Hi all, I have 2013 XLE, 56,000 mile and so far so good without any issue.

...

It still does it's job but kind of weired that all my other cars' battery were long last 4~6 years and it's only 3 years now.

Anyway, do I need a new battery? If so, will Optima Yellow fit in it? that is the brand my local shop recommend.

Thanks.

There are a number of variables that determine the life of a battery. Extreme climates (very hot or cold) tend to make the life shorter. Also, frequent short trips or letting the battery get completely drained are rough on it. My experience has been 3-5 years is typical with our van, climate, and driving habits.

If it seems a little slow, you might try cleaning the contacts and applying some dielectric grease to them. Some auto parts stores will load test them for free.

I put an Optima Yellow in our last van when the OEM one failed after 3 years. It wasn't worth the premium price tag. The Optima cost 130% more than a comparable standard battery and I got about 50% more life out of it. Not worth it.

 

What is the voltage before cranking after it's sat for a few hours?


3 years isn't too bad, they're not going to give you the best battery possible out of the factory.


Optima is not worth the $$ for normal use, I have been buying the advanced auto 'gold' batteries for the past 10 years and never felt like they let me down.


When you battery shop, compare the CCA (cold cranking amps) rating between them, get the highest rated one you feel comfortable with, especially if you're in a cold climate.

 

Thanks for reply.


I went to a Walmart and see Maxx Everstart under $100. or better off buy a Autozone seller, Duralast Gold? Someone told me


that they are under same manufacture, like GM and Cadillac. Same CCA.


btw, shoud I get 24F or 35 size?


Thanks.

 

Over the last dozen years I've purchased Walmart's Everstart Maxx batteries for my Subaru (2) & previous Sienna, and been very satisfied. Their 24F is currently rated at 750 CCA versus the OEM 24F in my van at 582 CCA, with a very slightly higher reserve capacity (130 vs 125 minutes). I'd love to see the reserve be higher, as that's your rundown protection when you sit with your accessories on and engine off, but at least it's higher in conjunction with a big increase in cranking amps.

The Group 35 is physically smaller and a lot less powerful. Why would you be considering that option, especially as they are the same price ($95)?

 

My 2011 Sienna with 70,000 km (45,000 miles) died on us after 4.5 years. It sits outside and we live i Toronto. Toyota has cheapened its batteries and these are no longer maintenance free models.

My dealer tried to tell me that replacing a battery needs a throttle body service - ever heard of this?

 

I call BS on the need for throttle body service. My tire shop sales person showed me a dirty swab, supposedly showing dirt from the throttle body from my wife's car when I bought new tires 3 years ago and wanted to do a throttle body cleaning for $40, I think. I told them I'd think about it (not!).

 

I guess I do not get the relationship between the throttle body and the battery - can someone enlighten me?

The Toyota dealer recommended this for my 2014 RAV4 but made no mention of it when the battery was replaced on my 2011 Sienna last year.

BTW, I had the RAV4 battery cold tested today and it read 12 and something like 425 CCA which they said was enough to get through another season.

 

Not everything a dealer suggests is BS! There's actually a TSB out there about this, and it makes some sense.

Once upon a time, your throttle body included an Idle Air Control and a Cold Start fuel injector. These are long gone, replaced by a very accurate 'learning' electronically controlled single throttle plate. Over time crud builds up in the tiny space that the throttle plate remains open against the inner edge of the body. If your system wasn't capable of observing, learning and self adjusting, after a while the crud would block the opening and your van wouldn't idle worth a damn, and maybe not even start at all. After a few years in service, your plate is likely to sit a few degrees on startup from where it did when new to maintain the optimum idle air control.

When you disconnect a battery for more than a few minutes, the whole ECU is wiped clean. All that accumulated knowledge is lost, and the system resets to factory defaults. If you've built up a lot of crud, you could be in for a big surprise. It might not start at all, or it might idle like poop. It can take 10 minutes to a day for it to hunt and find a new normal.

I use a little keep-alive power supply to maintain full ECU memory when I change out my batteries to avoid this potential issue.

Installing a new Everstart Maxx and an alternator in my old Subaru:

 

That sounds a lot like what the dealer service guy was trying to tell me but that means a battery change is $192 plus $65 for the TB service. In Ontario, with tax that is almost $300! I was trying to avoid yet another expensive service when the car otherwise runs fine.

 

Understand. And I'm sure many avoid the service and might hardly even notice that things aren't quite right for the first day or so. On a young van the crud build-up might be negligible, but the next guy might find he's got a no-start condition after a battery change. It's hard to predict, but that's why Toyota recommends it. You might not like the extra charge, but imagine how you'd bitch about the van if it wouldn't start or ran badly!

But it's actually getting worse on newer cars. As part of the fuel economy and quest for more power, many cars throttle back the alternator output to only match the state & characteristics of the battery. When you change the battery, a diagnostic hookup is required to 'teach' the system about the new battery. Skip this step, and you might find you have a dead battery in a few weeks as the system slowly starves the battery of sufficient recharge. 'Look up BMW Battery Change' and look at what it costs them! Or Honda with the entertainment system codes. Some vehicles also require power window and other subsystem relearning.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/sugjj...e/sugjj2zrr5nayx7/T-TT-0086-11_Hard_Start_or_Poor_Idle_After_Battery_Change.pdf

 

Understand. And I'm sure many avoid the service and might hardly even notice that things aren't quite right for the first day or so. On a young van the crud build-up might be negligible, but the next guy might find he's got a no-start condition after a battery change. It's hard to predict, but that's why Toyota recommends it. You might not like the extra charge, but imagine how you'd bitch about the van if it wouldn't start or ran badly!

But it's actually getting worse on newer cars. As part of the fuel economy and quest for more power, many cars throttle back the alternator output to only match the state & characteristics of the battery. When you change the battery, a diagnostic hookup is required to 'teach' the system about the new battery. Skip this step, and you might find you have a dead battery in a few weeks as the system slowly starves the battery of sufficient recharge. 'Look up BMW Battery Change' and look at what it costs them! Or Honda with the entertainment system codes. Some vehicles also require power window and other subsystem relearning.

T-TT-0086-11 Hard Start or Poor Idle After Battery Change

If I replace the battery, should I intentionally let the ECU reset so it has to figure out the battery state and set the alternator output accordingly? Does the ECU in my 2015 Sienna tailor the alternator output to the battery condition?

 

My Sienna is only a Canadian LE so not much content but I think that I did have the TB service a few months before the battery change so it was skipped. The RAV will be 4 years old when the battery gets changed so looks like TB service might not be a bad idea.

Thanks for the great info.

 

Just replaced the battery in our 2013 Sienna this week. We bought it used this summer and it appeared to have the original battery. On Monday I tried to start it at work and all I got was the telltale "click, click, click, click..." noise of the starter solenoid without any cranking. Clearly a dead battery. After I got a jump start there were no signs of a bad alternator (no dash lights, headlights still very bright, and etc.).

I got a new Interstate 700 CCA 24F size that cost me $85 US at Costco. Batteries and tires are two of the things that make a Costco membership worth the yearly membership fee.

 

Stumbled upon a picture I took when changing the battery in our old 2008 Sienna. Using a keep alive supply avoids a whole bunch of potential issues.