Got a refurbished Interstate Battery for $30

Is this a properly vented AGM battery? If so, good; but if not then replace it immediately. A non-vented, non-AGM battery in the passenger compartment is an extreme hazard. The last thing you need in a crash is to have the battery rupture and spew acid all over you and your passengers. An AGM battery has a glass mat (AGM) to hold the electrolyte in place if the case ruptures.

 

Good price if it's less then 3 years old. But when you get a chance get an optima yellow top

 

I'll second MJFrog's post. The price makes it sound like you may have purchased a regular lead-acid non-vented battery. Please change it ASAP if that is the case.

 

There's topside engine stuff to do: spark plugs & pcv. Clean the MAF sensor while you are in there. Have the inverter cooling pump recall performed. Check the service records at toyota.com/owners and see if the engine water pump has been replaced, and do that job + a full engine coolant exchange if it has not. But, as others have said, replacing the 12V battery should be the priority, due to the safety hazard. The advantage you have now is that you can order an Optima D51 from Amazon and it will drop right in.

 

Certainly the front struts and rear shocks are past-due for replacement if original.

In terms of what might go wrong, the transaxle, inverter or MFD might fail in the next year or two. That would not be too surprising since your car has logged many miles.

I agree with the above list. I would add replacement of the serpentine drive belt as well as the engine and cabin air filters.

 

It's recently been pointed out that the VW Beetle had an ordinary lead acid battery under the rear seat. As I recall, leaking battery acid was a problem. I ended up sprinkling baking soda around the battery mount, and that was sufficient to control damage to the floor.

The VW Beetle that my wife bought in 1971 is still in daily use by our neighbor who now owns it. It's gone through 3 engines, and who knows how many lead acid batteries. There are a lot of things that could be done to improve that car, but putting in a sealed AGM battery is not even on the list.

 

I'm with RobH, I put a $35 lawn tractor battery in my Prius 2 years ago, no problems. The battery is way back, and covered. Even an AGM battery will leak acid in a severe collision that cracks the case.

 

True, but that is because that car is a death trap in so many ways (compared to the current state of automobile design, 40 years later) that battery acid leakage onto passengers is far down on the list of potential hazards.

However, the Prius has airbags surrounding the passengers in every direction besides the rear of the car. Given a reasonably safe design to begin with, 12V battery acid leakage now registers on the list since the battery is just a couple of inches away from the rear fender and is easily subject to accident damage when that fender is hit during a collision.

 

I agree that an AGM battery makes sense in a new $25,000 vehicle. But there are now Prius with 100k+ miles that are worth far less. The question is whether it is worth putting a $200 battery in an old car when a $30 one would work.

Our 1987 BMW 325i has a conventional battery in the same place as the Prius. A lot of BMWs have been in crashes, and battery location just hasn't come up as a problem in anything I've ever seen. I suspect that the fuel tank is a bigger hazard than the battery.

 

Rob, Rather than think about the cost of car vs. battery I think a more accurate comparison would be cost of battery vs. possible harm to passengers. I consider my children more valuable than the $180 for a safer battery.

 

for that matter, why not tell the OP that his car MIGHT explode, or flip or catch on fire.....there's no evidence that transaxles go at 100k+....

 

I have a 2008 Prius and removed the 12v battery to add sound proofing. The battery is the one that was in the car from new and when I removed it I could hear acid splashing around inside it as it was moved, obviously not an AGM battery.

 

Some people don't care about what could happen. It's like those who continue smoking or chewing tobacco while mumbling how nothing bad has happened yet...

 

A number of manufacturers are now offering batteries for the Prius size and terminal code in the UK 055, most but not all are normal flooded acid with a breather hole. Optima also make the yellow top with the correct size terminals part no YTS2.7RJ 38ah and Red Flash make a 55ah deep cycle battery part no DC22-NF witch should fit the Prius well with out terminal clamps as it has 6mm female connections size is 229mm long 139mm wide 214mm high with no posts and dependant on battery fitted oem 1.5 times the capacity.
A bit over the top you could try a Super B 20p lithium car battery will fit a Prius with a bit of packing round 100ah 13.2v and only £879.95.

 

I've seen what smoking and tobacco do to people. I've also seen what eating a high meat, high fructose diet does to people. I've never seen or heard of anyone injured by battery acid escaping from the trunk of a car.

Since the Toyota battery appears to be a conventional lead acid unit, it's major distinction is the high price. Its only advantage over some other units would appear to be the ventilation tube.

The danger of an unvented battery in a Prius releasing a dangerous amount of hydrogen gas is vanishingly remote. When the Prius charging system fails, it just stops charging. Older generator based systems did fail and overcharge the battery, but that's just not the way an inverter fails.

If you're afraid of battery acid escaping from the Prius battery, you better replace that Toyota unit with a real AGM unit. :fear:

 

I've changed my diet, never smoked and I have an Optima yellow top in the hatch.

 

Agree totally, If you want worry about something, consider the dangers of Gasoline, probably the worst fuel decision ever made.

 

I didn't know the Prius battery was vented for crash safety, maybe it is. A lot of old cars and new have the battery under the rear seat, etc, that doesn't mean Toy doesn't know what they are doing in this car.

 

OK, I did a little research on AGM batteries. They of course contain acid, so in an accident, they will still leak, but they contain significantly less acid, so the potential for acid splashing is lower. However, what I found more compelling is efficiency. When charging, they are 95% efficient, while flooded batteries are 85% efficient. This can be seen in gas mileage, which of course is what the Prius is all about. When I need a new battery, (I now have a flooded one) I might go for the yellow top to see if it improves my mileage! (Not expecting even 1 MPG)