Got my oil changed in my 4Runner the other day and they said the alternator needed replacing. Took it to the Toyota dealership here to get a denso one, plus have the warranty cover it, and they said the alternator was fine but that’s the battery was weak. After they put the new battery on, is there a way to tell if it was indeed the battery or alternator? I’m about to go on a road trip and wanna be sure lol. Thanks in advance.
Get a multi meter, set it to 20V DC and put it on your battery, red to positive terminal and black to negative terminal with engine idling. If you read approximately 14 volts, your alternator is good.
Thanks for the info! 👍🏻
Almost any autopart store can test it for you.
Yeah I had an auto parts store test my Tacoma and they said it needed an alternator, but the dealership said it just needed a battery. Guess I can try a different store lol
I'm surprised the dealership didn't try to rip you off for an alternator and a battery.
I was surprised too lol. I almost bought a 4Runner from them when I was shopping, but didn’t. Probably should have - they were gonna give me exactly what I wanted for my Tacoma right off the bat. The dealership I ended up buying from offered me $8k less. But I got them to come up to the right amount eventually 🙄
Excellent.