Replacement Battery Rx330 (2005)

redpeas · May 15, 2009

My battery died after a year of being parked. Does it matter what type of battery I replace it as long as it is comparable?

Apparently the replacement battery is called East Pen---any comments?

curiousB · May 15, 2009

There is nothing special about the battery. I would go to a car parts place or a Canadian Tire and get one. They'll have cross reference tables to find a match for you. Being Canada they may upsell you to a higher tier battery but if the car isn't garaged in the winter that maybe be a good idea. Cold cranking amps is more important when its -40 degrees. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

python · May 15, 2009

there are only 3 companies that make batteries,johnson control,exide and east penn.....east penn is the best, then johnson control and then exide

Mrgimme · May 15, 2009

there are only 3 companies that make batteries,johnson control,exide and east penn.....east penn is the best, then johnson control and then exide

Hmmmm Verrrrrrry Interesting!!!!! (as ARTE JOHNSON used to say)

Call me a sucker but being in Florida I go to the drive in Sears and get a Diehard... they are all geared up to get you in and out FAST

and easy to make a claim if they die before their time!

I noticed my original battery was replaced by the first owner it seems undersized... I am contemplating replacing it so I do not have a repeat of the "Great Battery in the Fan Blade disaster of 1977" when I let my boss hop on my 1970 396 Chevelle SS around the block and the bungie cords did not hold and faster than you can say "Where is the short?" The engine had a refreshing acid bath!

So Dealer Battery or Sears Die Hard Gold?

curiousB · May 15, 2009

I wouldn't buy a battery from a Lexus dealer. Their markup and labor are so high it will never be competitive with someone like a Sears or a specialty auto store like a Autozone/pep boys/... (in USA) or Canadian Tire (in Canada where original poster lives).

As others have said only a couple companies actually make the batteries the rest is branding of these few to create appearance Sears and other actually make batteries.

That is strange that a car with <30k miles is in need its third battery. I have 74k on my original battery and no signs of problems yet. I heard AZ was a tough place on batteries I didn't realize Florida was too.

Mrgimme · May 15, 2009

I wouldn't buy a battery from a Lexus dealer. Their markup and labor are so high it will never be competitive with someone like a Sears or a specialty auto store like a Autozone/pep boys/... (in USA) or Canadian Tire (in Canada where original poster lives).
As others have said only a couple companies actually make the batteries the rest is branding of these few to create appearance Sears and other actually make batteries.

That is strange that a car with <30k miles is in need its third battery. I have 74k on my original battery and no signs of problems yet. I heard AZ was a tough place on batteries I didn't realize Florida was too.

Sorry if I misled. The battery I have works it just does not fill the battery compartment. (seems small) So I was considering chaning it out because so much of what I love about my car uses juice!

Thoughts?

pauljcl · May 16, 2009

I wouldn't buy a battery from a Lexus dealer. Their markup and labor are so high it will never be competitive with someone like a Sears or a specialty auto store like a Autozone/pep boys/... (in USA) or Canadian Tire (in Canada where original poster lives).
As others have said only a couple companies actually make the batteries the rest is branding of these few to create appearance Sears and other actually make batteries.

That is strange that a car with <30k miles is in need its third battery. I have 74k on my original battery and no signs of problems yet. I heard AZ was a tough place on batteries I didn't realize Florida was too.

Sorry if I misled. The battery I have works it just does not fill the battery compartment. (seems small) So I was considering chaning it out because so much of what I love about my car uses juice!

Thoughts?

FWIW - Dealer battery is no better than the Sears. I had a new dealer (=Toyota) battery - lasted 4 1/2 yrs in FL (heat tires batteries), and, even with a 'discount' because of 'warranty', dealer was more expensive. Sears are all over the country, and their service is good. I had originally replaced it with a Eveready (Pep Boys) - crap! lasted one year - went to Sears and all is fine. You can check your current battery size to see whether the right size is what you have, and if it is, why not wait to change it until you need to do so? Even if a touch small, if it has been working fine and satisfies your needs, and you are not going to 'cold country', why not wait? The downside is minimal: a boost and then a new battery only when needed.

code58 · May 16, 2009

there are only 3 companies that make batteries,johnson control,exide and east penn.....east penn is the best, then johnson control and then exide

Hmmmm Verrrrrrry Interesting!!!!! (as ARTE JOHNSON used to say)

Call me a sucker but being in Florida I go to the drive in Sears and get a Diehard... they are all geared up to get you in and out FAST

and easy to make a claim if they die before their time!

I noticed my original battery was replaced by the first owner it seems undersized... I am contemplating replacing it so I do not have a repeat of the "Great Battery in the Fan Blade disaster of 1977" when I let my boss hop on my 1970 396 Chevelle SS around the block and the bungie cords did not hold and faster than you can say "Where is the short?" The engine had a refreshing acid bath!

So Dealer Battery or Sears Die Hard Gold?

The size of the battery is not the important thing. Very frankly, if you have no way of testing the new battery you are contemplating buying... simply lift it! The heavier the battery, the more lead and the more power (that is a slight oversimplification, but only slight). The lighter the battery, the less lead and the less power. But that is only a poorboys way of testing. CCA rating and actual testing of CCA is important. I have spent my life in automotive work and have tested more batteries than I ever want to remember and the size of the case is not at all the final word in the power of the battery. My OTC tester tests CCA's, CA's, AH's, as well as a whole lot of other things and you would be surprised how few batteries test just what they are rated for. A lot of batteries test above what they are rated for and quite a few (brand new, fully charged) test below what they are rated for, some of them way below! Buy the battery based on the CCA's that you want (that will fit in your case), and then have them test it for ACTUAL CCA's BEFORE you buy it. If they won't test it for that, I'd buy somewhere else where they will. I bought a new battery for my motorhome at Sam's Club and for curiosity sake tested it when I got home before installing. It tested at 12.76V (good) and 90CCA's !

It was rated at 650 CCA's! I tested it a few hours later at 200+ CCA's, then at 100+ CCA's! Junk! When I took it back I had them test it and they said it was fine! Got my money back and went and bought a battery from someone who knew what they were doing. Which tested above what it was rated for!