12V battery group size

Jesus complex or not, today's "back from school" mileage caused me to do a double take!

 

To be honest - I wouldn't worry about sourcing another battery till it dies - which could well be another 5 years. As you said, it's got a long warranty - I'd be heading down that path and have it replaced with an identical battery to the original.

As I said - my FOCUS sat in the caryard for much longer than yours did, and the battery lasted for a long, long time.

You ask "Why aren't other batteries available" in USA (I assume in Australia etc too)? I'd suspect because non-genuine manufacturers wouldn't see it as commercially viable with PRIUS 4 being so new, and only sporadic failures at this stage, most of which could well be warranty - so they'd have stock sitting around just "waiting" for months or even years. Which nobody will want to buy. Like other non-genuine parts for any car, you can't buy them till well after the car has been released - I've seen them not being available for 3 or 4 years.

Also remember the PRIUS 4 comes with a NON-AGM battery.

 

My 2016’s just died, too - similar to yours where it was dead from kids playing music in the car without the motor running one day and started a series of lesser and lesser ability to cope with, say, groceries being unloaded from the car or doors open a short time.

So before I go further with today’s 5-hour saga about getting it replaced, let me just praise this thread as the ONLY sane bit of crucial information anyone told me today out of a battery shop, a Japanese car repair place, and my local Toyota service center.

NOT A SOUL BELIEVED ME THAT THE 12v BATTERY WAS IN THE FRONT ENGINE COMPARTMENT.

I had to drive to them all, pop the hood, and say “Look! A battery!”

Making matters worse is Toyota had none in stock and the part was on back order with NO idea when they’d get one.

They were on the verge of renting me a vehicle for free while I waited for one to come in, but while waiting in the lobby (with coffee and yummy just-baked cookies) for them to run the in-depth battery test, I came across THIS thread that FINALLY made sense.

I told Toyota I’d get back to them about the $300 estimate for their parts and labor, drove 2 miles down the road to the Advanced Auto Parts store, purchased a gold H4 as mentioned in THIS thread for about $160, which they then fitted for free, and from entering the door to driving away, took 12 minutes.

So thank you thank you thank you!!

(Pic is factory-installed battery label)

 

Great to hear that you found a readily available solution! Situations like this prove the value of these forums!

Fairly irritating, isn't it, when someone believes they "know it all," -- and don't. . . Of course, I would never exhibit such arrogance. I used to be conceited -- but now I'm perfect!

 

How about a real simple question?

What does the owner’s manual mean when it warns not to disconnect the negative (-) terminal ON THE BODY SIDE ???

 

Each cable (+) and (-) has two ends. One end connects at the battery and the other connects on the car. Typically the (+) cable connects at a main fuse box/distribution panel, and the (-) cable attaches somewhere on the car body/frame.

It means to disconnect the negative cable at the terminal of the battery, NOT to disconnect the 'body' end of the cable instead. The concern is the cable is long enough that if you disconnect the "car body" end, it could reach the positive terminal of the battery and cause a SIGNIFICANT current discharge, resulting in sparks, molten copper flying, etc, especially if the cable end welds itself to the terminal, which I have seen happen. It takes a lot of current to make a 2 gauge cable act like a fuse. The insulation pretty much instantly burns off and then the copper cable vaporizes, with small liquid copper balls flying everywhere.

 

Stil confused.

Chargers have the cables hard wired to them, right?

If they were talking about regular 2-ended jumper cables, I am even more confused about “body side”.

 

I think it's a real long shot, that the negative cable would snake around and contact the positive terminal. Still, I'd agree, play it real safe and disconnect at the post. I also like to stuff the loose cable end into a heavy leather work glove, insulate and prevent it moving around.

Electricity never sleeps: one time I was tightening a negative cable to a post with a ratchet wrench, the wrench handle touched a wire that was running back to the positive cable: loud bang and puff of smoke, that wire half gone, yikes.

Wearing a face mask is a good idea. Also don't wear rings or watches.

 

the manual is not talking about a charger, it is talking about the cable that goes from the 12 volt negative to the body (ground)

 

OK, I think I have got it.

I did not appreciate that one might remove a car battery in any way other than by sliding the collar with wires off the respective battery terminal.

 

If it is written in the manual I bet someone shorted out the battery with the ground lead.
Everything has to do with liability.
I always thought that some day they would pass laws to keep people from working on their own cars kind of like an airplane.

 

wow dealer is trying to warn me that the car might go to limp mode if i pull the battery and replace it myself..

 

On fourth-generation Prius and Prius Prime cars, a handful of re-initialization tasks might need to be done when the auxiliary (12-volt) battery is replaced, and of course, the job has to be done with care—but it’s nothing that requires a dealer or any specialized tools or equipment.

 

I changed a Gen 4 battery at work Monday and the owner reported no issues.

 

What does the Owner's Manual say?

 

Mine has not yet learned to talk.

 

Question :

Would there be any issues using a 12V battery with much higher specs, say one with a Reserve Capacity of 131 and 66 ah? It will still charge like normal when in use, correct?

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Cost, fit, availability?

 

Thinking about getting the XS Power D5100R. I took measurements of the stock battery and it should fit right in. It's an agm which I like and not crazy expensive. Roughly around 260 or so shipped. Had one on my previous car and it had great CCA and while not needed on the Prius, the rest of the specs are great.

My friends 2016 is having battery issues and is about to get a new battery. Figured I'd give him mine and just get a beefier one if I can run it without any issues. Was reading through this thread and saw someone mention that because of the larger capacity, it might have issues recharging the 12V properly. I daily my car and never go more than two days sitting..

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

It's an AGM - your PRIUS has a flooded cell battery. Don't forget it's not like a normal car battery where the bigger the better (maybe) - but it's fairly well balanced. Throw a big battery, (and an AGM at that) into the mix, and it could cause unexpected problems.

Have you watched Professor John Kelly's analysis of how the 12volt works? I'd be sticking with what TOYOTA supplied - particularly if it's still under warranty. Not sure how much an inverter costs.

TOYOTA spent billions - well millions developing the car - they have chosen a flooded battery after much more extensive testing that you or I could do.