R Z

My wife asked me to drive her up to the grocery after dinner. Hey, any chance to drive my car is ok by me. I dropped her off at the front door and parked at the end of the parking lot. I turned off the car, pushed the start button once and started a movie. A few minutes in and an indicator on the dash said low battery. I stopped the movie and turned off the car.

Of course the car wouldn't start. Also there was some kind of setup routine on the nav screen that said don't turn off car. Afterwards I tried to start the car, but it was dead. Luckily a friend lives nearby and gave me a jump.

Going to look tomorrow on my vin history to see if there's been a battery replacement. Hard to believe this battery lasted 7 years.

So, do you recommend I go to Lexus and let them test the battery and replace it? Or will some place like Autozone be ok?

Thoughts appreciated.

Thanks, Ron

Shibumi1

SC34U optima red top battery. ... best available IMHO.. A slight bend of the positive terminal and it fits perfectly.

Devh

You probably had the Panasonic battery which is no longer offered. The battery that replaced it is rumored to be from Interstate which is not as good. I would definitely look into getting a better battery from one of the auto-parts chains that has a good warranty and one that has plenty of reserve capacity exceeding the factory battery.

Devh

Optima red tops are good in applications were you need low ESRs and robust starting power. These applications are best suited for race cars that may need extended cranking or using them in a high-end audio system for competition. They are terrible as a deep cycle battery which is what a car like a LS 460 requires. Optima came out with a deep cycle yellow top battery but it's a complete failure. As far as reliability goes lead acid batteries will perform best.

R Z

Thanks for the help. I went to Autozone, which is headquartered here. Come to find out, they said this is the original battery. Well perhaps it was, but if so, why were there 4 rivots missing from the battery cover? In any event I decided on the Duralast Gold with 3 year unconditional warranty and 2 additional prorated years.

Once the battery was installed, I pushed the button once for Aux. The radio popped on with no video. Then the car did it's system reboot and everything worked. I lost nothing that was in memory. All in all an uneventful rainy morning short of 4 missing rivots.

greg3852

Those things fall out all the time. I wouldn't rely on them for anything.

Glad you got it worked out.

Devh

Good choice.
I like Autozone because you don't need a receipt since they have your purchase on file.
The problem with buying a battery from the dealer is if they prorate it, it will be almost as expensive as new battery somewhere else.
The only battery worth buying from the Dealer is the Panasonic which is not offered and you cannot buy it anywhere except out of country.
If anyone is looking for some great Alkaline batteries for your TV remotes buy the Panasonic and you will almost never have to change the batteries.

R Z

Went in to the Lexus Drivers site, clicked history, clicked add and entered the info on the new battery. Nice keeping the history of repairs updated. Worked great.

Nospinzone

Oh, that's interesting. I didn't even realize that the owner could update the file. I thought it was just the dealers.

I still have the original battery in my car (7 1/2 years and still cranking), so it must be a Panasonic. In my former Infiniti Q45a and my wife's old J30t and now her Jaguar S-Type I always use Sears Diehard Gold and they have lasted very well.

Devh

You sure can and it's a great feature. I had to take my Lexus in for a new battery and a GPS upgrade and when I picked up the car the service adviser treated me as someone that is not ignorant about general service. It was a good feeling.

satiger

iTrader: (1)

Lexus dealerships don't offer Panasonic as replacement. However it could be special ordered. When my ES needed a replacement, I asked Toyota dealership to check to see if they could get Panasonic for me. They confirmed it could be ordered but will cost $800 (yes $800). I went with Diehard platinum for both ES and GX very pleased with it. When time comes, I would go with Diehard for LS as well.

Doublebase

I'm pretty sure there is only like two companies in the world that make automotive batteries, then they sell the internals where other companies change the case design, terminals, and put there color/sticker on it. Of course it's important to buy the right battery for your car - especially one of these things - but I don't think you're going to go wrong with any correct sized battery meant to fit your car.

Devh

Well actually there are quiet a few just in the US and one of the best ones I believe is EastPenn. The big companies like Johnson Controls will make the battery to a companies specification and then it will be relabeled.
My next battery is going to be a Deka Gold.
With the Diehard series of batteries you don't know what you are getting but at least it has a good warranty.