Battery for 2012 RX350
 

Battery died yesterday. Looking at either the Optima Redtop (~$190 at Advance Auto) or Interstate 852154 ($90 at Costco). Other brands you would recommend? Any good reason to spend more money on the Optima? Does the Lexus require AGM? My old BMW X5 did. Finally, I can probably do this manually, but should I have the shop do it to preserve the window/radio presets? I don't have battery saver. Thanks!

I disconnected the battery in my RX450h and it was a no-event to get everything to re-sync.
Just had to open and close the rear door manually once.

I had both Optima Red Top and Yellow Top in my IS300.
For the RX, I would go with the Costco battery.

I've been using Costco batteries for 13 years on our Highlander and RX. Never a problem. If the batt goes dead before the warranty, they give you pro-rated credit.
The only caveat is that you have to do the swap yourself.
As to preserving the radio presets, I think you can buy what's called a "memory keeper" at an auto parts store which consists of a cigarette lighter gizmo with a battery so there's always current in the system, even with the main battery disconnected. I assume this only works with a cigarette lighter (power port) that's live with the key off. Hope this helps.
Ray A.

FYI, Costco recently changed their Batteries to Interstate and no more 100 month pro-rated warranty like it used to be. It is now only 36 months full replacement warranty and that is it.
Interstate batteries still have goo reviews and I got one recently... will see how long it lasts.

Interstate was the manufacturer of Costco's batteries.

Johnson Controls makes Interstate. There are two major battery makers for the US, Johnson Controls and Deka. Johnson Controls holding the largest market. Interstate, Sears Die Hard, many OEM supplied, even Walmart Everstart are all Johnson Controls....the variances of the lead/acid batteries among the labels aren't that significant, however the CCAs can differ per region.

Just went to Sears Battery Express for DieHard, they installed in 15 minutes and cleaned terminals, etc.
a big plus was they are opened until 7 or 8 pm.
Good luck!

Thanks, everyone! Got the Insterstate at Costco. Came out to $89.99 before tax, +$15 core. Installed it last Saturday. I didn't have the memory saver. I just have everything laid out and when all the screws were unfastened, I did a very quick (Olympic record-setting) swap. Got the terminals back on and tested the battery. Engine started, no issues. All my radio, seat, mirror settings were fine. Didn't lose anything! Only thing that was effected was the clock. Had to reset it. I guess there were still some charges left in the alternator that supply enough juice during the swap. I will definitely look into buying a battery tender for the future...like for when the car is parked for extended time while we're on vacation.

I recalled doing this on my BMW X5 and didn't lose anything as well. Only different was on the X5, the stupid battery is in the trunk behind the spare. Was real pain to get to.

If you have a battery charger, or a portable battery (jump kit), you can put it on the positive lug available for jump starting. You might have a little spark, so be careful when you're unhooking and hooking up battery, but it is often enough to keep the memories alive.