Dead RX450h battery. Advice please.

[ABC8743]

HI

My apologies as I am sure this has been asked before but search is failing me.

My 2015 RX450H has a completely dead battery after not having been driven for about 8 weeks. Had to unlock the door with the actual key slid out of the fob. No lights/nothing on dash when attempting to start. Issue is that a friend is storing the car for me as I don't live nearby so I'll need to plan ahead to try and get it started to make the trip as productive as one could possibly hope for.

My questions are: is the best first step to use my Geico roadside recovery and meet them at the car in hopes that a jump will work?

Should I just assume the worst and book in an appointment at the nearest dealer and use Geico for a tow?

I know the car should have been driven more but here we are! Thank you in advance!

[RX400h]

A jump will work if the "jumper" allows (after hookup of the cables) 5 minutes or so of his engine, idling before starting your vehicle. He may even increase his engine speed a bit while waiting. If you're then going to take your RX straight home, you should be okay. Soon after, you should have your battery load-tested after being fully charged. This can be done by a local auto parts store employee. If the battery is good after a full charge, you are done.

In the future, any vehicle that will not be used for 2 months should have a "battery tender" connected to the battery to keep it fully charged. This device is typically less than $50 and comes with instructions for setting it up.

 

[ABC8743]

Thank you so much. Very helpful. We will call Geico roadside and I would think that would be the best / strongest jump option rather than a regular car right?

Thanks for the tip on the battery tender

[RX400h]

You're welcome, Alison. Both will be fine if done correctly. If you've never done it before, it'd be best to have the roadside person do it. But allow time for the donor vehicle to charge your battery, sufficiently.