Expected Battery Life?

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Wondering if anyone can give me expectations on my battery. I'm in Atlanta, Ga; bought the car new in 4/99; have 52K on it; and the glow circle in the battery check viewer is still blue. Still, I've had other cars in which the new style of battery just goes with no warning. Would hate for my wife to find herself stranded, especially at a shopping center. Thanks.

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And, a quick P.S. I would like to put Sylvania SilverStars in my fog lamps. But, I'm hesitant to use the Jaws of Life on the front of the car. How do I get at the fog lamp bulbs? Thanks.

[steviej]

A. The battery:

You have gotten more than your money's worth at 5 1/2 years. When in doubt, go by Autozone and have your battery load tested. This may give you some idea or it's efficiency. Atlanta is not New England. I get cautious with batteries and the wide temperature variations year round. I consider myself lucky if the battery goes past 4 years.

If 5 1/2 years of age is worrysome, then bite the bullet and change it out. Excellent batteries can be had in the neighborhood of $75.

B. The fog lights:

I just replaced the stock H3 fogs with PIAA Xtreme Whites in my 02 ES. They give the fog almost the same bright white tint as the HID setup. I have since changed out the Xtreme whites for PIAA yellow ion crystals. I prefer yellow fogs over whites. The 99 ES installation is similar.

1. Raise the car and support with two jackstands. Never trust the jack alone.

2. Remove the 10mm bolts that hold the 2 black plastic splash guards (the 02 had 5 10mm bolts along the underside of the bumper).

3. The black plastic push pins come next. There where about 6-8. The 02 ES splash guard had 2 sections. I removed all but one push pin for each section. This way I could rotate the guard out of the way of the back of the fog light and get my head up in there. The shield was still attached so realignment took seconds.

4. The push pins could be removed with a large screw driver and a Ford Wrench (big f....n hammer). Just knock the head off them or use the large screwdrive and pry them out. They will make a pop and fall out. The 02 had pins that break upon removal if not careful. Don't worry, they are cheap. If you are careful, you can get them out without damage and then reuse them.

5. The back of the fog light has a plactic cover that will turn 90 degrees and then pull out. Don't pull to far cause it is connected by two wires. One is the switch and one is the power to the bulb.

6. The white wire (for the stock and PIAAs) is the bulb wire, it pulls out from the housing unit with a little tug.

7. There is a spring clip that you push in to unhook it and at the same time move to one side, then it pulls toward the back, releasing pressure on the bulb. Hold the bulb from the back. Pull it out slowly and orient yourself with the cut-outs on the ground plate of the bulb. One side had a square notch and opposite that was a half moon notch. Remeber which is up and which is down, or left and right. The exiting bulb is your guide for insertion of the new bulb.

8. Insert the new buld in the same orientation, put the spring clip back, plug in the wire, replace the black cover and move to the other fog light. DON'T TOUCH THE BULB WITH YOUR BARE FINGER. Body oils will create hot spots on the glass and the crack or burn out quicker.

9. The other fog light interesting enough was the same, but the spring clip and wire were opposite and upside down from the first side. My guess is that Lexus makes one housing and uses it on both sides, thus making a mirror image.

10. Turn on your lights to see if you connected them right.

11. Stand back and admire your work.

12. Get back under the car and reposition the shields. Put the bolts in but not tight all the way.

13. Replace the push pins with new ones (Lexus parts department if you want original-- about $1.00 each) or AutoZone for a bag of push pins--usually a bag of 10 costs about $3.00. The push pins come in many sizes and varieties. Bring one of the popped originals with you to size correctly. The christmas tree type can be used several times before the multitude of tiny barbs/bristles are too weak.

12. Tighten the bolts, lower the car. Drive to friend's house and show them what you did. Enjoy the rest of your day.

This took me about 45 minutes. I didn't raise the car, so it was a bit tight but do-able. The car is stock and not lowered.

The PIAAs were $63.99/pr. They are a 55w buld but emit the equivalent of a 110w. Replace the bulb with the same wattage (check your manual). There ain't much room in the housings for more heat.

Good luck and have fun.

steviej

[Senna4ever]

Would hate for my wife to find herself stranded, especially at a shopping center.

Ahahahaha!!! Same here, my friend! :D

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Thank you, Steviej! You are most helpful and are greatly appreciated. I also read your other posts, and find them quite informative.

[mburnickas]

Avatar ---Put it this way. I just installed a new Optima Red Top since my ORIGINAL Lexus battery was getting low (not died). I have a 98 ES with 78K miles. Not to bad for a battery.

I ran it down a lot when charging my R/c Batteries for my heli. I was drawing 7 amps for alomst 2 hours...

To close, the little bubble means jack Sh&t since mine was blue and the car would not start.

Got the Optima 34R and it cracks the enigne like it is a 2 cyl!

[steviej]

Thank you, Steviej! You are most helpful and are greatly appreciated. I also read your other posts, and find them quite informative.

why thank you sir. ;)

steviej

[Senna4ever]

I have a 1997 ES300 still on its original battery. 100,000kms. Toyota OEM parts are amazing! :)

[Geo]

Interesting. I just went through the same thing with my 99 corolla. Original battery (5 years old). Car died a couple of times. Had the battery checked. It was still holding charge but barely. Had one of those "green eye" type battery, no light. Bought a new one, no problems. As far as I know 5 years is about average. George

[KLF]

I consider myself lucky if the battery goes past 4 years.

Really? I'd be pretty mad if my battery didn't last 4 years. Heck, my wife's '94 Xcab pickup still has the original battery! I put an Optima red-top in my '92 4Runner back in '97 or '98, it's still going strong.

On the indicator eye thingy, the battery in my previous '88 Land Cruiser had one of those, it never once turned blue, yet it never failed to start the truck. So yeah, I don't trust them either.

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Thanks to everyone for the info. I had never seen one of these bubble view batteries until I got the Lexus. And, I had never heard of Optima until this forum. Am ordering an Optima Red Top 34R today.

[mburnickas]

The 34R is a great battery. I paid 122.95 shipped to the house. The Lexus never started so good!

Lastly, sometimes the 34R is called the 800R. They have a smaller I think 35R but is is less CCA and capacity.

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Okay. Last night I put in an Optima Red Top 34R 1050 with CCA800. Everything is fine, except that the headlights are noticeably dimmer. I've checked everything I could, and even ran the car and idled the car to charge it. Still dim. What's up?

[steviej]

clean up the ground cable?

steviej

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Thanks. I did that. And, I checked all the fuses. Nothing wrong that I can find. Had the battery tested; it's okay. had the alternator checked; it's okay. Seems like I'm running on my daytime lights at night, although the brights come on. A real mystery.