Hybrid 12v Battery Lookup

[AisinW]

I think the OEM Battery has similar spec to short code C30, VARTA 554400053, VARTA 012 https://www.autodoc.de/varta/1129211  It has 53Ah.  The other alternative is VARTA Blue Short code C22.  It cost about £80.  So, it is about 75% overpriced with Toyota sticker. 

All of the compatible VARTA batteries has UK code 012 Battery.   https://www.varta-automotive.com/en-be/battery-finder

[yossarian247]

41 minutes ago, AisinW said:

I think the OEM battery has similar spec to short code C30, VARTA 554400053, VARTA 012 https://www.autodoc.de/varta/1129211  It has 53Ah.  The other alternative is VARTA Blue Short code C22.  It cost about £80.  So, it is about 75% overpriced with Toyota sticker. 

All of the compatible VARTA batteries has UK code 012 battery.   https://www.varta-automotive.com/en-be/battery-finder?type=pc&year=2019&make=111&model=39165&engine=134143&etn=554+400+053|552+400+047|550+901+054|&rec_etn=552+400+047|&ss_etn=&literal_search={"type"%3A"Passenger+Car"%2C"year"%3A"2019"%2C"make"%3A"TOYOTA"%2C"model"%3A"COROLLA+Hatchback+(_E21_%2C+_EA1_%2C+_EH1_)"%2C"engine"%3A"1.8+Hybrid+(ZWE211)+(72+kW+%2F+98+PS)"}

Yes it's a UK code 012. I fitted a Varta C30 (size 012) to mine and it fits perfectly, but with an improved Ah rating (54 compared to 45 Ah of the OEM). I did the same with my wife's C-HR 1.8 hybrid as that uses a size 012 also. 

I gather that the OP has now paid the dealer to replace the Battery though. 

[yossarian247]

7 hours ago, Nabeel said:

Toyota is also registered with The Motor Ombudsman (https://www.themotorombudsman.org/accredited-business/toyota-gb-plc) - so will definitely be pursuing and taking as long as it takes so they can reimburse me for the £140 they're charging (which in itself is an INSANE price for a genuine battery). It's not so much about the money rather than just a big corporation taking money and looking the other way when issues arise.

The error isn't Toyota's though, it's with the dealer who told you that your Battery was 'non-genuine' when it wasn't, its what the car was fitted with when you bought it new. Toyota official replacement parts are never cheap, but that's academic as you shouldn't have had to pay for a Battery at all in this case. 

[AisinW]

When dealing with Toyota parts, some need to be always original but sometimes aftermarket are ok and even better: Brake pads, coated brake disc, light bulbs, wipers, carpets rubber, engine oil, filters.  Some parts absolutely must be OEM: ball joints, controlarms, shocks and struts, springs, engine and transmission components, seals, sealant, headlights, AGM Yuasa Battery. 

I always avoid Toyota YZZ parts number especially on brake pads and brake disc.  I found that most OEM toyota disc are now painted but not as good as Zn-polymer coated like Hella Pagid, Zimmermann, or Meyle Pro.  For Battery, Lead acid flooded type can be changed with higher capacity as long as the dimension fit.  For AGM, I always stick with original Yuasa Battery, they last really long 7-12 years compared to 5-7 years on other brands (Optima,etc. )

Watchout with the height of the battery, if it hits the hood, we may create fire and weld the hood to the battery. Fortunately, newer Corolla battery terminal are covered by plastic cap. 

[Nabeel]

5 hours ago, yossarian247 said:

Yes it's a UK code 012. I fitted a Varta C30 (size 012) to mine and it fits perfectly, but with an improved Ah rating (54 compared to 45 Ah of the OEM). I did the same with my wife's C-HR 1.8 hybrid as that uses a size 012 also. 

I gather that the OP has now paid the dealer to replace the battery though. 

Yep, I've paid for it and received the replacement as attached. I did ask them not to discard my existing Battery (for evidence purposes), so I have that as well now. As I picked the car up, I actually showed the person who was dealing with me all the info and how the same Battery is used for other Toyota's, their answer was pretty much "I don't know, all I know is it's not genuine". They mentioned the original Battery is rated twice as much too, something like 540A, whereas this one is 286A, but they did agree that it might have been used during the production supply line as a replacement.

