Best Battery (LS430) for Extreme Heat Enviro?
 

Hello,

I am new to this Forum. I have a 2002 Lexus LS430 with about 120k miles. Have had the vehicle since 2002. Seem to go through batteries every 3 years or so. Need to change my battery again, and was just wondering if there is a long lasting battery for the heat of Atlanta, GA.

Car is mostly garaged.

not sure how things compare to the heat & humidity from up here in MD, but i have a NAPA Legend (made by Deka batteries). it's been a while and haven't had any problems (knock on wood).

I live in Phoenix and we get about 2-3 years out of a battery. I always buy mine at Costco because with their warranty you don't ever have to buy another one. They offer free replacement for at least 3 years and they don't test warrantied batteries. What makes them unique is that they refund the purchase price and then reduce the price of the new battery to match the old one. You then purchase the new battery and the 3 year warranty starts again.

Thanks for suggestion. i assume the heat is similar in the summers. How long does that battery normally last you?

Batteries are coded for north and south regions of the US with an N or an S. Northern region batteries need higher CCA's to provide cranking power first thing in the AM when temps drop to or below zero. Southern region batteries don't necessarily need as many CCA's and use a sulfuric acid electrolyte with a lower specific gravity which "allegedly" helps the battery last longer in extreme heat. Unless you have recently relocated to Ga I'd guess you have always used southern region batteries...?

I live in Az as well and learned very quickly when I moved here 15 years ago to buy a battery for the warranty and not for the physiacl qualities, CCA's etc, of the battery. I don't buy any parts from Autozone EXCEPT batteries. They offer a good warranty and they honor it. Just like 911LE mentioned above he buys from Costco and I'm sure other retailers offer good warranties, Advance Auto, O'Reilly's, NAPA, etc. :)

Thanks everyone. @Bradland, I have always lived in GA. So you are probably correct. i think I bought my last battery (interstate) from Costco, so will actually go back and have them replace...thanks for the suggestion about warranties 911LE and bradland.

I was thinking about trying the Optima Yellowtop, but seems like it might just be better to use and buy based on warranty.

thanks for the responses.

this chart explains a lot...thanks! Now I see why some people brag about never replacing the battery....I thought I was just buying cheap batteries.

No need to spend more money on the Optima, just find a retailer that sells a strong battery at a reasonable price with the best warranty available.

I think Phoenix gets hotter. I've never had a failure that left me stranded but I usually exchange them right before the warranty is up. These cars have sensitive electric systems and a new battery has much better "voltage filtering" ability that makes for a happy electrical system.

Be aware that anything besides a full replacement warranty is basically worthless. Walmart has a 3 year full replacement warranty on their maxx brand batteries and costco has a 42 month full replacement warranty on their batteries.

Avoid batteries with prorated batteries because you pay extra for this and its usually borderline worthless. Extended prorated batteries typically come with a ton of fine print where you are basically given a pro-rated credit against full retail cost of battery so it ends up being almost worthless to you but guarantees that the parts store sells you another overpriced same brand battery at a slight discount - worthless consumer rip off.


If you buy a 3 year full replacement warranty battery it pays to have it tested right before 3 year mark, especially if you live in the South or other very hot climate like I do. The test takes 5 minutes and will likely indicate the battery is weak and that gets you a new battery. Walmart just replaced my battery at month 34.

What I can say, because I just bought a tester that shows CCA. After 2 years in the car, the Costco (Interstate) has the CCAs shown on the battery. My wife's Bosch Premium, 11 mos. old, tested as "REPLACE." If I had the tester when new, then I would know if it really lost all that CCA in 11 mos., or if it never had the stated CCAs to begin with. I am in the Northeast, so I think there is a little hot/cold extreme, that the Costco battery has been subjected to. But personally, I am glad to know a sub $100 battery holds up like that. My wife's was around $170.

p.s. on my wife's I will replace it under warranty, but I don't want it going back in the car, it's already a replacement for the first that failed in 14 mos. Will get a Costco for her.

p.p.s. to keep the tester honest, I tested the BMW. It has a 6 y.o. OE made by Exide with some crazy CCAs. It tested as "CHARGE." That makes sense since the car is driven 1X per week, sometimes 1X every 2 weeks.

Something that someone else may be able to explain. I used to proactively replace batteries, so I had 2 good batteries taken out and put on battery tenders. Neither can start a car. Went to Walmart and got a cheap charger, $60, Stanley, blah blah blah. Charge the battery, it can start a car. I see others online saying the same about the battery tender. So what is it's purpose? Someone online said because battery tender goes by voltage, it will stop even though the battery is not capable of starting a car, doesn't have enough CA.....