Need some battery advice...
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Packpride85
New member
I've had the best luck with Diehard batteries for aftermarket.
pianorocks06
New member
All good points here. Also adding that flooded batteries tend to be much more forgiving than AGM - AGM is great technology that can last much longer under certain conditions but are much more sensitive (not to mention expensive). In my experience, the top end AGM’s have a recombination catalyst which provides a host of benefits mainly maintaining saturation levels and reducing positive plate corrosion.
At the end of the day, any quality battery which is properly maintained will last longer than the most expensive one which is deep discharged, not fully recharged, or abused otherwise.
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My battery lasted just short of six years, after all the reading and stuff thinking I might get one of those fancy ones, I settled on a truestart at the end of it all, the Toyota branded battery. They had a sale going on, the dealership was basically down the street, so I just swapped it in the parking lot and got the deposit back for my old battery right there.
If I had extra electrical accessories or needed some sort of set up where I need to draw power, I would have went something else maybe.
If I had extra electrical accessories or needed some sort of set up where I need to draw power, I would have went something else maybe.
Nobody Special
New member
Get the biggest DEKA/East Penn you can fit.
I am not familiar with their current line names, but Deka Ultimate batteries I have are going into their 9-11th years in service now.
(I do take them out 2-3 per year and put them on a BatteryMinder 2012
12V 2A Desulfating Battery Charger Maintainer | Worldwide Use .)
East Penn is one of the manufacturers.
Most other are just REBRANDS of East Penn, Johnson Controls etc.
Like the old Advance Auto "Autocraft Titanium" that is no longer sold, is a DEKA Ultimate.
11 years in service and now has a dead cell.
Others can talk about brands, but I can show the proof.
(I took it out and washed the top of it on Friday. BM 2012 is saying it has a dead cell)
I am not familiar with their current line names, but Deka Ultimate batteries I have are going into their 9-11th years in service now.
(I do take them out 2-3 per year and put them on a BatteryMinder 2012
12V 2A Desulfating Battery Charger Maintainer | Worldwide Use .)
East Penn is one of the manufacturers.
Most other are just REBRANDS of East Penn, Johnson Controls etc.
Like the old Advance Auto "Autocraft Titanium" that is no longer sold, is a DEKA Ultimate.
11 years in service and now has a dead cell.
Others can talk about brands, but I can show the proof.
(I took it out and washed the top of it on Friday. BM 2012 is saying it has a dead cell)
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badattitude
Member
Get any new 24F lead acid battery. It doesn't matter what brand. A new battery is a good battery. I went with NAPA Premium 84 month. Its East Penn. Also, Lead acid because the alternator is designed for charging Lead Acid batteries. My Panasonic lasted 5 years. It may have lasted another winter but not worth the risk. I kept the Panasonic. Not turning that in for $10. Some people can revive old lead acid batteries...
badattitude
Member
My Toyota Dealer had a good sale on TrueStart in October. I almost got one. They wanted a $30 core charge, not for me!
I installed a TrueStart in my 3rd gen like that, in the parking lot. It was a fine battery. It lasted 5+ years before the 4runer was rear-ended by a Drunk, uninsured, unlicensed person.
3kushn
Member
^^^^^^^
This is the truth.
Brands are just that. Walmart, Auto Zone, Advanced, Napa, ..... all get their batteries from battery manufacturers. None own their own battery plant. And none want a bad name because of their batteries as its a common sale.
Although the Extended Warranty is mostly just an added charge on the same battery, there are some small differences. Meaning Lifetime warranty is a $ hook.
I had battery problems with an F150. The Dealer put in a "Lifetime" battery. When that went bad after several years, I got a $10 benefit when I needed a new one.
Battery sales is mostly a scam.
Another vote for Napa batteries. They are all Deka East Penn as you said. Great quality.
flyrv9
New member
It's possible the battery isn't the problem. At only 2 years old, you could have other issues. I would have the charging system checked out. Most any repair place can do it by attaching a battery starter tester and checking your vehicles battery and charging system under starting conditions and under running load via alternator output, AC on/off etc.
1000MPH
Senior Member
Just a reminder that your OEM battery is a Panasonic but that’s not what you’ll get as a replacement at the dealer.
I just bought a Topdon battery tester, I’m not sure how accurate it is but it seems to be consistent with what most of us are saying here about expected lifespan of today’s replacement flooded battery options available . It rated my 6 year old RAV4 battery as needs replacing at about 50% health and CCA. Rated my 3 year old Costco battery at 72% 595/700 CCA.
I just bought a Topdon battery tester, I’m not sure how accurate it is but it seems to be consistent with what most of us are saying here about expected lifespan of today’s replacement flooded battery options available . It rated my 6 year old RAV4 battery as needs replacing at about 50% health and CCA. Rated my 3 year old Costco battery at 72% 595/700 CCA.
