9000revs

My 2000 with 105K miles would not start today. All lights come on but I get the click when trying to start. Jumped it and it started right up, so I am assuming it is the battery and not starter or other components. I have owned this car for 2.5 yrs now and the battery in there looks pretty old. Do you guys use Costco battery or suggest other brands? I am so relieved it is not the starter, but with the LS I was not anticipating the starter going at 105K. Thanks.

pmarr

I usually get 2 years out of a battery on my 98. Have you seen a Check VSC come in your digital dash readout? I have seen that pop up before batteries die. Starter should last much longer; just had my daughter's original starter replaced in her 99 @ 233,000 miles.

oldskewel

iTrader: (1)

Battery would be the prime suspect here.

Depending on how much testing you want to do before replacing that, in case it is really something else causing the battery not to do its job ...

Perhaps a loose or corroded connection at/near the battery, or a ground cable, is causing a reduced current flow, causing the solenoid click, but not enough left to turn the starter motor. You could clean and tighten the battery posts and clamps to see if you find anything wrong. You'll want to do that anyway on the new battery.

Perhaps there is a problem with the Alternator charging the battery. Does the battery light on the instrument panel turn on when the key goes to ON, and then go off once the engine is running? That's what is supposed to happen; anything else would suggest a problem with your charging system. Voltage measurements would be better, if you can take those.

I usually buy my batteries at Costco, just for convenience, warranty, and price. Costs a little more than a tank of gas, so I usually don't overthink the battery choice. Just get one that fits (right size, positive post on the correct side).

9000revs

Replaced with Costco battery last night. All good.

Terminals were fine with no deposits and would not start with old battery even after jumping it to start it and removing jumper cables. Looking at the battery I feel it was put by prior owner > 5 yrs or so ago.

VolumeToo

2 years does not sound long for a battery. My new '98 LS has a Varta battery (of unknown age) that won't hold a charge above 9.5V, and it's due to be replaced tomorrow with a new genuine Toyota one. I'll suffer the extra cost, because the Toyota battery on my old LS is now 9 years old and still good! But I resisted the temptation to swap it on to my new car, because at age 9 it really can't last that much longer. (This one reads about 11.5V, so perhaps it's starting to die a bit.) People say that the Gen 2 LS drains more charge when idle than the Gen 1. I guess this is correct....

AandSC

I just replaced the battery on my 2000. The Optima Red Top that I replaced was almost 8 years old. I replaced it with another Optima Red Top. Might be a little more money, but hard to beat the longevity.

aptoslexus

Just replaced my battery. Old one was about 4 years old, from Costco, purchased by previous owner of my LS. I had left a navigation device (shut off) plugged into the cigarette lighter at Christmas that drained the battery for some reason. It's my experience that draining the battery like that after several years of use generally severely shortens its life, and sure enough it died for good a couple of months later. I hadn't bought a battery in about 10 years. And I don't think I've ever paid much more than about $50 before. I paid 3x that for the new one. No idea why batteries cost so much now.

VolumeToo

The usual excuse is that the price of lead has gone up. Funny how the price of lead never seems to go down. (Unless you're taking some scrap lead in to the merchants for recycling, in which case the going rate will be at rock-bottom!)