After being concerned that my 1995 Toyota Avalon's battery was bad (it is about 7 years old), I took it to AutoZone today to have it tested. The negative battery terminal is corroded. The guy at AutoZone charged it and then tested it after the tester said to do that and the tester indicated that it is bad. My relatives and I have always used Interstate batteries in our cars, so rather than buy AutoZone's battery, I asked him to reinstall the old battery, so I could take it some place where I could get an Interstate battery. Unfortunately, the car is now no longer capable of starting on its own and needs to be jump started in order to start.
My first thought after learning about the corroded negative battery terminal was to go to the Toyota dealership and have them take care of it, but after doing a google search, I learned that Toyota's battery terminal/cable design is prone to this sort of an issue, so I am not sure if I should rely on the dealership's OEM parts or someone else's aftermarket parts. I love my car and I intend to continue driving it for the rest of my life, so I want whatever I have done to it to permanently resolve the battery terminal corrosion and not just workaround it for a few years. I also want to get a new Interstate battery for my car, which is available from neither AutoZone nor any Toyota dealership (as far as I know), so I will need to get it from an interstate battery reseller and either have them install it or have the dealership install it when I bring my car to them. As a consequence, I am not sure what my options are. Would someone here advise me on what I can do?
My first thought after learning about the corroded negative battery terminal was to go to the Toyota dealership and have them take care of it, but after doing a google search, I learned that Toyota's battery terminal/cable design is prone to this sort of an issue, so I am not sure if I should rely on the dealership's OEM parts or someone else's aftermarket parts. I love my car and I intend to continue driving it for the rest of my life, so I want whatever I have done to it to permanently resolve the battery terminal corrosion and not just workaround it for a few years. I also want to get a new Interstate battery for my car, which is available from neither AutoZone nor any Toyota dealership (as far as I know), so I will need to get it from an interstate battery reseller and either have them install it or have the dealership install it when I bring my car to them. As a consequence, I am not sure what my options are. Would someone here advise me on what I can do?