So I went to the dealer for an oil change on my 06' Corolla today. They told me that I needed a new battery. She said "It's supposed to have 550 CCA, and it only has 410." I told her the car was less then 2.5 Yrs. old, it shouldn't need a battery already. So needless to say I didn't get a new battery today, and obviously the car starts fine. Im not quite sure if CCA is a good way to tell if you need a new battery.
Definition: Cold Cranking Amps is a rating used in the battery industry to define a battery's ability to start an engine in cold temperatures. The rating is the number of amps a new, fully charged battery can deliver at 0° Farenheit for 30 seconds, while maintaining a voltage of at least 7.2 volts, for a 12 volt battery. The higher the CCA rating, the greater the starting power of the battery.
I live in VA, it doesn't get that cold, My friend said his last battery lasted 7 years, and the other on over 4 years, should I really need a new battery at less 2.5 Yrs.?
So long as your car starts you're fine. Some batteries do only last 2 years, but some will last 10...it all depends on the quality of the individual battery and how it's used.
As for the CCAs, I don't know what the 9'th gens need, but my previous 94 (1.8) only called for 350, so 410 sounds like more than enough. If you were further north a 550 battery would make starting easier, but thats a whole other discussion.
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Toyotas in the family/next of kin:
1982 Corolla Wagon, 1989 Corolla DX, 1991 Previa LE, 1993 Previa LE,
1993 Pickup, 1994 Corolla DX, 1995 Avalon XL, 1996 Camry XLE, 1998 Avalon XL,
1998 Sienna CE, 1999 Camry XL, 2000 Camry XLE, 2002 Tundra, 2003 Tundra,
2003 ES 300, 2004 Camry XLE, 2005 Tacoma
The lifespan of your battery can be significantly shortened if you discharge it to much...ie leaving headlights on without car on, or if you have subs, running your stereo without the car on (this will kill the batt REALLY quick). Also its most likely not a SLA, even if it says "non spillable" you could always top it off with some distilled water if its low.
I also agree with the above poster...as long as it starts, your good. You can tell when a battery it about to go when it takes more than 3-5 seconds to start your car (unless its cold) or several attempts. After that point it will start to die out rather quickly.
I'm not sure how a dealership can tell you exactly how much CCA a battery has. Are there some machines that will load-test it and actually tell you how much there is? As we all know, CCA is measured at 0 deg F, and it's obviously not that cold in the service department....but maybe they can approximate the CCA by some other test result?
Taking a casual look at the dealer's claim, my BS-o-meter is up in the red. As others have said, as long as your battery is starting the car just fine, you should be good. There should also be a small window in the top of the battery. The little dot inside should be green. If it's not, that's definitely a tip that something's wrong inside. But I don't know how accurate that little colored dot is anyway...
Yes, Toyota dealerships have multiple types of battery testers, in fact the one is quite advanced, in that it can both test and charge batteries that may not work otherwise.
Just looked it up...our cars call for 310 CCA...no wonder even when its below freezing mine starts so easily with that cheezy Delco battery under the hood.
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Toyotas in the family/next of kin:
1982 Corolla Wagon, 1989 Corolla DX, 1991 Previa LE, 1993 Previa LE,
1993 Pickup, 1994 Corolla DX, 1995 Avalon XL, 1996 Camry XLE, 1998 Avalon XL,
1998 Sienna CE, 1999 Camry XL, 2000 Camry XLE, 2002 Tundra, 2003 Tundra,
2003 ES 300, 2004 Camry XLE, 2005 Tacoma
Just looked it up...our cars call for 310 CCA...no wonder even when its below freezing mine starts so easily with that cheezy Delco battery under the hood.
If you go to PartsAmerica.com (Advance Auto Parts' web sales website) it lists the OE CCA rating at 420 CCA. I'm not sure why the dealership told the original poster 550 CCA.
If you go to PartsAmerica.com (Advance Auto Parts' web sales website) it lists the OE CCA rating at 420 CCA. I'm not sure why the dealership told the original poster 550 CCA.
Because they are overstocked on batteries and need to push them out.
My 03 still has the original OEM battery, despite the wife's attempts to kill it on numerous occassions, by leaving the lights on. This will be it's eighth Canadian winter. Knock on wood.
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