Battery Issues

[skyfish400h]

my starter battery is also getting hinky at 44000 miles, it tests ok but has little reserve. if i am waiting in a parking lot with the radio on, i now leave the ignition in the ready, (normal on position) with no other accessories running so i dont excessively discharge that tiny battery.

If you leave the car in READY mode you won't have to worry about the starter battery because you are now drawing on the main battery. Which draws down surprisingly fast with only the radio on and no other accessories. I attribute that to the added overhead of the DRL and the HSD electronics.

It would much more to my satisfaction if I could have the DRL, AC and HEATED SEATS turn off by default while in the ACC position when all I want to do is listen to music for a while. I shouldn't have to engage all the other electronics and then manually power down the AC and HEATED SEATS, just so I can sit for an hour and enjoy the view.

Its ridiculous.

[RX400h]

Years ago, stereos in vehicles were fairly "light" when it came to power draw, and they didn't compete with a myriad of other electronic features. Those days are gone and to be honest with you, I wouldn't advise anyone to listen to a high-powered stereo that is drawing off of an OEM battery, no matter what make of vehicle. If I were you, I'd listen to an MP3 or Ipod when the car is off. They are far more efficient, power draw-wise.

Dave

[skyfish400h]

Years ago, stereos in vehicles were fairly "light" when it came to power draw, and they didn't compete with a myriad of other electronic features. Those days are gone and to be honest with you, I wouldn't advise anyone to listen to a high-powered stereo that is drawing off of an OEM battery, no matter what make of vehicle. If I were you, I'd listen to an MP3 or Ipod when the car is off. They are far more efficient, power draw-wise.

Dave

I can't believe you are serious. That's your advise... listen to my iPod?

Am I being punked here or what? :chairshot:

[mindmachine]

Years ago, stereos in vehicles were fairly "light" when it came to power draw, and they didn't compete with a myriad of other electronic features. Those days are gone and to be honest with you, I wouldn't advise anyone to listen to a high-powered stereo that is drawing off of an OEM battery, no matter what make of vehicle. If I were you, I'd listen to an MP3 or Ipod when the car is off. They are far more efficient, power draw-wise.

Dave

I can't believe you are serious. That's your advise... listen to my iPod?

Am I being punked here or what?:chairshot:

Actually with all the previous discussion about the nature of the starter battery being too small and having very little reserve you should not be listining to the stereo or doing anything much at all when the car isn't running.

Having severely chastized you on that point, LOL :o , I have a new 08 RX 400h I purchased in March, special order so I took delivery as soon as it arrived. Anyway I had the OEM battery drop below the min voltage once in October already and nothing was left on and no doors were open or anything that should drain the battery except the security system (the car was not run for a few weeks). Since I live 50 miles from the dealer I replaced the battery myself with the Optima Yellow Top # 51R deep cycle battery. I like you did not want to fool with the OEM's less than adequate battery. I called the dealer to ask them about the warranty on the battery and they told me it was not covered because I replaced it myself, said I should have called them and had Lexus roadside asistance come and either jump start it or tow it. I said like hell that doesn't make any sense towing 50 miles would have cost more than the cost of reinbursing me for the Yellow Top. The Yellow top was $ 149 plus tax and old battery core charge or trade in.

Well next time I buy my next new Lexus Hybrid, when I am satisified with the deal, I am gonna say oh by the way you owe me another $150 for the battery I bought on this car after only 8 months of ownership when service would not take care of it.

Good luck on whatever you decide but if you read other posts on here the Yellow Top is discussed in several other posts.

[skyfish400h]

Thanks mindmachine,

Clearly there are issues with the OEM battery. I've read many other posts here on the topic, but have not seen a clear discussion of the OEM battery vs Optima battery capability (with numbers rather than opinions).

The Optima is rated at 38Ah (or 41Ah, depending on what site you visit). The OEM battery rating is no where to be found, but the CCA ratings are comparable. Since the Optima battery is spiral wrapped into cylinders, rather than using square plates, there is wasted space in between the cells. So, I'm not yet convinced that the Optima really has more Ah capacity than the OEM battery even with its AGM composition.

I would be interested in hearing from Optima owners who have now had some time with the battery to evaluate it's performance in everyday use. Any more non-starting issues? Did it seem to add capability to the ACC position so that items like the radio can be used for longer periods? How did you measure that?

[RX400h]

Years ago, stereos in vehicles were fairly "light" when it came to power draw, and they didn't compete with a myriad of other electronic features. Those days are gone and to be honest with you, I wouldn't advise anyone to listen to a high-powered stereo that is drawing off of an OEM battery, no matter what make of vehicle. If I were you, I'd listen to an MP3 or Ipod when the car is off. They are far more efficient, power draw-wise.

Dave

I can't believe you are serious. That's your advise... listen to my iPod?

Am I being punked here or what?:chairshot:

Sky,

This what I've found in more than a car or two. My Corvette has a high-powered Bose system (factory) that will drain ANY battery in short time if the car is not running. My 89 Mazda, with its puny stereo system, can last for hours and I'm sure you can reason why - cars made 20 years ago did not rely on nearly as many electronic widgets. Car manufacturers would love to incorporate 24V or higher power but that probably won't happen for a while.

In the meantime, the best battery out there is the Sears Platinum - a $180 super-heavy powerhouse that trounced all others in Consumer Reports' latest battery test. Of course, as you mentioned, finding the right size from any manufacturer is another matter.

Dave

[vinovelo]

Years ago, stereos in vehicles were fairly "light" when it came to power draw, and they didn't compete with a myriad of other electronic features. Those days are gone and to be honest with you, I wouldn't advise anyone to listen to a high-powered stereo that is drawing off of an OEM battery, no matter what make of vehicle. If I were you, I'd listen to an MP3 or Ipod when the car is off. They are far more efficient, power draw-wise.

Dave

I can't believe you are serious. That's your advise... listen to my iPod?

Am I being punked here or what?:chairshot:

Sky,

This what I've found in more than a car or two. My Corvette has a high-powered Bose system (factory) that will drain ANY battery in short time if the car is not running. My 89 Mazda, with its puny stereo system, can last for hours and I'm sure you can reason why - cars made 20 years ago did not rely on nearly as many electronic widgets. Car manufacturers would love to incorporate 24V or higher power but that probably won't happen for a while.

In the meantime, the best battery out there is the Sears Platinum - a $180 super-heavy powerhouse that trounced all others in Consumer Reports' latest battery test. Of course, as you mentioned, finding the right size from any manufacturer is another matter.

Dave

There was a previous thread that talked about adding an auxillary battery. This is one from Black and Decker:

http://www.tylertool.com/blackbecker.html

I believe that one person said that it fits nicely in the space below and in front of the console between the seats.

Perhaps if someone has high power draw stereos, etc, this mightnot be a bad way to go.

/Steve