When to Replace 12V Battery

How does one know when the regular (non-traction) battery needs to be replaced. 2014 prius. What are the warning signs? When I press the start button all lights come as normal EXCEPT the green ready light. All other lights keep blinking showing they are working. After a few attempts then the Ready light comes up and car is operational. Does this simulate the grinding of a non-start button car indicating a worn out battery? What brand battery is recommended for replacement? Is walmart's everstart could enough? thx for any info.

 

You want to replace it now....at 10-years you've gotten about 3-4 years of extra life! Many reports of scary electrical issues show up when it's close to dying.
I just replaced my wife's 12-volt in her 2017....it was testing at 70% with my tester. (You can get the same check free at any car parts store.)
$208 at my dealer for a Toyota TrueStart with cca 470 with an 84-month warranty.

 

Is it the original 12v battery? If not, how old is it and what brand?
Toyota makes the best battery for their car. And no "making it fit/work".
I do recommend charging it for about 8 hours at 5 amps or less. They don't charge
them at the dealerships or parts stores.

 

same battery in car since purchase (18 months ago) happy to replace it. this car has been the best ever owned. totally trouble free, great gas mileage. this with 250k miles 31k of which i put on it. will go to dealership to tommorrow and replace it with new toyota one. appreciate your and coloradoboo's help.

 

Where's the best place to get a new battery in Canada?

My dealership quoted $375 and won't tell me any info about what it is (say it's their "policy"). I found this one on Canadian Tire for $300 but not sure if they charge them first.

General PDP Template | Canadian Tire

I saw someone earlier in this thread mention this one, which is cheaper, has more CCA, but didn't come up as an option when I filtered for 2010 Toyota Prius:

General PDP Template | Canadian Tire

Neither NAPA or PartSource show anything for a Prius when I punch that in.

(I got 7 years out of my first one and I'm at 7 years again, and am starting to get electrical gremlins and realize I should have replaced this a few years ago.)

 

My dealership got so confused on just WHAT my 2017 needed that they just had me take a picture of the top of my battery so they could read the info from it! (I don't know why Toyota has to make this so complicated!)

 

It's not "Toyota", it's the "human". Sadly, they aren't beeing bread very well, nor are they
being taught how to use their brain.....

I wouldn't be surprised even with a photo of the battery, they mess it up!

 

You're right....I once asked for a simple clip that was missing from the trim in my Tundra and the part they brought out wasn't isn't close!! (I ended up finding something that fit from my big box so assorted clips.)

 

I'm fortunate to have two dealerships that have a good parts department.
One in Sarasota and one in Vero.

 

I'd have no qualms about going with that one. SaskBattery had Yuasa batteries, last time I checked, too. Might be a bit lower. Outside of Saskatchewan they were only charging GST, and shipping free.

Higher CCA (Cold Cranking Amperage) is not necessarily advantageous, and it usually comes at the expense of Amp Hours, which is important as well.

I doubt any retailer would do a charge on a battery they're going to sell you. A semi-fresh battery should be in decent shape, and just installing and driving should top it up. It is a good idea to do a full charge session though, with a decent smart charger, around 4 amp rating.

I put the last battery in our '10 in September of 2015, still testing like new. It's a Optima Yellow Top (FWIW, has high CCA rating, but compromised AH). Our usage has dropped off, to where we're only useing the car once/twice a week, but good drives. In between use it's more-or-less constantly on a smart charger, with quick-connect cable connection, for convenience and secure connection.

Next time around I'll probably go with Canadian Tire.

 

Thanks for the input!

I called around and am going to go with this one:

MPA-S46B24R Pro-Series XD Battery — Partsource

(Both Toyota and PartSource said the battery would be furnished charged, for what its worth)

 

Looks good, similar specs to Yuasa.

See there's a PartsSource just up the road from us in Pit Meadows, food for thought.

Options abound:

PartSource:

Canadian Tire:

 

Don't trust them! Put a 5 amp or less agm charger on the battery for
at least 6 hours, 8-12 is better. Unless the charger tells you it's charged...

Why risk it. It's best to start with a fully charged 12v battery..

 

Picked up and installed this battery yesterday:

MPA-S46B24R Pro-Series XD Battery — Partsource - $304 CDN

Easy job. Tip: On the Negative battery terminal there's a short wire that connects it to the frame. It was easier to remove it from the frame, swap the stub cable to the new battery, then re-attach it to the frame.



Out of curiosity, what's the little sensor on top of the battery hold-down bracket for?

 

Good to know, another "reasonably" price option, at least in today's inflationary times.

Did that hold-down bracket seat properly? When I put in an Optima Yellow Top, there was a mm or two height variation, and I needed to tuck shim washers in. The Toyota hold-down bracket is an absurd design.

No clue about the sensor.

 

Last time I checked dealership it was over $400 CDN.