Hmm... I wonder if changing the battery type disables the auto start/stop that everyone seems to hate?

 

Nope it will not disable it, rather : "The Stop and Start system will operate less frequently with a non-specified battery installed"

 

Does using the alternate battery change the change the configuration approved by the EPA? If so, then it would it be prohibited?

 

Does the EPA actually approve "configurations", or do they regulate what comes out of the tailpipe?

 

Does the EPA actually approve "configurations", or do they regulate what comes out of the tailpipe?

Thank you, Naimc, for researching this subject. My 2017 XLE battery was replaced by the dealership 2 days before the 3 year warranty expired. If it fails again, I'll be looking at a Walmart AGM battery at less than half the cost of the Toyota battery. I'll be sure to use your post when the service advisor mentions the non OEM battery

 

None OEM battery Yes, ideally you have the battery type set to "other type" that way the battery management system won't let the battery go voltage so low, 7.6 volts is very low.

Or if you use a battery tender device and constantly plug in the battery to make sure it gets fully charged, that will help with its life. (That's what I'm doing.

I wonder if a dealer would even be willing to do this programming change ?. The DIY route is possible using the ebay type : Mini VCI Cable J2534 Obd2 Minivci and a the Techstream software obtained by a google search.

Now that I have been thinking about this I am going to change my battery type to "other type" with the original EFB battery. I rather keep the battery voltage higher at the expense of a potential loss of fuel economy.

The other positive point about limiting the stop and go, is the Starter on our cars has a life expectancy of 384 000 start events !

a quote from Toyota : ref ( page 8, 2017 Toyota New Technology Update handbook chapter 1 )

With a conventional starter, engine speed must be near 0 rpm in order for the
starter to engage. The tandem solenoid starter, however, can be engaged while
the engine is still rotating. This enables faster engine restart.
• The Engine Stop and Start ECU counts the number of times the starter operates.
When the number of starter operations exceeds 384,000, the starter must be
replaced.

 

OP, thanks for the great information.

So changing the battery type in techstream basically just changes the threshold for when the start/stop kicks in or not.

It doesn't look like it affects any charging profile, say, for an AGM replacement battery (which I believe requires a higher charging voltage to get fully charged. )




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OP, thanks for the great information.

So changing the battery type in techstream basically just changes the threshold for when the start/stop kicks in or not.

It doesn't look like it affects any charging profile, say, for an AGM replacement battery (which I believe requires a higher charging voltage to get fully charged. )


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I did change the battery type on my 2019 last week just to see if my cheap cable and techstream would work and it did.

I also found out that my ScanGauge II device which has been in drawer for a few years can show me the battery voltage and the alternator output expressed in % When I tested out the Scan Guage II this week I was surprised to see reported voltage up at 14V, that was just in the drive out. I did not go for a test drive.

Also last year I got a Bluetooth battery voltage logger that keeps of graph of the battery voltage over multiple days, and the data can be downloaded and graphed on a phone.

I have all the parts to drive out and monitor the battery charging profile under "specified" and "other type". I am planning to do this in the coming weeks when we have some hour long drives. I will start with the FSB battery fully charged as I always keep a BatteryMinder connected to the battery to keep it topped up, Drive one leg with the battery set to specified and the drive back set to other type. keeping similar speeds the charge profile should look the same, keeping a similar load with the in car accessories. It will be interesting.

Regarding switching over an AGM, I don't think the charge profile of FSB would harm an AGM. There are other good posts on the net that compare AGM and regular charge profiles and they are very similar, heck every AGM battery maker has slight difference in the charge profiles, The key is to not over charge the batteries as the electrolyte can't be replaced on the AGM, A charge profile for a flooded battery might under change an AGM, but that won't affect its life. Apparently AGM don't suffer from Sulfastion as regular lead acid do. So I think AGM or FSB it a good idea to use an external battery maintenance to top these battery's regularry. I do it once a week, and I check the acid level 4 times a year.

 

What I am adding is really nothing new, first I appreciate all the work your doing with this project. My take after reading various battery articles is that you can go up to a AGM from a EFB battery but shouldn't really go down because of the stop start. Your research to me, demonstrates that if you feel comfortable going to a AGM from EFB battery, you really should be fine with that switch. I just typically buy a new battery every 3 years to avoid problems and I keep my Highlander on a smart charger all the time because I don't drive it daily.

