Battery Life in Tacos..

+1, on this. Mine only lasted 1.5 years, only good thing on that is that it was replaced under warranty, only bad thing about the replacement was that it was the same battery type.

 

2009 with no items that draw alot of juice, 4 years

 

7 years and 120k until mine finally gave up. I had drained it a couple times after leaving something on. No complaints.

 

Heat is the killer the further south the worse it gets. 2 years deep south 5 years where it's cooler.

 

I changed mine after 5 years - but not because it was bad.

I just figured after 5 years, I was on borrowed time. Since the first battery did so well, I bought a Toyota battery again (has like a 5 year warranty).

 

Your picture Hypnotised me! ............................. That girl has talent!

 

I just replaced mine after a full 8 years, purchased in 10/05. I was second guessing myself thinking "did I change it once already?" only to confirm that what I replaced was a Toyota issue. I'm impressed.


Are you still going strong?

 

About 5 years in my 2006. I replaced the one in my 2010 after about 3 years.

 

Don't rely on your alternator to charge your batteries. It only maintains the charge.

Put them on a charger 3-4 times a year. My friend has some 10-15 year old batteries just from maintaining their charge and removing them when not in use

Drawing them down in heat or cold is what does the damage. Heat is worse, cold usually makes them snap. I install batteries at work. We do a lot in the winter during cold days like today and we do a lot on really hot summer days.

 

my factory battery lasted from 08 to just a few months ago. . . . it died (ruptured) shortly after I "serviced" it. . . . thought they had an overflow

 

2006 and still on the original, 60,000 miles.

 

D'oh!

 

yea and fwiw acid did not do well with underhood paint so my "murdered out bro!" theme is also carried out under the hood. . . . but I didn't want to do the whole thing so its more like a black and blue camo.

that week I lost the taco battery, the car battery, the work-truck battery (edit: well eventually turned out to be the starter), and welder battery on said work truck. . . my neighbor asked me to never set foot on her property as I may be contagious

 

that's actually a good question for this thread: how much DISTILLED water should one keep in a car battery?

back when I was assembling motorcycles, part of my job was filling batteries with electrolyte but they were always clear with an obvious fill line and an overflow tube just in case. . . anybody know?

 

Batteries, like everything else today are a complex item that used to be simple. A majority of them are made like they have been made in the past, you have a box with plates and insulators in a acid solution. With the demands of the automotive electrical system with added computers, and lights and entertainment systems, now add aftermarket items and you are taxing a battery with limited power.
To give battery buyers more power, the battery builders are using new technologies and making the battery better. To increase the amount of battery power and still maintain a standard size requires the battery makers to change the insides of the battery. Now more plates and insulators are being made thinner to stuff more power into the standard size and it leads to batteries that are not as robust as old batteries used to be.
So if you keep your electrical system stock and do not add any additional load to the Taco then buying a battery that is larger in power is a waste of money and may not last as long as buying the same size as came from the factory. If you add accessories and need to buy a battery , you add one that gives you the most power and live with the chance it will fail suddenly and may not last as long .
Going to newer technologies do not make the batteries any better, it just gives you options that a normal battery does not allow. You face the risks of sudden failure of the battery , just like a normal battery. So just as with anything today, the choice of a battery is just not as simple as the old days.

 

My battery died just short of two years, dead cell I am thinking. Toyota replaced it with 820 CCA as they didn't have stock 720. Glad I caught if before I was parked somewhere in the boonies during hunting season!

 

Yeah, mine went on a Saturday, and it was possible I wouldn't have found out until Monday morning.

Then the weather turned and we had -4F this morning. Much better changing the battery when it was 60F.

 

With the caps removed, look into each cell. You will see a "tube" pointing downward into each cell, with a slot on it. Fill to the bottom of that tube with distilled water as needed, the slot is to allow venting to the cap. Be sure to slow charge the battery after topping up.

On my '06, I switched out my original G27F last year because it failed a load test, though it was still starting the truck just fine.

 

Going on 5 years

 

2 years on mine.


Something about the 2 year mark for me. Wife's went at 2 years, and my step daughters car replacement battery lasted 2 years...........twice.