Dead Battery

2019 Tundra trd pro w/34000 miles started fine. Drove it 45 miles, stopped and went inside a store for less than 5 minutes, came out and truck would not start. Battery dead. 3pm in the afternoon 77 degrees sunshine day. Luckily Auto Zone was across the street. Had to buy a new $215 battery just get back home. Made an appointment at the stealership for Wednesday 10/26/22. I want the money back that I spent for the new battery. What should I do? Raise hell?

 

I'd suspect something besides the battery. Maybe bad terminal connection. Did you have it tested, or just buy a new one?

 

Had that happen a few months ago.. except I was in the middle of no where off roading through some Colorado mountain. Turned the truck off to talk a walk to get a goodview, came back and nothing.. I sat there for a couple hours, until someone came by and we were able to jump the truck off, I went straight back to Castle Rock to Autozone.. battery was completely dead. It was still under warranty, so I didn't have to pay for the replacement. I ordered one of those noco battery jumpers as soon as I got home, for just in case moments again.

 

Average battery life is like 3-4 years. Sounds like yours falls in that category. Not sure that they’ll reimburse you but if you’re within your warranty period I’d certainly ask

 

I had the battery tested and although it said it was fully charged, it failed.

 

What aftermarket electric or electronic mods have you done?

Not saying thats a for sure cause. Just establishimg baseline. We've heard of and established plenty of 3 year and younger batteries sh$tting the bed all on their own.

 

As said, batteries only last a couple of years. Them dying on the spot like that is fairly common. Mine did it at a gas pump.

 

It sounds like the quality has dropped. I doubt if the dealer will do much, but you might get a free oil change out of it. Good Luck!

 

factory batteries are ticking timebombs. I replaced mine with a Northstar within the first year.

I doubt that toyota would pay for your new battery, you could bring back the bad battery and have them give you another timebomb if its under warranty....i'd just move on

 

Exact same thing happened to me just last week. Truck started right up when it was cooler in the morning. Drove to work and when I went to leave absolutely nothing. It barely would unlock the doors. I figured it was some electrical issue because it started fine earlier in the day. Nope. Battery dead as a post. 40k miles on a 19 pro. Sounds like that is the life span of a factory battery.

 

Just replaced my battery last week on my 2019 with 25000 miles 4 yr old it had one last start left shut the truck off went back to start it and nothing not even a click jumped started it drove to O’Reillys battery was completely dead .

 

Same happened to me at a brewery couple weeks ago. Went in for a beer and dead as a doornail. Replaced with a 27F Costco interstate $128.

 

I called around everywhere before shutting the truck off. I wanted to be sure they had the battery before I got there. I love the Costco price and warranty but they left me on hold for way too long. I went to oreilly as they had the battery and answered the phone.

 

My battery gave up Thursday last week on my 2019 with 44k. Not even a hint it was going out but we did have a couple nights below freezing last week and its not back in the garage yet. Costco has the 27F interstate battery for the tundra for $104. (was $189 direct from interstate)

In comparison my 2010 Tacoma had the original battery when I traded it in. Almost 10 years and not a single issue.

 

Damn you did good, Well they don't make batteries like they used too, then again it ain't just batteries everything is shit anymore.

 

Does Costco still give the 3 year full replacement no questions asked warranty on car batteries?

 

That is what they just assured me

 

they cover the cost of replacement for the duration of the manufacturers warranty. The interstate the MTP-27f is a 30 month replacement for free and a prorated warranty for the duration after 30 months up to 6 years. I'm not sure if costsco honors the 30 month or the 6 year in the case, I would guess the 30 month.

 

Pop off the cell battery covers and:
Add distilled water to top off.
Test for the specific gravity of each cell. Add more battery acid if required (add acid to water, not the other way around)
Slow trickle charge the battery back to its normal state using a conventional battery charger or use a desulfurating one (NOCO brand) to try to get it back to its normal state again.
Test the battery out under load.

Repeat every few months especially if you live in hot areas as the battery's electrolyte will evaporate off.

 

You can also recondition a battery with Epsom Salt. Here's an article with the details.

https://howtoreconditionbatteries.org/battery-reconditioning-epsom-salt/

 

My factory battery died on me after only 20k miles. I was running late for work, hopped in my truck and nothing. Not even lights on the dash. Worked fine the day before.

I called the dealership and they covered it under warranty. The replacement is still working great.

 

Mine died this morning. 3 yrs old, 63k miles. About exactly when my last battery died on my previous truck (taco).

 

So what do you guys recommend for a truck with some accessory lighting with the occasional below freezing start temps?

New battery has been on the upgrade list for awhile a long with a accessory fuse block.

 

Just had mine replaced the other day at the dealership. Spent $230 bucks for the Toyota battery but it comes with a lifetime warranty.

 

I respectfully disagree, about the battery part, everything else yup.
When I was growing up it seemed like a battery lasted forever, the reality was that it probably gave as long a life as a modern battery but thereafter, when everyone with a utility type vehicle wasn't afraid of getting their hands dirty, you could nurse a battery along with a whole host of tricks.
However, back in the 70's and for most of car history prior, for most people a battery only had to service a very limited number of items and if you could get your motor started then you were probably going to make it to your destination.

Battery technology has almost made the old school lead acid top up batteries obsolete, and for good reason, how many people actually physically check on a regular basis their tire pressures, oil and coolant levels, lights and, if their battery isn't sealed, the acid level? Everyone wants plug and play nowadays, we have no-one to blame but ourselves.

I, for one, appreciate that I can buy a high cranking reliable battery, which happily services all manner of electrical gizmos that I'd rather weren't there and then forget about it. Three, four, five or more years of hassle free running, with zero maintenance grief is to me worth more than the few hours of inconvenience when the bloody thing instantly dies.
Now, talk to me about the price of the bloody things and then you'll get me going. I don't believe though that they can be lumped in with common household items that are built like shit and extortionate to boot.

 

Personally - I went with an Optima yellow top after 3 OE batteries in 6 months of ownership of my ‘21 Pro - absolutely no complaints.

A lot of people will tell you “Optima’s aren’t what they used to be” or to go with X2Power from batteriesplus (can’t remember who makes it / names have changed recently). Both may be true - but then again - my personal experience has been good with it.

It’s one of those things I simply just will pay more for up front. Might be psychological thinking I’m getting better reliability - but with the local batteries plus - anything I’ve ever had a problem with - they took care of me and replaced. I’m partial as well to higher end Interstate batteries on other things.

Best advice I can give is by the best AGM your comfortable with. Its worth the extra money in this application.

 

I had an Optima red top in my wife’s 01 4Runner. The thing lasted 9 years before it got loose in the tray it grounded out and shorted. We have upgraded to a yellow top and that was 5 years ago.