This is a timely article! I’ve had the battery go in my car (jump-started first time, been fine since, except that it got flat enough to lose the non-volatile bits of onboard computer info including the miles since last service) and camper van (completely dead and needed replacing) in the last couple of months, due to pandemic low mileage and not thinking ahead enough to take the battery out and put it on a maintenance charger. That has now happened.
Another tip: if your car has keyless locking or remote central locking, check the very cheap battery in the fob before the very expensive battery in the bonnet. Even if the vehicle battery is good, it might have an immobiliser that denies starting if you use the key in the door lock and don’t press the unlock button on the fob.
That’s really interesting. I have been having the maintenance light flash a few times and go out immediately on startup. According to the manual, this indicates that it’s getting to be time for an oil change. However, now I’m wondering if it’s simply reset the miles-to-change… interesting.
I’ve also heard (on NPR) that stubbed toes and foot-related injuries have increased. People are walking around without shoes on while WFH. It’s interesting to compare those little things to the before-times. You see all these other things that are tangentially affected by the pandemic— like car batteries going dead from the lack of driving and stubbed toes.
Thanks for mentioning the key fob. I thought that was another really interesting “gotcha” to look out for. I had come across a video that mentions it on YouTube; but it’s not a feature on the Camry model that I was dissecting. Apparently, it’s also possible (if you have an a small house and an attached garage) for the proximity-unlocked fobs to prevent a car from going to “sleep”, or completely shutting off. Can be another source of drain on the battery.
That’s a lot of corrosion for a three-year-old battery. For some reason, I’m thinking it’s closer to 13 years and that there’s a Y2K style roll-over problem with using a single digit to represent the manufacturing year.
[And yes, I know it’s a 2010 Camry, but I’m cynic enough to think that the battery going in might not have been the freshest, particularly if bought second-hand.]
I live in Pittsburgh PA, as does the author of the article (my home is within the area shown on the map in the article). I don’t see these corrosion patterns.
It is a genuine Toyota battery. This was my parent’s car before I inherited it, and my mom is one of those people who insisted on taking the car to the dealership. So, it could still be a Toyota replacement from 2018. It’s a tough call. It would just blow my mind if this battery actually lasted 13 years past the manufacturing date… But I also can’t tell you why it would be so bad in 3 years of normal driving conditions in Pennsylvania.
This is a timely article! I’ve had the battery go in my car (jump-started first time, been fine since, except that it got flat enough to lose the non-volatile bits of onboard computer info including the miles since last service) and camper van (completely dead and needed replacing) in the last couple of months, due to pandemic low mileage and not thinking ahead enough to take the battery out and put it on a maintenance charger. That has now happened.
Another tip: if your car has keyless locking or remote central locking, check the very cheap battery in the fob before the very expensive battery in the bonnet. Even if the vehicle battery is good, it might have an immobiliser that denies starting if you use the key in the door lock and don’t press the unlock button on the fob.
That’s really interesting. I have been having the maintenance light flash a few times and go out immediately on startup. According to the manual, this indicates that it’s getting to be time for an oil change. However, now I’m wondering if it’s simply reset the miles-to-change… interesting.
I’ve also heard (on NPR) that stubbed toes and foot-related injuries have increased. People are walking around without shoes on while WFH. It’s interesting to compare those little things to the before-times. You see all these other things that are tangentially affected by the pandemic— like car batteries going dead from the lack of driving and stubbed toes.
Thanks for mentioning the key fob. I thought that was another really interesting “gotcha” to look out for. I had come across a video that mentions it on YouTube; but it’s not a feature on the Camry model that I was dissecting. Apparently, it’s also possible (if you have an a small house and an attached garage) for the proximity-unlocked fobs to prevent a car from going to “sleep”, or completely shutting off. Can be another source of drain on the battery.
That’s a lot of corrosion for a three-year-old battery. For some reason, I’m thinking it’s closer to 13 years and that there’s a Y2K style roll-over problem with using a single digit to represent the manufacturing year.
[And yes, I know it’s a 2010 Camry, but I’m cynic enough to think that the battery going in might not have been the freshest, particularly if bought second-hand.]
Corrosion patterns are very different in different climates. I’ve seen worse close to the Chesapeake bay on younger batteries.
I live in Pittsburgh PA, as does the author of the article (my home is within the area shown on the map in the article). I don’t see these corrosion patterns.
Hey neighbor! I’ll have to check out some of your writing. :)
It is a genuine Toyota battery. This was my parent’s car before I inherited it, and my mom is one of those people who insisted on taking the car to the dealership. So, it could still be a Toyota replacement from 2018. It’s a tough call. It would just blow my mind if this battery actually lasted 13 years past the manufacturing date… But I also can’t tell you why it would be so bad in 3 years of normal driving conditions in Pennsylvania.