istarzan

iTrader: (8)

Anyone know where you can get the OEM battery? Its the only one that has the little window showing when you need to change it. I like the OEM look even tho its just a battery.

intellis

Well according to my service advisor, " the little icon on the oem battery can be misleading because the icon is only on one cell in the battery. A battery has multiple cells in it, and the icon does not show a reading for all of them". The dealer told me my battery did not pass the 'fail' test. I told them my icon was blue, which means it is in a good condition, but it does have some corrosion on the left battery terminal. He then explained to me that the icon can be misleading, and there was no way of finding excactly how long my battery will last.

Bichon

Your dealer is absolutely right. I'm convinced that the reason that some on the forum are experiencing premature failures is that they are also relying on indicator to determine whether they need to add water to the battery instead of removing the caps and checking each cell.

Byprodrive

iTrader: (1)

Yep, went out of town for a week & when I got back 2007 IS350 wouldn't start, charged all nite & still no start indicator all blue. Removed cell plugs & added about 20 oz water charged overnite & started this morning, I will wait & see if it is OK. FYI the OE battery is a "glass mat" type of very high quality. Checked Sewell Lexus for new one: $1,400.

istarzan

iTrader: (8)

Umm. What? $1400 for a battery?

digicidal

I found an online dealer that will sell one for the low, low price of only $933!! It was such a bargain I bought 5 of them so I'm all stocked up.

Seriously... I know it's a very well made battery - but you can buy 4-5 Optima Red Tops or about 12 of the Costo batteries I actually purchased... for the price of one replacement OEM battery. If I'd had my 07 350 for 10-12 years... I might consider it worthwhile. But since it was having problems holding a charge after 5 years or so... I'm gonna say it's definitely not worth the price.

I'll replace more often if it means putting the $850+ in savings into something more useful. You'd think it had over 1000CCA for that price!

If you're still interested here's the link: ONE PRICEY BATTERY.

FWIW... the Optima batteries are also AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) type batteries... they don't need refilling, and don't leak even if mounted upside down (although I can't figure out how that would be helpful). In any case - my guess is they are only that expensive because they are a very specifically engineered size that is custom to the Lexus/Toyota engineering spec. My wife had one in her RAV4 as well... which was very good, but it didn't last as long as the RedTop I replaced it with has.

mikeho

Just a word of caution for everyone regarding the battery (and something that I had just learned): having the light switch set to AUTO when you're away from the car for a long time (in my case 2 weeks) will drain the battery and it won't start. So unless you're driving it on a regular basis, don't have the headlights on AUTO!

Turns out most manuals on other cars tell you this. I skimmed through my manual and I couldn't find any warning about this at all. Go figure.

intellis

Thanks for that tip

VXL97

Hi guys,
Can you please tell me how to remove the plastic cover under which the clamp that holds the battery is screwed. I see this plastic cover is entire length of the front portion. I just don't want to break it

intellis

I think I waited too long to change my battery, now my car wont crank lol. I was cleaning my car, and playing the radio while the car was off, now it wont crank. Hmm... I wonder if AutoZone will deliver me a Duralast Gold.

Nicelex13

Has anyone heard of a Bosch battery? Good/bad?

carlos3366

no pictures?

mikeho

Sorry, I didn't think to take pictures when I was changing it. But if anyone else has pictures, then please, post!

MGLane

I too am having to replace my battery. I haven't had any starting issues, but I recently installed an HID conversion kit, and afterwards noticed a faint flicker in the lights. The first two troubleshooting tips were check the battery and check the relay output. I checked the battery's electrolyte level and all cells were low, so I added some more water and drove around for a while, but sure enough, the battery still failed testing. I had it tested three different times at three different places (because I was price shopping for an Optima and figured why not be absolutely certain), and it came back bad each time. As opposed to the 585 CCAs it is supposed to have, it was putting out around 445. I was a little miffed that the battery level had not been checked by my dealer at the various services I have been having them perform, as perhaps this issue could have been staved off, but I guess it's moot now. I would caution those of you who still have regular maintenance performed by your dealer to inquire as to whether they checked the battery level...and you can always just do it yourselves like I should have.

This is all a very long way of saying if anyone is still interested, I'll take pictures when I swap out my battery. It may be a couple of days as all of the local shops are out of the 25 fitment and it will have to be shipped over from another location.

cfrakes

Good thread. Thanks