Replacing Panasonic S55D23R 12v Battery with AGM type on 2005 Hybrid - advice please

[PaulE]

Hi, 

been having trouble with the vehicle 2005 Hybrid and I think the 12v battery is faulty having tried a battery tester Topdon BT20- trying to replace it with the same one Panasonic S55D23R which is the battery I have had on for a year now and was the recommended replacement bought from a company called E-Hybrid.com (on Ebay) - found their Ebay post and paid £259.99 today - had an email back saying this isn't the correct battery and directing me to another post for exactly the same battery now £399.99 - both posts have the same OEM No. and my vehicle is on their compatibility lists.  I have emailed back to complain and await their reply. My post is that I have found a Yuasa battery Yuasa HJ-S55D23R-B (MDS battery.co.uk and Tayna.co.uk) which appears to be a replacement but is an AGM type which I gather requires a higher charge rate and I wondered if the Alphard has sufficient charge rate or do I need to bite the bullet and pay through the nose. The Yuasa requires 4 amps charging and AGM types may require a higher voltage to charge 14.6v to 14.8v as against lead acid 13.8v to 14.4v. I couldn't find the spec for the Panasonic. You would think getting a battery would be easy. I have the old battery on charge with a Noco Genius 5 which is supposed to repair batteries- has anyone used this charger on a bad battery? Any advice welcome. thanks

[Liz Coles]

I bought a battery from E-hybrid at £199.99 it was a genuine Toyota battery. Same code as yours. No problems with it.

 

Edited December 6, 2022 by Liz Coles

[PaulE]

E- Hybrid have come back to me and said the battery I ordered had the vent on the wrong side and the high cost is due to there being very little stock from the manufacturer. The AGM battery from Tayna is only £299 but is it compatible?

I couldn't use the vehicle for some weeks due to getting covid and some other issues and the 12v batteries seem to go downhill fast on the hybrid if not used regularly. I should have bought a charger sooner.

[ThuMentaliss]

Please clarify as according to google E-Hybrid is not a company but a description of a type of vehicle. so, any ideals where you purchased your battery?

[arthurj]

I wouldn't bother with buying an AGM, there's no advantage on the hybrid as it's the hybrid battery that runs all the high-current systems like air-con and starting the engine, and like you say the alternator might not be able to supply the needed power.

 

I don't know about the 1st-gen but for the 2nd-gen hybrid you need a regular 12V lead-acid battery but it must have a compatible temperature monitor. I don't know if that's integral to the battery or something you can add. I believe the same batteries are also used by the Estima hybrids so maybe an Estima forum can help source an alternative?

 

[EDIT] Try your battery charger first though. I have a 4A trickle charger that I need to use periodically, because the hybrid just fails to start when it falls below about 10V, which is about after a week of no use for me. I connect it to the emergency charging port under the hood and it takes a day or so to charge up fully, but then all is right.

Edited December 6, 2022 by arthurj

[PaulE]

I decided to bite the bullet and pay the price for a new battery rather than risk the old one being no good even after charging- series 1 doesn't have the temperature monitor- I am hoping this will sort out the vehicle and that the problems aren't more serious. I thought about using the charging port but wondered if that would cause any issues with the electrics. I raised the Yuasa AGM alternative as E-Hybrid.com (they are on Ebay) says the Panasonic is in short supply and may not be available until new year some time. Will be using the charger from now on.

[Alphie]

Hi Paul, I'm running a 2003 Hybrid and changed the Ignition battery (just provides ancillary supplies but not cranking) about 6 months ago, I just used a cheap lead acid (LP063 Lucas Premium Car Battery 12V 44Ah) as its duty is very limited & so far its all good. Maybe I'm talking about the wrong battery but (apart from the Leisure battery on my camper conversion) I'm not aware of any others on the vehicle.

I do agree however that the battery does seem to loose charge over time on this vehicle (partly why I changed this one), that said, the new one hasn't let me down yet and sometimes it stands for 2 or 3 weeks between runs. The charge voltage is 13.8 when the engine is 'on'.

[PaulE]

Hi Chris, I was under the impression that the 12v battery (the one at the back of the centre console inside) started the petrol engine as when the battery has been down I have started the vehicle using a Noco booster pack connected to the remote positive terminal and the chassis under the bonnet. I have charged the existing battery and the vehicle starts and runs on the petrol engine but appears to be in limp home mode as the hybrid system appears not to be working.

[arthurj]

@PaulEhow's your new battery working out? Mine's really on the way out so I've done similar to you and ordered a Yuasa HJ-S55D23L (to replace the Panasonic S55D23L used in my 20 series). Did you fit it yourself?