5 hours ago, yossarian247 said:

The error isn't Toyota's though, it's with the dealer who told you that your battery was 'non-genuine' when it wasn't, its what the car was fitted with when you bought it new. Toyota official replacement parts are never cheap, but that's academic as you shouldn't have had to pay for a battery at all in this case. 

I'm not sure on my understanding entirely, I bought the car when I was in England brand new from Steven Eagell. I've since moved to Scotland and there's no Steven Eagell that operates here, so I have a different dealer franchise. I assume the warranty spans across all dealers as it's provided by the manufacturer that the dealers must abide by? Regardless of it being genuine or not, I don't see how that's related to my warranty if I did not touch anything (and I would have zero incentive for changing the battery myself considering it's under warranty anyway).

In any case, I've gotten a reply from Toyota GB and they're getting in touch with the local dealer's service manager to find out more information on what has happened. I get the feeling my local dealer (Macklin Motors) might tell me that I have to go back to Steven Eagell Cambridge (which is some 7 hours from here!) as I bought it from them. Steven Eagell already made it clear to me that they never replaced the battery and they don't know what the car came with as they never took a note of the battery, they also just said it is possible it was used in the supply due to shortages and there's nothing more they can do.

On a separate note, I found the same battery I had on eBay too! Without the Toyota logo... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304797619322 - I'm fairly certain at this point that this specific battery was made specifically for Toyota by Varta (345 ln1-mf under Google Images shows only Toyota Hybrid cars that have it). I don't care personally how long it takes, but I'm going to get my money back from them even if it means going through the ombudsman and then small courts if I have to. I'm compiling every single case of the same battery I can find as evidence to show them that it is genuine and Toyota has used it plenty of times.

[yossarian247]

By the sound of it I think the basic problem you have is that the person dealing with it at Macklin Motors is clueless! The cranking amps rating of the Battery is in itself totally irrelevant when fitted to a hybrid, as on a hybrid its not the 12v Battery which cranks the engine, its the high voltage traction Battery which takes care of that. There is no reason for a hybrid to need a battery with 540 cold cranking amps and I've never seen such a battery fitted to a 1.8 Toyota hybrid from new, (although fitting a battery with higher cranking amps retrospectively will not cause any problems).

If they insist that your car should have a 540A battery, perhaps ask them why they've now fitted one with only 470A (as in the picture)!

[Nabeel]

19 minutes ago, yossarian247 said:

By the sound of it I think the basic problem you have is that the person dealing with it at Macklin Motors is clueless! The cranking amps rating of the battery is in itself totally irrelevant when fitted to a hybrid, as on a hybrid its not the 12v battery which cranks the engine, its the high voltage traction battery which takes care of that. There is no reason for a hybrid to need a battery with 540 cold cranking amps and I've never seen such a battery fitted to a 1.8 Toyota hybrid from new, (although fitting a battery with higher cranking amps retrospectively will not cause any problems).

If they insist that your car should have a 540A battery, perhaps ask them why they've now fitted one with only 470A (as in the picture)!

I may have misheard the 540A part, but he did mention it had double the ratings. 

[yossarian247]

18 minutes ago, Nabeel said:

I may have misheard the 540A part, but he did mention it had double the ratings. 

The key figure with the 12V Battery on a hybrid is the amp hour (Ah) rating as that indicates the total amount of charge the Battery can hold, and therefore how long it would take to go from fully charged to flat under load. The higher the better generally speaking. Your old Battery was 45Ah and the new one is 52Ah. 45Ah seems to be a pretty standard capacity for Toyota 1.8 and 2.0 litre hybrids to be fitted with from the factory.

The larger amp rating eg, 286A or 470A or whatever is the amount of current the battery could deliver in a short burst to crank over a conventional petrol or diesel engine, but that figure isn't really significant with a hybrid as all the 12V battery has to do on these is to power up the car's electronics. 

 

[AisinW]

Exactly, we only need 60Amps CCA for hybrid. The demands is so low and Toyota squeeze the size to just enough. Prius 2 and most Auris hybrid use 35Ah Battery but it is AGM and cost close to £200.  It is simply they are on the trunk and not much protection against rear or side accident.  With the Corolla and Prius 4, we have more wiggle room to use higher capacity Battery as long as the width, lenght, and height allowed to be mounted safely.   

