Battery toast in my 2020?

Get a battery tester for $40. Voltage doesn't mean much. CCA does. Some also test your whole charging system.

 

Can I use a multimeter for this same purpose? Or does a battery tester try to force a current through the terminals which reflects the state of the battery?

 

I disagree about the voltage...anytime you read lower than 12 volts, you have a weak battery that may not be enough to start your truck.

 

If you use it for only short trips it may not have enough time to recharge it self. I had that problem when I lived one mile from work. Good luck.

 

We are just a week into winter, if you battery is having issues and they don't replace it under warranty I would just get the AGM you were looking at anyway.

You can also get AGM at Costco, Walmart, and Battery Plus for $160-220 range. I replaced mine after 4 years of working fine, minus the terminal corrosion that crept up every 2-3 months and required constant cleaning.

 

I guess if you live where its hot all the time you'll be more likely to have short battery life.

 

Usually after a few years terminal corrosion results from the battery discharging. Its good to apply grease, or some sort of battery terminal protector spray over the terminals when new once all connected....NOT BEFORE.

 

Op, you had the same exact symptoms as I did when the battery in my 2017 crapped out in the first 2 years of ownership. Was a piece of cake getting it warranted.

Luckily for me, I was able to get an AGM battery and have Toyota foot the bill because the battery died on me on a Sunday and I needed a vehicle. Toyota allows emergency warranty repair under certain circumstances. All I had to do was get it repaired (replace the battery myself) and have the dealership check the alternator to ensure replacing the battery was the correct course of action. After that I sent Toyota the receipt and I was reimbursed 100% of the cost of the new battery.

 

Today, I proactively replaced the original battery in my 2017 SR. I’d been running it four years, without any problems, but thought it was time. I didn’t want to get stranded in the boonies with a dead battery.
Went with a Duralast Gold.

 

I test our batteries every oil change with a Solar BA9. Seems to be quite accurate for $50. My dad's battery was cranking slow in his tacoma after 5 years and it tested at 60%CCA. The meter warning starts at 80%CCA.

 

A DMM will only check voltage and will not detect low CCA or a dead cell.

 

Well, picked it up today, they say there's nothing wrong with either it or the battery. Have no idea why the battery was drained that morning, nor why the battery didn't seem to be taking a charge when I attached the maintainer (although I only left it connected relatively briefly). Whatever. I think I'll end up getting the AGM group 27 battery anyway, will be more reliable as long as the tune does what it's supposed to with the increased alternator output.

 

Yes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mv5EwmypkU

 

I never go through all that when i have a battery fail or suspect a weak one. I just take my digital fluke meter and measure the voltage across the battery posts. If below 12.5 vdc its getting weak....if below 12vdc, its time to change it.