 

I bought an AGM Energizer from Costco 2 weeks ago installed it in our 2019.Only + experiences so far.Had it on a charger for 2 hours before install.Crazy faster cranking compare to the EFB. I have a voltmeter to inform me of the actual state of charge.My solution to the very minimal charging rate is to drive with the clearance lights on.This will keep the charging rate @ 13.5volts. and hoping the led tail lights will keep me safer and more visible from tail gaters.When driving with the headlights on the charging rate would fluctuate from 13.5 to 14.2 volts as is needed.
Don't have to worry about overcharged AGM batteries in our HL.
Still cranks superfast after 2 weeks.Not using the start/stop.Routinly disabling it after engine start manually.
Go AGM don't look back.My only advice any replacement battery you get charge it up fully before installing it.

 

Any update on how your AGM battery without changing ECM to “other battery” type?

 

One more thing to add.
I only by batts.from Costco as its a fastest process for returns.
Once I had to hang around a Walmart for 2 hours to return a dead batt.They insisted on testing my dead battery 1 year old before replacing it.(to test it they attempted to charge it up)

 

The Costco USA website battery finder link only shows Interstate batteries....no mention of an Energizer AGM. The Interstate AGM battery (24F) is listed for $160.

 

Different markets,different products.It was the no hassle return policy that did it for me.
I have no previous experience with Energizer batts.other then some AA and AAA batts.
On the other hand Interstate batts have good reputation.

 

Back to the topic of changing the battery type with techstream.

I had my 1st drive today with battery type set to "other type". The did 2-3 stops and I let the stop-start stop the engine I don't mind the stop / start feature. I'm just against undercharging the battery.

On my next stops the fully engaged the brakes and saw this message : Non-Dedicated Battery Also look at the scan gauged, it showed a voltage of 13.8 Volts , the RPM are at 524 RPM and the Alternator has a 51% load. Nice its charging the battery as opposed to keeping the voltage at 12.1 -12.3 volts which I typical saw after a stop with the engine stop engaging.

I don't realy pay much attention to the Stop / start notices, so I'm not 100% sure this message : Non-Dedicated Battery has occured before .

 

Back to the topic of changing the battery type with techstream.

I had my 1st drive today with battery type set to "other type". The did 2-3 stops and I let the stop-start stop the engine I don't mind the stop / start feature. I'm just against undercharging the battery.

On my next stops the fully engaged the brakes and saw this message : Non-Dedicated Battery Also look at the scan gauged, it showed a voltage of 13.8 Volts , the RPM are at 524 RPM and the Alternator has a 51% load. Nice its charging the battery as opposed to keeping the voltage at 12.1 -12.3 volts which I typical saw after a stop with the engine stop engaging.

I don't realy pay much attention to the Stop / start notices, so I'm not 100% sure this message : Non-Dedicated Battery has occured before .

Itt appears that the battery type setting also disabled the start/stop feature?!!As in the following post:

Auto Start/Stop system battery issue - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion

IS - 3rd Gen (2014-present) - Auto Start/Stop system battery issue - Hello, In last few days I have small problem using start/stop system in my 200t IS. When I stop the car on lights and system should auto turn off engine I get the message as in pic below (Non-dedicated battery ). Engine keeps...

www.clublexus.com

 

@naimc,

What is the source of the "2017 Toyota New Technology Update" handbook in your OP? Can you post the PDF?

 

This is a great post. My wife’s 2019 Highlander original EFB battery started to die during the cold snap here in WA state in December.

Never even knew what EFB battery was until I researched why the dealer wants $400 for a replacement battery🤯. So I decided to dig further into this start/stop technology these Highlanders come with. Me and my wife both do not like to use it. I manually disable it whenever I hop in and drive her Highlander. However, my wife does not always remember to disable the start/stop because she’s pretty busy with the kiddos. Because of that she’ll occasionally depress the break too far and the start stop would kick in.

I knew there was a better way to overcome this issue and permanently disable the system. After more research I purchased an auto start stop delete from Amazon and it has been working great. I also purchased a regular flooded Interstate GR24F battery from Costco.

Fast forward to today I noticed that my wife needs to crank the car a bit longer as if the brand new battery is low. So I pulled out my battery tester and sure enough the charge was low( don’t recall exact voltage). She drives the vehicle every day so the battery should be topped off. Granted the trips are all short but they are multiple trips a day. On an older car if you drive everyday the regular flooded battery would always stay topped off.

