My early 2004 (Made in 11/03) has the original 12V battery. It seems to work fine, and the car has only 31,000 miles, but I wonder what the life span of the battery is. Does anyone have experience in this area? A close look says I will not do it myself.
Its easy I'm willing to help a fellow SD prius owner. pm me. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tickwood @ Nov 5 2007, 06:03 PM) [snapback]535124[/snapback]</div>
Lifespan is going to vary all over the place depending on temps in your area, what kind of abuse/deep-discharge it's taken, etc. Don't worry about time, just use it till it starts to go [you'll know it!] and replace it then. . _H*
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ Nov 5 2007, 11:36 PM) [snapback]535287[/snapback]</div> Hehe... my rule of thumb is just the opposite. In my book lead-acid batteries last four years in most applications. If it's not a very important application (the lawn mower) you can just wait until it tells you it wants replacement. If it's going to be a major inconvenience when the car won't start and you have to get a jump every time you stop until you get the battery replaced... you may want to replace it pre-emptively under conditions you get to control, rather than waiting for fate to come along and pick a time for you. BTW, if you let fate pick the time, battery chemistry suggests that it will be cold when it happens!
rather than make an arbitrary decision, go get the battery tested. the dealer has a device made specifically to test that battery. the battery test will be free if they think they're gonna sell you a battery. and if you need one, they're gonna sell it to ya don't worry.
