Poppa

Gentleman, I have a question for you. When I was at the dealership yesterday picking up my ES from the service dept., I don't know how but myself and the service writer I was with got to talking about car batteries. and he dropped something on me I've never heard before. He told me that if you replace a "lexus" car battery with a non lexus brand ( like sears diehard, dekka, interstate etc etc ) it will only last about a year.. I Told him I have never heard that and he said he hadn't heard it either until he started working at the dealership. Now I don't know about you, but that just doesn't sound right to me. Why in the world would another 12 V battery not work in a lexus for more than a year? I used different brand batteries in my Avalon and never ever had a problem... So I asked him how much to replace the battery in my car and he told me around 279.00 I bring this up because my car will be 4 years old in January... and I normally as a rule change batteries out at 4 years.. yes that may be a little early, but it's kinda like those 5k mile oil changes I do.. it gives me peace of mind... plus in the old days when I was a kid you could tell when your battery was going bad by the way it cranked.. in todays vehicles, she may crank fine when you leave the house in the morning, and be completely dead when you try to go back home later in the day.. anyway, just curious if anyone has ever heard about this one year non lexus battery thing?

Poppa

Popgun

When the dealer replaced the battery in my previous ES I asked what kind of battery it was. He said it was an Interstate battery with a Lexus label on it. Made under contract. And lasted more than a year. In fact it is still in the car and a new owner has it now. It is 2 or 3 years old by now IIRC.

Mike728

Is this the same service writer who recommended that you change your rear differential fluid?

bc6152

Ha! Good catch Mike... It's my opinion that one can use just about any 12V vehicle battery in the Lexus car that fits. I think some of these Service Writers don't know what they're talking about. The rear diff is a perfect example. And - remember - they get a cut of what they suggest and YOU get billed for. A bunch of BS IMO. I traded an Avalon for my Lexus and the battery was 6 Y.O.
I get all my batteries at Costco, they're Interstates and cost less than $100.00.

BradTank

Something like 95% of car batteries are made by by just 3 companies. Johnson Control, Exide, and East Penn. It's basically just labels and different warranties based on the retailer.

I've actually had really bad luck with batteries from the Lexus dealer, at least they don't last any longer than any other battery. The only reason I go there is if I have a warranty or something like that. But I haven't seen any evidence they last longer.

Consumer Reports did a big study on car batteries and they found the 2 best values were Costco and WalMart. I just go there and swap them out about every 2-3 years. Around $120. I prefer Costco.

Ratchey

Costco no longer has their own batteries. They switched to Interstate a couple of years ago.

The service writer is full of crap. Any battery that is designed to fit will provide at least 3 years of service (min warranty out there for the most part)
You can even upgrade to an AGM battery or spiral cell and they will work fine as well.

FastFord

Find a new Service writer, one that doesn't repeat rumors and nonsense.

BradTank

They never "made" their own batteries, they just put a Kirkland label on them just like every other retailer that puts their own brand on it.

Maikerusan

What that service writer is saying is complete nonsense.

I have CAA (Canadian version of AAA). They have replaced 2 batteries in cars we own over the past number of years. Easy as pie, they come to your house or wherever you are and take care of it very quickly with a good guarantee on the battery. They would probably laugh pretty hard if I said, oh by the way, this is on a Lexus so be sure to use only a Lexus battery.

DanZ

I just replaced battery on my neighbor's car from Costco. It was indeed Interstate and has 87 month warranty now. Any battery should work in any car as long as size and CCA match. On some cars (like BMW), you have to "register" the battery with the car's computer since that tells the computer to change the charging profile. As the battery ages in these cars, the charging profile changes since an older battery holds less charge and may also take longer to reach fully charged level. Lexus is not one of those vehicles. So, just drop the right size battery in and move on.

Poppa

you guys stated pretty much what I was thinking as well... The idea that a lexus battery can't be replaced by another companys 12 volt battery just doesn't make any sense..... now somebody asked if this was the same dealership that asked if I wanted to change the fluid on my non existent rear differential, the answer is yes it is.. but not the same service advisor.. The guy that I used to use was great.. really took care of me and didn't try to sell me on things that the manual didn't call for. Unfortunately he left the dealership recently to persue other options... The last two batteries I've purchaesed for vehicles were both Interstate.. one was in my avalon and one in my 4 runner and not one issue..

Poppa

DanZ

I noticed you are in Louisiana, where my parents also live. Hope you are safe from the effects of Harvey.

bc6152

Well now that's two service advisers at the same dealership slinging BS at you. Sounds like a trend to me... I think I'd find another place to have my Lexus serviced.

EJC

I had AAA do our 2010 ES350 2 years ago, the car has since been traded.
and the AAA also did my IS-F 6 months ago.
No issues on either car and I don't expect any

The only car I've come across recently that has to be done by the dealer or specialized mechanic is the Boxster 981, the battery isn't the issue but they have to connect the car to their computer and reset the car. computer. At Porsche that's a $500 bill

Poppa

I wish it were that easy... no other lexus dealerships in the immediate area and would have to drive a pretty good distance to another one. I have considered taking it to a Toyota dealership.. There are 2 in this town.. one of which is owned by the same guy that owns the lexus dealership.. and a service writer at that toyota service dept told me that they are not allowed to work on Lexus vehicles, that they have to go to the Lexus lot next door. I also checked with another toyota shop across town and they told me that they are allowed to "work" on Lexus cars, but can not do any diagnostic work on Lexus.. go figure... but it's okay. It might be an issue if I were some young teenage girl that believed you need to change your blinker fluid, but at 62, while not a mechanic by any means, I've been around cars enough to know the basics so that the "bs" things that come my way I normally catch.. Plus, now when I take my car in for service, I reference the owners manual for what needs to be done, not all of the added things that the dealerships want to sell you..

Poppa