Battery woes 2005 XTR 3 door auto

[salthepal]

Had a genuine Toyota Battery fitted about 2 years ago and increasingly I’m having difficulty starting.  During the icy weather the engine refused to turn over despite the Battery not being flat.  We are having to CTEK charge it every few days.  I asked if I could have a more heavy duty one installed but my lovely mechanic will only use genuine Toyota parts.

Please advise as to how and where I can buy a better one - the choice online is very limited because of the age of the vehicle.

thank you.

[ColinB]

Have you looked on the Halfords website, if you enter your reg no they might have a compatible Battery? The likes of Kwik fit will also have a similar search facility, but I found that if you go there they will try to flog you new tyres and brakes at the same time... 🙄

[philip42h]

Which engine does your RAV have? Capacity? Petrol or diesel? IIRC the 3-dr auto is a petrol but ...

The 'normal' trick is to select a Battery for the equivalent diesel to find a bigger Battery for a petrol since the Battery trays are the same size and the connectors are on the same sides.

Otherwise, let us know what battery you are looking to upgrade from ...

[PCM]

Just a thought... are you sure it's the Battery that is the issue?

 

[salthepal]

35 minutes ago, philip42h said:

Which engine does your RAV have? Capacity? Petrol or diesel? IIRC the 3-dr auto is a petrol but ...

The 'normal' trick is to select a battery for the equivalent diesel to find a bigger battery for a petrol since the battery trays are the same size and the connectors are on the same sides.

Otherwise, let us know what battery you are looking to upgrade from ...

It is petrol.  2 litre engine.

It is a small sized Battery aperture. The terminals are the opposite way round to most I’ve found online - live on the left.

Thank you - I really appreciate your time.

[philip42h]

OK, the chances are that you've got something like this YUASA YBX5057 (50Ah) battery fitted (or even its smaller 45Ah brother) and you could probably fit a YUASA YBX7031 (72Ah) Battery in its place - the later is recommended for the diesel from the same year. The replacement would be a shade bigger but should fit onto the Battery tray (and the connectors are the correct way around) - you would clearly need to check the dimensions. (You can download the data sheet via the links).

YUASA are a good, and oft recommended, make but other makes are available ...

The request to fit a bigger Battery is not uncommon and Toyota seem happy to fit a modest sized battery to the petrol models that won't cope with the diesel engines so a bigger battery may well be a sensible step. But, of course, the OEM battery used to cope so what's changed that it can't cope now ...

[Dippy]

Is the alternator charging ok? Belt is tight?

[br1anst0rm]

On 12/21/2022 at 8:57 AM, salthepal said:

Please advise as to how and where I can buy a better one - the choice online is very limited because of the age of the vehicle.

thank you.

A decent Battery shouldn't fail in 2 years of normal use, so it would be wise to check the alternator and make sure the charging circuit is good.

If you have to get a new Battery I'd suggest looking at Tayna Batteries online - see https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/.  They offer probably the widest range of batteries on the market and usually at prices well below the retail shops, with very prompt delivery.  Just check the dimensions and terminal-locations carefully and go for a Battery with high CCA (cold cranking amps) capacity.

[IanML]

If you are having to charge it frequently, either, as suggested above, your alternator is not giving sufficient output (easily checked with a voltmeter), or there is some part of the electrical system discharging the Battery excessively when the engine is off (can be checked with an ammeter).