would have been miserable but fortunately the trunk opened.

I bought the battery online then picked up in store at Advance Auto Parts and use their website discount code to get 25% off which was pretty good considering I needed one right away. Amazon Prime was a hair cheaper but it would have been a two-day delay.

Also when these batteries die they die immediately there's no warning.

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Optima Yellow top with discount the price was around 161,

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Correction: the price at Advanced Auto parts online was $192 minus the 25% = $148 plus a refundable $22 core charge. Actually cheaper than Amazon. I am very happy with the purchase experience.

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