Wondering if anyone knows the difference between what are apparently two 12V battery models that come up as replacements for the Prius. Didn't see anything in search, so sorry if it is there. Local dealer's part site offers me part number 2880021171, that just says "Vehicle Battery" in the description. Then there is "TrueStart Battery", part number 0054421171325. The Toyota parts website doesn't have any specs on them to tell them apart. "Part fits" info is the same for both. The "Vehicle Battery" is about $20 more expensive. Is one the true OEM part, and the other the "replacement" part? Thanks.
Yes but............ What you actually get under the "true OEM" part might be something entirely different than what it originally came from the factory with. And you have no good way to tell which is "better". It is not necessarily the one that costs more. Sometimes the "replacement part" is better quality than the original. Don't fret over it. Get the one that is most convenient for you. Or the one that makes you feel better.
I've heard the Car Care Nut talking about there being 2 levels of Toyota brake pads. The more expensive ones are the same as factory, and the cheaper ones, which are dimensionally identical, but cut corner's a bit, to compete with aftermarket. Perhaps this is similar. For $20 I'd get the higher price one, maybe thicker plates, better construction?
Thanks for the responses. I still have the original battery in my 2013, I'll test it again, but will probably replace it before real cold sets in. If I knew I was buying a copy of that battery, I'd probably buy it even if it has a 12 month warranty instead of whatever the TrueStart warranty is. Never had a battery last like this. Sounds like the $20 more battery might be the same one, but might not. And like other posts here have confirmed, it seems like the Toyota battery is potentially even cheaper than some of the typical replacement brands.
Up here, last time I checked, at least six months back, dealership was asking $340 CDN, for “a” Toyota battery. At Canadian Tire they currently offer sim spec compatible battery for $272 CDN. a year or two back the CT battery was around $220 CDN. General PDP Template | Canadian Tire
Based on what I am seeing, the Toyota battery is 215-235 USD. Cheapest aftermarket is $200 but seems to be a step down compared to the others in terms of reserve capacity, and up to $250 for the auto parts store brand. Then Optima Yellow Top at $280.
I currently have a yellow top (since September 2015), but in hindsight, it’s maybe not the best option, excessive CCA, at the expense of amp hours, compared to stock. Next time around I’ll likely go with the CT option; its specs for CCA and amp hours closely match stock. Except at least $70 CDN less. Changed an in-laws Toyota vehicle battery recently, with CT option. Can’t recall exactly (should be able to…) the model, like an older Matrix maybe? Anyway, conventional lead-acid: CT had 3 options, I went with priciest, only around $165 CDN. Maybe supply and demand a factor.
You sure you want to get an original from a dealer? You can get any Prius compatible AGM battery from any of your local auto part stores for lot cheaper and it will do the same job for you. I got a Duralast from Autozone. Discount autoparts, O'reilly and Napa offer their own brands as well.
That may very well be true. BUT......the price difference seems to be much less lately, for a quality battery that is. If you find one that it is a LOT cheaper.......the quality likely is a LOT lower too.
Last time I checked, Costco didn't have this size battery, but if they did, it would be at the best price.
I paid around $230 for an AGM Duralast (from Autozone). And that is an exact fit battery with the correct dimensions, polarity orientation, post diameter size and even the vent tube location. You do not need to modify a thing. A drop-in replacement made for Gen3 Prius. If the OE one from a dealer will be slightly more, than I guess going with OE is understandable. And Duralast is a quality brand; it isn't an ebay product.
Not necessarily. My $65 generic AGM is still going at 7¾ years. See if you can beat that record in $ per year with any $200 to $300 battery that does the same thing.
Well that was ~8 years ago. Prices have gone up. See if you can find a similar deal now. But if you CAN find a "generic AGM" now for that price........my original advice stands. It would NOT be a good gamble. Some people use lawn mower batteries. That is not a good gamble either.
Apologies for the somewhat necropost but this is the most recent 12v battery topic for the Gen 3 I recently replaced (what appears to be) the original battery in my 2013 PiP. I compared a few options: some retailers don't stock this size, an Optima yellow top was $280, a Interstate battery from Costco was $225, and Toyota of Seattle was only $195.28 plus tax plus $18 core charge. The part number sold to me by the dealer is 00544-21171-325. The invoice notes that 00544-21171-325 replaces 28800-21171. It looks identical to the factory battery, although has an extra sticker on top. I also decided to store my jumper cables in the empty space between the battery and body, though this is going to be a bit annoying to get out with the bracket mounted.
Following up on this for others like CookieGuru did. I finally replaced my 12v. 10 years and 150k miles of service on the original. Didn't fail once except one time it was my fault for leaving a map light on. Hope the replacement is as good. Local dealer only had 00544-21171-325, which they said is the replacement for 28800-21171. It was $186, which is quite a bit cheaper than the other replacement options. Advance, AutoZone, NAPA were about $250 and exempt from discounts. Costco nearby apparently does not stock anything for me. This might be the only thing in that whole dealership that is "cheap" compared to elsewhere. Like CookieGuru's mine appears to be pretty identical to the OEM, with the exception of the extra stickers. Mine has another, rather poorly fitted, "TrueStart" sticker over that big yellow one too. You can see the big yellow one is still underneath. Manufactured 6/23. Made in Japan.
