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I had an issue with my 2013 factory battery in late summer: died while playing with the entertainment system for not long enough to drain the battery.
Water levels were low; refilled the battery, and it made it through a very cold December without issue.
use walmart batteries.. the best they have is 5 year warranty but the real benefits is if you ever have battery problems walmart is open 24/7 and they're everywhere
I had an issue with my 2013 factory battery in late summer: died while playing with the entertainment system for not long enough to drain the battery.
Water levels were low; refilled the battery, and it made it through a very cold December without issue.
My original stock battery lasted 57 months (4 years 9 months), which is excellent in the heat we have here in the DFW Metroplex where battery life expectancy is only 41 months.
Yeah...I expect to find my car dead and unable to start any day now.
My OEM battery lasted a similar amount of time - my GS was an early build registered by the original owner in April of 2012. I changed the OEM battery in August of 2017.
I went with a Delphi MaxStart battery for $120. I believe the Lexus OEM battery had a CCA rating of 580 and I used to notice that the car seemed to struggle to start up on days when it was below 32 degrees or I had to jump it when I didn't drive for 3-4 days during the week (this could've been more an issue with the battery slowly losing its ability to hold a charge moreso than with CCA's since I owned the car with the battery at the tail-end of its life).
When I asked the Lexus dealership, they said they didn't sell anything with a higher CCA so i just went with a local spot that had the Delphi Battery rated at 800 CCA...It has been very good thus far.
I'm going on 5+ years with my stock battery. Still strong as far as I can tell. I only drive my car mostly on the weekend so it sits for days and sometimes weeks.
Yeah...I expect to find my car dead and unable to start any day now.
Originally Posted by praetor
I'm going on 5+ years with my stock battery. Still strong as far as I can tell. I only drive my car mostly on the weekend so it sits for days and sometimes weeks.
Why wait for a battery to leave you stranded? That makes no sense to me! That's like running on fumes with the fuel reserve light glaring at you. If you think you may be on borrowed time (and you know you are based on average life expectancy), why not have your battery load-tested to see if it is healthy, or not ... or if the battery is going to leave you stranded. NTB will load-test your battery at no-charge in their parking lot - takes all of 3 minutes.
It is recommended that once a battery becomes two years old it should be load-tested once a year.
I'm not waiting to become stranded. My car has always started even after sitting for days or over a week. In my experience batteries don't fail overnight and show symptoms when replacement is needed. Anyhow, my car is not a daily driver, so I never really worry about the battery. First sign that the car won't start I'll just get a new battery since generally 5+ years is when batteries start to fail.
I'm not waiting to become stranded. My car has always started even after sitting for days or over a week. In my experience batteries don't fail overnight and show symptoms when replacement is needed. Anyhow, my car is not a daily driver, so I never really worry about the battery. First sign that the car won't start I'll just get a new battery since generally 5+ years is when batteries start to fail.
Batteries usually fail in 30 to 56 months (as noted in the map image below). If a battery's age is 5 years or older, it is on borrowed time. An aftermarket battery's warranty (e.g. 84 months) is not necessarily indicative of how long it may last - it is more a sales tactic because most people never make a claim on the remaining warranty. Quite often there is no sign whatsoever of the battery becoming weak when it decides to fail. Failure can happen when you least expect it...and when it is most troublesome.
Batteries usually fail in 30 to 56 months (as noted in the map image below). If a battery's age is 5 years or older, it is on borrowed time. An aftermarket battery's warranty (e.g. 84 months) is not necessarily indicative of how long it may last - it is more a sales tactic because most people never make a claim on the remaining warranty. Quite often there is no sign whatsoever of the battery becoming weak when it decides to fail. Failure can happen when you least expect it...and when it is most troublesome.
Here I'll put it this way. If my battery fails, I'll jump it and drive to the local auto parts store and get a battery. I live in Chicago and can easily get a jump from my neighbor or a passerby if needed.
But I hear what you are saying. I will get a new battery before next winter for sure as that's when batteries really show their weakness. All I know was it was -10 on New Years day and my car fired up like a champ. In my 27 years of owning a car, I have never been stranded due to a dead battery.