By
myprizm, October 12, 2014
I have 2007 Corolla with 88k. I bought it as "certified" with life-time free oil change. Last 2 times when my oil was changed I was told that my battery is for replacement since it is original (7years old) and failed load test. This battery never failed me so far and I checked gravity in each cell and was perfect. My question is what is normal life for the Toyota's battery and should I eventually change battery or wait for winter for some more convincing signs.
Thanks
Six years is standard. Some batteries in hot climates can fail much sooner.
Heat is one major cause of battery failure. It shortens the life of the battery.
While cold weather temporarily weakens the output.
Seven years is a good life expectancy for a typical wet cell battery. It depends on where you live and park. Our 2007 corolla battery was getting weak last fall. I replaced it with an AGM. Which may or may not last longer but I know they are less likely to leak and damage the area under the battery and corrode the terminals.
Our 2007 has about 71000 miles.
Thanks Snow Tire,
I live in Connecticut and as I said it is going to be colder. But based on my experience battery is not collapsing immediately and mine has no any sign of leaks I checked the levels and electrolyte and so far I didn't noticed any change in performance.
My 07 battery was just cranking the engine more slowly and I am keeping it in the house. I put a smart charger on it and it charged for a while. Never load tested it but it might have been just low or In need of conditioning.
My wife drives the 07 and does a lot of short trips. The battery itself seems fine after over 7 years. I might try using it in a Mazda .
If you have a charger, it might benefit the battery to charge it over night.
A lot of people say change it after six years. But if it's still reliable no reason not to keep it. Just don't leave your dome light on overnight.
Checking the electrolyte is just one aspect of the wet-cell battery. State of charge, that the hygrometer can measure, is just a point measurement - it could be different under a load. Hygrometer cannot measure reserve capacity or load characteristics.
Had one in the Matrix that had all the cells full of electrolyte, SG tested fine. Went out for a road trip - battery cranked beautifully, stopped somewhere to get something to eat.came back out - click, click - dead battery. Just flat out died, fortunately, we were close to a autoparts store, so I was able to buy another one right on the spot to get back home. Battery was almost exactly 6 years old on the nose.
But like they say, YMMV, some batteries last longer than others. I've seen some Subaru Panasonic well cell batteries last up to 12 years! Then I've seen some Delphi batteries in some Toyota die in less than three years. Ambient temperatures, how the battery was charged (overcharged/undercharged), amount of cycling that the battery has seen, etc. all factor in overall lifespan.
For me, it it more worthwhile to replace the battery before it failed, that way I could never get stranded due to a weaken battery. I'm all for replacing it when it dies, but having being burned a couple of times in the past - I just replace them now.