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Hybrid TechnologyUnique topics related to the 2010 - 2015 RX450H model hybrid drivetrain and other features/options found only on the RX450H. Please use the main forum for discussion about shared components with other third generation RX models.
Hi:Have not been here in a number of years-
My 2010 450h bought Aug 2009 has been running great, love it.
Last night we were in city and gave my car to valet-along with FOB but left the car running thinking they would take the car quickly to garage.
They did not and the fob was out of the car, apparently running till they got to it. Then the car would not start.
The drive into the city was 40 miles open road. When car did not start, the dash lit up headlights would turn on and even the hybrid battery icon showed near fully charged.. Tried starting with both fobs.
Rather than have someone tinkering with it had the car towed 30 mile to my dealer.
I went thru the 2 probable suggestions in owners manual no luck.
I am assuming its the 12 volt battery-
any other experiences? Ideas.
86k miles,car maintained mostly at dealer. We asked the dealer to check batteries earlier this year and surprisingly they said ok.
(I expected them to say get a new battery)
TIA
Still our best overall car bought. and I am getting too old to try to fit bateries into small locations along with car complexities including hybrids.
Update: new battery at dealer for $350.
I juust did not want someone trying thing at 1 AM and mess up the electronics on a great car.
This battery was a complete height and width match to the Panasonic battery I replaced in my 2011 RX450h. The battery also includes a vent and vent tube. NOTE: Be sure that the battery you purchase has the vent tube attached, as the Panasonic vent tube is a slightly different size and cannot be used in the Bosch. I paid $189.99 USD for the battery at a Pep Boys in the Cincinnati, OH area. NOTE: Pep Boys often has some "Buy Online, Pickup in the Store" discount codes (I forgot to look....I could have saved nearly $40).
I swapped my battery WITHOUT the use of a battery tender and experienced no issues (no lost radio or seat programming, no window "reprogramming" required, etc.).....the only thing I noticed was my climate temperatures needed to be reset. The vehicle was without battery power for about 5 minutes as I switched the batteries. I did see the "reboot" on the Navigation screen that others have referenced (photo of the screen during "reboot" is attached). I also attached photos of the battery in the vehicle. NOTE: I reused the plastic sleeve covering the Panasonic battery.....I'm not sure of it's purpose, but since it more or less fit I thought I'd use it on the new battery.
Reboot message
I bought and installed the same Bosch AGM battery from pep boys. Fits perfectly. Vent tube also.
One caution: with the plastic tailgate piece removed metal frame is exposed. Using a socket wrench on the postitive terminal don't turn to far--you'll touch the frame with the back of the wrench and cause a short!
As noted be sure to get the plastic elbow that the vent tube plugs into. When you install, take out the vent storage plug and replace it with the elbow. Then connect the vent tube from the original setup.
The higher CCA on this battery is not needed for hybrid and may reduce deep discharge or charging rate characteristics. But, it's a nice big amp hour battery, so hope it lasts. Even if it lasts 3 years rather than 6 years it's worth it and maybe safer to just change the battery every 3 years or so.
To check the battery, charge it up with a battery tender. Engage the volatge monitor as desribed. Flick the lights on 30 seconds to remove superficial charge and see the battery voltage under some load or not. I gonna guess if it's below 11.5 or so is a cutoff to replace. My Panasonic original was reading 10.5v and was increasingly fickle to start. Had to push and hold the start button for 5-10 seconds and turn off the lights/fan.
This Bosch battery... does not appear to be a deep cycle one. From what I know, hybrids do have deep cycle batteries for whatever reasons. Am I correct? Or it is deep cycle or, deep cycle is not needed for hybrids?
Ad hoc, Duracell has DC AGM for $209 at Batteries Plus locally. Likely less online. I didn't take close look at it if it had a vent tube...
Given the deeper discharge capability of AGM batteries, it's not surprising that Toyota/Lexus chose to supply the hybrids with AGMs instead of conventional cranking batteries. This is because cranking batteries are more suited for very high loads at very short bursts, and do not like to be discharged deeply (battery plates get sulphated). Whereas AGMs tend to favour slower discharge but can be discharged much deeper and recover without issues.
