Stock Battery Question - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

white3ch0c0late · 11-29-2005, 10:57 PM

My Gen 5 2002 LE i4 came with a Panasonic 80D26L-MF battery. From what I was able to look up, it has 550 CCA. Lately, in the mornings, when I turn the key, the engine turns over very slowly, and i've decided that I need a new battery, even though the indicator on the battery shows blue. After the first start, it'll crank fine... but after a few trips here and there, which include repeated starting and stopping of the engine, it'll take a little longer than usual to fire. Is all this reason enough to get a new battery? Its the original battery that's been in the car from day 1, its Japan-built, and I've got almost 66k miles on it, with 4-5 days of the week having about 4-7 startups per day.

drunken_panda · 11-29-2005, 11:04 PM

I think it is reccommened that every 4 years batteries get replaced. My 92 Previa lasted 6 years and my 93 Camry lasted 5 years.

touringcamry · 11-29-2005, 11:06 PM

If you are making many short trips, you may not have been charging the battery enough and over time, it drains the battery's power.

The battery in my Camry has been there since my parents took the car off the dealer lot in 2000. Still going strong. I know it's a Panasonic or Matsushita battery but not the model or CCA.

white3ch0c0late · 11-29-2005, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by touringcamry

If you are making many short trips, you may not have been charging the battery enough and over time, it drains the battery's power.

The battery in my Camry has been there since my parents took the car off the dealer lot in 2000. Still going strong. I know it's a Panasonic or Matsushita battery but not the model or CCA.

Yeah, I don't take very many long trips. My college is 10 minutes away from my house, and I make several trips back and forth per day usually. Then you throw running errands into the mix, and then going out with friends and stuff... from time to time, I'll take a trip to San Diego, but its not very often, so yeah, I don't think my battery charged enough. When I had my 60k service at Toyota, they said that my battery should be showing a 14v charge while on, and I was only showing an 11.3v charge or something, and they wanted $200 to replace the battery, and I told them to shove it up their ass and have been driving on it since... and it wasn't showing any problems until recently.

Nad1370 · 11-29-2005, 11:14 PM

I'd replace the Battery before it leaves you stranded.

It's losing it's ability to hold charge.

white3ch0c0late · 11-29-2005, 11:15 PM

Yeah, thats what I was thinking. What kind of battery should I get? I was thinking about maybe an Optima RedTop, but I don't know which model or size to get, or how many CCAs is good... or whether it should match stock specs or what...

***Eye8Pussies*** · 11-29-2005, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by white3ch0c0late

Yeah, I don't take very many long trips. My college is 10 minutes away from my house, and I make several trips back and forth per day usually. Then you throw running errands into the mix, and then going out with friends and stuff... from time to time, I'll take a trip to San Diego, but its not very often, so yeah, I don't think my battery charged enough. When I had my 60k service at Toyota, they said that my battery should be showing a 14v charge while on, and I was only showing an 11.3v charge or something, and they wanted $200 to replace the battery, and I told them to shove it up their ass and have been driving on it since... and it wasn't showing any problems until recently.

actually, if that's the problem, your alternator may not be working at full potential either since the voltage isn't up when the car is on either

- a battery can crank a car a lot more than just once and still be fine...

Nad1370 · 11-29-2005, 11:19 PM

Optimas are overpriced for me.

Interstates my choice of replacement. If you can go higher CCA go for it.

white3ch0c0late · 11-29-2005, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eye8Pussies

actually, if that's the problem, your alternator may not be working at full potential either since the voltage isn't up when the car is on either

- a battery can crank a car a lot more than just once and still be fine...

Well, the dealership checked my alternator as part of the service, and said that it was running fine. The only thing they pointed out to me as "recommended change" was the battery, and the cabin AC filter (which i had changed 2 weeks prior, so I called them out on that one).

touringcamry · 11-29-2005, 11:28 PM

I believe Consumer Reports put out a car battery review recently, or in the past 6 months at least. Most libraries subscribe to CR magazine and keep back issues. Look towards the back of the current issue and there should be an index of reviews they've done.

superp1noy · 11-29-2005, 11:58 PM

i have a 99 camry i4 and when i open and close my windows, they move slowly... i mean its not tooo slow but slower than im used to. what can i do so that they move more smoothly and faster like the cars today?

Nad1370 · 11-30-2005, 12:04 AM

Lube the window runs.

Silicone spray or wd-40 works.

white3ch0c0late · 11-30-2005, 12:05 AM

^Yeah, thats another thing. My windows are beginning to move way more slowly than they used to. I'm guessing another attribute of having my battery dying and stuff...

touringcamry · 11-30-2005, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nad1370

Lube the window runs.

Silicone spray or wd-40 works.

WD-40 is not a good lubricant. Use silicone grease or lithium grease.

Tom 2000 · 11-30-2005, 01:53 AM

The original Panasonic battery in my '00 LE is still going strong after 56K miles.

I've always used Sears Diehard Gold Batteries as replacements and have had very good luck with them. The last battery I installed was my Maxima back in '98. It's an 84 month battery and as of this month, I've used it for 90 months and still going strong!