New Battery for the Tacoma

I use the Duracell AGM batteries at Sam's Club and if I recall, they are rebranded East Penn which is Deka.

 

I buy Interstate batteries from Costco. I would definitely stay away from Autozone Duralast Gold batteries. I have had very bad luck with those. My previous vehicle was a Jeep Wrangler. One Sunday my Jeep barely started and I was near an Autozone so I went there and bought a battery. About 11 months later that battery went out. It was under full warranty so it was replaced for free. That replacement battery died after 18 months. The warranty was prorated so I only had to pay a little for another battery. That 3rd battery did not last 2 years. After that, there was no warranty left so I went to Costco and bought an Interstate battery and it was still going strong several years later when I sold the Jeep.

 

Oh it’s not cheap. Usually runs in the neighborhood of $260ish installed

 

I was a big fan on Optima Red tops. First one lasted 9 yrs and 2nd lasted 7yrs. When I needed a new battery spring of last year, all the horror stories of the Optima’s that are now made in Mexico made me start looking for something else. Lucky for me I work next door to the Interstate Distributor and was able to pick up a 24f AGM MTX. All the stats for RC and CCA were comparable to the Optima and cost $100 less. After 18 months and with the added GM diode in the Alt-s fuse box, happy to say I’m hooked on this setup.


Side note: I live in Hawaii so we don’t have extreme temps to deal with, always nice 80degrees, so your mileage may vary

 

I had both Sam’s and Costco. Nothing beats the Toyota 27F from the dealership. Price was even cheaper.

 

Apparently Toyota uses several different manufacturers, but Exide is the most common.
Who Makes Toyota Batteries? A Close Look at These Products - Ran When Parked - Car, Vehicle & Truck Guides and Repair Journals.

 

I figured they didn’t manufacture the batteries. But possibly they require higher specs or something.

The good thing about Costco the battery always died before the warranty. They would always just give me my $ back and I would buy again. Finally I think they only replace battery once or until original warranty ends.

 

Interesting. I have yet to have one go bad. I pick them up for like $200 so it's not that bad. If it lasts 6 years instead of 3 I consider it a win.

 

I just installed a

$70 Noco Gen5X1 , 1-Bank, 5A (5A/Bank) Smart Marine Battery Charger, 12V Waterproof Onboard Boat Charger, Maintainer and Desulfator for AGM, Lithium (LiFePO4) and Deep-Cycle Batteries

Noco Gen5X1 on-board in my gen 2.5 Fits nicely on the inside of the fender, to the right of the battery (when standing facing the back of the truck.)

My Optima yellow-top is about 2 years old, seems OK but maybe weakening a bit from not being fully charged over time.

Did you use the special "battery repair" mode on your NOCO to restore your yellow-top AGM, or did the NOCO just do it "naturally" over repeated normal AGM charge/top-off/maintain cycles?

 

It took several normal AGM cycles to bring the 2013 Optima Yellow Top back, but the 2016 Yellow Top normalized after just a single AGM charge cycle.

 

Go with a DIE HARD.......however, I just saw a Copper Top....a Duracell. Sounds interesting.

 

I've moved on from Costco interstate batteries to Walmart everstart. I just didn't have a good experience with the Costco batteries after a few that died at the 3 year mark.

 

Interstate battery has always worked for me

 

Those have a 3 year warranty-lifespan?

 

Yes.

 

I'm at the 6 year point with an everstart.

 

Could someone explain to me the rationale and details of how this arrangement works.I carry a charged up NOCO Boost HD GB70 2000 in my emergency recovery box.
Thanks for any kind explanation,no need to tell me I'm ignorant about such things, I already know that.
Cheers!

 

Not sure what the question is but this is why i did this. I drive very little now and sometimes not for weeks. I keep the charger plugged in to keep the battery fully charged and it even helps to keep it a little warmer on really cold days since at the point it drops to just a trickle charge it still adds a little warmth. And I agree if my odyssey battery dies an under hood charge wont save me. Its more about trying to extend the useable life and compensate for my infrequent and mostly short trip driving style.

As for how it works its attached directly to the battery and the cord sticks out a short distance from the front grill and is secured with zip ties.

 

I think I got it now, it's being used like I use a trickle charger on my quad in the winter. I only use the quad to plow my driveway during winter. I couldn't see in your photo that your device was plugged in to an external power source.
Thanks for the clarification.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!

 

Lots of good anecdotes here. OP @fss what did you decide? And why replace a 3.5yr old battery? dead, or preventive maintenance? Go Air Force!