So I was reading about car battery maintenance and saw that adding distilled water to each individual cell helps make it last 10-15 years. I checked my battery and it does have the screw caps for water filling. Does anyone have any experience with this?

I also read that the Panasonic batteries that are in our cars are some of the best batteries out of Japan and we shouldn't get rid of them that fast and that's why they cost $1K.

 

I bought a Bosch AGM that has been ROCK SOLID for the past 3 years, so there's that. IIRC I oversized the CCA , I think it is 700-800 CCA

 

5 years on my original battery. It's lived on a Battery Tender since new.

 

My Costco told me they did not have the correct size for our 2013 GS350 F Sport.
Can you tell me what size you are using? Thanks in advance!

 

My car is a 2015, likely the same size, but you can look for your battery on this link below (fill in your Year/Make/Model at the top). I believe it was a group size 24. The replacement battery will not fit in your plastic, black sleeve that the original battery fits into, so take the sleeve out and either pitch it or save it.

Costco Battery Link

 

Not everyone is concerned with saving a few pennies as you obviously are. Say someone does pay their Lexus dealership $250 for a new battery replacement installed for them. If the battery lasts them 5 years that's just $4 a month. Considering what that battery does, that's really a bargain! Hell, I'll spend $40 a week easily giving tips - and you're giving someone a hard time over spending the equivalent of $3 or $4 a month for something that is important to reliability and convenience. You must be a lot of fun to hang around!

 

Lol...man that Lexus battery lasted 3 years and had a hole in it at the time of replacement. The Duralast Gold has lasted me 3.5 years and still going strong.

 

The idea of this forum is to help people in performing simple DIY services and other GS related items. You seem more worried about averaging out a simple service into a monthly fee than realizing that the guy likely got charged for an hour of service for something that takes only 5 minutes time to perform as an easy DIY fix. Hopefully, others learn how easy it is to replace the battery, and if they aren't comfortable with performing that service, companies like Autozone, O'Reilly and Advance Auto will install the battery for them at their store for free (assuming the battery is purchased from them) - another savings tip!

 

Solid thread - fast forward to early 2023 - what battery brands are most people installing now? Mine is just about 7yrs and for the first time did not start over the weekend. In its defense we had record breaking cold hitting -18 at night.

 

Some are buying different brands from places like Walmart, Costco, or auto supply dealers and replacing it themselves. Some are learning that the battery they bought is not the same physical size as the original battery and does not fit the battery tray and hold-down bracket.

Some experience costly issues by learning that after replacing the battery they have problems with things like the NAV, the electric parking brake becoming stuck, the HVAC system itself not working or the servos that control the ductwork damper doors not working. Some have had to have their car towed into the dealership and/or pay a diagnosis fee to determine what needs to be fixed after a DIYer or 3rd party tried replacing the battery...and then paying for the repair.

When the Lexus dealership replaces the battery with a Lexus branded #00544-MF240-575 battery no one has these problems, and if they do happen the Lexus tech takes care of them at no additional charge. So, I'm in the camp that definitely recommends having a Lexus dealership replace the battery which comes with an 84-month warranty (with first 24-month replacement at no charge).

 

I DIY replaced mine with an Optima Red top battery. In 10yrs, my 2013 GS is on its 3rd battery. Since the Lexus dealer doesn't charge too much for this service (typically ~$150 for the battery, and another $75-$140 for labor), its also one of my recommendations if you don't want to deal with lifting 40lbs+ batteries and work through any potential headaches as fellow member @bclexus mentioned.

Some have also gone with a lighter-weight, premium strength lithium battery that has a lifespan of 10yrs: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...y-battery.html

I didn't know the lithium battery was an option, otherwise I would have considered it since I typically keep my cars for around 8-10yrs.

 

DIY'd mine a year ago. $209 - Autozone Duralast Gold Battery 24-DLG Group Size 24 700 CCA. 3 Year Warranty. Notes: OE Exact Fit. *** 700 cold cranking amps (875 cranking amps)***. 130 reserve minutes

https://www.autozone.com/batteries-s...cca/832328_0_0

 

@islandbeef - Wonder why the Duralast Gold battery only has a 3-year warranty when most other batteries offer longer warranty periods, with the Lexus branded replacement battery having a 7-year (84-month) warranty with replacement at no charge if it fails within two years.

 

Costco Interstate battery fits perfectly with the brace intact, and cost me $105. I'm mechanically semi-retarded and got it done without too much trouble. Based on paperwork the previous battery (an identical interstate battery from costco) lasted almost exactly 3 years.

 

Most OE batteries in the GS 350 seem to last about 6-7 years.