OEM Battery life...not good.

Mine went bad 2 months after purchase

 

Battery is still going strong, but I HAVE refilled the fluid levels 3 times in three years. knock on wood.

 

We did EXTENSIVE testing when we switched battery suppliers a few years ago. Load testing. High amp loads. Deep discharges. Repeated deep cycling. High heat. Extreme cold. Heat kills batteries. Cold forces them to work harder. A battery will freeze. Its basically water. But they usually live once warmed up. Funny side note. Ford used to wrap theirs in a fiberglass stuffed battery blanket. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

Of all the brands we tested optima received the lowest ranking. North star and deka got the highest. I know a lot of people swear by them. But you can get the same argument about Ford and Chevy, donzi and fountain, glock and Springfield. Pick your category.

 

Had my taco since Jan 18. Battery went out last month, replaced under warranty

 

My ‘17 with 21K has same battery. My wives ‘18 Highlander Platinum battery died at 11 months. Toyota replaced the battery under warranty.

 

Make in Mexico with Chinese parts mixed with alloys. Surprise it sucks. Low yields passed on to consumers. Pretty much the story of commodities. Just keep bringing them back and eventually the distributors profits fall and maybe in our lifetime quality will return.

 

Another bad trait of factory lead acid batteries is they seep or vent electrolyte which corrodes away the paint on the battery clamp, under the battery tray, the frame and the battery + terminal.

The dealer won't fix any corrosion damage under the battery tray or frame ime. For this reason I always switch to a sealed AGM battery, the sooner the better. I avoid those cheap dealer batteries like the plague.

I recently bought a Northstar X2 for my 19 Tacoma and will be purchasing a Bosch AGM for my wife's 19 Camry, it's factory battery is already starting to seep/vent electrolyte.

 

My Group 65 series Odyssey AGM battery has been hanging out on my truck since 2014... And it still handles amazingly to this day.

 

Bought a 2016 Trd ORDCSB4x4 in Feb 16 in GA even running a 10k winch . Still chuggin@ 82k. Maybe it's just a dud.

 

2016 and mine dropped dead,,no warning,couldnt even bump start it. [5spd manual]

 

We used to sell optima. The failure and warranty rate was through the roof.

People like them because they look cool but they are junk

 

Just had mine die just the other week. Bought in sept 16. Replaced under warranty.

 

Buggah!! My wife's 2017 CRV battery.....3V...dead donkey this moment. Fak!!!!

 

Optima shit the bed when they moved production to Mexico. Used to be made in the USA.

It’s still great that we can buy American made Odyssey and Northstar batteries for about the same price.

There’s a reason American made products are almost always superior, it’s because we’re a “developed” country where Mexico and China are still “developing” (even after hundreds and thousands of years) and considered shit holes, even for business.

 

My battery just started dying today too a 2017 at 28,000 miles. I'd have to jump it with my portable jumper to start it. Went to a local Oreily's, they hooked up their tool and it said that one of the cells died. I bought this one at Oreily already, but have yet to install it because I thought there might be better options out there. https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...ttery/24rext/4742480/2017/toyota/tacoma?pos=1

I was considering these two instead since the specs look better for the winters we get here in Minnesota.
Duracell
https://www.batteriesplus.com/produ...uck/toyota/tacoma/2017/v6-3.5l-710cca/sli27fm
X2
https://www.batteriesplus.com/produ...toyota/tacoma/2017/v6-3.5l-710cca/sli27fagmdp

If it was just between the duracell and oreily's battery, should I get the duracell instead? I considered the x2, but it's quite expensive for what I don't do with the truck right now. Then it's another cost I won't have to worry about in the future if ever needed a better battery. Help me pick a battery please and thank you.

 

The AGM X2 battery is a far better battery that will likely last 2 times longer than the Duracell wet cell battery.

 

2 years 7 months before death with no warning for mine.
Northstar X2 went in the next day.
At least it outlasted two windshields.

 

Anyone know what this purple crap on battery terminal is? Just got it replaced under warranty through my dealer. Thank goodness the battery I wanted was out of stock and called the dealer about the warranty.

 

$8 CRC 05046 Battery Terminal Protector - 7.5 Wt Oz.

It's most likely a coating sprayed on by the dealer to help prevent corrosion.

 

Two years and four months. 13,600 miles.
No warning.
Replaced with OEM size X2 Power from Batteries+.
It does say that it is a rebranded Northstar so time will tell how true the reviews are.
It took about two weeks to get reimbursement from Toyota and to their credit it was a rather painless process.

Note: It was difficult to find a Batteries+ that had one in stock and one that was manufactured this year. I don't necessarily blame them, the three other places I contacted supposedly only had 27f in stock and they were adamant that was the correct size for my truck.