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How old is my battery?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by PriusNeckBeard, Nov 7, 2016.

  1. PriusNeckBeard

    PriusNeckBeard Active Member

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    Location:
    Cincinnati
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    One
    I want to get an estimate of when to replace my battery at the four year mark ( or monitor carefully as that approaches).

    How old is my battery battery ?

    The car is a "2013".

    One of the stickers on the drivers door jamb says, at the top: "MFD BY TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION 10/12".

    I couldn't see any date sticker on the (presumably) OEM battery without unsecuring the bar that holds battery in. But I can do that if needed.

    Does useage or age matter? Maybe I should start counting when the original owner bought the car (?).

    The car has 43,851 miles on it.

    Thanks !

    PNB
     
    #1 PriusNeckBeard, Nov 7, 2016
    Last edited: Nov 7, 2016
  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    I believe battery date codes will need deciphering, if there's any from the manufacturer on the battery. Probably to avoid cherry picking? I would guestimate the battery's age is within 6 months of the car's 10/12 (October, 2012) manufacture date.

    If you don't have one, pick up a digital multi meter (around $30~200), and read the battery's at-rest voltage. At the under-the-hood fuse box jumpstart point is fine. If it's 12.5 volts or higher your still fine.

    Reading the voltage is a pretty rudimentary assessment. Better would be to hook a digital load tester , something like the prosumer level Solar BA5 (around $75). It'll tell you the voltage, plus the battery's actual Cold Cranking Amps (or Cranking Amps), and will give an assessment, either: ok, ok-but-charge, or fail. If you don't want to outlay for something like that, most competent retailers selling batteries should have a pro-level tester and will test your battery.

    Four or five years is a sensible time to consider replacing the battery, regardless of it's condition. A little less, or a little more, depending on your mind set. It's always better to replace it at your convenience, than to be stuck and have to make snap decisions.
     
    tankyuong likes this.
  3. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
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    Model:
    II
    It's not really a matter of how old the battery is, it's how often you actually use the car to keep it charged up.

    If you drive 30 minutes a day, your battery should have no issues for 5 years, to 2018

    My daily driver still has the battery from 2008, still going strong
     
    Raytheeagle likes this.
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
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    2010 Prius
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    Touring
    Yeah that's where we run into trouble; the car will is typically used only every other day, and there's often longer hiatus. As long as the battery's hooked up there's a small but constant phantom load. I'm cognizant of it, welcome occasional long runs, monitor the battery and periodically hook up a charger.

    Was even thinking about a switch, that disconnects it, but that's disruptive, you lose all the trip meters, radio presets, maybe even auto-up on door windows needs retraining.