Battery replacement?

[supton]

2021 Corolla, went to start today, dash came on, but click click click. Nothing left on or plugged in that I know of. Drove fine all week, and I drive for an hour at a time, no short drives here. Did not use yesterday, so it's sat for a day.

Took a different car, did what I needed to do, came back to debug. Looked in the manual and it says what I interpret to be, don't touch your battery, let a dealer do that? Umm... that's a bit unfair.

By the time I got around to debug, the battery was registering 5.2V and nothing was working. I have a 2A charger on it, which is going to take all day--assuming the battery just isn't bad. Maybe for every battery that lasts 10 years there is one that lasts 2? I'm wondering if I shouldn't just run out and replace it, but... I need to pull the battery and the above statement makes me wonder what can of worms I'll open up.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Clearing the learned info out of the ECU is not a big deal I would think. It'll just re-learn and fine-tune as you drive it again.

I'd only be worried about a security system like an immobilizer or whatever.

 

[Warstud]

Charge it up and see if it starts .... let it sit overnight and try starting it the next day . If it doesnt start then you need a new battery

 

[AutoMechanic]

You removing the battery won’t hurt anything. They put that in there as a liability thing. It will do the same thing every car does when you remove it you’ll have to reset the clock and everything but it will relearn everything else again. That said with your car being a 2021 I would see if your battery is still under warranty. As long as you aren’t out of the mileage range it should be.

 

[MSCH]

2021 Corolla, went to start today, dash came on, but click click click. Nothing left on or plugged in that I know of. Drove fine all week, and I drive for an hour at a time, no short drives here. Did not use yesterday, so it's sat for a day.

Took a different car, did what I needed to do, came back to debug. Looked in the manual and it says what I interpret to be, don't touch your battery, let a dealer do that? Umm... that's a bit unfair.

View attachment 177773

By the time I got around to debug, the battery was registering 5.2V and nothing was working. I have a 2A charger on it, which is going to take all day--assuming the battery just isn't bad. Maybe for every battery that lasts 10 years there is one that lasts 2? I'm wondering if I shouldn't just run out and replace it, but... I need to pull the battery and the above statement makes me wonder what can of worms I'll open up.

they make small adapters that take a 9 volt battery to connect to the charging port for keeping memory stuff alive, but realistically the ECM's store Info no matter what, its just the dumb stuff like memory seats and radio presets that might go away with a battery disconnect. ... but yeah, batteries can fail early... in my case I consider car batteries to have a 3 year lifespan, if they last longer than that fine but if I get 3 years out of them, I'm good with it... FWIW your battery is probably 4 years old now. 21 22 23 and the 24 model years are out so call it 4 years.

 

[Dave Sherman]

I can't speak for a 2021 Corolla, but I worked with a guy who said his BMW required a visit to the dealer if the battery was disconnected because the charging system wouldn't work until it was initialized properly. That's the only weird one I've heard of. Nearly any OBDII vehicle will lose their readiness codes so you might fail an e-check immediately after a battery change, but if you don't have any glaring warning lights and your alternator is charging properly, you're probably fine, and your readiness codes will be re-learned eventually.

 

[blkwtr]

You can probably start it with jumper cables. If so look to make sure the alternator light is not on, then check the volts with a multimeter (should be around 13.5 or so) to ensure the alternator is good.

 

[supton]

I can't speak for a 2021 Corolla, but I worked with a guy who said his BMW required a visit to the dealer if the battery was disconnected because the charging system wouldn't work until it was initialized properly. That's the only weird one I've heard of. Nearly any OBDII vehicle will lose their readiness codes so you might fail an e-check immediately after a battery change, but if you don't have any glaring warning lights and your alternator is charging properly, you're probably fine, and your readiness codes will be re-learned eventually.

I know BWM, and I'm sure others, need to be coded on battery replacement. Something about charging algorithms. I don't expect that on a plain-jane Corolla!

Inspection is good for a year, so not worried about readiness codes.

they make small adapters that take a 9 volt battery to connect to the charging port for ekeeping memeory stuff alive, butr realistically the ECM's store infor no matter what, its just the dum stuff like memory seats and radio presets that might go away with a battery disconnect. ... but yeah, batteries can fail early... in my case I consider car batteries to have a 3 year lifespan, if they last longer than that fine but if I get 3 years out of them, I'm good with it... FWIW your battery is probably 4 years old now. 21 22 23 and the 24 model years are out so call it 4 years.

True, maybe it's older than I think... I'm still miffed, I usually get around 7 years out of a battery. Frustrated since it's bricked at the moment, but I know realistically that this is why I have multiple vehicles... but my "newest" car should be the last one to suffer problems. I think I can run out now but this afternoon I think all the cars are gone, and then tomorrow it needs to be moving... otherwise I have to drive a 20 year old CRV for 2 hours.

I can make a battery adapter easily enough. Have multiple 12V SLA's, one 5A diode and I'm done.

Leaning towards making a run to Walmart now. Not sure I want a black wallyworld battery there, the white one looks so much better...

 

[supton]

Apparently it's an issue, maybe covered under a TSB. Not sure. But it's a theme.

search link.

 

[MSCH]

True, maybe it's older than I think... I'm still miffed, I usually get around 7 years out of a battery. Frustrated since it's bricked at the moment, but I know realistically that this is why I have multiple vehicles... but my "newest" car should be the last one to suffer problems. I think I can run out now but this afternoon I think all the cars are gone, and then tomorrow it needs to be moving... otherwise I have to drive a 20 year old CRV for 2 hours.

