Optima Yellow Top (DS46B24R) vs OEM Battery (36AmpHour)

Hoping someone from Pep Boys gets back to me about helping to order the Optima (if still avail) before the sale ends - love to get the small Optima charger too if before the end of the month

 

Oopps.sorry you have to push it twice with no brake.

here:

Weird stuff happening? MPGs dropping? Test The Battery | PriusChat

 

I left a msg and contact info thru their 1-800 number as the local store was unable to place the order for me. Hopefully someone gets back to me - will try another call Tuesday and hopefully won't be on hold forever again.

 

Hope you guys like your new "Yellow Top". IMO, the OEM Toyota Battery that is being sold today is much better than the Yellow Top. Look closely at both batteries.

Yellow Top has a lower amp/hour rating than the OEM battery. If you think I am wrong, go to the websites and see for yourself. You will find this. Yellow Top 38 Amp/Hr Rating - OEM Battery 45 Amp/Hr Rating.

And don't throw in that garbage about the Yellow Top being better because it is a deep cycle battery. I won't buy that for a Milwaukee second. If you want a true "deep cycle" battery, go buy a "marine" battery.

Everyone talks about the Yellow Top being so cheap. Sure it is cheap, but how many have been sold recently that posters here on Prius Chat have been complaining about and returning only to replace it with a OEM battery afterwards? I can say this very honestly, more than you count on your fingers and toes.

If you really want a good battery for your Prius, order the OEM one online through a dealer in your area and then drive over there and pick it up. Last time I bought my brand new True Start OEM Battery with a 84 month warranty, I paid less than $135 total. I bought it from TOYOTA Parts at AutoNation Toyota Gulf Freeway Parts | Genuine OEM Toyota Auto Parts and Accessories - Houston, TX

That's all I am going to say. Flame me if you choose, but I do speak the truth on the issue of "Yellow Top vs OEM Toyota battery".

Ron

 

There was a time in the distant past that the Optima brand actually stood for a quality battery. Now that manufacturer is using price to retain market share - as product quality appears to have declined noticeably given recent PC posts here.

OTOH, the price of the GS Yuasa battery has a wider range than I would prefer. Ron pays $135 in Houston while on both coasts, other members are paying $200 or more.

 

I believe you can still buy the Toyota battery at Autonation Toyota for $135. Here's their ad

Genuine Toyota Batteries - Toyota Coupons | AutoNation Toyota Gulf Freeway Parts - Houston, TX

Not sure they are going to ship it though, but the price is still valid until 4/30/14.

 

Finally got an email back from my local Pep Boys-they can special order the Optima at $209 so doesn't look like I'll be going that route any time soon.

 

$129.99 at pep boys plus $12 core charge = $141.99

Amazon - $147 and no core charge.

Why go through the hassle for $5?

 

free hundred dollar charger?

 

You just made OptimaJim's hit list! (LOL)

 

Well, if Optima Jim can give us some answers to the charges of allegedly reduced quality, that would be a good thing.

 

I'd be more likely to buy the Toyota OER battery, even if it may be about $50 more.

For batteries, I've learned that SERVICE is most important, when it comes to batteries.

In the 1980's, I bought from K-Mart, because there was so many of them all over the country.

At that time, I lived in Houston, Texas. On a trip to Artesia, New Mexico, when I went to the Evergreen Air Center for a temporary assignment, my car battery died on me conveniently in the K-Mart parking lot. 30 minutes later, a NEW one was in the car, and I'm gone.

For any other car, I'd buy from WalMart.

Since WalMart does NOT carry Prius batteries in stock, I'd buy from Toyota. That's because there are Toyota dealers all over the country. If an "Optima" battery dies, you'd have to find an Optima dealer that is willing to do warranty service on your battery.

Price is NOT always a mitigating factor.

 

I just got stuck doing an emergency replacement my 3 month old Optima Yellow Top at a Toyota dealership. This is my second Optima in three years to overheat and leak. In this case, I was on the highway and started smelling sulfur. It was pretty easy to isolate it to the battery compartment and when pulled up the cover the battery was very hot, bulging, and wet under the positive terminal. Fortunately, the car started and I was able to locate a local dealer in Gainesville, Florida that was still open. The battery was completely dead when we tried to restart it to drive to the service bay once we checked in with the service manager. The alternator was not overcharging, by the way.

God only knows how the Optima three year warranty is going to play out. (I bought it through Amazon.) I was stranded out of town and didn't have a choice but to close my eyes and hand over my credit card for $354. Oh, yeah, the cables don't fit the stock batteries and had to be replaced for another $28 each.

Needless to say, I hope the reports of better quality stock batteries holds true. I'm starting to think these Optima batteries need to be recalled.

 

altenator? what kine of car?

 

I know! That's what the service manager said. We know what he meant. (2004 Prius.) There was no overcharging.

 

The best warranty has always been the one that you don't NEED to use.

Reliable and "done right" the first time is the best warranty.

 

If the cables didn't fit you are in the wrong thread. This thread is for the yellowtop battery that fits the stock cables.

The one that used the other size cables was usually sold by e-learn aid or some such or you paid someone else to modify your car so you could use a non standard battery. Either way you shouldn't be surprised that the dealer wanted to charge you to undue the modifications to the battery cables.