Natey2

2005 LS 430. Could be original battery, or replacement (Lexus branded battery).

Battery seemed fine at 7:30am, but would not start at 9am after I stopped the car for about an hour.
Maybe it was because I was fiddling with the Nav Unit for a while with the engine not running...

Too bad this car gives you no indication that a battery is weak; it just dies suddenly.

Symptom on startup: Clicking noise... Nav Unit does not power up. Climate control fan motor makes strange noises even when the car is turned off completely.

Be aware.

Legender

They don't last forever... and clicking noise from the starter... that almost always means a dead battery.
Now if it just died of old age...and you caused some premature death by 'Navigation' then that's fine.
It if died way before it's time... then there may be something else to look at.

Natey2

If the battery was original from 2005, then 9 years indicates excellent lifetime. If it was replaced 5 years or so ago, I guess that's just an average battery?

The old battery had a lot of bluish powdery crust on one terminal, and the battery guy said that was a bad sign.

The AAA battery guy got there and replaced the battery in less than 40 minutes from the time I called them. Fast!
Was going to get a Sears Diehard Gold, but the Sears guy put me on hold for too long to check if they had stock.
I now have a 700 CCA, 6-year warranty (final 3 years is pro-rated replacement), Interstate battery by AAA. About $110.

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fensterlip

Generally the test is to put a full charge on the battery, let it rest for an hour and then test the voltage with nothing on and nothing charging. It should read between 12.66 and 12.85 volts DC. Then start the car, run a few minutes and then shut it off. Let it rest a while again and then test and see if your voltage has dropped down. If it's under 12.66 then your battery is weak. The battery shops use a load tester to actually read the amps your battery puts out. Your printout shows a rather sad 64 Cold Cranking Amps which is nearly dead. It could be a lack of charge or it could be truly dying. If it's 5 years old it's probably an aged out battery due for replacing but testing is good really see the truth. It looks like the first battery went for many years more so it's worth testing. A small difference in standing voltage is a big difference in battery health. 12.5 volts is a 3/4 charge and 12.3 is around a 1/2 charge. Under 12 volts is nearly dead and as you see yours read 10.45 volts which is essentially dead. Again, either needing a charge or replacement.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

I recently killed my battery. I have that Interstate / AAA battery. Left my passenger side light on under the covered long term parking for 8 days. I wonder how long the battery powered that one little light. Needless to say, it was totally dead. They brought over the jumper and I drove 20 min home. Then went and had it tested. Surprisingly it was good just a little low on charge but all the cells were good.

Natey2

I located my Lexus Vehicle History report (should have scanned it into a .pdf file a long time ago for easy reference).

My 2005 LS430 had a dead battery in 12/2008 @ 43K miles (original/previous owner).
Covered by Lexus warranty; new battery installed.
So it lasted 3 years / 40K miles.

Battery died again in 11/2011 @ 76K miles. Previous owner paid $103 for a Lexus branded battery.
3 years / 30K miles.

Now that battery dies in 5/2014 @ 96K miles. So it only lasted 2.5 years / 20K miles?

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AlexusAnja

Unless they're producing cheaper batteries, the Lexus batteries in my experience with my RX has been lasting atleast 4 years. 2-3 seems excessive. Do you have smart access and is your key kept close to car? Might be the system is constantly on monitoring the key.

jimbosr1

try a yellow top in there,i have been completely happy with mine.i agree that your car is reading your key if you have smart key.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

The Optima line are very nice batteries. I had one in my LS400.

Natey2

Other than the smart key, is there anything else that uses the car battery when the engine is off?
When the engine is ON, is the car battery used for anything?

My smart key is kept on a nightstand about 20 feet above and the car, and about 20 feet away from the car.

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Jabberwock

I think most if not all of the parasitic draw on the LS is from the Smart Key receiver that sits and waits for smark key to show up. There is a dash switch conveniently located about 6 inches above the gas pedal to turn smart key off when going on vac or not using car for extended periods.

I still have original OEM battery in my 2006 and it works great.

Most modern batteries generally last about 3 years which is the length of most real non-prorated battery warranties. Extended pro-rated warranties greater than 3 years are worthless. They are essentially a pre-paid overpriced insurance policy for a battery - and naive consumer doesn't read the fine print on extended warranty and usually get hosed on the deal.

Traditional lead acid wet cell batteries die from old age and the rate at which they die is usually tied to how much heat they are subjected to and how often they are accidentally discharged to dead flat. But heat is primary cause of early death - high outside temps and also high engine bay temperatures. The saying goes something like this - summer killed your battery but it doesn't fall over until the first really cold day of winter.

AlexusAnja

Since it seems to be draining somehow, and nothing seems to be wrong. Place the key further and get a Costco battery. 2 - year full coverage and prorated up to five. I've had one so far die at 20 month mark and they took back no questions. I have another Costco battery going on 3 years now and fine so far.

Natey2

Is there any relationship between the rated number of cold cranking amps (CCA) and life expectancy of the battery, under similar conditions?
OEM Lexus battery was 575 CCA. My current replacement AAA (Interstate) battery is 700.

My Sears Diehard car batteries in my 1988 V6LE Camry and also my 2000 ES300 lasted much longer than 3 years. Not sure if those would be fair comparisons here.

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Jabberwock

Life expectancy on a standard wet cell lead acid battery (all other things, like lack of manufacturing defects, being equal) is indirectly tied to its weight. The heaviest batteries tend to last the longest and also to have the most power. Because it is such a dirty and dangerous industry, last I checked there are only 2 lead acid wet cell battery manufactures left in North America. Those two factories manufacture the batteries for all the multiple brands and store labels being sold under dozens of brands - basically they use different colors and styles of outside plastic cases and different labels on the same internal battery structure to create each "brand"/store name battery. The rest is the magic of marketing...

Its kind of like gasoline brands. In any geographic region there is typically one pipeline for gasoline coming in and consequently one regional gas distributor in that entire area. All the gas trucks from various stores and brands line up and fill up from the exact same storage tank of gas (with some very minor additives packages being during the fill process (or not) depending on if they pay for the add packs) and then the trucks go to various brand gas stations and refill their tanks where the gas then mysteriously and magically (thru the power of advertising BS) becomes a non generic branded product that is unique to that brand of gas.

vincep

Replace battery every 4-5 years or upon signs of gassing, problem over with. It'st just not worth all the analysis if it is that old. If it goes past that, your lucky but replace at first sign of issue. However if it is a newer battery, then the thread on parasitic draw should be followed prior to replacing anything. Mine runs fine with brand new batter in it, but dies after sitting in garage for 5-6 days. I need to find the culprit now that I have it in my garage.