I can make a battery adapter easily enough. Have multiple 12V SLA's, one 5A diode and I'm done.

Leaning towards making a run to Walmart now. Not sure I want a black wallyworld battery there, the white one looks so much better...

yeah, and you have no way of knowing how long the battery sat on a pallet before it finally made its way into service.. as far as age of the vehicle goes the newest cart I have is a 2017 Versa and it is also the car I have made the most repairs to, considering it's limited age and mileage.. It has had 1 battery, 1 starter motor, 1 electric cooling fan, 1 wheel bearing and 1 O2 sensor.. whereas my 2012 Camaro has had 1 battery.

 

[supton]

Hmm, guess I should have bought a clamp on ammeter at some point in the past. I guess now is a good time, although a week ago would have been better.

Let's see, from 5.2V to 12.77V in 30 minutes? sounds like toast to me. I'm not finding any date code on it, there is a cryptic one on this Panasonic battery but some casual surfing indicates that factory batteries might not get a date stamp (?). So it could be 4 years old, and maybe the PO abused it. Or I'm just unlucky.

 

[MSCH]

Hmm, guess I should have bought a clamp on ammeter at some point in the past. I guess now is a good time, although a week ago would have been better.

Let's see, from 5.2V to 12.77V in 30 minutes? sounds like toast to me. I'm not finding any date code on it, there is a cryptic one on this Panasonic battery but some casual surfing indicates that factory batteries might not get a date stamp (?). So it could be 4 years old, and maybe the PO abused it. Or I'm just unlucky.

well, as a battery ages it loses capacity... think of it as starting out life as a 5 gallon gas can.... but as it ages it becomes a 4 gallon gas can, then a 3, then a 2 etc.... and it takes longer to fill( recharge) a 5 gallon can than a 3 gallon can.... so yeah, your battery is probably still 12 volts as in all the cells are still functioning but its capacity is diminished. That is why it recharges in such a short time

 

[supton]

You know, I did buy some aftermarket Lightning cables, and have one plugged in. I wonder if that keeps something on?

 

[supton]

well, as a battery ages it loses capacity... think of it as starting out life as a 5 gallon gas can.... but as it ages it becomes a 4 gallon gas can, then a 3, then a 2 etc.... and it takes longer to fill( recharge) a 5 gallon can than a 3 gallon can.... so yeah, your battery is probably still 12 volts as in all the cells are still functioning but its capacity is diminished. That is why it recharges in such a short time

True, and this isn't a high amp-hour battery either, I think it's 307 CCA. The charger is still doing its thing, so maybe it's coming up quickly and then will take forever to charge, but still, I think it's done for.

Maybe I should give in and buy a jump pack. Not the worst thing to carry around.

 

[simple_gifts]

"Contact your Toyota Dealer" = we have the info (simple process) that we want to charge you $150 for.

 

[skyactiv]

I looked into this because of this thread since having a 21 Corolla Hybrid. mine ice affected as my Corolla was built in May 2021.

Detailed info form the NHTSA:

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10181782-9999.pdf

 

[atikovi]

No warranty on the battery in a 2 year old car?

 

[supton]

"Contact your Toyota Dealer" = we have the info (simple process) that we want to charge you $150 for.

I can (sorta) live with that, I get it, they want you to come in and do everything at the dealer. I just want to make sure I cover myself--I bricked the radio in our CRV doing a battery change (did not have radio codes) and this newer stuff scares me, you really have to go back to school to keep up with all the changes.

No warranty on the battery in a 2 year old car?

I wouldn't think so. Bit of a consumable, and I'm not the original owner. Not finding any paperwork for the aftermarket warranty that I thought I bought when I did buy, but I'm not sure I want to deal with the malarkey that comes with that path.

I looked into this because of this thread since having a 21 Corolla Hybrid. mine ice affected as my Corolla was built in May 2021.

Here is more detailed info from the NHTSA regarding it. I would probably contact the dealer and see if it needs a firmware update:

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10181782-9999.pdf

Thanks, I came across the Canadian version of that. I need to go in for a spare key fob, might as well ask about this I guess.

At any rate, I'm out of warranty, so all on my dime.

 

[supton]

So in 3 hours it went from 5.2V to 12.5V. ? My cheapo tester says 301CCA, 10.1milli-Ω and 84% charged. Something isn't right.

 

[Nukeman7]

Hmm, guess I should have bought a clamp on ammeter at some point in the past. I guess now is a good time, although a week ago would have been better.

Let's see, from 5.2V to 12.77V in 30 minutes? sounds like toast to me. I'm not finding any date code on it, there is a cryptic one on this Panasonic battery but some casual surfing indicates that factory batteries might not get a date stamp (?). So it could be 4 years old, and maybe the PO abused it. Or I'm just unlucky.

In my experience, Panasonic batteries are the best in the business for lead acid batteries. All 3 of the OEM ones I have had in Toyotas lasted 7 to 11 years with routine maintenance. I think it would be wise to disconnect the aftermarket lightning charging cable and verify that no interior/underhood/trunk/glovebox lights are staying on after shutting down the Corolla. Then see how the car starts tomorrow before replacing a battery on a 2 y.o vehicle.