I have one of these also. I was just pointing out to the individual that stepping down on the gas pedal does nothing in a modern car. Until it is running of course.

 

So true with these modern fly by wire throttle controllers.

 

The battery in our 2015 RX350 let go last month. It was 39 months from when we bought it new. I called Lexus Roadside Assistance, and they came out and replaced it free within 45 minutes. Impressive! :-)

Otherwise, my plan B was to replace it myself with a battery from Sam's Club. Never needed plan B.

 

OEM battery from my 2013 lasted little over 5 years before it died. Replaced it with one from Costco.

 

No need to second guess when the battery is end of life.

Measure the SoC. Do advance replacement when it falls below spec.

 

Did you know if you change a battery on a BMW you have registered it 😱

 

Wow, never had a BMW so I've never heard if needing to "register" a battery.

Does any other car company demand such a procedure?

I did a bit of digging and found some blogs where the proud BMW owners would insist that not registering could lead to complete electrical system destruction. Goodness.

At first I thought that, Gee, maybe BMW really knows their stuff and by collecting all this information the car computer can predict imminent battery failure, kind of like the HAL computer in "2001" predicted the failure of that electronics box on the communications antenna. But now I think it's more a case of getting a significant percentage of BMW drivers to pay extra to the dealership.

 

Another thing, I don't know what was meant by a "battery booster pack" mentioned earlier, but if it's one of these great big things with beefy jumper cables, perhaps that's not necessary these days. You can buy a tiny little pack the size of a brick that works great. I used mine to start a nearby stranded pickup truck V8 in a Costco parking lot last year. These things contain lithium cells and can produce huge currents for a short time. Costco had 'em for about $40 before Christmas.

 

Audi, MB is same. New battery comes with id. which contains battery information. By registering it allows full capacity performance. If you don't new battery acts like old dying battery. Non deals\er specialty shops
can read battery capacity with special tools. When my son had his BMW vehicle winterizing service done by a non dealer shop, they tested out a result of battery condition which show battery is in good shape.
There are some You tube tutorials regarding this.

 

I have a RX350 , 2012 and 30 minutes after driving it, I tried to start it and it wouldn't start. Can't lock the doors automatically, just a few lights come and go on the dash. I suspect the battery has given up (5 years old). I checked the battery terminals and loosened/re-tightened as well as checked battery fluid levels which seem okay.

I'm wondering if it is the battery but was thinking of picking one up at Costco and changing it anyway, BUT, can I change it without messing up any settings (radio code, power window settings, tire pressure sensor settings), OR am I best to get a tow to the dealer and have them do it?

Thanks everyone !

 

I called AAA and got a quote on the phone with an exact spec REPLACEMENT battery. There are really only a few car battery manufacturers. The one I got from AAA for my LX570 was an Interstate brand with 72 months warranty (first 36 months free replacement and the second 36 months prorated). It was truly a painless process and as I recalled it was cheaper than Sam's Club/Costco/Walmart/Pep Boys. Definitely cheaper than Lexus dealership. In the past I found none of these places were willing to install the battery even if I buy it from them (other than the Lexus dealership who will of course install it for s fee).

If you are going to do self install, then I would recommend you get a "battery saver" that plugs into the cigarette lighter to retain all memories of the car's settings. Or you can hook up a "battery booster pack" in parallel to achieve the same purpose (This was what I did some years ago for many times until I discovered AAA can COME TO ME AND DO IT ALL CHEAPER AND QUICKER!!!).

Since you already know the cost at Costco, you have nothing to loose by calling AAA to get a quote. If you are not a AAA member, ask about any incentives to join right here right now !!! You never know, they might just wave their basic first year membership fee!!!??

 

You will not lose any settings doing a battery swap. It is only out of the car a couple of minutes. I had no issues doing mine.
However, in the US Advance Autoparts will install new batteries for free. So I would check with Canadian Tire or similar as they will likely be less expensive than a dealer. A battery is a battery no matter where you get it, all it does is start the car and need replacement a few to several years later.

 

I just bought a replacement battery for my 2013 and replaced it myself. Didn't lose any settings, perhaps the settings are saved to the hard drive? Reading through the manual, as long as you keep the tail gate shut, you don't have to do anything after the replacement. If you had it opened while taking the battery out, they say to manually close the tailgate and re-open it with the automatic system to re-calibrate.

Replacing the battery was very simple definitely a easy DIY.

 

If you don't want to do it yourself, I believe Carquest is in Canada and will install free.
I'd make sure they had it in stock and just jump your old one to get there.
They would also do a free diagnostic to determine if the battery is the offending part.

 

I would like to replace my car battery sometime soon because it isn't good anymore, any suggestions on some specific type/brand for a durable one?