How Often to Replace a Car Battery

The experts at Toyota of Whittier recommend replacing your car battery every 4-5 years, however, a variety of factors can drastically affect the length of your battery’s lifespan. Find out how much a replacement car battery is and how to test a car battery with the service experts at our Whittier auto center!

How to Know If Your Car Battery Needs to Be Replaced

Wondering how to know if your car battery needs to be replaced? Some of the most common signs of a malfunctioning battery are:

• Unusual power fluctuations
• Takes longer to start the engine when you turn the key/push the ignition button
• More frequent need for engine revving or jump-starts
• Dimming headlights

Common Causes for a Failing Battery

• Heat: Hot weather causes the evaporation of liquids inside a car battery, so if you live in a more consistently hot climate your battery life will be inevitably shorter.
• Vibrations: If your battery’s hold-down clamps are loose, or you drive over rough roads frequently, vibrations will cause internal battery parts to break down faster.
• Needing a Jump: If you’ve done something like leave your lights on overnight, this can shorten battery life significantly.
• Time: A car battery can only go through so many charge cycles, so the death of your car battery is unavoidable, but proper care can prevent the battery from dying on you early.

How to Test a Car Battery

If you’re wondering how to test a car battery for your Toyota, you have two options: you can schedule a service appointment to get your battery tested at Toyota of Whittier twice a year, or you can test the battery at home with two fairly simple methods:

Using a Digital Multimeter:

1. Set the voltmeter to 20 DC volts.
2. Under the hood, touch the negative terminal (black) with the negative meter probe (also black).
3. Touch the positive terminal (red) with the positive meter probe (also red)
4. Have a friend turn on the headlights and check the voltmeter reading.
5. At 80℉, 12.5 volts or higher means your battery is fully charged. 12.3 volts means it’s at about 75% charged.11.8 volts or lower means you have 25% or less charge.

The Headlight Test: 

1. Turn on the engine, keep the car in park, and make sure the headlights are on.
2. Rev the engine and see if the headlight brightness changes.
3. If the headlights get brighter, that means the current is not strong enough to keep the lights at normal brightness while the car is idling.
4. Take your car to a service center at this point for further assessment.

How Much is a Replacement Car Battery?

The average car battery cost can range between $75 and $120, and if you have a high-end battery it can even reach up to $200. Hybrid Toyota batteries have a more strenuous power demand, which means they are not only more costly but can be priced anywhere between $1000 and $6000, but this is usually offset by the greatly improved fuel efficiency.

Get An Affordable Car Battery Replacement at Toyota of Whittier in Whittier

Now that you know how much a replacement car battery is and how often to replace your car battery, we recommend visiting us at Toyota of Whittier when it’s time to get a substitute battery for your Toyota. Our Parts Center is bound to have the genuine OEM parts you need and our parts and service coupons are guaranteed to keep any of your upcoming purchases within your preferred budget!