Battery dying

Well we went on vacation for two weeks. When we got back and tried to start the truck the starter clicked a whole bunch of times, then nothing. Tried again and it did it again and the truck barely turned over and started. I thought driving it around for a while would fix the issue (charge the battery) When running errands it does start back no problem. However every morning it clicks and struggles and barely starts.

I was just going to go buy a new battery until I found out how much they were, a HATE dealers.

Appointment Friday. We will see what they say and if they are going to replace it under warranty or not. I have VERY LOW expectations. Truck is a year old and has 20k on the clock.

 

1 year old battery and already being dead is a concern. When I don’t drive my cars for extended periods I usually have a trickle
Charger attached to my battery to keep it topped off.

 

The battery should be under warranty with dealer . Just take it in and have them test it they should give u a new battery if it went bad .

 

I'm by no means an expert, but I found my factory battery wasn't great either, I had to replace it after 2 years, that was through 2 canadian (-40f) winters though, with no battery blanket. 1 year is not great, I'd for sure take it to the dealer.

Replaced mine with a motomaster with high cold crank amps and its been great so far

 

Pretty sure the battery is covered under the 3/36,000 bumper to bumper warranty. You should be fine. Not sure if these came with AGM batteries, but if not you could also take this opportunity to upgrade. Should be less than $200 for a good AGM.

 

It is an AGM. Local auto parts wanted $325 for a replacement. That is when I decided I would try a warranty claim

 

I got an AGM for my Outback at Wally World for $179. Seemed to work well, but only kept car for 9 months after that. But I think you'll be able to get it replaced under warranty.

 

Your described symptoms are a bad battery. Get it replaced under warranty.

 

I’ve warrantied a few 4th gen batteries already. It’s just something that happens. They die for all sorts of reasons.

 

Before you replace --- try cleaning the battery terminals & cables.

 

The OEM battery in my 2024 Outback started to only be able to keep auto stop/start engaged for 5-10 seconds. If I topped it off with my NOCO charger, it would keep it off for 1-2 minutes at the long stoplights here. But it would drop down to only 5-10 seconds in a day or two. Battery tested fine at Pep Boys, but don't put a lot of faith in that quick test.

Anyway, I put a new AGM from Wally World in it, and ASS went back to working as it should. So that battery was less than 1 year old and was already on the outs based on the behavior. It never failed to start, but clearly didn't have the reserves it should have had.

Point being, just because a battery is "new" from the manufacturer it can still STB fairly early in its life.

 

Any chance you've done electrical 'upgrades' of some type? If so, you may want to search the term parasitic drain and do some testing.

Otherwise visit your dealer for a warranty replacement. Call ahead to be sure they have one in stock, particularly if they are inconvenient to you.

 

It seems that all the batteries made within the last 3-4 years are all junk. At my work, we get in NEW KW and PB trucks straight from the factory. Within 2 weeks of being delivered to us, the batteries are dead. And these truck take 3 per truck. It sucks but what can you do.

 

There may have been a bad batch of batteries in 2024. There are a lot of hybrid owners complaining about their batteries being weak/dying and pointing to the addition of an alternator on some 2025 hybrids as proof that there is a charging problem. Since it seems to affect hybrids more, maybe it was the batch of batteries sent to Guanajuato.

 

When it comes to 12V automotive batteries, your observation jibes with my experiences. I've made the observation that most batteries were made by Johnson Controls and something like 5yrs ago, they sold their automotive battery division and the company that bought it promptly offshored the whole operation. Since then, batteries have all sucked. I don't know that's the issue, but it seems to fit.

 

Ford's done recalls recently on bad batteries.

Alternator is a red herring though IMHO - the seem to only be on Pro an TH models with a fourth AUX switch, and not on hybrids with three AUX switches.

 

My battery developed a bad cell at 33 months into my 36 month warranty. Toyota gave me a free new Toyota True Start which is now 6.5 years old.

Be pleasant and nice to the Service people and I am sure Toyota will give you a free new battery too.

 

not sure if this is still true. I was told a car alternator is a bad battery charger. it is great battery topper offer. I once did the drive around thing and killed my alt. it was on a vintage German sports car. the alternator shop that rebuilt it told me the thing.

now? I trickle charge them back up if I can. just a thought

 

Good point. I put my charger on my battery over night and the factory battery still would not hold a charge.

If the OP’s battery is truly bad, he should get a free new battery from Toyota.

 

I think so too. if that happened to me I would release my wife on them. that woman is a badger!!!