I saw Varta being installed here and went with it,basic Varta D47 60Ah battery (75EUR;85USD) after considering Optima D51R(YT R 2.7) 38Ah (165EUR;186USD).
Replacement was straightforward except that the ventilation tube connector needed some alteration to fit. I used 3rd battery connected with extra wires to maintain power in the car while I did the change.
Original battery was that Panasonic S55D23L 51Ah (online price 564EUR+taxes+shipping!!!;638USD), which I didn't bother to ask from local dealer.

 

I just replaced my battery on my 2010 RX450h. I got it from pep boys, Bosch Group 35 AGM, it was a perfect fit height & length wise. It was only a little bit shorter on the width but was easily placed in. Just wanted to let people know that this battery does fit. Bosch Platnium AGM 35-650BAGM is the model #. I had a hard time trying to find a good answer on what actually fits. Hope this helps someone!

 

I've been running dual Red Tops in my 7.3L F250 diesel for nearly 9 years now (second set now), and they do perform well. However, for the RXh which does not demand NEAR the starting load as my 7.3L engine, a good old fashioned Interstate battery from Costco would have been a whole lot more cost-effective (like half the price), and they have outstanding warranties! Admittedly, the Interstates are not nearly as glamorous as the Optima's.

 

Did you use the OEM ventilation tube and how was the fit of this tube? Do you have any pictures?

 

I did re-use the OEM ventilation tube. This battery came with vent holes on each side as well as a plug for one side and a 90 degree angle hose adapter for the other side. This fit either side depending on the placement needed for the battery. I just pulled off the original 90 degree hose adapter that came with panasonic battery and the new adapter that the battery came with slides right on to the OEM tube. It is a little snug compared to the original, but worked perfect. Just an FYI when buying this battery, people tend to take these 90 degree adapters off the batteries in the store. So make sure you get one! Look on the other batteries if yours doesn't have one! I will post pictures of all later!

 

Having just (yesterday) bought our new-to-us 2010 RX450h, I'm going to follow my own advice here and proactively replace the 12V battery with a new Interstate from Costco. I always try to replace wear items a little before they would typically expire so that I can do it at my convenience, in my driveway, with my tools, and thereby virtually eliminate any potential of being stranded away from the house with an "urgent" repair need. Otherwise, since things only break when they are in use, the very nature of that reality places the vehicle away from my tools and work space and would obligate me to either more inconvenience and potentially higher repair costs, or both.

Regarding the ventilation tube, I had to deal with the exact same issue on my daughter's Volvo S60 just last month, where the battery resides in the trunk, and the replacement Interstate from Costco fit perfectly, hosted the ventilation tube perfectly, and was only $105.

 

You are a very smart man.

I managed a group of field technicians with company cars in South Florida. Our company cars were leased and we kept them for 4 years. In the South Florida heat batteries would fail between 30-36 months in service. When they failed of course it was at the worst time and it would take the tech off the street for usually a full day.

i initiated preventive maintenance procedure to replace batteries at the first oil change after 24 months in service and that totally eliminated the issue.

 

What is the model number of the Interstate battery?

 

A couple of light wires with alligator clips attached to both the new battery
posts and the cars positive and negative cables prior to disconnecting the
nearly dead battery will suffice to maintain memories. Swap without losing
the connections and you are go to go.

I have seen but never used "cigarette lighter" plug battery units promoted to
jump start without opening the hood that might be used to maintain current
while swapping out batteries. On a Lexus you would have to have the key
on for this to work.

 

Have not selected and purchased yet. The Costco web site is not "battery selection friendly", so it will have to wait until I get to the store... probably this weekend.

What I've done in the past is the following:

1. Fully charge the new battery.
2. Set my smart car battery charger to "trickle charge" and connect it to the cables right before I remove them from the old battery.
3. Remove the old battery and set the new battery in its place.
4. Reconnect and tighten the cables on the new battery.
5. Remove the trickle charge cables.
6. Make sure that the vent tube is reconnected and secure.

 

I just replaced my bat'ry with an Optima D51R 8073-167 (Yellow) from a place called eLearnAid. 2013 bought in August 2012, 46K miles. You can read for yourself why such a place sells replacement hybrid batteries http://www.eLearnAid.com. It's a physically smaller battery width-wise but the same height so the hold down keeps it in place. Has a vent tube hole into which the Lexus vent tube 90 degree elbow fits nicely.
Did NOT loose radio settings, trip odo, or drivers seat settings. I did loose historical mpg, speed, and mpg since last fillup. Curiously it did have a cruising range number. I suppose the ECU will relearn our driving habits, but I have no way of knowing and don't care.
The car was occasionally "not starting," in that the Ready light did not come on as expected. Open and close the door, hold the start button longer, etc always got it going eventually, but it was becoming more frequent.
I had the car in to the local Toyota dealer (no Lexus dealers on Cape Cod) for other service and asked them to check the battery, Oh, well, we'll have to have one of our certified hybrid technicians check it out, sounds like an "issue," and there'll be a half hour diagnostic fee. Geez. In the end it was the battery and they didn't charge me a diagnostic fee, but said I shouldn't even drive the car, the battery was gone. I forget what they wanted for a Toyota battery, but it was like $330 plus 19.95 installation. eLearnAid was 180 with free shipping, I ordered it Wednesday at about 5 pm and it came about an hour ago (~3 pm Friday).

On we go.
Jonas

 

Does anyone have any update on this? my battery just died and I can't for the life of me find an equivalent replacement. Dealer (toyota/lexus) wants $280 for the replacement battery P/N 28800-31290. I would be more than happy to go with a 3rd party AGM battery that doesn't require venting but I'm not sure what group size I need. Its hard to measure the battery in the trunk.

 

Some folks here suggest suitable replacement battery ....
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/hyb...tery-life.html

 

Any issues with unhooking the battery and installing the new one? Do you need to bring it in to reprogram anything or can I DIY this at home. No one local can get me a 51R so I'm just going the dealer route. If it requires a reset on the computer then I'll just have them do it all. I'm driving a 2010 RX450H.

Thanks!

 

Zero issues. As long as the battery fits and you hook up the vent tube you should be fine. I installed the battery late May and drove the car over 2k miles since without reprograming anything.

Highly suggest you find any battery that fits and don't take it to the dealer. The one I'm using is an Energizer. As long as the battery fits, you can also make vent tube fit. I wouldn't pay the dealer $500+ for a battery replacement even if my life depended on it, purely out of principal. That's a ridiculous amount of money for a car battery. I wouldn't give them a dime.