Battery Replacement

[ArthurKotb]

ArthurKotb When you say group are you talking about battery size?

Yes, the group size is the battery size. Typically groups 24 and 27 are for cars. "F", as in 27F, means the battery posts are flipped. Toyota puts the negative post near the fender

Hmmm, I fly to Japan frequently. I wonder if I can buy one here. Just need to find out if they will let me check it in on the plane.

I asked at the dealership and they said no, they can't get them here; wish they could. Can you bring a lead acid battery on the plane or in checked baggage. The short answer is no way, Jose.

I had a lead acid battery shipped to me from California one time. I won't do that again. Almost all of the acid leaked out and soaked the carton. The battery was useless. They did refund my money. AGM is the only car battery you can have shipped to you because of that leakage.

 

[ArthurKotb]

I don't understand the advantage of an AGM battery in the car. I don't off road but I do use regular lead-acid in my boat and it takes a pretty good pounding on the waves; no, it doesn't climb hills so maybe that's it . I have no leakage and the batteries last a long time. Google AI says AGMs are better for the reasons posted here. I get very good service out of the regular batteries and they last a very long time. In my 2004 T4R I just replaced battery #2 with #3 in December. Two batteries in 21 years is pretty good, plus I still have #1 and #2, both of which still hold about 75% charge and will jump start if needed. (They also are halfway decent for some minor welding )

I have always used lead acid in my cars but I do use AGM deep cycle in my travel trailer. There's a lot of charge and drain there so I see the need. I also have a solar panel on top and they recommend AGM for that. In the boat there's a standard group 27 ignition and 2 group 27 deep cycle batteries for the trolling motor.

I buy Toyota TruStart for my cars and Deka/Duracell for the boat trolling batteries, Interstate for the boat ignition battery. Great service from all of them. The poorest service (bang for the buck) has been from the Lifeline AGM deep cycle in the travel trailer. Three years into their use and they held only a 75% charge. Lifeline is supposed to be top of the line for AGM and are very expensive. They do last a long time at 75%, however, 10 years so far.

If you take care of your batteries they do last a long time, better brands, anyhow. I've heard that car batteries need 6 miles of travel to recover the charge they lose from starting. New cars stop/start at every traffic light so the AGM would definitely be better for that. Keep the posts clean and be mindful of parasitic drains. Everything needs maintenance.