12V battery problems 24 TrailHunter

[lauren01]

I also carry a jump box, but that battery was so dead dead, it wasn’t reviving. At least it wasn’t reviving with my Zeus pro. Going to carry a beefier jump box, but will have to keep it in one of the Roam boxes on the roof rack.

Been keeping this jump box behind the back seat. My rooftop Roam boxes get really hot and cold. I’d worry about a battery being happy up there.

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[TacoFreak]

I also carry a jump box, but that battery was so dead dead, it wasn’t reviving. At least it wasn’t reviving with my Zeus pro. Going to carry a beefier jump box, but will have to keep it in one of the Roam boxes on the roof rack.

I wondered about that when I read your post. Most jump boxes have enough power to start a truck, even when not fully charged. Mine says that it will start a totally dead vehicle something like 5 times on a full charge.

That made me think that maybe there is something else wrong with your truck that was preventing it from starting. I doubt that a dealer would even try to figure this out though, so good luck!

 

[TFOUTS]

I have a pretty good relationship with my local dealer’s service department, it helps when the owner recognizes me when I’m there (have bought 6 vehicles from him) and my truck is a novelty to a lot of them. Not many vehicles here in the northwest Florida area that are built like mine. Probably one of the reasons when the tow truck arrived. They took it from the truck bed straight into an empty bay and got right on it after a random service advisor told me the night before they couldn’t get to it until Monday, which is today. The tech guy ran multiple diagnostics and provided me the printouts, and only charged me 50 bucks plus the price of a new battery with a $50 “coupon”

 

[Porwal22]

I plan to go Optima in my 26 TH as well. I keep it charged when it sits more than a day. I'm not sure, though, that the Optima will last much longer, but geez does Toyota buy the cheapest batteries they can find like their tires? I'm a geologist, I don't want to get stranded in the middle of nowhere...

Not the cheapest, but very close to the cheapest. Buy a group H6 Odyssey battery and be done with it.

https://www.odysseybattery.com/products/odp-agm48-h6-l3-battery-48-720/

 

[TFOUTS]

Not the cheapest, but very close to the cheapest. Buy a group H6 Odyssey battery and be done with it.

https://www.odysseybattery.com/products/odp-agm48-h6-l3-battery-48-720/

“The ODYSSEY Performance series batteries provide all the reliability of the ODYSSEY Extreme Series batteries but without the high cold cranking amps (CCA) or reserve capacity (RC) that many people may not require”

Pay attention to details,. I would think this is not Offroad or Overlanding friendly. At least not in my situation. Going near the cheapest is what Toyota originally put in my truck, and it failed when I needed it.

 

[Porwal22]

My apologies, I was looking at batteries that were comparable to the Optima’s.

Here’s the extreme series battery. It is approximately .4” taller than an h6. You would need to measure your battery enclosure to confirm that it fits height measurements.


https://www.odysseybattery.com/products/odx-agm34r-battery-34r-pc1500t/

 

[shackley]

My apologies, I was looking at batteries that were comparable to the Optima’s.

Here’s the extreme series battery. It is approximately .4” taller than an h6. You would need to measure your battery enclosure to confirm that it fits height measurements.


https://www.odysseybattery.com/products/odx-agm34r-battery-34r-pc1500t/

Is that 0.4" taller? That's less than 1/2 " and looks like it would work in my TH.

I measure 1.5" from the top of that bolt on the negative that sticks up to the bottom of the seat, so the choice is just between the two batteries.

 

[Porwal22]

Correct .4” taller.

Optima DH6
7.5 X 6.88 X 10.94
Dimensions (H x W x L) (in)

Odyssey
ODX-AGM34R
(34R-PC1500)
Length - 10.90 in
Width - 6.80 in
Height - (terminals included) 7.90 in


At least you have a few options. The hybrid trucks are tough, there’s just a limited amount of room.
Odyssey and Optima have always been my two “go to” batteries for reliability & quality. They are expensive, but performance wise, and build quality wise, you can’t touch them.
Worth every penny…

 

[shackley]

Correct .4” taller.

Optima DH6
7.5 X 6.88 X 10.94
Dimensions (H x W x L) (in)

Odyssey
ODX-AGM34R
(34R-PC1500)
Length - 10.90 in
Width - 6.80 in
Height - (terminals included) 7.90 in


At least you have a few options. The hybrid trucks are tough, there’s just a limited amount of room.
Odyssey and Optima have always been my two “go to” batteries for reliability & quality. They are expensive, but performance wise, and build quality wise, you can’t touch them.
Worth every penny…

As I mentioned before, auto manufacturers skimp on batteries and tires.

 

[Porwal22]

As I mentioned before, auto manufacturers skimp on batteries and tires.

