What is the difference between a regular joe battery, say $70 or so, vs a $200 or more battery? I haven’t been able to find much and get a good enough answer out of the dealership. Not that I would trust them anyway. Thanks in advance!
just so no one gets confused, you show a 2010, but posted in the prime forum. for the 2010, the battery is in the hatch, so there is a safety concern regarding the air you're breathing there are alternatives to the oems battery, maybe as cheap as $150. you want gel, you want a vent tube, and you want the correct size and post orientation. prius battery is a very odd size. warranty is also a consideration.
Firstly, electrically, nothing, both will power your car. Secondly, if you really have a Prime and not the 2010 listed in your Profile, still not much. If it fits in the mount under the hood, and has the right posts, you are fine. Third, if you still have the 2010, then you have new issues. Your battery is in the passenger compartment with humans, not outside in free air. Your battery will generate Hydrogen under certain circumstances, from 4% to 75% Hydrogen in air, it is combustible. You will never get 4% of the outside to be Hydrogen, but 4% of the passenger compartment is a real possibility. In addition, the battery contains Sulfuric Acid, and whether via an accident or chemical reaction, you want the very least Sulfuric Acid splashing around the interior of your car. Finally, Toyota has used a rare JIS post while over 90% of car batteries use a SAE post. So you want an externally vented AGM battery of the S46B24R size with JIS posts. www.amazon.com/dp/B010GKJ8F6 Meets the specs for $145.25, which is somewhat better than $200. Locally, your NAPA Auto Parts store may have one for $186 https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBP9851P
Thank you for the info and the link! Sorry if I posted in the Prime section, I hadn’t realized I did. I’ll pay more attention to that in the future
So......the real answer is: Convenience......and volume. The Prius battery is a little different than most, both in size and post connections. "The factory" doesn't make a lot of them so the price is higher. IF....you are resourceful enough, quite a few different, less expensive, batteries can be made to work. If not, you pay the asking price and don't worry about it. I think Pep Boys is a common source for ones that are a bit less expensive and are "exact fit".
The warranty should give a clue on if the manufacturer is confident in the quality of their product. Is the warranty twice as good for the $200 battery? For a while I ran with the yellowtop batteries because they will tolerate a deep discharge with little harm. The stock battery not so much. The battery is so small it doesn't take much to discharge it. They may neither know nor care. They sell the dealer battery for the dealer price, period. If you have the battery that lives in the back right corner, inside the cabin with you, then you need the little vent tube. For what it's worth, I had one car where I swapped out those little midget terminals so I could use a more normal battery in the future.
