Exploding Battery

[Steve in San Diego]

Took my wife's 96 LS to the Oil Change / Car wash Saturday - apparently after changing oil & checking fluids the mechanic tried to start car and right side of battery blew off (very loud) - they claim they did nothing wrong but while the guy is removing my destroyed battery he's smoking a cigarette!!! I mentioned perhaps this was not the brightest thing to do. Anyway, had to go drop $120.00 for a new battery and car is running fine. The battery was from LEXUS and out of warranty. Has anyone else had this happen? Very strange.

Steve

[95LS400Bob]

Rare but does happen. The battery shorts internally. 93 Cad I had "popped" and blew the covers off. Personally I think batteries are made a lot cheaper these days than they used to. They sure do not last like they used to.

[Kennyr]

Rare but does happen. The battery shorts internally.  93 Cad I had "popped" and blew the covers off. Personally I think batteries are made a lot cheaper these days than they used to. They sure do not last like they used to.

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I've seen this happen just a few times. Most of the time your overcharging through your charging system or you are jumping the car with a charger and an old battery. I dont think they could have done anything wrong to cause this. Wall Mart has a yellow battery that works fine in my car for $49. Its their 3 year battery. You have to go in there with the measurements and post positions. They dont list it for Lexus. Take a tape with you if anyone wants to try this.

[GRAND_LS 4]

Rare but does happen. The battery shorts internally.  93 Cad I had "popped" and blew the covers off. Personally I think batteries are made a lot cheaper these days than they used to. They sure do not last like they used to.

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Cars, and electronics arent what they used to be either.

[ED.]

We talked about this over at RoadFly the other day. A guy had a question about the venting system for the battery and had a pic of an exploded one. The early 7's had the batteries under the seat and then they were moved to the trunk in 95. Kinda nice. Cleans up the under-hood area./ My car is gettin close to 76k on the OEM battery. Time for a change soon.

thanks

[Kennyr]

We talked about this over at RoadFly the other day. A guy had a question about the venting system for the battery and  had a pic of an exploded one. The early 7's had the batteries under the seat and then they were moved to the trunk in 95. Kinda nice. Cleans up the under-hood area./ My car is gettin close to 76k on the OEM battery. Time for a change soon.

thanks

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The Wall Mart battery that fits an early LS is part number Maxx 1N This is a pretty strong battery. Its yellow and $49. $5 core charge.

[sc300rfb]

Took my wife's 96 LS to the Oil Change / Car wash Saturday - apparently after changing oil & checking fluids the mechanic tried to start car and right side of battery blew off (very loud) - they claim they did nothing wrong but while the guy is removing my destroyed battery he's smoking a cigarette!!!  I mentioned perhaps this was not the brightest thing to do. Anyway, had to go drop $120.00 for a new battery and car is running fine. The battery was from LEXUS and out of warranty. Has anyone else had this happen?  Very strange.

Steve

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Same thing happened to my SC 300 LEXUS battery. Replaced it with a battery from COSTCO.

[akewlguy]

Since electronics and cars are not built like they used to be.

Good thing I got a 93 LEXUS ... Maybe it is build better then the new. :)

[VBdenny]

I replace the battery in my LS with one from COSTCO. I measured the battery and took note of where the terminals were positioned and picked out one that fit. About $50. 850 CCA.