Battery Dead 2nd Time In A Month

[atl_es300]

the car won't start this morning!!!

we are actually happy about this. we had our 15,000 miles service done on march 25th at the dealers. i just left a voicemail with my service consultant. i can't wait for them to take it in and see what they have to say now. guess that aftermarket device isn't going to "fix" the problem either.

[atl_es300]

not happy. the battery buddy caused the car to not start. apparently the battery buddy kicked in and to deactivate it, we have to turn the headlights on and off (the headlights will not actually come on, but you have to do this anyway) and pump the brakes and then try to start the car, and keep doing this until it starts.

we are definately getting rid of this car, and moving on with our lives.

[vcv10guy]

Sounds like a great idea. What a shame you had a bad experience with your ES. :( Have you talked to the dealer again about this problem?

[splinter]

Hi, all. Just a basic message about batteries, since this seems to be a power thread. The original one in our '96 died and we replaced it (cheaply, from one from Wal Mart, as per the Wal Mart battery manual specified for the ES). However, though the battery had enough amps (around 575, I think), it was a 72 series and when it started dying, we had the local Lexus dealer look at it. Apparently the ES needs an 84 series with around 575 Cold Cranking Amps, very important in the Canadian winter. Once replaced (/upgraded), we haven't had a problem since.

This info may only be repeating the bleeding obvious (informing others only of my own ignorance, if nothing else), but it might help someone ... somewhere ... just as ignorant ...

BTW: the Lexus dealer in the Maritimes (Halifax) is great -- professional, knowledgeable, courteous and even trustworthy (this is Atlantic Canada, after all, not New York! no offence ).

[steviej]

BTW: the Lexus dealer in the Maritimes (Halifax) is great -- professional, knowledgeable, courteous and even trustworthy (this is Atlantic Canada, after all, not New York!  no offence ).

←

Splinter,

totally off thread but what the heck.

I love Halifax. I do alot of business with a company called Precision Biologics.

Anyway, I remember some pictures my friends sent me of snow up to the street signs. Kinda reminded me of home.

steviej

[93lexuses]

Hi, all. Just a basic message about batteries, since this seems to be a power thread. The original one in our '96 died and we replaced it (cheaply, from one from Wal Mart, as per the Wal Mart battery manual specified for the ES). However, though the battery had enough amps (around 575, I think), it was a 72 series and when it started dying, we had the local Lexus dealer look at it. Apparently the ES needs an 84 series with around 575 Cold Cranking Amps, very important in the Canadian winter. Once replaced (/upgraded), we haven't had a problem since.

This info may only be repeating the bleeding obvious  (informing others only of my own ignorance, if nothing else), but it might help someone ... somewhere ... just as ignorant ... 

BTW: the Lexus dealer in the Maritimes (Halifax) is great -- professional, knowledgeable, courteous and even trustworthy (this is Atlantic Canada, after all, not New York!  no offence ).

←

Thanks, Maybe that is my problem. I will have to check that out and if it is then i will have to get a different battery before this one goes dead again.

[SKperformance]

Nick did you ever try leaving the dome light in the off position?

I keep having SRS lights every first start of the day. After that it is fine so i feel it is just a low voltage situation at initial system check for the SRS.

Here is my point though.

I replaced my dome light tonight with an LED and notiiced the light turned off but was still allowing power to go though it causing the bulb to have a glimmer of light.

Although it is small such a problem can cause a dead battery as anyone who has left a car door open over night can tell you.

Just a thought

[cardona6569]

Nick did you ever try leaving the dome light in the off position?

I keep having SRS lights every first start of the day. After that it is fine so i feel it is just a low voltage situation at initial system check for the SRS.

Here is my point though.

I replaced my dome light tonight with an LED and notiiced the light turned off but was still allowing power to go though it causing the bulb to have a glimmer of light.

Although it is small such a problem can cause a dead battery as anyone who has left a car door open over night can tell you.

Just a thought

←

HI: When I had more illusions and aspirations of buying a New Vehicle I bought a Nissan Murano 2003, which I still owe. A year passes and one day a Saturday I go to relax and eat a Hamburger to my local Fuddrockers. Guess what my battery died. Luckily I was near a PepBoxys bought an Energizer battery has been good ever since. Moral of the story, do not trust the dealers batteries, they are seldom good ones. I have only one good battery from the dealer and it was a Ford Motorcraft, it lasted about 3 years that is the only exception. Even as your car can have a replacement in warranty, go to your local autoparts and buy an aftermarket one that supplies CCA at least the second one from the lowest rating they recommend. Do not buy the one that is in the lowest of the CCA category. Remember batteries tend to last about 3 years in most cases. Usually they give you a warning when you start the car and feels a lot weacker when it starts, if that happens run to the autoparts to get it tested. My Murano did it only twuice before it died. Well since this is a Lex site I will give the side of the story with my Lex. Not trusting used car dealers batteries, the first night after I got my Lex I went to Pepboys to test the battery and in my mind I was planning it probably needs replacement, so I am not up for surprices, they surprised me, saying that the systems was great, the battery was great and not charging me any money because they felt it was dishonest. I priced them, buying a fuel treatment and a K & N filter for my Lex.

C. PR

[nicksan]

I'll have to check on the dome light.

I still have my ES. Too busy with my house renovation to get rid of it.

It was good for a while, but after a long stretch of minimal use, it died again.

