I got a new battery put in rated at 480 CCA. It worked great when they popped it in. A couple days later when I went to start it in the morning, it wouldn't turn over... I tried a couple more times then good.

I went to my local Autozone - they tested the battery, Alternator, Starter... said all was fine, I told them my issue about not starting in the morning. They plugged in my 1999 ES info into the computer - they said your car NEEDS a CCA of 580 or higher, and gave me a print out of this.

Has anyone heard this before?

 

Cold temperatures do require more CCA, I'd go with highest CCA battery you can buy.

 

That low? The battery I just got two weeks ago is 800 CCA, the previous one I had was in the mid-600 range...

Not to mention, it's chump change to get a better one when you look at the difference in price...

 

It sounds to me like 600-800 CCA is the norm for colder climates, like Canada. This person is in California.

 

Where did you get one with such low CCA? Got a battery two week for my sister's corolla and the lowest CCA I remember seeing was about 600.

Regardless, where are you located in CA? Because honestly we haven't had very low temperatures that would require higher (or even really average...) CCA. Are you located near the mountains or something where it might be a bit more necessary for higher CCA? What are the cranking amps of the battery?

 

The battery was purchased at a Jiffy Lube (30 min oil change place all across Southern CA).

The person that ran the test at Autozone - led me to believe that the low CCA is the reason why I have issues starting the car in the morning or when the engine is cold. This made sense to me because I only seem to have issues when the engine is cold. I though CCA was for cold weather, but also for cold engines.

 

Although your rated CCA is extremely low, there may be something wrong with the battery.

Jiffy lube is not the ideal place from which to get batteries. is it still under full warranty? Can you get a refund?

Also check the manufacturing date of the battery. Get Jiffy Lube to decipher the code for you if necessary. It shouldn't have been sitting on the shelf for more than 6 months.

Best place to get top rated batteries at a vetry reasonable price is Costco or Wal Mart. Costco's warranty is the best around, their batteries are excellent, and their cost is probably the cheapest.

 

Autozone's computer states 1999 ES300 can take a 24F size battery or 35. I just got off the phone with them to confirm it's compatible with either, but the person told me it's one or the other and not both.

Is this true?

 

Avoid Jiffy Lube at all costs, they tend to mess up more things than they fix. Get yourself a good battery as suggested.

 

My previous [lower CCA] battery was smaller than the new one I got. It's physically 1.5" longer in length, and width is the same.

Which makes sense, to make more CCA - needs more cells; makes for a slightly larger battery.

 

You need the larger 24F battery with higher CCA. While the car may start with a smaller 35 battery, the extra amps definitely helps for cold starts.

I put in a 24F battery from MotoMaster with roughly 800CCA in my ES330 two months ago. The original Panasonic battery lasted 9 years . Starts up much faster now.

 

Replace the battery. Make the guy who sold it to you take it back.

You need more power!

 

580cca is alright, 600cca and up would be better. The more cca's the higher the reserve capacity, most of the time. So when your hanging out, you got some extras juice. Plus your alternator doesn't have to work so hard to recharge the Bat.