Yes they do. It’s a shame though, especially what vehicles cost nowadays.

 

[TacoFreak]

As I mentioned before, auto manufacturers skimp on batteries and tires.

Yep. I love my truck but I will drive the tires for a while longer and get some use out of them. Then I will upgrade to the better tires that should have come on my truck. The same with the battery, the pathetic mud flaps and the trim that I removed to install rock sliders. Toyota used to be better than this, but now they are down at the same level as other manufacturers.

 

[Will721]

Batteries yes, tires not necessarily. They don't skimp on them, they just don't prioritize lifespan. If they can "cheat" a bit in testing with tires that get better fuel economy, handling, and stopping ability, thats the tire they will use. Bonus points if they can save money too, but thats usually just through brand loyalty.

A prime example is California's new tire rule outright banning the majority of the tire market in their state. They didn't target any manufacturer, style of tire, or anything of that sort. They simply made it a rule that you now have to use tires with the same econony rating as the oems. Aka, they use tires with shorter lifespans, but provide lower rolling resistance and weight to "cheat" their way into better numbers.

Another example, Toyota could have used existing BFG KO3s for their offroad tire. Would have gotten a bulk discount aswell. But instead paid BFG to do the R&D and produce a new A/T specifically tailored to getting them better testing numbers. Since they already existed, the KO3s had established R&D, supply, and manufacturing lines, they very well could have been cheaper. But wouldn't test as well for good Ol' big daddy government.

 

[shackley]

Batteries yes, tires not necessarily. They don't skimp on them, they just don't prioritize lifespan. If they can "cheat" a bit in testing with tires that get better fuel economy, handling, and stopping ability, thats the tire they will use. Bonus points if they can save money too, but thats usually just through brand loyalty.

A prime example is California's new tire rule outright banning the majority of the tire market in their state. They didn't target any manufacturer, style of tire, or anything of that sort. They simply made it a rule that you now have to use tires with the same econony rating as the oems. Aka, they use tires with shorter lifespans, but provide lower rolling resistance and weight to "cheat" their way into better numbers.

Another example, Toyota could have used existing BFG KO3s for their offroad tire. Would have gotten a bulk discount aswell. But instead paid BFG to do the R&D and produce a new A/T specifically tailored to getting them better testing numbers. Since they already existed, the KO3s had established R&D, supply, and manufacturing lines, they very well could have been cheaper. But wouldn't test as well for good Ol' big daddy government.

Does that mean you can't go to E (10 ply) series tires in CA?

 

[Will721]

Does that mean you can't go to E (10 ply) series tires in CA?

Id have to read all the details, but thats probably no longer legal unless it was equipped with them. Even if it was, its going to depend on weight and compound. Although I've heard there's an exception for oversized tires above a certain diameter for some reason?

 

[ColoradoBoo]

Good info, and it just confirms that we are more or less on our own with this. I work from home and my truck sits a few days every week. I check it and put on my battery maintainer when I know it has a couple of non drive days. That keeps my battery just below 12.5 volts, which is the 70-80% range. If I just drive it and treat it like a normal vehicle it usually sits at 50-60% charged or lower.

I don't like it, but this keeps it alive and I doubt that I will ever buy another Toyota hybrid. My wife's Lexus battery electric SUV is the same way and I usually have my maintainer on one vehicle or the other, which is really lame for two almost new Toyota products which cost over $120k.

I'm the opposite...I don't think I'll ever buy a non-hybrid! My 26 Limited will be our 3rd Hybrid...first was in 2017 with the Prius my wife got to replace her bulletproof 2008 Corolla she gave to our daughter (going on 200,000 miles and no issues.)

But hybrid owners have to learn some things. Like how letting the vehicle sit will drain the 12-volt battery because of the draw from both the key fob system and the emissions components. I've had to put my Battery Tender on some of our hybrids because the 12-volt got low. And short drives isn't long enough for the DC-to-DC convertor to charge the battery as there is no alternator. The invertor isn't meant to charge a low battery, just help keep it maintained at around 12.5 volts.

Another issue with short trips that folks need to know is how hard that is on the gas engine. The motor oil needs to get nice and hot often to burn off any moisture that builds up in there while it's sitting. Short trips doesn't let this happen so that oil is really getting bad quick.

Since we've started taking my wife's Corolla Hybrid around on weekends, I haven't had any issues with the 12-volt geting low. We make sure it driven on at least a few 30-minute+ trips every weekend for both the health of the oil but also the 12-volt and the traction battery health.

If you know your hybrid is going to not get driven for 2-weeks or more, just disconnect the negative battery terminal after giving her a long drive to charge up stuff and clean out the oil. (I've seen people do this at airport long-term parking lots...it's very smart.)

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