Alternator life span (1 Viewer)

[mbennett22]

Just wanting to vent and see what others are getting. We were on vacation on our way back to Texas from Colorado and ended up having to stop in Pueblo Toyota to get my alternator replaced 2/27/23. Super expensive but they got me going and on our way home. I have had my vehicle die twice now and thought this is strange, I had bought a new battery in January of 2023. So I boosted the battery and drove over to Orileys for them to test the battery. According to them the voltage regulator is bad. Pueblo Toyota was closed so I called a Toyota dealership in CA and they said that they have a 1 year 12k mile warranty. How many bananas is replacing an alternator? The guy at Oriley's said damn that thing is buried in there.

 

[ryanCA]

2008

290 k miles

1 alternator replaced in 2017 at 184 k miles

 

[KLF]

It is not fun to get to, but not as bad as the starter. Radiator has to come out, and you have to remove the PS pump out of the way.

 

[bloc]

Some people leave the radiator but drop the front sway bar.

I’d remove the radiator.

So a dealer installed alternator failed that quick? Was it genuine Toyota or aftermarket?

 

[MSLX]

Replaced mine on a 2011 LX at ~90K miles

 

[mbennett22]

Some people leave the radiator but drop the front sway bar.

I’d remove the radiator.

So a dealer installed alternator failed that quick? Was it genuine Toyota or aftermarket?

Yea crazy right, I checked my mileage and got 26,511 miles so far. I am going to call the Toyota dealership where I got the work done at this morning and see what they say. I also am going to run over to Autozone today and have them scan the battery as well for a second report. I did leave my battery connected to a Noco genius 5 overnight and the battery is resting at 12.84 after I took it off, not sure if that will skew the scan results though.

 

[m3fan]

Why does the radiator have to come out? I would have done this when I did the radiator had I known.

 

[koretex]

Mine died at 180k, It was caked with mud. I had it rebuilt as there was none available to purchase anywhere in America at the time. My mechanic complained at what a pain it was to get in and out.

 

[Sandroad]

Some people leave the radiator but drop the front sway bar.

I’d remove the radiator.

So a dealer installed alternator failed that quick? Was it genuine Toyota or aftermarket?

I’ll guess aftermarket. The OP had it replaced on short notice on a trip and the dealer probably grabbed anything available. That would explain the quick failure.

 

[bloc]

Why does the radiator have to come out? I would have done this when I did the radiator had I known.

It doesn’t have to, it’s just easier. There is very little room between it and the belt drive system.

And it’s “easier” because it’s really not that difficult or time consuming to pull the radiator.

 

[bloc]

I’ll guess aftermarket. The OP had it replaced on short notice on a trip and the dealer probably grabbed anything available. That would explain the quick failure.

My guess too.

 

[mbennett22]

So I went to Autozone and had them test it. They tested it with two different units and it passed. I went back to Oriley’s and had them test it again and it failed. Went to a mechanic’s shop and he put a different type of tester on it, made by Mac and he asked me to watch the readout as he started the vehicle multiple times. The first time he started it it went down to 10.5, second time was 9.8 and the 6-7 remaining times it stayed above 11.5 and into 12.6. He said he believes the battery has a bad cell. Not really sure how to go about getting it warranties when the test the battery on the vehicle and it test good. Maybe I just need to take the battery out and take it in for testing.

 

[marques]

I had about 220k miles on my '08 with original alternator and still going strong when I replaced it with a '13 with 125k fewer miles.

 

[jjtrou2072]

My alternator went bad at 180K miles, PITA to replace.

I'm approaching 190K miles now and still haven't done the starter.
If it's worse than the alternator I'll probably have the dealer do it.

 

[marques]

I just had to replace the alternator on my ‘13 LX at only 114k miles . No warnings. The battery warning light just lit one day driving back home from work and the voltage was ~12v, so obviously not charging. I put a new alternator in (PITA 4 hr job) and everything is fine again. I guess their life expectancy is all completely random. The brushes looked fine on the old alternator, so not sure what was wrong with it.

FYI, I had to get the sway bar and power steering pump out of the way, and undo some of the brackets that keep the power steering lines in place, but didn’t have to remove the radiator or hoses.

 

[FrazzledHunter]

For those replacing alternators at seemingly low mileage...
Are you by any chance running extra loads like battery chargers, inverters etc???
If so, the alternator may not be up to the task especially at idle and may be burning up.

Not sure if shops analyze why an alternator fails. I'm guessing most places just pop and swap if the alternator doesn't check out.

 

[marques]

Nope, no extra batteries, inverters, refrigerators, or anything like that in my case. 100% stock.

 

[TheGrrrrr]

I'm replacing my alternator and starter this week as PM. The alternator I'm upgrading to the 270 XP that SDHQ sells. It should handle the lithium house batteries in the back being charged by the DC-DC 50Amp charger a bit better than the stock one. I'll carry the old one as a spare. Same with the starter. Also considering having a lead run from the starter up towards the battery to make jumping in the event of a starter solenoid failure that much easier than the jumpercable/long screwdriver approach.

All that to say I'm replacing my alternator at 130k miles as PM and upgrading.

 

[gasman4u]

I'm replacing my alternator and starter this week as PM. The alternator I'm upgrading to the 270 XP that SDHQ sells. It should handle the lithium house batteries in the back being charged by the DC-DC 50Amp charger a bit better than the stock one. I'll carry the old one as a spare. Same with the starter. Also considering having a lead run from the starter up towards the battery to make jumping in the event of a starter solenoid failure that much easier than the jumpercable/long screwdriver approach.

All that to say I'm replacing my alternator at 130k miles as PM and upgrading.

What year is your 200? I’m asking as I am trying to calculate starting cycles, etc on your starter and whatnot.

 

[TheGrrrrr]

What year is your 200? I’m asking as I am trying to calculate starting cycles, etc on your starter and whatnot.

2013 and a higher electrical load over the last 40k miles. Probably a few water crossings too.