Avensis battery replacement

[Willss]

I've a 6 year old petrol Avensis tourer.  Loses a bit of data occasionally over night (MPG resets, clock loses time etc) or when sat for a while so concluded probably worth putting a new Battery in.  Currently has a 60A 356CCA Varta in from new.  My auris also has a Varta which is over 9 years old so on the basis of this experience probably going to go for another Varta or Bosch. 

However, all the recommended ones on suppliers websites seem to have higher CCAs though and Ah a little either side of 60Ah.  Being ignorant is this likely to cause a problem in the avensis or would a 54Ah - 63Ah (of same physical size) with a higher CCA be OK? 

Any other advice/recommendations? Thank you!

[Mooly]

7 hours ago, Willss said:

Loses a bit of data occasionally over night (MPG resets, clock loses time etc) or when sat for a while so concluded probably worth putting a new battery in. 

If the Battery still starts the car normally then I would not really suspect it as the cause. All the electronics for clock, data retention etc will be run at a much lower voltage than 12 volts (perhaps 3.3 or 5 volt) and so the 12 volt Battery would have to fall to very low levels (as in totally dead and beyond recovery levels) to cause those lower voltages to drop out.

Far more likely is a bad/intermittent connection/intermittent fuse etc supplying the related electronics.

Also check/remake/clean the main Battery terminal. Remove and clean and refit. A poor connection here could conceivably do this and appear OK when high current is drawn.

Higher CCA (cold crank ability) means it will be better starting in cold weather, the voltage will hold up better. The Ah rating (amp/hours) is the basic capacity. My opinion is that as long as the CCA rating is equal or higher to the original then it will be fine, even if the Ah rating is a little lower. The difference between a 60 and 54Ah rating is pretty minimal in practice.

[Willss]

34 minutes ago, Mooly said:

If the Battery still starts the car normally then I would not really suspect it as the cause. All the electronics for clock, data retention etc will be run at a much lower voltage than 12 volts (perhaps 3.3 or 5 volt) and so the 12 volt Battery would have to fall to very low levels (as in totally dead and beyond recovery levels) to cause those lower voltages to drop out.

Far more likely is a bad/intermittent connection/intermittent fuse etc supplying the related electronics.

Also check/remake/clean the main Battery terminal. Remove and clean and refit. A poor connection here could conceivably do this and appear OK when high current is drawn.

Higher CCA (cold crank ability) means it will be better starting in cold weather, the voltage will hold up better. The Ah rating (amp/hours) is the basic capacity. My opinion is that as long as the CCA rating is equal or higher to the original then it will be fine, even if the Ah rating is a little lower. The difference between a 60 and 54Ah rating is pretty minimal in practice.

Thanks for your response. I'm not convinced it's the Battery either but comments I've read elsewhere reported disappearing data as the first clue of Battery deterioration. It hasn't happened during the past month since it's warmed up a bit so there may be some merit?  I'm keeping the car for another 5-6 yrs so will have to replace the Battery at some point so may as well try that as first port of call.  Will buy the slightly higher capacity/rated one but not go to high as seems little need!

[avensis_2018]

The best are OPTIMA Battery the yellow one ... also you never need to replace it again.

[Konrad C]

Some places or garages do Battery checks. Some are free or for small fee. You could still have the problem after installing a new Battery! Maybe an auto electrician could find out, why the permanent supply for memory drops out. There must a bad connection somewhere. 

[Willss]

Hmm may hold off buying for a while although ultimately if I keep the car another 6yrs I'll have to replace the Battery once during this time.  Battery did test OK at local garage but seems to have stopped being a problem with warmer nights which infers Battery to me.  Will have to wait and see.  That said I'd rather pre-empt failure than be late for work one day with associated hassle!

[Willss]

Out of interest what life span do Varta batteries typically have for other people.  Mine's 6yrs old and 65k on it, used every day.  My auris is 9yrs old with similar mileage and is still going strong on original.  Most websites suggest 4-8yrs is typical???

[Konrad C]

55 minutes ago, Willss said:

Out of interest what life span do Varta batteries typically have for other people.  Mine's 6yrs old and 65k on it, used every day.  My auris is 9yrs old with similar mileage and is still going strong on original.  Most websites suggest 4-8yrs is typical???

If the Battery is not put through too much stress, your Battery might have a few more years. On the other hand when I took ownership of my '09 Avensis back in 2015, it was on it's second Battery. That battery was already showing signs of needing replacement a few times, so I replaced it around 3 years ago with the Exide which has a much higher capacity and quick charging. I got my battery from Tanya (tayna.co.uk) batteries at a very competitive price, including delivery. 

Sometimes depending how long the battery is disconnected, the engine forgets the idle setting and nearly stalls. You have to drive the car for a few miles for it to return to normal. I used another trick to restore the idle. My car is the petrol 1.8 Valvematic, same as you.