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delloro
New member
Since the batteries are very similar I consider a few things when buying. First is rated quality, I won't knowingly buy a poor quality battery. Next is warranty which has 2 parts, the warranty numbers, and the practicality of it. A superawesome lifetime warranty from just one shop may not be of much real benefit to me if it craps out on the road. OTOH there are Walmarts everywhere, which is where I got my last battery.
My OEM Panasonic was still going strong when I replaced it at seven years. I had already installed a dual battery system prior to this. So if the OEM suddenly failed I had back up.
I usually change out a battery at 4 to 5 years but I wanted to see how far this Panasonic would go. Seven years was all I was willing to go. I replaced the primary battery with the Odyssey AGM.
Its been in 3 years without without any issue. The secondary battery is a optima AGM and its 5years old. this is the battery I run all my mods off of. also no issues.
I read on this forum about how optima has gone down in quality. I don't find that to be true. I have used these in my boat for years with out issue. but they are well maintained.
Recently My wife's 2016 Subaru outback battery failed it was out of warranty but the dealer replaced it at no cost. My curiosity got the better of me and I googled it, seems Subaru had issue with the OEM batteries.
they never issued a campaign as it was not a safety issue but did free replacements for customers. Good PR.
As many have said its all about the environment and maintenance to keep your battery at its peak. but sometimes it fall back on to the manufacture.
I usually change out a battery at 4 to 5 years but I wanted to see how far this Panasonic would go. Seven years was all I was willing to go. I replaced the primary battery with the Odyssey AGM.
Its been in 3 years without without any issue. The secondary battery is a optima AGM and its 5years old. this is the battery I run all my mods off of. also no issues.
I read on this forum about how optima has gone down in quality. I don't find that to be true. I have used these in my boat for years with out issue. but they are well maintained.
Recently My wife's 2016 Subaru outback battery failed it was out of warranty but the dealer replaced it at no cost. My curiosity got the better of me and I googled it, seems Subaru had issue with the OEM batteries.
they never issued a campaign as it was not a safety issue but did free replacements for customers. Good PR.
As many have said its all about the environment and maintenance to keep your battery at its peak. but sometimes it fall back on to the manufacture.
3kushn
Member
It's interesting to me that you all are saying the OEM batteries are made by Panasonic. I never knew that.
I retired a year ago as an Independent Sales Rep and I had Panasonic Cordless Tools as one of my products for 10 years. Of course these batteries were Lithium Ion batteries vs Lead Acid in our trucks.
Since I had Panasonic's largest user in my territory, John Deere, I worked directly with their top Engineers. About 6X/year these guys would come to the Combine plant in East Moline, IL to work on prototype tools. This was the closest plant from Chicago, so they keyed on this one. These guys were SCARY SMART but very modest. They weren't salesmen so never promised anything. They simply took notes. More times than not, those Notes became reality. I'm talking about functionality of the tool, not the battery. Although 2 instances the battery came into the picture. Mostly the Charging Station.
10 years ago Panasonic was #2 in sales dollars in Lithium batteries. Sanyo was #1. Panasonic bought the Sanyo Lithium Battery division, making Panasonic far and away the largest manufacturer of Lithium batteries. Tesla in the news gets credit for their Hi Tech battery research. LOL Those batteries come from a Panasonic plant.
That's some of the background.
Even though earlier I said basically, batteries are batteries and come from common manufacturers no matter the brand?
I'm thinking, when my 2021 battery craps out, I'm going back to the Dealer for another Panasonic.
Certainly if this one craps out in 3 or 4 years, I'll eat my words. Get that.
I trust them, and most wouldn't believe how much B2B business Panasonic is involved in. So much so that it won't be long you will have to work hard to find a Panasonic Logo on any product. They don't promote the Panasonic name/brand. They promote their Solutions to OEM manufacturers.
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97BlackAckCL
Elite Member
Same, I freaking love my Odyssey, after 3 or 4 bad Optimas in a row, I am a believer in Odyssey and have them in both my cars now
delloro
New member
WOW. You are DEDICATED. Because, Panasonic batteries are only available at dealers packaged in NEW 4Runners here in NA. Might be cheaper to bring one back from Japan somehow, but TSA will never let that go in your luggage. Hmmmmmm. Maybe one of those container ship passenger cruises? They might let you bring one in your luggage.
3kushn
Member
I simply trust Panasonic to put out a quality product. I haven't looked at Dealer pricing for these. Another member loves Odyssey, they're in the $300 range (Retail Price). I suppose if you're a serious OffRoad guy this may make some sense. I'm not that guy. Rutty Gravel Roads and small creeks 30mins from civilization, is about it.
I've always had great experience with Interstate.
