ok, so up til now, with 75K miles on the '06 Prius, I've only had to change the oil and buy a new set of tires. Today I needed a new starter battery. $210!!!! Wth!!! 210 dollars for a regular battery!! damn, seems a bit excessive, expecially in light of the recent events. what's you experience?? RD
Does that price incl labor or not? If it included installation then that's not too bad. I paid $139 plus sales tax at my local dealer's parts counter. BTW the battery is not "regular", as it is has AGM technology (absorbed glass mat).
Well, it's kind of not a regular battery as your local pep boys would see it, but you could have done better at eLearnAid... . _H*
A slightly cheaper, better battery is the eLearnAid kit with a [FONT=arial, helvetica]Optima D51 battery and conversion fittings to match the odd Toyota cables.[/FONT] 2004 to present 12 Volt (12v) Toyota Prius Auxilary Battery for 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 with installation kit 2000 to 2003 Optima battery and installation kit for Prius 2000 to 2003
I also have an '06, and have passed 93,000 miles on the original battery. I have been wondering just what service life to expect out of it. What prompted you to change it? I use a scan gage, and the battery charge shows a constant 13.8V. I have never run an OEM battery this many miles before, though the original battery in my wife's Subaru was over 7 years old, before I replaced it, though it gave no signs of impending problems. What are the signs to look for nearing replacemant time. Usually I would think, slow cranking, etc, though with the Prius, its a different ball game. Just wondering ...
From the point of view of battery life, more miles is better because this means the battery is kept charged for a longer period. Your weather conditions are moderate, which helps. If you don't abuse the battery by leaving cabin lights on all night, you should be able to go 6 years without any difficulty. I just replaced the battery on my 2004 this past fall as a preventive move. Signs to look for: gas gauge blinks one bar even though you know you have more fuel than that, weird electronics behavior, master warning triangle appearing, cabin lights are dim when you enter the car. The fact that your ScanGauge shows 13.8V when the Prius is READY just means that the DC/DC converter is working well. This has nothing to do with battery condition.
If your battery fails the test described below then it needs (or will soon need) replacing: http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/73400-weird-stuff-happening-mpgs-dropping-test-battery.html
Hobbit, Can I use the following Interstate 12 Volt AGM battery to 'save' memory settings on my 2006 Prius when I upgrade the Aux battery to an Optima later this week? Your input is GREATLY appreciated! The model # of this battery is PC1270 12 VOLT 7.0 AH
Without looking at the specific model of battery, 7 Ah tells me that it's likely the same kind of little "brick" 12V that I used to keep *my* memory alive as shown in the webpage. So, yes. . _H*
I did an overnight charge on the battery, which is 17 yrs old and it's only reading 4.5 Volts DC. I think it's time to go buy a new one. I'd post a pic but I can't until I reach 5 posts. I'm going to try and find one similar to replace it. Thanks!
