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Originally Posted by afkjustin
Question about driving frequency, cold weather, and battery drain at the bottom. (2015 SR5, Ohio Winter)
My battery is about 1yr 1m old, it turned over slow a few days ago then would only turn over 1 time and click yesterday. Tested the battery at 11.37 volts, jump started it, removed jumpers, and it tests at 14.2 volts. This leads me to believe the alternator is fine. The dealership (where I bought the battery) seems to think I am just not driving enough. I don't have anything aftermarket pulling charge that I know of besides maybe an auto start, but hasn't been an issue in the past. The dealership thinks I am not driving enough to keep it charged...
Is driving every 2-4 days for 8-10 or more miles enough to keep the battery charged?
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how many CCA do you have? if your battery is new and in good condition, that type of driving should be fine even in the winter. every other day or once a week should be absolutely fine. I've driven once a week maybe 2 miles round trip many times in the middle of winter and had no problems - mind you that is with a healthy battery. and my 4runner lives outside. I don't have an AGM battery, just the toyota true start one that has 650 CCA. I've never had an issue in the winter or after long stretches of rest with the OEMs
my wife did have the same issue you have though with her RX. it was a 1 year old battery and she hadn't driven it for 3 weeks (not unusual for her and the vehicle is parked in our garage). the battery lost all its charge and it wasn't even winter. replaced the battery and haven't had any issue and even since then she maybe drives once a week, if that and not far at all. I've given two examples that I don't think your driving habits are to blame. unless you have a drain somewhere somehow, it has to be the battery
Quote:
Originally Posted by T4R_Canuck
Thats dealer talk for "we aren't willing to warranty your battery until its completely failed". You should be able to park you car for weeks, return to it and start it right up as long as theres no harsh environmental circumstances.
I often park my 4Runner for weeks at a time in the winter, in temps nearing -40C. I'm running an Odyssey AGM battery and it starts up without hesitation. My previous F150 was the same way on the stock AGM battery.
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have you had any issues with the AGM keeping a charge? I know the stock alternator isn't ideal for charging AGMs and some have had issues with batteries dieing. do you use a trickle charger? I'd like the high CCA for the winters but hear both good and bad things about AGMs in the 4runner