My Dad has a 07 Camry SE. At least 3-4 times this year when lights have been left on between 2-3 hours it will kill the battery. The most recent happened overnight with headlights left on. THe battery is five years old. The car is pushing close to 170,000 miles on the odometer. Do you think it is time to replace the battery. He thinking so himself before winter. My next question is whats a good battery to go with? Does anyone reccomend the Toyota True Start Battery at most dealers? Last Question I have heard that on newer vehicles when you disconnect the battery that the car must be towed to the dealer because it shuts the fuel off or something. I don't believe this be true when the did put an alternator and waterpump on it though they disconnected the battery only thing was the car idled rough for a while until the computer reset. I guess what I am asking is does a battery replacement need to be done at the dealer or would it be alright to go ahead and do it ourself. Sorry I don't know much about cars.
So many questions, so little time. Car batteries are not designed for deep cycling like a marine battery, so letting it drain to nothing, repeatedly, will guarantee the battery is short lived. So, yes, replace the battery, but if you continue this sort of treatment, the new battery will be quickly destroyed as well. The Toyota battery is probably made by the same company that makes batteries for Walmart and Autozone. Think of batteries as bottled water. You can paint a nice face on them but at the end of the day, a battery is pretty much a battery. Find the one with the longest warranty and buy it. Let them install it for free or if they want money, take it home and do it yourself. A 10 mm wrench is all you need. Remove the positive first and then the negative and the clamp. Install the new battery, set the clamp, attach the negative and tighten, then attach the postive and tighten. Don't overlook that most manufacturers put little plactic caps on the posts and it is possible to attach the cables and obviously nothing will happen, so remove them. I've never heard of anyone needing to have their car towed as a result of disconnecting the battery, but there was one guy here who bought a battery with the wrong polarity, so when he attached the negative cable to the positive battery pole, it blew most of the important fuses so yes, he probably had to have the car towed. Just connect positive to positive and negative to negative and you will be good.
Well the few times the battery has died was the result of acciddentally leaving the ignition on once with the A/C on high happened on Easter day 2012. Believe or not though the battery actually when I left it alone recharge enough to intiate enough cranking to restart and charge without having to be jumped off. Other times the battery has been discharged somewhat to where you could tell but not enough to where it caused a no start. I should of rephrased better technically is has only been dead twice to cause a no start. I don't know how much an install is at the dealership but the battery is 99.99 for Toyota True Start with 84 month warranty.
Toyota batteries are rebadged interstate batteries.
Personally I am a fan of advance auto parts batteries but have an interstate (Toyota) battery right now. The main difference between the True 2 and True-Start is the longer warranty you pay for.
As I said earlier, a battery is a battery, so you call them and get the price, number of months of FREE replacement, number of months of prorated replacement, and any charge for installation. It should be free. Call the other parts stores--AutoZone, Pep Boys, whatever and do the same thing. Buy the cheapest battery with a comparable warranty. Install it yourself using one 10 mm end or box wrench. Pay attention to battery polarity, don't short anything carelessly and all is good. Trigger could change out batteries.
Its up to you. I have never had a battery die on me because I dont live in extreme cold or heat so they last a while. Then again batteries are hit or miss too. Paying for the extra warranty may be a better idea based on your situation.
Always remove the negative side of the terminal first before the positive.
Reconnect by attaching positive before negative
If there's a Costco in your area, I would say to go with them. I got a sweet deal with mine, and since it's under the Costco Warranty, I can return it for any issue.
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