Anyway, I saw this post and got my Xtool D7 (bi-directional scan tool) hooked up and went to the BMS Reset-switch battery type. Sure enough there are two options to choose from as specified and other. I went ahead and switched to Other and my wife went to do some errands right after. I will see if the battery voltage goes up after she returns.

Here are a few images from scan tool warning about choosing wrong profile for different battery types. Parameter# 339 in the image 172 shows the battery type after I did the switch.

update: good news! I can definitely tell the difference after the switch. It’s topped off after my wife arrived home. Where as before the charge it was at 62 percent (~12.2V) after a drive.

 

So my brother and I replaced his 2018 Highlander battery 2 days ago, his previous battery was a Toyota Truestart 00544-24FEF-TS. We replaced it with the same, I have techstream cable, knockoff, and verified initially he was set to specified and not other. We installed new Toyota True start EFB, same as what was in it. It kept saying charging battery when stopping, I reconnected tech stream and entered the change battery type utility. I selected specified and followed the prompt to turn off power at start button, wait 2 minutes, press start button twice with no foot on brake and then exit to complete the utility process on techstream. Once we did that the vehicle successfully stalled at stops with no warnings. So I’m convinced this registered the new battery even though we didn’t switch battery choices. If this 264 dollar genuine Toyota battery doesn’t last more than 3 years he is going to go the AGM route and I’ll switch the battery type to AGM using the utility with techstream. He doesn’t typically use the stop/stall feature and he disables it using dash button.

 

When you switch the battery type, all this does is change the auto/start stop system logic from what I remember. You can just add a resistor to perm disable the auto stop / start system and run a standard battery. This is what I did and it has been flawless.

 

Add a resistor where?

 

This:

Amazon.com: Auto Start Stop A-Off Delete/Disable/Eliminator for Toyota Highlander 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 : Automotive

Amazon.com: Auto Start Stop A-Off Delete/Disable/Eliminator for Toyota Highlander 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 : Automotive

www.amazon.com

 

Thanks....I understand. One more question...my 2019 HL Limited is still on the original battery (Yussa). If I get the Walmart AGM will I get any kind of error codes or message? I don't have techstream/scanner so I can't change the battery type if I get a message, and I sure as heck don't trust Walmart to touch my vehicle.

 

You can put whatever battery you want without any error codes. But if you retain the auto/start & stop, I'd stick with an AGM or EFB or else you may get the disable auto start / stop message. If you plan to disable the auto start stop, throw a regular flooded battery in there. That's what I did without changing any charging profiles and it works fine. I am on year two of a BJs Interstate battery.

 

You’re likely to get messages on the info display that the battery is charging, it was pretty easy to change the battery type to “other”, then allow techstream to register it. I’m thinking many scan tools can perform it besides techstream. Depending where you are on space coast I can set it for you possibly? I’m in Deltona

 

I have a 2017 Highlander. A little less than 2 years ago I replaced the original battery (part number 28800-31550) with Toyota Truestart 24F-EFB (00544-24FEF-TS). Lately, as the weather has warmed up, I have found that the stop/start of the Highlander often doesn't seem to stop for long before restarting itself. When I just talked to the local dealer that sold me the battery, I was told that the vehicle needs to be reprogrammed for this new battery. Does this make sense? Are these batteries sufficiently different that reprogramming is necessary? Is this reprogramming something that I can do? I wouldn't think that the ECM would even have a selection for this newer battery since the battery didn't exist when the vehicle/ECM was built. Any thoughts on what I should do?

 

Having spent hours in the Toyota techstream software I can tell you there are Zero options for "reprogramming / resting the battery. There is only one setting which I documented in the 1st post here, where the battery type can be changed. If your local dealer is offer to reprogram the battery it's just a money grab. If you want to prolong the life of the battery use a "trickle "charger on it. The built in algorithm in chargers software is set to reduce fuel consumption at the expense of batteries life. ( my conclusion )

 

If you are running AC, your car won't want to stay, or even go, into auto stop mode as it needs the engine power to run the AC. Up here in cold Canada, my auto stop never engages in winter because the heater is on all the time.

 

Not running AC or anything other than the radio... Seems to be worse when the weather is warm though.

 

Then I'm way off. Or you have a really, really massive radio.