How to reset battery status in menu bar?

Question

After upgrading to 10.5.5 I experienced sudden loss of performance with both of my batteries.
Overnight the battery yielded only 45 min, and the recharge time was usually about 40 min as well.
As a result of frustration, I decided to crack open the case of 1 battery and connect a 12V 20W bulb to fully discharge the battery.
Possibly as a result of the deep discharge, the battery took 6 hrs to recharge, and now yields approx 3-4 hrs of power.
HERE IS THE PROBLEM. The battery status in the menu bar does not seem to reflect the battery's newly found performance.
It keeps says "40 min." left, and when it runs out of minutes, it displays: "Calculating ... remaining"
The same odd behaviour occurs when charging the battery. It says: "35 min" to full charge, and when it runs out of minutes it displays: "Battery finishing charging"
MOREOVER, yesterday, the low level power indicator appeared, but the computer kept working for another 1.5 hrs before going to sleep.
Finally the System profiler shows this information
Battery Information:
Battery Installed: Yes
First low level warning: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 1661
Remaining Capacity (mAh): 1361
Amperage (mA): -1203
Voltage (mV): 11441
Cycle Count: 71
After the deep discharge, the Full Charge capacity jumped form 640 to 1661.
That's good, isn't it?
But how can I reset the battery status in the menu bar to reflect the actual performance of the
battery? Or did the deep discharge damage something?
Regards

Answer 1

I talked to Apple repeatedly and they refused to replace the battery in spite of the many good arguments I brought forward. Their only argument is that the battery is old (was shipped in 2006)
I even requested them to ask their own technicians whether
it is normal for a battery with only 71 cycles to discharge so soon.
My request was declined.