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I have not located the temperature sensor on my battery yet, because I have not removed the original battery. Maybe we do not have one ??? I did see something mounted right next to the battery. Maybe that is it ?? Maybe someone else that has changed theirs can help us out.
I would agree. I don't think we have one or need to be concerned with it. The only temp sensor I have found is related to the hybrid battery components, not the conventional 12V. See diagram with no indication of any temperature sensor parts.
A possibility is it's embedded in the Positive Terminal Cable, if a sensor was engineered and deemed necessary with the HS? Price of 1700$$$ may explain this??
Found this and makes sense. Getting an AGM battery with a vent hole is a must for the HS. I found and bought a size 51 battery which is about 5"x9"x9" that is available and decent price (199$ Cad).
It will require some modification. More details to follow.
^^^ yeah works... so here's a quick update. 1 week in and no issues. I'll let the pic speak for itself for now. I'll likely post a DIY if there is interest.
The S55D23R battery at my nearby Toyota is $367 +tax. Likely much more at my Lexus dealer.
I got my battery at Canadian Tire for $189.99 + tx. It's a Motomaster Eliminator Ultra AGM, which for the US folks, this is actually a re-branded Exide battery, group size 51
^^^ yeah works... so here's a quick update. 1 week in and no issues. I'll let the pic speak for itself for now. I'll likely post a DIY if there is interest.
Great job!! You took a chance and it turned out great !!
So......................
Why did you decide to go with a group 51 instead of the 35? The 35 ( from the spec sheet) was just a little wider. Availability? Price?
Because from the picture, it looks like it overhangs the battery tray just like I envisioned it might. And with that goofy shaped battery tray, only the original Panasonic will fit the tray correctly. So the length of the 51 and 35 shows to be the same.
The prices you quoted of $189 were in CAD. Correct? If so, that would be about $145 USD for the Exide 51 or a rebrand.
Did you ever find any sort of temp sensor like they talk about over at the Camry Hybrid forums?
The vent tube? That little white 90 deg. elbow on the battery. Did it come with it, or did you have to order it separate? It looks form the picture that you might of had to force the original vent tube on that white 90 deg elbow. Or did it fit OK ?
Great job!! You took a chance and it turned out great !!
So......................
Why did you decide to go with a group 51 instead of the 35? The 35 ( from the spec sheet) was just a little wider. Availability? Price?
Because from the picture, it looks like it overhangs the battery tray just like I envisioned it might. And with that goofy shaped battery tray, only the original Panasonic will fit the tray correctly. So the length of the 51 and 35 shows to be the same.
The prices you quoted of $189 were in CAD. Correct? If so, that would be about $145 USD for the Exide 51 or a rebrand.
Did you ever find any sort of temp sensor like they talk about over at the Camry Hybrid forums?
The vent tube? That little white 90 deg. elbow on the battery. Did it come with it, or did you have to order it separate? It looks form the picture that you might of had to force the original vent tube on that white 90 deg elbow. Or did it fit OK ?
Thanks!
Those are all great questions. Let me answer each question (and with pics) so hopefully it's clear and will help you and others make an informed decision:
1. Price and availability played a role. I did not want to spend over 400$ with tax for the OEM if I can get an equivalent in performance and safety at half the cost. Size 35 was available for the same price but it did not have a vent hole. This has been the most important criteria to me due to the safety risks without having a vent hole so this eliminated virtually all batteries in my research including the Optima ones. Only one I came across was the Exide (Motomaster) 51 that met all my key criteria except size. Another added benefit of this particular model (Exide 51) is the raised blue plastic on the top acts as a stopper to the top metal bracket.
2. Because the battery is 9" long (versus OEM at 8.5"), it overhangs about 1/2". To keep it level, I added about 3/8" of plexiglass wrapped with a grippy fabric, placed in the bottom of the tray.
3. $189 is CAD so should be cheaper in the US.
4. No temp sensor whatsoever, or at least no additional cable, wire, etc. Just your positive and negative terminals, and the vent tube.
5. OEM vent tube connector does not fit. I bought 1/4" plastic elbows in the plumbing section of a local hardware store. It needs to be shortened and sanded thinner. It's important to shorten it since the overall length of the battery and vent tube just barely fit with the trunk cover back on. OEM tube will tightly slide over the other sanded end.
Thank you for this useful diy information. Did you have to use any type of "memory-minder" so that the computer did not give an error code when restarting after the swap? Was there any unusual start- up or did you just remove and replace?
Thanks again.
@toomeypj - I didn't bother with maintaining power. On first start-up, the Nav rebooted and I had some minor things to re-add like the radio stations and the fuel economy reset to zero. The clock was off, but it re-adjusted itself after a couple minutes. Memory seats were retained. For me overall no biggie.
After I read it a few days ago, I wanted to respond, but first I wanted to find out if what you said about the group 51 being the only one you found with the vent tube capability.
So I wrote Exide. I asked them if the group 35 has the venting capability. Their reply.... there was no reply.
I guess Exide being the busy company that they are, they just can't respond within two days like they said they would. But if there is any answer, I'll pass it along because I was almost sure that the group 35, which is 6.6" (16.75cm)wide was vented.
Plus, I went into Advanced Auto and they had a few AGM batteries on the shelf that could be vented. I borrowed the stores tape measure and sure enough, they had one that measured 6 5/8" (16.8cm) wide. I can't remember the exact group size it was, but it cost $175 US. I'll take my own tape measure in next time and try to determine if their battery might work.
After I read it a few days ago, I wanted to respond, but first I wanted to find out if what you said about the group 51 being the only one you found with the vent tube capability.
So I wrote Exide. I asked them if the group 35 has the venting capability. Their reply.... there was no reply.
I guess Exide being the busy company that they are, they just can't respond within two days like they said they would. But if there is any answer, I'll pass it along because I was almost sure that the group 35, which is 6.6" (16.75cm)wide was vented.
Plus, I went into Advanced Auto and they had a few AGM batteries on the shelf that could be vented. I borrowed the stores tape measure and sure enough, they had one that measured 6 5/8" (16.8cm) wide. I can't remember the exact group size it was, but it cost $175 US. I'll take my own tape measure in next time and try to determine if their battery might work.
Yeah, if you can find that wider battery, less mods to do, but don't exceed 9.0" in length since this was already borderline too tight in my application - the vent tube is installed flush against the battery side but touches against the inside of the trunk panel.
Just checked with my Lexus dealer while I was there - they are charging $366 US installed plus tax for the stock AGM battery. He doesn't keep them in stock due to low volume, but can get it in a day. Just a reference point to help decide whether to DIY or not
Thanks for this great post. After looking high and low for an alternative, I came to the conclusion that the OEM battery is the best choice, unfortunately. Fortunately, Toyota and Lexus list this as exactly the same part no., which is Lexus part. 28800-28100 and Toyota part 2880028100 (it seems Toyota never uses the hyphen, but I confirmed that it is indeed the same battery). Coincidentally, I own a 2013 Avalon Hybrid which uses the exact same auxiliary battery and part number. If Lexus won't discount, try your nearest Toyota dealer for a discount.
Retail price in early 2018 was $279.98. My local Toyota dealer sold it for $225 (with a good inside contact who helped me out a little).
08-21-16, 06:14 AM
I'll let the pic speak for itself for now. I'll likely post a DIY if there is interest.
