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Hey guys,
I recently started using a battery diag tool, and am deciding if a battery replacement is needed in my '18 SR5 4x4 Tundra. Even in a hot environment, I've always gotten 5-7 years out of a factory Toyota battery, but according to my diag tool, the factory battery already needs replacement. It was tested, then charged with a 5 stage desulfating charging. Whether or not it tested as "good battery-recharge", or "replace", depended on whether I selected "before charge", or "after charge". So, I waited a couple of days for the charge to settle, and tested again this am at the overnight low temp of ~32 degrees. The results are in the pic below. The truck seems to start fine, as it always has. I may be worth mentioning that I have also tested and topped up several lead acid batteries, with otherwise predictable results (one other lead acid battery, stored for years, was bad as expected, 3 others tested OK). I'm not one to wait until failure to replace something like a battery. What say you, and which replacement would you choose today (and why).
Personally, and I've heard in this forum that they're not what they once were, I prefer to use Optima batteries. The "gel-cell".
I've always gotten many years out of each one. Strong starts, down to around 0° F, even after several years of use. Best in my mind is that they don't corrode the terminals and wires that are on them with leaked acid, like a regular lead-acid battery does.
Wound up replacing with $325 Odyssey "performance" AGM, after learning that Wal-Mart (Everstart Maxx) does not carry the 27F size for the Tundra. Used to be a Optima guy, until Johnson Control moved production from USA to Mexico, and ditched the quality Optima batteries once had.
Jan 12, 2021 | 05:56 AM
