jpw

My 12v battery died on our 07 RX400h. Not a huge deal, but as I went to get my pry tool to get the battery cover off to check it, I wondered what would happen if I was out and about and needed a jump start and obviously didn't have my little pry tool to get the cover tabs removed to take the cover off ?

My wife would most likely sacrifice one of her $10 nails to help pry it off, but is there some alternative positive connection somewhere one could use to jump the car ? I've never seen a design like this which makes you use some sort of tool to access the positive connection.

Of course it's easy on my Tacoma. My wife's 350Z has a cover, but it's opened by pushing a tab - easy. My mom's BMW has the battery in the rear, but they have a cool additional connection near the engine for jump starting.

I did a search here and google but didn't see any other connections on the RX400H. Also looked in the owner's manual and didn't see anything...

thanks.

maseace

I've never needed a tool for this, just push down the center pin of the plastic clips, and they pull right out. Reset the center pin before reinstalling.

smassey321

You may not have oem clips. OEM ones have a center pin as maseace says. I don't think I have ever jump started our RX400 and we are on our 4th! battery. I always get a warning when the battery is going bad. When it does not start, I leave the ignition on for a minute, try again and then it starts. I then change the battery later in the day. I had been using Lexus batteries that never made it 3 years. I am now using a 5 year interstate.

jpw

Thanks all. I guess I'll just have to make sure I carry a pen in the car - MAJOR HASSLE - just kidding. I tried to connect my battery tender alligator clips to the battery terminals while I had the battery out to exchange, but either I messed up and didn't keep it connected all the time, or the battery completely died before I got to it (more likely). Strangely, the radio presets were saved but I had to do the window reset procedure.

It had a 2 year old Lexus battery. I really didn't feel like dealing with the dealer even though it looked like it was a 60 month battery.

I got the Interstate battery from Costco for $73 and all is fine now. I did a lot of reading of posts and it seems some people swap batteries with zero problems and others have reset the ISC at the dealer because of drastically reduced mileage. I'll wait until my wife complains to me about any mileage problems. She used to be a lead foot but with our new-to-us RX, she's turned into a mileage ****.

I did install a wiring harness so I could just plug in a battery tender in case it sits for a while.

As it turns out, one of the clips on the cover was OEM, the other looked like it had a phillips plastic screw.

jooksing82

I broke my fair share of the oem clips. But once you figure it out its pretty neat (I think they make the newer ones now with a bigger push surface)

The positive main connections is almost always at the battery only so when you disconnect it there the electrical system is *dead. (Of course for a hybrid there is a traction battery)

You mention charging with your battery tender on another post. I think there is a chance your battery was just drained but not bad. Jump it or charge it with a 3 amp battery charger overnight to see if it will work. If your battery is bad after only 2 years old and I would have exchanged it-I would expect most battery to last 5 years regardless of warranty. Most auto parts store can test your battery for free (they put it thought load test and see if it is really bad)

jpw

thanks jook

-it turned out that one of the clips attaching the battery cover was non-oem. I still think it's a bad design and if you're stuck out on the road and need a jump, or need to help someone out, you should have access to the battery without needing a pen or a girl who has pointy fingernails

-yea, I get that when you disconnect a battery post, no more electricity - I was just talking about the covers.

-I did jump it and it started right up - drove around for a while, then put it back into the garage. Tried to start and it died. I'm getting 14v at the battery posts on the new battery when the engine's running so I know the charging system is OK. I've charged many cars using a trickle charger. It takes a few days, but it's worked on our 350Z and our SC400, which don't get driven all the time. I did buy a 3A charger. I agree that it should've lasted longer, but I honestly didn't want to hassle with the Lexus dealer, so I got one at Costco with a good warranty.

thomas1

Good choice getting a non oem battery, Lexus for whatever reason has had issues with the Panasonic oem battery.

maximizese

The next time our Rx400h battery fails to "Ready" the car, I'm going to try and connect a few AA batteries together to get a voltage bump. Apparently that works for our 2013 Fiat 500e and I have the feeling that the Lexus 12V battery needs a threshold voltage to power the computer. The Rx400h does not have a traditional starter and does not need the cranking amps that an ICE does.

takeshi74

I don't need either -- I use my own fingers. The pins don't need to be pushed that far though if you have large fingers it may be more difficult for you.

If it's a significant hassle for you then leave the cover off. You may also be able to find a different style of clip that fits the holes.

thomas1

Any auto parts store has a wide variety of pin clip that would work.