I'd expect a conventional battery to work in a hybrid, but it may not last as long because the hybrid vehicle can draw more from the battery, especially when the sound system, HVAC, head lights, and other accessories are running, but engine is not, which is typical of stop start situations where hybrids tend to be best suited for.
As an experiment I've replaced my OEM AGM battery with an aftermarket lead-calcium battery designed for stop start conditions. This sort of battery is now common fitment on new conventional ICE vehicles that have the stop start capability. These stop start batteries cannot be discharged as deeply as AGMs, but can handle rapid discharge and recharge situations well, due to their thinner lead plates. If the battery dies prematurely, I'll go back to the OEM Panasonic AGM battery.
An update on what I’ve opted for.
the Lexus option was £255 or £320 fitted but the deal breaker for me was they only give a 1 year warranty on the battery! Granted my original did 7 years but I wouldn’t be happy if it failed in 4 years when that what you can get with other manufactures.
Varta Silver AGM D52~£130 has 4 year warranty. The height is slightly less 20mm so just need a packer and there’s a couple of holes in the hold down brackets that I put a couple of screws through into the packerThe length is 20mm longer 242mm just need to slightly modify plastic battery tray - I just used a Stanley knife to partially cut the and weaken the plastic lip and the battery is sitting perfect and solid.
i powered off another battery during change but positive slipped off briefly. All ok but did come up with system reset as it would have temp lost power
Thanks for the info Thomo, just spent a good 3 hours trying to find a battery before finding your post, so took your advice and opted for the battery you got.
I think that 500 dollars is too much for a battery, and I complained to Lexus about it and they refunded about half the cost of the battery replacement. Still to expensive, but what are you going to do?
I'd expect a conventional battery to work in a hybrid, but it may not last as long because the hybrid vehicle can draw more from the battery, especially when the sound system, HVAC, head lights, and other accessories are running, but engine is not, which is typical of stop start situations where hybrids tend to be best suited for.
Thats incorrect. When the engine is not running, the 12v is constantly charged by the traction battery. This is not any different than a non hybrid when their battery gets charged by the alternator.
The only reason for AGM is because the battery is mounted inside the car instead of the bonnet and AGM is leak proof even if the car is flipped upside down. So when you’re in an accident you won’t have lead acid being poured into into your face.
Conventional batteries actually last longer in hybrid because there is no cranking.
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!
Thanks! I went to Pep Boys online and they had the battery for $150. Got free installation - fits perfectly. The only thing I would note is that you should check the install. They left the vent hose unattached and I had to get them to pull the elbow from another battery and install the vent hose.
I was doing some spring cleaning in the rear area, checking my spare tire pressure too and happened to pop open the battery cover to have a look, reminding myself its still on my list to see about doing replacement. Interesting timing, according to the date code on the battery today its now 10 years old. Now that I've said that its probably dead tomorrow morning...
Probably you'll want to plan to do it sometime soon, its very likely nearing the end of its life expectancy and pro-actively changing it might save the annoyance of dealing with it should it fail before you change it.
However, I will note that I haven't taken my own advice yet. I'm still running the original 12V with a manufacture date of May 2009 and my RX is 10 years old in a couple weeks and has 127,500miles so far. I've been meaning to for a while, but just been too busy with other things and it continues to work fine so far. If you haven't noticed it in the "sticky threads", there's a long conversation about changing the 12V battery: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/hyb...us-rx450h.html
Hah! Just had my '10 450h 90k service done today (at local Toyota dealer) and they informed me 12V battery failed the load test. They quoted me $320 for a replacement, which I declined for now, as it's starting fine. I'm sure the Lexus dealership will be even more.
Would Sam's Club have the appropriate battery replacement? If so, would you trust them to install it, and maintain all the electrical settings?
After reading the long referenced thread on 450h 12V battery options, I decided to get the Bosch from Pep Boys. Unfortunately, no local stores have them in stock. However, they also list a Champion AGM as being compatible (and vented)... https://www.pepboys.com/champion-agm...581?quantity=1
My local store has them in stock.
Does anybody have experience with this particular Champion battery?
11-11-18, 12:04 PM