 

The only thing I'm a bit worried about is the lack of temperature sensor, but looking at an Estima forum you can disconnect the old one from the battery and simply glue or tape it to the new one.

[PaulE]

Hi James,  at the moment I am not using the vehicle so I didn't get the battery yet- will be getting one after new year.  I haven't decided which one-  I didn't buy the Panasonic as it was £400. I might buy a cheap one and the Numax 005R (£70) seems to be a fit and I think this was the battery I had on when I purchased the vehicle. Can you let me know how you get on with the Yuasa as this might be the one in the end.  I did fit the last battery myself and have had it on and off to charge it. It is awkward but you get used to the process. I have a battery tester now and a good charger so will be keeping up with the charging.  I have bought a mini ODBC lead and hoping to download a copy of Toyota Techstream (if I can get it to work) to see if I can keep a closer eye on any issues. I wonder if anyone else is using this app. thanks Paul.

[arthurj]

I can't get my ODB port to work without the engine being in READY mode, which I assume is a quirk of it being a hybrid. It works without the ignition on in my other car. Because the aux battery is being charged by the traction battery in READY mode it gives a full voltage reading. You can get the radio to show you the battery voltage in ACC mode though.

 

I've been doing a deep dive. My local Toyota garage was unable to source a replacement for the battery because the part number does no longer exist. The models made by Panasonic used in the pre-2015 hybrids was discontinued in 2020. If you buy an original Panasonic replacement, it's an old one. They DO have a replacement battery under the CAOS label, but I can't find any way to source it in this country at all. The Yuasa brand seems to be the one used by modern hybrids, I think I read somewhere it's the official replacement for Panasonic used by Toyota in Japan, I don't know how true that was, but it does explain the cost...

 

I still don't know if the original Panasonic is an AGM type. I now think it might be, but I can't find the specs anywhere. One clue is the need for the temperature sensor, since lead-acid wet batteries are less sensitive to temperature and don't strictly need it. The other thing is that I read that to charge the battery to full after replacement, if you don't have a trickle charger, you should leave your car in READY mode for 8 hours(!). That seems to imply a slow and steady charge rate, rather than "go for a good run up and down the motorway". I'm getting this from Estima Hybrid and Lexus RX450h forums, which shipped with the same battery model.

 

The other thing I've found is that the car starts much more reliably if I turn everything off. Headlights, interior lights, radio, air con, etc. Switch them all off. Starting the hybrid system from cold seems to need a massive current draw, which my dying battery can no longer provide while also powering the other stuff.

Edited December 22, 2022 by arthurj

[arthurj]

Well that was quick! Ordered it from Tayna yesterday and it arrived lunch time today. Seems like a straight replacement, exactly the same size and shape with the same connections. I followed the guide here and was done in 20 mins 

 

 

[PaulE]

Hi, When ordering from Tayna did they require your VIN No. ?

[Rojie]

Just now, PaulE said:

Hi, When ordering from Tayna did they require your VIN No. ?

 

They did not need mine; but I do not have a Hybrid. 

Prompt excellent service, well sealed and packed.

 

[arthurj]

22 minutes ago, PaulE said:

Hi, When ordering from Tayna did they require your VIN No. ?

No, I chose the “I don’t know my vin number” option because I find it never works for uk sites.

[mathew binoj]

On 12/23/2022 at 3:49 PM, arthurj said:

No, I chose the “I don’t know my vin number” option because I find it never works for uk sites.

Hi Arthur, just checking how is your new Yuasa battery performing? I replaced mine with Exide (Exide EL604 005L Efb Stop / Start Car Battery 12V 60Ah 520Cca), but dies eventually in 4 weeks time. Not sure if it is a battery issue or the car is not designed to charge an AGM battery. 

[arthurj]

5 minutes ago, mathew binoj said:

Hi Arthur, just checking how is your new Yuasa battery performing? I replaced mine with Exide (Exide EL604 005L Efb Stop / Start Car Battery 12V 60Ah 520Cca), but dies eventually in 4 weeks time. Not sure if it is a battery issue or the car is not designed to charge an AGM battery. 

Absolutely no problem so far. We’ll see what happens over winter but I’ve had none of the symptoms I was getting before.

 

The hybrids need an AGM battery, they provide a solid 12-14V even when partially drained, unlike lead-acid batteries, which can drop much lower. The hybrid computer needs a minimum of 12V to boot up.

[MarkATH10W]

old thread, but just wanted to point out that the original OEM is an AGM battery as well.  Its completely sealed which is what i consider the main benefit as our batteries are inside the cabin.  I've seen a lot of regular unsealed batteries leak,vent, etc...