12V battery RX450h

[Prince Bob]

Hello All

Has anybody here replaced the 12v Battery on an RX450h?

Lexus want £235, but have seen batteries from the fast fit places like ATS  provide a Battery for £90. Does the main dealer use a 'special' Battery?  Is it worth paying Lexus? Or will any Battery be sufficient?

[flookyk]

Some have used other makes of Battery on here that I have seen but not sure which ones.

If you try Lexuspartsdirect.co.uk they are cheaper at around £180 for the Gen3 Rx you have and you have the security in that they are an actual Lexus dealer (Swindon I think).

Not sure what is so special about the Battery for the Gen3 though as the Gen4 is only around a third of the price.

[PRT68]

Try another Lexus dealership. Lexus Milton Keynes (where I purchased the car from)quoted £395 for my RC300h! Website showed the price of £125 and that's what Lexus Coventry charged me,  including coffee and a quick valet.

Bought my previous Lexus from Coventry and have been very pleased with servicing, so won't go anywhere else. 

[Johntechx]

The 12V Battery in the RX 450 is a VRLA AGM Battery and for safety, should not be replaced with an alternative technology Battery.

It has dedicated charging and venting requirements and as it is located in the rear passenger compartment, should not be replaced with a wet-cell Battery.

I had this dilemma with my dying 12V Battery and from research, there was conflicting information whether the original Battery on my (2010) Battery was a standard Battery or AGM.

I can now confirm that the Battery is a Panasonic D23 AGM Battery and I (and others) could find no UK equivalent or supplier of this Battery, apart from Lexus UK.

I therefore bit the bullet and ordered a new Battery from Lexus direct, had it delivered and fitted it myself. It cost £195.32 + £5.99 P&P

[Johntechx]

Wish I knew how I could edit my post above, far too many instances of the word "Battery" irritating my OCD! Arrrgh! there's another one.

[Illogan]

3 hours ago, Prince Bob said:

Hello All

Has anybody here replaced the 12v battery on an RX450h?

Lexus want £235, but have seen batteries from the fast fit places like ATS  provide a battery for £90. Does the main dealer use a 'special' battery?  Is it worth paying Lexus? Or will any battery be sufficient?

I replaced my Battery (2014 RX450), and, like others, researched the subject and found no practical alternatives to the Panasonic Battery, chose to purchase from Lexuspartsdirect.co.uk, and their service was excellent!

[Illogan]

20 minutes ago, Johntechx said:

Wish I knew how I could edit my post above, far too many instances of the word "Battery" irritating my OCD! Arrrgh! there's another one.

Such repetition is known as a Battery of batteries

 

😁

[Barry14UK]

3 hours ago, Johntechx said:

The 12V battery in the RX 450 is a VRLA AGM battery and for safety, should not be replaced with an alternative technology battery.

It has dedicated charging and venting requirements and as it is located in the rear passenger compartment, should not be replaced with a wet-cell battery.

I had this dilemma with my dying 12V battery and from research, there was conflicting information whether the original battery on my (2010) battery was a standard battery or AGM.

I can now confirm that the battery is a Panasonic D23 AGM battery and I (and others) could find no UK equivalent or supplier of this battery, apart from Lexus UK.

I therefore bit the bullet and ordered a new battery from Lexus direct, had it delivered and fitted it myself. It cost £195.32 + £5.99 P&P

This is correct, the acid being absorbed in Glass Matt hence AGM.  One advantage of this type of Battery is that the risk to passengers is minimised in the event of a car being upended in an accident as the Battery can be turned upside down without leaking.  (This aspect is less important where the Battery is in the engine bay where there is a bulkhead between it and the cabin).  In the RX the Battery is in the boot part of the cabin.  There are other technical reasons for this Battery which have been discussed at some length in other threads.

I did find a suitable alternative but the importers would only consider doing so for that model if an order of 100 or 200 was placed (forgot which but too many anyway).  They do a larger model deep cycle of the same type that would be suitable and they stock in the UK but it would involve modifying the chassis and moving over the space saver wheel to accept the extra length.  I did consider it as I have to charge mine up every 10 days or so when it's not been used due to pandemic restrictions.  But I think such mods could affect extended warranty and it might lead to problems with insurers.  I therefore decided I will just get competitive quotes from Lexus dealers  in due course as nobody else I could find sells the correct Panasonic battery.

It is important to keep this Battery charged to an acceptable level.  The car should be run to achieve this according to Lexus recommendations or charged with a smart charger in AGM mode and giving at most 5amp.  Some people use a pv solar  panel on dash plugged into the code check socket (forgotten correct name for it).

[Prince Bob]

A little update, I took the car to Lexus Woodford just to be certain. Bill was £228.58, Battery was £190.48, labour £19.20. 

I had the original Battery in the car, 10 years is good going! Thanks to all that helped

On another note staff were great and the dealership was spotless 

Edited October 17, 2020 by Prince Bob
Forgot vat

[royoftherovers]

17 minutes ago, Prince Bob said:

A little update, I took the car to Lexus Woodford just to be certain. Bill was £228.58, battery was £171.28, labour £19.20. 

I had the original battery in the car, 10 years is good going! Thanks to all that helped

On another note staff were great and the dealership was spotless 

20% VAT?

[Prince Bob]

3 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

20% VAT?

I saw that, now edited, you were too quick lol, £38.10 VAT

[royoftherovers]

5 minutes ago, Prince Bob said:

I saw that, now edited, you were too quick lol, £38.10 VAT

Wife says it all the time Bob!