Season's greetings everyone... I'm hoping Santa might bring me a new 12V Battery!
Just went to top up my tyres with a compressor and realised it sounded sluggish. So I tried retracting the mirrors (Icon Plus - pushbutton folding) and they were very lethargic. Perhaps not surprising as the car has not had much use in the past couple of weeks, but I expect it may still signal that it's time for a new Battery? The current one is the original, so about 6.5 years old. I tried going into the service menus (both via the light switch method and the volume settings method) but couldn't spot anything that would report Battery condition.
I'll be doing a decent run in it tomorrow (~40 mins, half motorway), assuming it starts OK - and then the same again a few days later. Is that likely to top up the battery enough to see me through until I can get a new battery fitted in Jan, I wonder? I have no charger at home, so I was thinking of taking the car for a quick run tonight but I've no idea whether that would lessen the risk of finding I've not enough charge when I need it tomorrow afternoon, or possibly make things worse.
As for getting a replacement, I'd be interested to know people's experiences - i.e. did you stick with your Toyota dealership and was the price OK, or did you go to a chain or independent (if you didn't DIY)? I have a vague recollection that you shouldn't use just any old type of 12V battery with a Toyota hybrid.
Any tips on this would be much appreciated - thanks.