Drove Home 06 With 144k Today/Questions

I think you should expect that the new traction battery uses the same technology as the original.

I have never been disappointed with 12V batteries bought from my local Toyota dealer. The price of this battery varies widely because some dealers are not ashamed to charge well over Toyota MSRP. I suggest you call around and see what your local dealers pricing is. Recently, the made in Japan GS Yuasa battery is being sold with Toyota TrueStart stickers which qualify the battery for an 84 month prorata warranty.

Optima is an alternative but I've seen many recent posts from less-than-thrilled purchasers of that battery. The issues typically are 1) the new battery is received in a semi-discharged state and 2) the battery has been sitting around for months. Of course the two issues are related. You can find this sold on Amazon.com as well as at some local resellers.

Exide recently started selling a suitable battery, John (Britprius) was the first to call this to my attention. I bought one in May 2013 for the 2007. My experience with that battery can be found here:
Another battery for the Prius. | PriusChat

Basically, the battery needed to be charged before installation but once installed, it has been fine, my daughter has not had any problems over the past 10 months. I took home the GS Yuasa battery that had been in her car, charged it up, and it is ready for reinstallation when I need yet another 12V battery.

I also gave her a portable jump start device and a 12V battery charger and showed her how to use both, but she hasn't needed them since she has learned to keep the doors closed and the cabin lights off...

 

I don't know the Beck/Arnley coolant. I would stay with the Toyota SLLC, unless it is a substantial inconvenience for you to obtain that. The Toyota SLLC performs extremely well, I find that the drained factory-fill coolant at 100K miles is nice and clear.

 

Joeman,

The services you are doing are not anything that's pressing and needs attention right away. You can get the parts/fluids anytime you are in the area of the dealership, you shouldn't have to make a special trip, especially if it's a 20 mile drive. But it seems you are finding an excuse to drive your Prius, so I'm not going to stop you.

 

Yes. The engine needs to run to heat up the catalytic converter and engine timing is retarded when the engine is cold. Both of those characteristics result in relatively poor fuel economy for the first 5 minute bar.