Replacing the battery in an 05, Toyota or home maintenance

Replacement is fairly easy. There are several posts showing how to do this, complete with photos.

If you want to keep your settings, consider floating the 12V system with another battery at the jump points under the hood.

Tom

 

$141 to install a battery! Another prime example of why my car will NEVER see the dealer for service unless it's paid for by warrantee.

Assuming takes 1/2 hour, (I bet it would take less than 10 minutes) that is a shop rate of ~$280/hour, steep by anyones standards! On top of that they are making at least 50-100% markup on the battery!

There is a reason those dealers are so *@#@*ng fancy!

I bet you could find an independent shop to supply and install a Prius battery for under $150 total!

Icarus

 

qb3342,
will a battery tender do the job or do you need a 12 volt battery.
thanks,

 

What I was asking was if I put a new battery in will the battery tender hooked up to the jump start plugs in the motor area work to keep all my settings when I disconnect the old battery.
thanks,

 

Usually a battery charger will expect to see the battery produce a certain amount of voltage. If it senses that the battery is producing less than this amount (say if the battery is quite discharged, when you disconnect the battery, or if the battery polarity is reversed) then the charger will shut down for safety reasons. So you'll need to use a voltmeter with your battery tender to see what happens when you disconnect it from the battery.

In general I would say that even if a battery charger will continue to produce voltage, this would not be a suitable backup source of 12VDC because the voltage produced by a charger typically is not filtered or regulated very well. Hence it may cause havoc with sensitive Prius circuits.

I have a couple of lab power supplies that I could use for that purpose. If you don't have access to that type of device and feel the need to establish a backup power source then I would suggest buying a couple of 6V lantern batteries and wiring them in series, observing correct polarity when connecting them to the Prius.

 

Thanks Patrick,
I got my optima battery today and they left the rebate form out and the battery was leaking in the box. I e-mailed them but haven't heard back.
Thanks,

 

I just replaced my battery in my 05. I purchased it from e-learnaid in LA and it included the additional kit. It is the fairly new optima battery and was very easy to install (includes instructions). If you order before the end of july he will send you a $25 rebate, the cost of the battery was $160.
Bernie - 818-364-9810
good luck!

 

Bernie, told me to keep the damaged battery and he was going to send me a new one plus the rebate form.

 

When I replaced mine, I just picked one up at the dealership for something close to $140. Took me 10 minutes to drive there pick it up, 30 minutes to replace, and 10 minutes to bring the old battery back to the dealer for recycling. Oh, and 5 minutes to reset the radio stations.

For me it just wasn't worth the effort to search around for the best price online, pay shipping, search for a place to return an old battery, deal with making modifications or installing a kit, etc.

Thanks,
Shawn

 

Hi Shawn,

Which dealer did you buy the battery from: Precision or Desert? I've just moved to the area, so I am interested in hearing your opinion about which dealer is better.

 

When I've needed to (a few small parts, the battery, warranty work, and the inverter pump replacement), I've gone to Precision Toyota (it's also where I bought my Prius). Overall, I'm neither happy nor disappointed with their work -- it's pretty much like most dealers.

For regular maintenance parts (oil filters, air filters, wiper blades), I order online.

I have not dealt with Desert Toyota, so I can't say much about them.

Thanks,
Shawn