New Battery

[YarisFrog]

Hi! Nice forum you got here!

The battery in my GF's Yaris is dead. Instead of letting her go to the dealer and pay full price for a new one (I also wanted to be her hero) I went at Costco and bought a Kirkland battery, cause, well, I CAN replace a battery by myself. Now, two things:

1- The battery is like ¼ of an inch taller than the old one, I can't fit the hold-down kit unless I remove the plastic tray under the battery. Is it safe (for the battery) to install it without the plastic tray, directly on the metal?

2- While unscrewing the hold-down rod, well... I was not holding it... :thumbsup: it fell right through (facepalm). Didn't feel much like a hero anymore. It's freezing here so I can't really lay down and unscrew the splash guard and try to find the rod. The sound it made when falling makes me think it's on the frame or something.. sounded like metal. Now I don't know that car/engine at all, but I didn't see any fan or strap under the battery location, am I right? Do you think I'd be safe just to let it there and buy a new one?

Thank you guys!

Mart

[oliveskate]

I would get an OEM battery personally. But I would keep the plastic tray and make sure you find the hold-down rod because it's not good for a battery too vibrate at all while driving. The more secure the better.

[CTScott]

You might be able to get a longer set of aftermarket battery tie-down rods from your local autoparts store, but I would definitely go on the search for the dropped one, as floating around it could end up someplace where it could cause issues.

[alanwagen]

I would get an OEM battery personally. But I would keep the plastic tray and make sure you find the hold-down rod because it's not good for a battery too vibrate at all while driving. The more secure the better.

I agree, the OEM batteries are not that much more but optimized for Toyotas.

[andulong]

My new battery was a bit too tall (not Toyota) and I was able to modify my tie down by bending it to fit. Not difficult to do and I still have use of the hood prop holder.

[UberSilver]

Sears DieHard Platinum P5 is a perfect fit.

[YarisFrog]

Thanks. Like andulong I was able to fit the battery by bending the tie down. And I finally found the rod and got it out with a magnet. Simple solutions! No regrets buying the Costco battery.