All,
I've owned a Toyota for about a year and have been in the group for as long. I
have known about this for most of this time. As I have a son that sell's the
Prius, and we talk about a number of different aspects of the car. It seems to
be common knowledge the 12v battery is not one of the car's strong points.
However, it does contribute to, if you will, strange behavior of the car when it
starts to deteriorate. So, getting a good high quality replacement when you do,
should be considered I'm not endorsing this product, but from the specs, it
would appear to be a viable choice amongst the few we have.

Ted Maciag


--- In Prius-2G@yahoogroups.com, "Bernie Littman" <elearnaid@...> wrote:
>
> Note from a moderator: I don't often approve posts from new members whose
first post is trying to sell something. I'll make an exception here, because it
looks like this poster is doing something positive specifically for the Prius
community, and some of the members here might need what he offers. I don't know
this poster, nor do I have any experience doing business with him, so you are on
your own there. If anyone has issues with this, or with these type of posts,
please let the moderators know.
>
> BillG
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> GS does not sell the Prius 12 volt battery in the US so it is hard to get
information about it. However, poking around techinfo.toyoto.com I found some!
>
> The 2004 to 2009 ampere-hours rating for the battery is 28 without Smart Entry
System or Navigation system and 36 in with Smart Entry System or Navigation
System. This was under New Car Features � Appendix. However, for 2005 the
battery was listed as having 38 ampere-hour capacity without Smart Key or
Navigation and the usual 36 with the systems. Since it makes no sense to have a
bigger battery in cars without Smart Entry System this is probably a typo.
>
> For the 2010 it looks like they dropped the 28 ampere hour battery and the
only one offered is the 36 ampere hour battery. It appears to be the same GS
battery and in the preproduction car I could see the GS label but I did not see
one on the production car I looked at.
>
> The ampere hour rating for the Optima D51 replacement alternative is 38,
which is higher. This battery has tightly wrapped lead plates in a spiral design
so it has extreme vibration resistance and uses almost pure lead as the lead
does not have to be strengthened. This results in a longer lasting battery with
less voltage drop as it discharges and less voltage drop in cold weather. In
fact several users have told me they have gotten 10 years of use from their
Optima batteries. I have also been told that Optima batteries work great in
Alaska!
>
> Right now Optima is offering a $25 rebate on the battery. This makes the
Optima battery and the eLearnAid installation kit (with detailed installation
instructions) cheaper than the GS battery sold by Toyota. For more information
go to: http://www.elearnaid.com/12vo1topraub.html
>