When did you change your battery?

 

I would think the age of the battery is probably more important than miles driven.
50K here, original was probably 6 years old.

 

Just changed mine, original 2001 factory battery. Bought new TrueStart Toyota battery.

 

Just before my 50K warranty was up, I had Lexus change it out under warranty. Also developed the clock reset issue.

 

The original battery (2002) is still going strong at over 110K miles.

 

4 yrs. Replaced with optima red and just today (4yrs) the cranking was slow and the clock reset on me. Turned out the terminal was loose. I will check agian tomorrow.

Salim

Update: Yes the loose terminal was the problem.

 

My Red Top is out of the vehicle while we work on it, so I'll be interested to see when we put it back in, how it fares. I have 3 years on it. But not too long ago I got my cousin a Red Top for his Golf and he took it out for a while and never had its charge again. Fortunately, Costco Mexico now sells them for a decent price.

 

We just replaced two batteries in two weeks in two different cars. I put an Interstate "Megatron II" in the RX, (700 CCA) and a Delco (650 CCA) in my wife's van. Costs were similar (wife's included installation), and now the race is on. Her car is normally used very little, while my RX gets fairly regular use and the battery is occasionally cycled pretty hard. Both cars have had a good 100-mile trip on them in the last few days to top off the batteries, so we'll see how they perform.

 

I've never changed the battery on my 00. Ive got 104k mi on the clock.

 

If I go by predicted miles it probably would have lasted past 50K easy. I changed our 04 RC battery with a Red Top Optima early on, but only because the battery in my SC400 died, so I swapped the original RX battery into that and bought the Red Top for the RX. Ended up putting about 30K miles on the SC400, and we had about 25-30K on the RX when I made the change, so I would guess it would have lasted 50-60K on the RX. However, that doesn't mean anything really. Car batteries are finicky. The same brand and type of battery can last 5+ years, while someone else's may last 1 year.

 

Extended miles on a battery is a poor indication because highway miles are easiest on the car. For example, if one drives coast to coast and only stop for food and sleep, the number of battery cranking per mile is far fewer than someone who drive 5 miles to work and park outside.
Battery life also depends on the environment. Heat and cold temperature kill batteries.

 

When experiencing battery issues most people run out and spend 50.00 possibly unnecessarily. Here's a great battery test.

1. Put volt meter on battery posts and note voltage with engine off.
2. Start engine and the voltage must increase at test leads because the alternator and now pushing charge.
3. If no increase in volts, you have a faulty alternator.
4. If there is a increase, you know your alternator is good. Mine increases from 12.3 to 13.6.

I change my battery every five years because that's all their rated for.

 

Another OEM here, 2002, 58K miles. Until the case cracks, I do not plan on replacing it.

 

I changed at 60K maintenance, but it was 5 years old by then. I didn't feel anything wrong with battery, but dealer just wanted to replace it as it was one of the items for 60K maintenance.

 

That's just disgusting...a battery being changed as a periodic maintenance item.

Granted, if it fails while you're out and about, that's a drag, but they don't have a time-based lifespan.

That, and if you keep them in good condition, they can last until the case cracks. Even then, it may be only weak, not dead.