Replacement Auxiliary Battery

[Bigdog148]

I have an '04 and it is time to replace the auxiliary battery. I suspect many of us will face this soon, if not already. Has anyone found a replacement battery that is NOT the dealer battery? As many of you know, they charge 2-3 times the cost of a "normal" car battery but only warranty the thing for 12-months. Not much for the money. Any help is appreciated.

[John in LB]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bigdog148 @ Mar 23 2007, 09:20 AM) [snapback]410959[/snapback]</div>

I have an '04 and it is time to replace the auxiliary battery. I suspect many of us will face this soon, if not already. Has anyone found a replacement battery that is NOT the dealer battery? As many of you know, they charge 2-3 times the cost of a "normal" car battery but only warranty the thing for 12-months. Not much for the money. Any help is appreciated.
[/b]

I have an '06... and have never replaced the battery... but I know from this site that there is an issue with them.

Anyway, for fun, I just went to www.sears.com and they list 2 batteries for the 2004 Prius for either $78 or $58... Will these work? Just curious...

[Vagabond]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bigdog148 @ Mar 23 2007, 10:20 AM) [snapback]410959[/snapback]</div>

I have an '04 and it is time to replace the auxiliary battery. I suspect many of us will face this soon, if not already. Has anyone found a replacement battery that is NOT the dealer battery? As many of you know, they charge 2-3 times the cost of a "normal" car battery but only warranty the thing for 12-months. Not much for the money. Any help is appreciated.
[/b]

Uh, they are a normal car battery. I have one from my SVT Contour rigged in my truck right now. You can go to Autozone and pick one up for no more than another car's.


Batteries are never warrantied for very long, they're very easy to abuse depending on your mods and the electrical system condition of your car.

[Walker1]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Vagabond @ Mar 23 2007, 01:54 PM) [snapback]411055[/snapback]</div>

Uh, they are a normal car battery. I have one from my SVT Contour rigged in my truck right now. You can go to Autozone and pick one up for no more than another car's.
Batteries are never warrantied for very long, they're very easy to abuse depending on your mods and the electrical system condition of your car.
[/b]

I had heard that the Prius battery was like a marine battery. They are always more $$. I thought I heard something about more "Deep charging" in marine batteries. I don't know for sure.

[jdenenberg]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(John in LB @ Mar 23 2007, 01:43 PM) [snapback]410972[/snapback]</div>

I have an '06... and have never replaced the battery... but I know from this site that there is an issue with them.

Anyway, for fun, I just went to www.sears.com and they list 2 batteries for the 2004 Prius for either $78 or $58... Will these work? Just curious...
[/b]

The answer is no. These are standard wet cell lead acid batteries. They may cause corrosion and dangerous outgassing of hydrogen. Your battery is in the passenger area and must be safe for that location.

The original is a "Glass Mat" gel cell battery that will not spill acid if tipped. It also has a vent tube that makes certain that any generated hydrogen (only in the unlikely case of extremely high currents) does not collect in the passenger area.

There are alternative batteries for about $100 plus another $25 for a kit to make them fit in a Classic Prius (2001-2003). You will have to search to find one for your Prius.

JeffD

[Vagabond]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Walker1 @ Mar 23 2007, 12:01 PM) [snapback]411061[/snapback]</div>

I had heard that the Prius battery was like a marine battery. They are always more $$. I thought I heard something about more "Deep charging" in marine batteries. I don't know for sure.
[/b]

I think you mean a Deep Cycle battery.

[Bigdog148]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jdenenberg @ Mar 23 2007, 02:05 PM) [snapback]411063[/snapback]</div>

The answer is no. These are standard wet cell lead acid batteries. They may cause corrosion and dangerous outgassing of hydrogen. Your battery is in the passenger area and must be safe for that location.

The original is a "Glass Mat" gel cell battery that will not spill acid if tipped. It also has a vent tube that makes certain that any generated hydrogen (only in the unlikely case of extremely high currents) does not collect in the passenger area.

There are alternative batteries for about $100 plus another $25 for a kit to make them fit in a Classic Prius (2001-2003). You will have to search to find one for your Prius.

JeffD
[/b]

Thanks for the detailed explanation. This makes sense, now. I checked on the batteries Sears offers and neither will work because the posts are standard sized, whereas, the Prius battery has smaller posts.

I appreciate the feedback from all.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(John in LB @ Mar 23 2007, 12:43 PM) [snapback]410972[/snapback]</div>

I have an '06... and have never replaced the battery... but I know from this site that there is an issue with them.

Anyway, for fun, I just went to www.sears.com and they list 2 batteries for the 2004 Prius for either $78 or $58... Will these work? Just curious...
[/b]

I checked on the batteries Sears offers and neither will work because the posts are standard sized, whereas, the Prius battery has smaller posts. Thanks for checking.

[mcbrunnhilde]

Here's the text of a post from a Yahoo group about the battery for a Classic Prius...I don't know if the same size will fit the 2004+......

Message: 10 Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 04:02:11 -0000 From: dldorrance Subject: Re: 12V Battery specs wanted for 2001 ***UPDATE*** Pehaps not all is lost in the quest for a less expensive replacement battery for the Classic Prius. Has anyone considered the battery used in the Mazda Miata? It is my understanding that in the Miata the battery is located in the cabin and is vented, like the Prius. The Miata battery, like the Prius battery does not use liquid electrolyte, but rather a glass substrate on which electrolyte is absorbed. This prevents possible leakage and decreased the likelihood of hydrogen emissions. Furthermore, the Miata battery is very close to the size of the Prius battery and the battery posts appear to be in the proper configuration (positive post on the right front). Here are two sites which sell this battery: http://www.batterymart.com/battery.mv?p=MAR-8AMU1R http://www.westcobattery.com/miata.html The sole remaining issue is what modifications are necessary to mate the Prius battery cables to the Miata battery, assuming the posts are different in size. Dave '01 Prius

[tochatihu]

The new model Prius 12 v battery is the same physical size as in the classic, or pretty darn close. Its pos and neg terminals have been reversed though, so a degree of ingenuity will be required to make the Westco/MKbattery/elearnaid battery solution work.

[lymbuj]

i just had to get a jump for my 2005. The Toyota Roadside Assistance woman told me to drive the car for 30 minutes or so after the jump and i should be good to go. But now of course, i'm fearful that the car won't start in future.

My cousin has one of the first Prii, has had to get the battery jumped only once, and had not replaced the auxiliary.

so my question is does one always have to replace the auxiliary? should i just get it replaced now that i've had to get a jump? (even the dealer - Toyota Thousand Oaks - didn't think i would need to replace it)

any helpful suggestions welcome

Jeff