Cost of 12v AGM Battery for 2018 Prius

I replaced mine last year in my 2016 model 4. I spent about $270. Even though I had scheduled in advance to have a new battery at my dealership, they didn't have one after I sat there for two hours. I went to a Pep Boys in town and they found one at a local auto parts store. It turns out these batteries aren't terribly common.

 

On fourth-generation (2016 and later) Prius cars, the auxiliary (12-volt) battery in the engine compartment, at least as originally installed by Toyota, is not an AGM type, so you could have used an ordinary (“maintenance free”) battery of the LN1, H4, or 140R size as a replacement. These are now readily available at auto parts stores.

 

i would return it

 

What @Elektroingenieur said. The Gen 4 does not need or have an AGM battery.

 

It's not an AGM battery on a Gen 4.

 

That’s true for model years 2015 and earlier, and for Prius v and Prius c cars, which may be why the dealer is confused. You might suggest, if they have a new Prius car in stock, that they take a close look at its battery, and notice the vent caps and the liquid electrolyte inside.

 

Almost sounds like an old-school deep-cycle regular battery would be fine at this.

What's the difference between a normal car battery and a deep-cycle battery? | HowStuffWorks

 

Won't they come out and look at your battery that I assume came with the car new? Or, as @Elektroingenieur suggests, look at a brand new one in their own lot? Then ask them when AGM batteries started having caps you could unscrew to see the electrolyte inside that AGMs don't have.

 

This is mine - I suspect yours was similar.

 

I was at an auto part store in Colorado in the US and some lady was getting her 2016 battery replaced there, which is a H4 size (not AGM) and the price was $200 USD after core charge and that includes free installation if that is worth anything.

 

I’ve been meaning to phone our local dealership parts dept, see what the current cost is for 3rd gen battery (mines in good shape, but over 5 years old now, so...).

I’ll ask for 4th gen price and part no info as well while I’ve got them on the line.

I’m on the west coast Canada. I know 5 years back they were asking $273 CDN for the 3rd gen Absorbent Glass Mat battery, the official (Yuasa) one. Funny how that price sticks in my head, lol.

Kudos to @Elektroingenieur btw, a font of in-depth info as always!

 

Open Road Toyota Port Moody quoted me just now: $541.41 (all prices CDN), for 4th gen battery, roughly 22% less (than $690). Part no is: 00544-065H4. I’d suspect it’s discounted vs full retail.

For 3rd gen: $340.00, and this is an Absorbent Glass Mat type. Part no is: 8451P. Again, 5.5 years ago they quoted $273.

I looked up batteries at Canadian Tire; they don’t have anything for 4th gen. FWIW for 3rd gen they do have one, for $249. I’d have no qualms about buying a CT battery (if and when available). I’ve bought them for a couple of Hondas recently, and they looked identical to OEM, apart from CT specific badging.

@Elektroingenieur has mentioned various 4th gen aftermarket options in past, and above. They are maybe more US-centric though??

Rant: my Honda battery purchases in past were always around $125~150. May have climbed, but still: these Toyota numbers are nuts!

 

In Canada, NAPA offers a Group 140R battery made by East Penn for (CAD) $197.39, plus a $20 core charge.

 

Apart from the non-spillage factor, what is the advantage of an AGM battery over lead acid ?

 

Higher cranking power for the weight I believe is the biggest advantage. Also can be smaller physically for the capacity - which might help manufacturers - who don't have to pay to replace them. In cold climes, they might hold a charge longer - I live in the semi-tropics, so can't test that out.

Maybe the only advantages?? Flooded tend to last longer and are cheaper.