We can use the highest capacity Battery that mainly guided by the size itself. 

[Derek.w]

I can find a Varta silver dynamic @ £63.28 530cca that includs postage double price for it to be fitted at a garage.

[Nabeel]

25 minutes ago, Derek.w said:

I can find a Varta silver dynamic @ £63.28 530cca that includs postage double price for it to be fitted at a garage.

Yeah, I'm fully aware of the price. I think my point is that it should've been free under warranty and that's the only reason I paid the gauged-up price (as they definitely won't reimburse if I bought a third-party battery).

[AisinW]

11 hours ago, Nabeel said:

Yeah, I'm fully aware of the price. I think my point is that it should've been free under warranty and that's the only reason I paid the gauged-up price (as they definitely won't reimburse if I bought a third-party battery).

Just keep on pressing but polite. I am sure, they will reimburse you.   I am not sure how Toyota dealership you went and how good their manager is.  You can collect all the documents with some photos or even pictures for new corollas in their lots.  Ask to talk to their manager. Probably they will take your complaint more seriously. 

[Nabeel]

On 8/23/2023 at 9:38 AM, AisinW said:

Just keep on pressing but polite. I am sure, they will reimburse you.   I am not sure how Toyota dealership you went and how good their manager is.  You can collect all the documents with some photos or even pictures for new corollas in their lots.  Ask to talk to their manager. Probably they will take your complaint more seriously. 

Yeah, I've raised it with Toyota GB, who have gotten in touch with both service managers within a day (where I bought the car and my current dealer). They're trying to figure everything out, but looks like I will be reimbursed from what I understood. Steven Eagell (whom I bought the car with) are also confused why Macklin Motors are saying it's not genuine when the Battery was never taken out and has full service history.

[TonyHSD]

24 minutes ago, Nabeel said:

Yeah, I've raised it with Toyota GB, who have gotten in touch with both service managers within a day (where I bought the car and my current dealer). They're trying to figure everything out, but looks like I will be reimbursed from what I understood. Steven Eagell (whom I bought the car with) are also confused why Macklin Motors are saying it's not genuine when the battery was never taken out and has full service history.

Good to hear positives about the case.
Happens like that because majority of the men working in this business are unknowledgeable, uneducated, arrogant and with can’t do attitude.
Sorry for those who are honest and hardworking, they are simply minor numbers. 

[RabButler]

On 8/21/2023 at 5:08 PM, yossarian247 said:

Very strange. Hopefully Toyota UK will reimburse you for the battery, then 'have a word' with the dealer who told you it was non-original!

On 8/21/2023 at 11:56 AM, Nabeel said:

Apologies if this has been posted before, but I'm trying to figure out exactly which battery I have, this is proving to be extremely difficult with no clear indication anywhere.

The car I have is a Toyota Hybrid Corolla 2021 Touring Sports - Icon Tech - 1.8 Petrol Hybrid (122hp). I've looked in the owners manual, the Toyota app and every other place I could find but all I see is conflicting information on whether it's AGM or Lead Acid.

The battery ran flat when I checked this morning (I drove it yesterday and regularly drive at least once or twice a day). This is extremely bizarre to me as internal lights were depressed, headlights were all off, blinkers, etc, so I'm really puzzled how the battery ran flat. I went for a holiday a few months ago for nearly a month and it never had an issue.

Unfortunately I don't have a voltage meter / tester or someone that can assist jumpstart. I'm trying to get a battery car charger off Amazon for future use, but need to know what type of battery this is exactly. Any help is appreciated!

In the mean time, I have contacted AA (as it came under my bank benefit) and hopefully they'll take a look to see when they arrive.

My 2023 1.8 TS has an identical Battery with no Toyota emblem on it.

 

[Nabeel]

Late response but I finally got the refund from Macklin Motors a few days ago. Toyota GB Support helped a lot by contacting both managers to assess what happened (I did the same but they just drove me in circles). They essentially said it was a genuine Battery and ordered them to refund me which came to my account on Friday.

 

[Cyker]

I feel they should have given you something extra on top for having to go through such a ridiculously longwinded fight over what was clearly the original Battery, but at least you finally got your money back! Well done for persevering!

