Battery Warranty - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

tymekeeper · 08-26-2007, 04:20 PM

Is the battrery covered for full free replacement? My 07 Camry is 15 months old and has 8000 miles on it. The battery went dead after 2 days with the key in the acc position. I jump started it and then drove around a few miles. I put it on a 1.5 amp charger and after more than 24 hours the green indicator is still not showing. I have to go somewere tommorow, about 20 miles, so I hope it stays charged up for about 2 hours between starts.

gdanaher · 08-26-2007, 04:30 PM

Ouch, the battery isn't even close to charged yet, and a trickle charger will never do it. You need to find a regulated or unregulated charger capable of at least 20 amps, take the caps off and let it charge in free air space until it gets down to a trickle input. Maybe 4 hours or so as a minimum. The dealer isn't going to give you a new battery if the old one can be charged and can hold the voltage under load. Your's just isn't charged.

If nothing else, take the car out with accessories off and run it around town for an hour. That will come closer to charging it than that 1.5 amp thing you are using. That's like trying to charge it with a wall wart.

TRD VVTi · 08-26-2007, 06:27 PM

Yes, the battery is covered under the 3/36 warranty.

The green eye is only a hydrometer.

I'm not surprised that it went dead after 2 days. The reserve capacity is about 2 hours.

touringcamry · 08-26-2007, 07:24 PM

Most auto part stores, such as Autozone, Kragen, and Pep Boys, will charge it for you free of charge in about 1 hour.

gdanaher · 08-26-2007, 09:32 PM

They can charge the battery partially in an hour, but it won't be 'charged'. Not possible if it was fully discharged. A typical car battery is in the range of +/- 50 amp hours. You can't charge at that rate. It would overheat. You can however charge a battery at a much slower rate which decends as the battery voltage increases. By the same token you can't fully charge such a battery by using a trickle charger at 1.5 amps. There are formulas for calculating the proper charge rate for batteries at given voltages, but suffice it to say that a decent 10 amp charger will do the job but to do it properly it needs to be connected for several hours. Toyota will certainly warranty the battery under the bumper to bumper warranty for 3/36, but the first thing they are going to do is hook it up to a charger and let it run for several hours before they put a load on it. If it fails then you get a new battery. If not, likely a dirty look from the service advisor. I don't know how much a small charger costs these days but it couldn't be much and it is something every guy needs once in awhile. Buy a charger and have it handy for the next time you run the battery flat.

Mike Gerber · 08-27-2007, 03:55 PM

In my experience that 1-1/2 amp charger is the best way to charge a battery without damaging it. It does however, only put 1-1/2 amps back in the battery every hour. That means if you have a completely dead 50 amp battery, it will take approximately 33 hours to completely recharge the battery. The higher the amp charging rate the more heat that is generated. It's this heat that eventually ruins many batteries. You can jump start it and then drive it around at highway speeds for an hour or two and let the alternator recharge the battery. It will recharge it, but that is pretty hard on the alternator. Constantly doing that will eventually shorten the life of the alternator. I would leave the trickle charger on it as long as you can and then jump start it if necessary and drive it. The alternator will finish the recharging of the battery. IMHO.

Mike

tymekeeper · 08-28-2007, 02:57 PM

Thanks guys for all the great informative info !

Rapid Roy · 08-28-2007, 05:08 PM

So what ended up happening? Did the battery hold the charge?

Streaker · 08-28-2007, 06:05 PM

I went on vacation for a week and didn't realize that my car cover trunk loop was blocking the lock mechanism.(dead battery) I jump started the car and drove it for an hour in drives 1,2 and 3 for an hour and it has been fine. That was 3 months ago. A trickle charge would probably be just as good though.(overnight)

Mike Murrell · 08-28-2007, 06:10 PM

I won't profess to being a battery expert, but once they go "down", they rarely come back up and "stay" up.

Don't expect the dealer to honor the warranty unless the battery is truly a Toyota battery. Check the warranty info that accompanied your other warranties when the car was purchased.

I know $$$ don't grow on trees, but winter's coming and it would not surprise me if your battery didn't live much longer no matter how they charged it back up.

TRD VVTi · 08-28-2007, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Murrell

I won't profess to being a battery expert, but once they go "down", they rarely come back up and "stay" up.

Don't expect the dealer to honor the warranty unless the battery is truly a Toyota battery. Check the warranty info that accompanied your other warranties when the car was purchased.

I know $$$ don't grow on trees, but winter's coming and it would not surprise me if your battery didn't live much longer no matter how they charged it back up.

I do agree that once a battery is completely discharged it doesn't seem to ever work as good as it did. Overcharging seems to yield the same results. Automotive batteries are not designed to be deep cycled like that.