swfla

iTrader: (1)

I see we have a member located in Spain and another in Norway. In the US, many Lexus cars came with Panasonic battery. Very good quality. But US dealers don't have them in stock for replacing a dead battery. I've seen a variety of battery brands at dealers, they all are average quality. Maybe in other countries, high quality replacements are available at the dealers. It seems odd that we can't get the Panasonics, I imagine it's some high level deal with gov't. , dealers and the battery mafia.

davidcvigi

I had my battery (2015 LS460L AWD) replaced at my Lexus dealer for $208.77 in September 2019, including tax and installation. SErvice rep told me it is an Interstate battery with one year more warranty. Check it out - it is NOT $700!

swfla

iTrader: (1)

That's a great dealer price for a good battery. Costco sells Interstate for about $90, not installed.

Marc780

Can batteries explode, theoretically yes, where hydrogen gas is present in any quantity, even the tiny amount of hydrogen that gets emitted from a battery being charged up, the least precaution you should probably do is make sure the area is ventilated so the gas can dissipate.

But I worked for a large fleet for 30 years, charged and installed hundreds of batteries and worked around hundreds more, and never saw or heard of a battery exploding. Not to say it can't happen since it can, just never saw it. What I DID see, though, was the water level on hundreds of so-called "Maintenance free/never needs water!" type batteries. And the state of the water level, on every single new battery, was the cells were all low on water. Yep, ALL those "maintenance free" batteries already needed topping up of water. Every single one. No exceptions!

Why is a low level of water in the cells an important thing? Is because if the water level is too low, much of the battery material is exposed to air, so it's going to die on you sooner, A LOT sooner, than if you'd just spent 10 minutes watering the battery.

So naturally when I was sent to go change a battery, the first thing I did was grab a quart of distilled water plus a screwdriver to open the caps and top up the water. Now if you were to go to a shop and actually watch them change out a few batteries, how many times will you see the "technician" top up the cells on the battery he is installing for you? The answer will probably be zero, even if the tech already knows everything I just mentioned, and was trying to do it right and top up the battery. Yes it would be great if shops were conscientious enough to do this, but it seldom happens. Because if he tried doing this, chances are he is just going to get yelled at by his manager for "wasting time on that bull******" etc." which is the height of all things stupid, but which I've actually seen happen. Which is also the reason I check and water my own batteries, and I also check over the car once I get it back from a shop. And you might not believe the absolutely ridiculous things I've seen some of these car-butchers do to a car out of ignorance, malice, incompetence or who-knows-what!

davidcvigi

I had a new battery installed in my 2015 Lexus LS 460L AWD at a local Lexus dealership, where I had gone to get the Lexus branded battery that i'd gotten there in 2019, and the service papers showed that it was an Interstate battery. I protested that I'd gone to the dealership to get the same Lexus branded battery with the extra year warranty that I'd had installed there in September 2019 and was told that Lexus no longer had their own Lexus branded replacement batteries. Can this be true? I was quite disappointed to not get a Lexus branded battery from the dealer after driving about 30 miles to get there and waiting about 2 hours for the installation.

Pierregirard

The price for an OEM battery replacement for your Lexus LS does seem high, but that's pretty common for luxury cars. OEM parts cost more because they're certified by the manufacturer as the exact part used originally. For luxury brands, you're paying for the assurance that the part meets the manufacturer's quality and performance standards. Plus, OEM batteries usually come with a warranty and are guaranteed to work well with your vehicle's complex electronic system.

davidcvigi

The dealer, after installing an Interstate battery, told me that there is no longer a Lexus-branded replacement battery available. I'll get my next battery elsewhere if that claim is true, since a battery can be installed at lower cost elsewhere. No need to go to Lexus dealer if they don't install Lexus OEM parts.

JohnnyC407

If you can, search for a wholesale distributor. Measure the battery space and ask for the biggest and best battery that will fit. I put diesel batteries in my cars that last about 10+ years for $100.

fwhomeboy

What battery do you have in your Lexus now? Can you post a picture of it or a link to it please?

jud149

Nothing wrong with Interstate batteries. Actually, there's only a few battery manufacturers in the world.

Dean2

This is from another thread, you might find the info useful.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...questions.html

Marc780

I like the sound of that alright! Can you tell us who makes the battery, what size or group number for an LS, and where to get it?