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12 volt battery for 2009 Toyota Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by lilandyprods, Jun 12, 2013.

  1. lilandyprods

    lilandyprods New Member

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    Hello:
    I am fairly new to the Prius world having bought this car used from Carmax in September 2012. Just took the car into the Toyota dealership yesterday for its 65,000 mile check and was advised by the dealer that the 12 v battery failed load test and that I should get a new battery (no problems experienced thus far but was told car may not start if battery is not replaced) at the coast of $407 ($288 for the battery and 119 for installation). I said no and immediately came home and started researching batteries. Attempted to view diagnostics on the multi-function display, which took awhile to figure out, and saw that the charge was at about 9v. My question in replacing this battery: Toyota uses a True Start battery and it is so expensive. Am I able to utilize a more generic battery and, if so, what would be recommended. I am going to have a mechanic replace it for me because I am not proficient in any mechanics of this car. I found a place called Hybrid Battery Repair in San Fernando Valley that ues a generic battery and charges 195 with installation. Any thoughts?
     
  2. SteveLee

    SteveLee Active Member

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  3. enviroprius

    enviroprius Junior Member

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    Optima yellow top on amazon and install yourself? Just did mine tonight. Total was $200 including a $30 charger to ensure the battery was fully charged.
     
  4. paphillyman

    paphillyman Member

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    I just replaced mine , just followed a video on You Tube , took about 45 minutes .
    Got the Exide Edge FP_AGM51JIS Battery for 165.99 with free shipping from sepbatteries.com , exact fit for 2004 to 2009 Prius , only thing I had to do was switch sides for the vent hose . Tools ya need : 10 and 12 mm wrench , rachet makes it easier , slot screwdriver. The hardest part was putting the screw back in for the duct vent that goes to the HV battery , but with a tip from here , ya put some tissue in the socket and it acts as a shim so the screw doesnt fall out as your trying to line it up to the hole.
    The video on You Tube shows ya everything
     
  5. srivenkat

    srivenkat Active Member

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    I thought the Exide was supposed to be a drop-in. Can you please explain what you meant by "I had to do was switch sides for the vent hose"? Can you also point me to the YouTube video? Thanks.
     
  6. jadziasman

    jadziasman Prius owner emeritus

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    The Exide has vent holes on each end. It comes with a plug for one side and a 90° hollow elbow to attach to the vent hose. You will need to remove the OEM elbow as it won't fit on the replacement battery and install the one that comes with the new battery. You can move the plug to the right side if the battery is delivered to you with the plug on the left side.
     
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  7. Drchuck

    Drchuck Pastor, FaithWalk Fellowship

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    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    I went the Optima on our '09 Touring. I got it from the local "Batteries Plus" store - took him overnight to get it, and I installed it myself in about an hour. Since I already had a battery tender, I installed the leads to hook it up as necessary. (I am aware of the charging points under the hood) On occasion I now go into the service program on the display screen to check the voltage. It has maintained a 13+ voltage level ever since installed, about 6 months ago. The Optima came with everything necessary to duplicate the OEM hook-up. My wife drives the Pri and she does not listen to the radio, so I didn't try to save settings by hooking a charger to the charge points under the hood.
     
  8. Sheepdog

    Sheepdog C'Mere Sheepie!

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    I just replaced mine an hour ago with help from a very cute girl! (housekeeper) She is a bit country and dove right in. It took maybe an hour but we did stop several times because of the heat and humidity today. (Florida) I got the yellow top Optima from Elearnaid com and they are extremely nice folks. I asked him if a not very mechanical guy should even attempt this and he said "Absolutely!" He was right. It is a piece of cake. 170 total for me. and lunch for the housekeeper!
     
  9. srivenkat

    srivenkat Active Member

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    just curious to hear how your exide has performed this winter. are you seeing a 13v+ if you have measured over the winter?
     
  10. paphillyman

    paphillyman Member

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    Well haven't measured it over the winter , but Im in the philly suburbs and this winter has been the coldest in a long time and the car hasn't given me a bit of trouble , was down to 10 degrees last night ( March 3rd, 2014 )
    Still learning tricks to do with the car , just disabled the beep for the seat belts
    Installed LED lights in the interior
     
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  11. srivenkat

    srivenkat Active Member

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    What I have learned from others' experience here is that the car won't complain down to about 10.5 or 10.8V. Hence, I was curious to learn what volts you are seeing now in these cold times. TIA.
     
  12. paphillyman

    paphillyman Member

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    Ok I went out and checked the battery theses are the findings:
    1. pressing the power button once (without pressing brake ) ...12.5 volts
    2. pressing the power button again (without pressing brake ).... 12.2 volts
    3. pressing the power button and foot on brake to enter "ready".. 14.2 volts

    I have a
    [​IMG]
    Exide Edge FP-AGM51JIS Battery
    Details

    Voltage 12
    Capacity 45 Ah
    Chemistry AGM
    Size 51
    CA 530
    CCA 440
    RC 75
    Termination JIS automotive
    Length 9 5/16 in.
    Width 4 15/16 in.
    Height 8 1/2 in.
    Weight 33 lbs.
    Warranty 4 Year Free Replacement
    Manufacturer Exide Technologies
    Additional Information Sales Sheet
     
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  13. srivenkat

    srivenkat Active Member

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    I presume these are the readings from the MFD? The reason I ask is that the readings shown on the Gen3 Navigation screen are about 0.2V less than would be shown at the battery terminals. Which means your 12.5 reading in accessory mode could actually be about 12.9V (without any load) at the terminals, which is great for the unusually cold temps we are seeing this winter.
     
  14. srivenkat

    srivenkat Active Member

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    Does the 90 degree hollow elbow come as a separate piece that you need to make a specific request for or does it come embedded somewhere in the body of the battery? TIA.
     
  15. jadziasman

    jadziasman Prius owner emeritus

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    It was taped to the side of the battery for the one I purchased at Pep Boys.
     
  16. priuspoet

    priuspoet New Member

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    About to change my 12 volt on 2009 Prius. Seat belt buzzer drives friend crazy. Wondered how you did that.
     
  17. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you need a code reader.