Battery….. (1 Viewer)

[sfo1]

I had an interstate battery in my 08 and it lasted two years and I returned it for warranty. They replaced it with the same thing and it lasted a whopping two years again. I live in a mild climate too.

what are the preferred battery brands? Also, looking to see what manufacturer makes the OEM Toyota battery and I read its Panasonic? Can anyone confirm?

 

[TeCKis300]

I had an interstate battery in my 08 and it lasted two years and I returned it for warranty. They replaced it with the same thing and it lasted a whopping two years again. I live in a mild climate too.

what are the preferred battery brands? Also, looking to see what manufacturer makes the OEM Toyota battery and I read its Panasonic? Can anyone confirm?

What's your use case with your vehicle? Does it sit often undriven for days on end?

I ask as lead acid batteries happy place is to be fully charged and topped off. Daily use facilitates that. Sitting tends to draw down the battery which creates sulfation and premature wear/failure.

 

[TheComedian]

honestly… if you’re not buying the cheapest batteries you can find you should be with nearly everything fine.
The two I had in my 200 till last year have been installed in 2016 and cost like 105 each for 95Ah.
You should just remember that you need one with the pole on the left and one on the right side since Toyota made the cables pretty short on the right side of the vehicle. I first bought two identical batteries….

 

[sfo1]

What's your use case with your vehicle? Does it sit often undriven for days on end?

I ask as lead acid batteries happy place is to be fully charged and topped off. Daily use facilitates that. Sitting tends to draw down the battery which creates sulfation and premature wear/failure.

it’s a daily driver. It never sits for more than a couple days max unless I am out of town.

I am currently out of town and having some work done and the shop guy called and said I need a new battery. He also said that Interstate has gone to crap. He said he could see acid on the top on the battery.

yrmv

 

[TeCKis300]

it’s a daily driver. It never sits for more than a couple days max unless I am out of town.

I am currently out of town and having some work done and the shop guy called and said I need a new battery. He also said that Interstate has gone to crap. He said he could see acid on the top on the battery.

yrmv

How long is your commute? Any modifications to the vehicle?

 

[kcjaz]

For a daily, it’s hard to beat a Toyota TrueStart 84 month. I’ve had several on different vehicles include my 200 and the just work for 84 months. Since I don’t daily my LC, I keep it on a battery tender.

 

[sfo1]

How long is your commute? Any modifications to the vehicle?

No mods and <5 miles. I do a lot of short drives (2-3 miles).

 

[TeCKis300]

No mods and <5 miles. I do a lot of short drives (2-3 miles).

That maybe why. The alternator will charge the battery fast, but still needs some time to do so.

 

[Sandroad]

I had an interstate battery in my 08 and it lasted two years and I returned it for warranty. They replaced it with the same thing and it lasted a whopping two years again. I live in a mild climate too.

what are the preferred battery brands? Also, looking to see what manufacturer makes the OEM Toyota battery and I read its Panasonic? Can anyone confirm?

The OEM is Panasonic, but they are not available aftermarket in the U.S. I recommend a Toyota TrueStart, like @kcjaz suggested. Your many short 2-3 mile drives might be a challenge for the charging system, especially if it's not in perfect condition. Alternator ok? Cables and connections in good shape?

 

[stonepa]

I only use Toyota or Lexus branded batteries. The Lexus battery is more expensive but seems to last longer. I have over 5 years on the Lexus battery in my 200.

 

[Fisher23]

I use an odyssey but i drive wash board roads and get a lot of vibration, so that is why a gell. battery. They are 4 times the price of a walmart battery though.

Walmart batteries are cheep and have a 3 year warrantee. They last about 5 years but you need to check the water level every so many months. I run them in a couple of my cars.

The OEM battery was not very good in my situation.

I tried Interstate because they used to be good, but they are not like that any more.

 

[tominboise]

I bought a Toyota branded truestart from the local dealer, a couple of years ago. It works fine. If I needed another one, I'd look there or to Costco.

 

[Hothonda]

Replaced OEM Panasonic (2015 LC) after 8 years with this in May/23. CCA 710. Test frequently & satisfied with it's results. Good warranty from Toyota.

 

[KLF]

I'm on year 6 with an Odyssey group 34, in a Slee tray. Still working well, I try to top it off with a NOCO charger once a week or so. I'm starting to get some alarms out of the NL monitor occasionally, so maybe it's on its way out, we'll see how it does this winter.

I did notice this summer a crack in the case across the top, not sure why. No ill effects, no leaks.

 

[gasman4u]

I use an odyssey but i drive wash board roads and get a lot of vibration, so that is why a gell. battery. They are 4 times the price of a walmart battery though.

Walmart batteries are cheep and have a 3 year warrantee. They last about 5 years but you need to check the water level every so many months. I run them in a couple of my cars.

The OEM battery was not very good in my situation.

I tried Interstate because they used to be good, but they are not like that any more.

I've heard the same about Interstate. Of course, this is after I bought three of them for various needs around my homestead. I will find out sooner or later if I got good ones or not.

Replaced OEM Panasonic (2015 LC) after 8 years with this in May/23. CCA 710. Test frequently & satisfied with it's results. Good warranty from Toyota.
View attachment 3514280

Who makes the Toyota battery? And how long is the free replacement from Toyota?

 

[PDoyle]

I think in your situation you could install a battery tender on the new battery and plug it in to charge it fully a couple times a week.

 

[bloc]

I think in your situation you could install a battery tender on the new battery and plug it in to charge it fully a couple times a week.

This.

 

[08URJ200]

True start 84 month is the way to go. Have one in another Toyota from 2017 still going strong. Replaced the Gold top from Autozone in August with the True Start in the LC. It was $150 out the door. Asked the Toyota parts counter why so cheap and he said there must be an over supply. He was just as surprised as I was.

 

[sfo1]

I’ll look to my dealer for a truestart 84 month battery (00544-27f60-710).

I was reading that they are made by Interstate - I looked at Interstates offerings to see which one compares (to the truestart) and the pricing. The comparable Interstate batteries only have 30, 36 or 48 month warranties.

 

[gasman4u]

I’ll look to my dealer for a truestart 84 month battery (00544-27f60-710).

I was reading that they are made by Interstate - I looked at Interstates offerings to see which one compares (to the truestart) and the pricing. The comparable Interstate batteries only have 30, 36 or 48 month warranties.

View attachment 3514456

The free replacement is 2 yrs with 2 yrs towing from Toyota best I can tell. Costco sells Interstate for less than MSRP in stores that used to have 3 yr free replacement. I think that recently changed to some sort of pro-rated right out of the gate, but cannot confirm independent of the guy working the register. With this in mind, the truestart might be the way to go unless the dealerships have some sort of grief they give (like B+bulbs does) when you go to make a warranty claim with your dead battery. Does Toyota dealership have to install battery for the warranty?

EDIT: Found the Costco battery FAQ: https://www.costco.com/automotive-batteries.html

It's indeed a 36 mo pro-rated warranty. I wonder if it's linear or not? I don't see the table, but this would be the most straight forward to me, but I'm simple.