F250

I have a question regarding the battery in my 2010 450h. I've only had the car since August, and in my proactive maintenance efforts, I am trying to verify the age of the 12v battery. It is a Lexus sourced Panasonic D23 group with the correct part number for my vehicle, but I have not been able to locate any guide for reading the Panasonic battery date code. I cannot find any engaged codes on it... Just a stamped ink number above the label where it reveals that the battery came from a Lexus dealership.

The stamped number is 170310.

The battery looks brand new, but do does the test of the vehicle. If it is the original battery, I want to replace it now before it begins to give us trouble when we least expect.

Can someone tell me how to read the above code? If I had to guess, I would guess March 17, 2010, but I want to KNOW for certain.

Thank you.

EDIT on Feb. 09, 2017 ==> The 6 digit Panasonic Date Code format has been determined to actually be DD MM YY. Refer to post 19 below for the rationale.

Htony

I have 2015 AWD one. What I heard here and there is this battery is good for 4 years. Good replacement is Optima Yellow top. We just experienced very cold winter weather with temp. reaching down to -30C which lasted about 2 weeks. My very first time when battery starts showing weakness, I'll replace it with Optima Yellow top. Hope that is not in the dead winter, LOL!.

F250

I just want to verify the age of the battery at this point.

Piraiba

iTrader: (3)

Why did you post this in the SC forum....

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

Moved from the SC300/400 main forum.

F250

I meant to post this in the Lexus Customer Service forum. I can only surmise that since I was doing so from my phone, and not my laptop, that I ended up in the wrong forum.

I don't want this in the RX model forums at all... I am trying to consult with the Lexus Customer Service folks to get a genuine OEM response to the date code issue.

I have now started the same initial question in the Customer Service forum, so unless someone has either a Lexus or Panasonic document showing how to interpret the date code on our 12v batteries, I don't see any purpose in keeping this thread open.

Droid13

Mine is stamped 190509, and since mine entered service in August 2009, I'm assuming the battery is dated May 19, 2009. If that's true, your battery is dated March 17, 2010. Does that make sense for your vehicle?

F250

Thanks, Andy. What you described is the only way I can make sense of the code. The vehicle was shipped to the Texas dealership on April 26, 2010, and arrived at the dealer on May 5, 2010 with only 6 miles on the odometer. That means that a battery manufacture date of March 17, 2010 is perfectly feasible, and that is what I suspect is the case. I'm just looking for some hard verification before I plunk down the cash for a new battery. I've called the BMW dealership where I purchased the car to see if they have nay verification of having changed the battery, but have not heard back from them. I also called my local Lexus dealership and have not been able to get anyone on the phone who KNOWS.

kitlz

Pete, have the Lexus dealer check the battery. It's supposed to be covered for 8 years IIRC. If a replacement is needed, it will be prorated. That might put a dent in the replacement cost. It happened to me once, most likely my fault (aftermarket stereo equipment). But don't be surprised if the battery is fine. Yet another thing to love about our hybrids.

F250

Thanks, Anita. I did not know about the 8-year coverage. Our dealer is all the way on the other side of town in a direction I never go, so I'll probably just run the the Toyota dealership which is only about 6 miles from my house. Being the stubborn engineer I am, though, I still want to KNOW` how to read the date code. That's one of the curses of being an engineer... the harder it is to find out how to do something, the more determined (i.e. hard headed, stubborn, insistent, etc.) we become in figuring it out!

kitlz

Pete, I looked around some more. The 12V battery warranty is 84 months, hybrid battery 8 years/100K miles. I remember they weren't too far off. You're getting close so it might not be worth having the battery checked. Instead go straight to replacement as part of your preventative maintenance plan. No doubt you'll still want to find out the date code. Hey, I would too in order to verify it's about time. Nothing worse than getting stuck with a dead battery. And this girl doesn't mess with electrical stuff beyond changing bulbs. Hello, AAA

Conveniently we have this thread for replacement ideas.

F250

Thanks, Anita.

I ran by the Toyota dealership today and it was a complete waste of time. The ONLY thing they will do is a load test, and freely admitted they have no way to interpret the Panasonic date code, and cannot even get any cross-referenced Lexus part numbers.

I guess I'm going to have to make the 25 minute drive to the Lexus dealership on the other side of town. My curiosity sometimes carries a price!

kitlz

Pete, good luck with the Lexus dealer. It's pretty silly getting a manufacture date is this difficult. Did you have the Toyota dealer check the battery? Like I said before, mine was still passing the test at 6+ years. I also have more extreme weather to contend with. The dealer might tell you the battery is fine. But I have a feeling you'll go ahead and change it depending on the date. Definitely ask how much the dealer charges for a new battery. Sometimes they have coupons to help bring down the cost. And it could just make the drive worth it.

Htony

What load test? 12V battery only support vital electronics such as ECU in the car. Load test is used for starting (starter motoer cranking engine) battery.12V is not directly involved in cranking the engine, no starter motor like regular RX.

F250

The load test is simply what the Toyota service department reported "standard procedure" to determine whether or not to replace the battery... I'm not saying it's necessary at all, or that it is relevant to how our 12v batteries are used, but it does seem to me that it might be one potentially useful evaluation tool.