There is Something Different with the New 12 Volt Power Wheels Battery
What changed with the Power Wheels 12 Volt battery? Back in the fall of 2017 we were grumbling over the enormous price increase instituted by Fisher Price for their Power Wheels batteries. Prices rose a jaw dropping 30% to 80%. As battery specialists this price increase was not unexpected; lead prices rose steadily over the previous 18 months. But ultimately, the price increase was not the big shocker. It is what they DIDN’T tell us about the 12V Power Wheels battery that came as a shock!
Power Wheels 12 Volt Battery Discovery
As we received our latest Power Wheels battery shipment I thought I noticed something different. The cartons, each containing six 12-volt batteries, seemed to be heavier. I initially wrote that off as me getting older and weaker.
As the team started packing the individual orders, I immediately homed in on a visible alteration—the stickers had changed! The all gray colored battery with red silk screening and red font stickers now had blue colored stickers. The new Power Wheels logo with the lightning bolt prominently displays by itself on one side of the battery. There was no other distracting information around the logo.
My curiosity definitely peaked. I began scanning for the battery specification label. I needed to confirm my suspicion. Remember, they seemed heavier, so the information I sought was going to prove two things: I’m not getting as weak as I allowed myself to believe and there was a material difference between the new arrivals and what was available all throughout 2017 and earlier.
Comparing the information side-by-side I confirmed the model number remained the same: 00801-1869. The nominal voltage obviously remained at twelve volts. The batteries are still being manufactured by Leoch for Fisher Price. The capacity however, was indeed different!
The original Power Wheels 12 volt battery listed its capacity as 9.5 Ah (Amp Hours). This new version with the blue stickers now stated it had 12 Ah of capacity. That’s huge! Higher capacity means longer runtimes between charges.
Translation: The New Power Wheels 12 Volt Battery Will Last 25% Longer!
As a guy that geeks out on batteries, I know one easy way to confirm if this anticipated 25% increase in runtime is believable. To increase capacity, you must increase lead content. Lead is heavy, so these batteries should weigh more than their predecessor.
I promptly went over to the scales. The red labeled battery was in our system as weighing about 9 lbs. These new blue sticker batteries weighed in at 9.5 to 9.6 lbs. This was the confirmation I was looking for, I am not getting weaker! …hmmm, I mean yes, they are indeed heavier validating the listed increase in capacity from 9.5Ah to 12 Ah.
We are not the only ones that noticed this change this week. These battery specialists in Canada also took note and produced this short 38 second video.
Things to Consider When Buying a Power Wheels Replacement Battery
If you are in the market for a new 12 volt Power Wheels battery we would encourage you to click on over to our product page and add it to your cart. If it has a blue sticker you know it is fresh. You may also be interested in learning the difference between the model 00801-1869 all grey 12-volt battery and model 00801-1776 gray with orange top 12-volt battery.
I also noticed the cartons for the all grey batteries still say 9.5Ah while the individual batteries inside indicate 12Ah and have new labeling. The orange top battery cartons still say 9.5Ah and the batteries still indicate 9.5Ah. But I suspect they have been updated to be 12Ah based on the weight increase. My working theory is that they are trying to use up old labeling and packaging material. The change in weight supports the increase in capacity. Thanks for the question!