For the past two or three months, the interior lights in my 2007 Prius are noticeably dimmer. Last month, it had to be jump-started. I took it to the dealer. The service advisor at the dealer said the battery was fine. I live in Central Texas - hot summers, mild winters. I have almost 21,000 miles on the car. My normal commute is five days a week, 30 minutes each way on a freeway. 1. Is my battery dying? 2. If so, can I get the dealer to replace the battery under warranty? 3. If not, which battery would you recommend? Thanks
I can only comment on your #3. I just replaced the battery in my Prius. The only battery choices I could find are the factory replacement and the Optima yellow top sold at elearnaid.com. Personally, I would recommend the Optima. They are a great battery as others here will attest to. Hope this helps...
E Learn aid PO BOX 921585, Los Angeles, CA 91392-1585 USA. Just got an optima d-51 from them with the cable kit. The cable replacement are of higher quality than the toyota parts. great company to deal with. Jim ps remove the plastic battery handle takes 3 seconds and makes the install perfect. also if you have a spare battery jump it to the front and all your radio presets stay. 1 more thing on the battery positive terminal unplug all the cables before you remove the terminal makes everything safe and easy.
You could check the condition of your battery with a volt meeter. It should reed 12.2 min after sitting all night. My prius would start with 10 v, but the triangle showed on my dash for a few seconds until the ready light came on. 7.5 volts I needed a jump! hope this helps.
Regarding #1, if you are driving one hour a day and notice dim cabin lights, need a jumpstart, etc. then clearly the battery is near end of life - assuming no driver error by leaving a door open, etc. Regarding #2, what was done by your dealer to assess whether the battery is good or bad, when you took your car in? The battery should be covered by the 3 year/36K mile warranty.
1. Probably 2. Possibly 3 There is a wide choice. Search Priuschat. In regards to 2 you may complain, and get them to replace the battery. Failing that, go to a place that specializes in batteries, Have them check it. If they say it's deficient, get a statement in writing and bring it to Toyota. You could also purchase a multimeter and read the voltage across the terminals. It should be a minimum of 12VDC, if it only reads 12V it is probably bad. Generally it will read ~12.6 Volts. Look at your signal check on the MFD, this will give you the charging rate from the HV Bat. Generallly 14.1 VDC. as for charging rate, again use search. I also have it somewhere in my profile. Shut your dome lights off and make sure all doors and trunk is closed. Shut off trunk light too.
Whenever you go to a dealer you must know more than the person you are talking to, so research a bit and then you can make a gentle correction to his statements. Otherwise the Service writer will attempt to snow you, or even write up te problem wrong. Proving the problem is also very important. I had the same problem, I took the car to the dealer, had it written up and in the meantime left everything on I could think of. NOT IN READY, but in standby or acces mode, When the mechanic attempted to put it in ready he couldn't.....I ended up getting a new battery FREE from the dealer ( another option ) I would not be so bold or impolite as to suggest the entire problem is your fault because you left various lights on or did not close doors. ( I don't think I did) There is a serious problem with that battery or the predelivery maintenance is faulty. Remember the dealer is incapable of properly checking the Battery, it requires a load bank, the dealer does not want to take time, he would rather sell batteries, service and maintenance
There are two Odyssey batteries that have been fitted and I'm testing a PC925: Not to worry, the Odyssey is supposed to work in any orientation except 'face down.' The 1kW inverter is disconnected. I used wooden block shims to keep it in place. Bob Wilson
It is my understanding that the Odyssey is the battery used in the stealth fighter. Supposed to be a great battery, but seems like a little more modification to install it than most people would want to commit to. I don't see a provision for a vent tube. I'm not sure I would want a battery, 'coventional' or AGM, sealed in an interior compartment without one...
The Odyssey battery has no vent tube and claims not to need one. It is a test that according to their data should take about 8-10 years to complete (Odyssey claimed battery life.) <grins> I needed the battery in pretty quickly because I knew my car would be parked at the airport and completely 'cold soaked.' I'd had problems with sub-freezing weather starts that I fixed by using a battery charger. The car started right up when I returned. Still to do, I'll fabricate a fixture to handle both the top, battery clamp shim and anchors for the clamps. This is needed to prevent vibrations from 'work hardening' the copper cables. Bob Wilson
Well Bob, fair enough! Sounds like you've got all your bases covered. I've been reading your wisdom and insight on this forum for a couple of years now and know enough not to dispute the master. Idea...perhaps you could market your setup in kit form to give the rest of us another battery option to the currrently limited choices.
I left my car overnight at the dealer. The service rep told me they tested the battery this morning. It tested 0 cold cranking amps. The dealer replaced the battery at no cost (under warranty).
Now the trick is to find out what killed it. Do you ever operate accessories with the car not running ("Ready")? Do you always lock the car when you leave it, no matter where it's parked? Do you have any dealer-installed or other aftermarket electronics? Do you commonly leave the car for more than two weeks without operating it? Are all of your trips shorter than 10 minutes?
