PSA: Heat kills batteries

stopped to get gas at lunch......went to fire it up to leave - dead battery.

Still the original Toyota battery (2012) but it was kaput. Got jumped off and went to autozone and a new battery was the fix.

They put the meter on the old one and said its dead. Something about age + heat killed it. Guy said I was the 9th battery bought since 10 am.

 

how hot is it?

where are you located/

 

Arizona? and 3 years on a stock issue battery is not terrible..

 

Nashville, TN.

It's been mid 90's with heat index 102-108

 

I have summers like that here and my batteries have been fine.

 

Must have just been a bad battery, 3 years is pretty quick.

 

Well if it's oddly out of the norm - could it be a bad alternator?

If so what would be the indicator?

 

Acura TSX runs this:

Tacoma runs this:

 

Optimas have solid specs, but hot damn they are pricey.

 

I bought it two weeks ago. It had been sitting on the lot for a while before I got it as the 90 day emissions period had expired and it had to be run through emissions again.

Wonder if the lot time + heat did it in.

 

lot rot.. that killed it..

 

Sarcasm meter is broken today - serious thought or no?

 

im 100% serious, having spent my younger years as a professional auto detailer going to multiple car lots here in San Diego its very common with lazy staff and lot porters.

If you leave a car on a lot for months without moving or starting it on old stock parts .. they fail.

We would routinely see a lot porter on certain lots walking around with a portable battery charger.

 

@Taco me elmo

How long have you had the yellow top? We have ran red tops in the past and they were awful. 2 new batteries within as many years.

 

2 years maybe, I have always had great luck with red and yellow tops in the past 4 vehicles ive run them in, my old jeep had a red top for 5 years, old 89 Toyota pickup had yellow for 4 years, 98 lowered Tacoma red for 4 years and I had a red before this yellow since 2009, the red is still being used on my dads 1974 FJ40 with a chevy 350 V8.

 

Well fuck.

 

Also have this with an added brace bar not pictured.

 

So yeah actually its been in the truck for around 3 years..

 

Gracias.

 

I've seen many big dealership and even smaller ones have portable battery jumpers. This happens a lot more at dealerships than people know about. They just don't have time to start or move cars around periodically.