You might also check the 12v battery, if it's limping along on the original or a dead one it would have to be constantly recharged by the HV battery & inverter running more often. Our 2013 had the original battery still in it when we bought it a couple months ago, clinging on at 11.9v. Mileage seems to have improved slightly with a fresh one.
Love the optima redtops, seem to last forever
Finally pulled the trusty old Panasonic battery out of my CX-5 and replaced it with an Optima Yellowtop. When I buttoned everything up, I still had my radio stations and settings right where I left them.
Buy a nice battery. I bought used 6 months ago and did a week of nightly research first, by FAR the biggest complaint was the battery going out or having constant low messages. I put a yellow top in mine a few days after getting it, not one issue this far.
I have a 2016 Gen 4 that my partner commutes about 100 miles round trip in. Aside from its strange looks it's a great car. Zero repairs so far at more than 220K miles. No rattles or clunks. Every single electric button and switch still works.
My 2012 recently needed a battery replacement
So on top of cold weather, your battery may need attention
Get the battery from the dealer. It lasts longer and has a 7 year warranty. The Optima Yellowtop died on me after 3 years.
My factory battery died at 30k miles on a 2024 corolla…
Fwiw optima batteries have been garbage for the last 20 years.
Optima batteries are absolute trash for deep discharge use. Their quality is also not what it used to be. Anytime I see them in marine use, I swap them out for a proper AGM. Only thing they are decent at is starting applications in cars.
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If choosing battery across many manufacturers, check the part ranking. If your choice is down to two brands, the PartReview part comparisons help.
We compare battery across these categories:
In March 2026 on PartReview, battery OPTIMA were overall better than OEM Toyota.
In March 2026 on PartReview, battery OPTIMA were overall more popular than OEM Toyota.
By vote balance, battery OPTIMA surpassed OEM Toyota:
By number of reviews, battery OPTIMA surpassed OEM Toyota:
In March 2026, according to PartReview, battery OPTIMA led more car-specific ratings than OEM Toyota:
OPTIMA are chosen by owners of cars such as: Audi TT, Honda Civic, Jeep Cherokee, Nissan Leaf, Subaru Outback, Subaru Forester, Volkswagen Jetta, and others.
OEM Toyota are chosen by owners of cars such as: Toyota Prius, and others.
If this comparison didn’t fully answer your question, there are many others on PartReview.
For example, comparisons of battery OEM Toyota with: Varta, Bosch, OEM Subaru, OEM Volkswagen, YUASA, Tesla, Duralast, Exide, OEM BMW, Deka.
Also available: comparisons of battery OPTIMA with: Varta, Bosch, OEM Subaru, OEM Volkswagen, YUASA, Tesla, Duralast, Exide, OEM BMW, Deka.
You can also see who is better among other battery manufacturers: OPTIMA or Varta, OPTIMA or Bosch, OPTIMA or OEM Subaru, OPTIMA or OEM Volkswagen, OPTIMA or YUASA.