 

[Nabeel]

12 hours ago, Cyker said:

I feel they should have given you something extra on top for having to go through such a ridiculously longwinded fight over what was clearly the original battery, but at least you finally got your money back! Well done for persevering!

 

To be fair, I think I did have some heavy involvement for the first 4-5 days, after that Toyota Support has been doing the rest of the work as I waited. They had updated me a few times through email and they asked once to explain the entire situation.

[Sonny1980]

On 10/1/2023 at 12:36 AM, Nabeel said:

Late response but I finally got the refund from Macklin Motors a few days ago. Toyota GB Support helped a lot by contacting both managers to assess what happened (I did the same but they just drove me in circles). They essentially said it was a genuine battery and ordered them to refund me which came to my account on Friday.

 

I'm glad you got the refund. The problem is, in the Lanarkshire area and actually the whole Glasgow area, as far as I'm aware, the only official Toyota service we currently have is Macklin Motors and they are total scammers...

The last time I took my car to them for service and MOT, they said the car would fail the MOT due to the condition of the rear discs and pads, which for me was very surprising because those had actually been replaced the year before by Toyota Arnold Clark. They wanted to charge me £300 to replace these parts after they did roughly 5,000 miles from new... I said no and took the car to 2 different garages. One just to check the brakes, without telling them anything else so they weren't biased, and the other for the MOT. They both said the brakes were fine and it passed the MOT.

Also, the engine under cover has some kind of flap that they need to open to change the oil filter. Macklin Motors didn't close it back properly and after I picked up the car, it opened while I was doing 40-50mph and started dragging on the ground. I had to go back for them to fix it. The first thing the service manager said when he saw me was that they had nothing to do with that. That they don't even open or remove the engine under cover. He was either a liar or totally clueless about what they need to do to change the oil filter. After they checked, they apologised because indeed it hadn't been attached back properly...

So, my advice is never ever go back to Macklin Motors.

[TonyHSD]

Some main dealers are fully stop to visit either for a service or buying a car new or used. Just motor trade has always been a trade that employs cowboys since day 1 and never changed, perhaps never will. 

[Nabeel]

1 hour ago, Sonny1980 said:

I'm glad you got the refund. The problem is, in the Lanarkshire area and actually the whole Glasgow area, as far as I'm aware, the only official Toyota service we currently have is Macklin Motors and they are total scammers...

The last time I took my car to them for service and MOT, they said the car would fail the MOT due to the condition of the rear discs and pads, which for me was very surprising because those had actually been replaced the year before by Toyota Arnold Clark. They wanted to charge me £300 to replace these parts after they did roughly 5,000 miles from new... I said no and took the car to 2 different garages. One just to check the brakes, without telling them anything else so they weren't biased, and the other for the MOT. They both said the brakes were fine and it passed the MOT.

Also, the engine under cover has some kind of flap that they need to open to change the oil filter. Macklin Motors didn't close it back properly and after I picked up the car, it opened while I was doing 40-50mph and started dragging on the ground. I had to go back for them to fix it. The first thing the service manager said when he saw me was that they had nothing to do with that. That they don't even open or remove the engine under cover. He was either a liar or totally clueless about what they need to do to change the oil filter. After they checked, they apologised because indeed it hadn't been attached back properly...

So, my advice is never ever go back to Macklin Motors.

Yeah I don't have a stellar record with Macklin. It sucks that Arnold Clark left the space in Linwood, they were awesome. Steven Eagell has been pretty good too.

For example, my last yearly servicing with Macklin Motors they did not bother even washing the car (something which the others always did) despite it being included and were trying to force me to replace my tyres repeatedly when it was not needed. I am at least going to swap from Macklin Darnley to East Kilbride, hopefully they're better... There's also Toyota Helensburgh but nearly an hour away.

[Jimota]

There does seem to be a lack of choice with Toyota main dealerships in the Lanarkshire/Glasgow area.  Since Arnold Clark no longer has the Toyota franchise, Macklin Motors is the only dealership within a reasonable travelling distance from my home.  Apart from purchasing my new car from Macklin motors, I’ve really had no further dealings with them.  My first service is due in December so it will a new experience in their after sales care.

[AisinW]

The nice thing about Toyota is the reliability with easy DIY maintenance. In short, just filters and oil change in the first 10 years/10k miles. 

Relax warranty is important for the resale purpose for me.