I charged it up, drove for maybe 10 miles. 2 days later it came close to turning over but "click, click, click". Used my portable booster and this time I took a drive with my wife for 40 miles. We went shopping the following day with the ES (usually take my SUV) and drove another 60 miles. Figuring that 100 miles is good to charge up the battery (don't know if it fully charged...who knows) I again relegated the ES to minimal use, 2-3 miles here and there with 2-3 days in-between usage. It took 2 weeks, it didn't turn over..."click, click, click"...

I can use a solar charger b/c the cigarette lighter is off when the ignition is off. So every freakin' day I have to drive the freakin' thing 10-15 minutes.

I think I'm going to take it to Lexus again to get a new battery, but this time I am going to try my best not to let it drain. Too bad about the cigarette lighter...because a solar charger would have worked wonders. I can't use a trickle charger because my car is parked on the street, because my garage is filled with renovation stuff.

I am definitely on the sh*t list when it comes to ES owners...

I can say this. If I drive my ES everyday, even for 2 - 3 miles, I'm pretty sure it will hold the charge. It's annoying...when I get the car back from Lexus with a fresh battery, it typically is good for about 2 to 3 months. Then it starts dying.

How much driving would it take to FULLY charge the battery in the ES?

[SKperformance]

You need an amp meter to be hooked up to your battery and disconnect fuses 1 by 1 to trace the source of your major drain as it should be fully charged for atleast 1 week of sitting and be fine for atleast 10 starts with no issues.

[justin97]

You need an amp meter to be hooked up to your battery and disconnect fuses 1 by 1 to trace the source of your major drain as it should be fully charged for atleast 1 week of sitting and be fine for atleast 10 starts with no issues.

←

yeah my car sat for about a month and started with just a lil hesitaion this summer. u have something causing a drain big time.

[jragosta]

You need an amp meter to be hooked up to your battery and disconnect fuses 1 by 1 to trace the source of your major drain as it should be fully charged for atleast 1 week of sitting and be fine for atleast 10 starts with no issues.

←

I can't figure out why the dealer hasn't done this - after all that this guy's been through. It would only take the dealer an hour or so to at least find out which circuit is causing the problem. I've lost track - how many times has he been back to the same dealer and they've never run that simple test?

I think he needs a new dealer if there's one who's anywhere close. I'd probably even go to a Toyota dealer rather than go back to this one.

[cardona6569]

Hey fellas,

I've had my 2001 ES300 for about 4 months now. I've had a lot of problems. Most of them I'm happy to say have been ironed out.

I still have this nagging issue with my battery going dead.

A month ago, I took it to the dealer, and they said that the battery had a bad cell. They also checked the alternator (so they say) and they said it checked out fine.

So they replaced the battery. Things were fine for I'd say about 3 weeks. Then one day, on a rainy day, (no point here...it was just a rainy day!) it was dead again. Tick, tick, tick, tick...that's the sound I get.

Anyways I have a portable booster, so I boosted it up, took it for a spin for about an hour and it was fine...meaning it would start up.

But the next morning it would be dead again...

So today, I took it to the dealer again. It's a 1 hour drive from my house...not too amusing...but anyways, I managed to get it to the dealer. (I warmed the car up for 20 minutes at my house, then drove off, hit the brakes a few times and it was dead again...so I warmed it up some more). Anyways, when I got to the dealer, I turned off the ignition. I figured after 1 hour of highway driving it would be fine. But when the service guy came over, it won't start. I guess that's good...since they can see first hand what a pain it is to boost it everytime!

Anyways, they said they will run a charge test or something like that. (I thought they did that last time???) Hopefully they will find something, because I think it's not the battery given that the battery is 1 month old. I think the battery going dead is just a symptom of another problem.

Guys, any ideas what it could be?

FYI, I had Lexus install a remote starter at purchase. I wonder if they botched it up.

Would a charge test, as they put it, be enough to detect most problems, including alternator, bad ground, etc?

Thanks!

Nick N.

←

I would take your car to a qualified electromechanic to find out what is causing the problem and having it repaired; in many townships and cities they are usually mechanics that only specialize in this kind of work. You would be amazed at how easy they find out the drains on the cars, sometimes is even the lighter or the glass anti-fog mechanism what causes problems of the sort you describe. Then I would put a Die Hard Battery or even an Energizer one, they are great, or even an Optima. Make sure when you do get it is the best battery for the car since it consumes a lot of electricity even when it is off.

On the other hand a Toyota Dealership is also a good choice, they probably feel grand working on a Lex; when people feel special because they are working in a Special Car like your Lex they tend to do a great job so you come back to them the next time. They get great joy specially if they resolve an issue the other could not. If the car still has warranty I would be looking at the lemon law with your lawyer if not able to get it to specs. A battery should not drain so easily.C. PR

[nicksan]

Cardona,

Thanks for all the suggestions.

The car is actually still under warranty, but I am afraid the dealership, Lexus of Massapequa isn't quite up to the task of handling this problem, nor are they honest.

I'm not sure whether the fact that the battery was drained initially is what caused permanent damage to it to a point where it cannot hold a charge for a long time.

As I said earlier, when I got the Lex back from them after a new battery install back in March, the car seemed to be fine for 3 months...well actually it took 3 months for the battery to die with minimal use. After that, the time it would take for the battery would be shorter and shorter, however I do not know how much I really need to drive in order to fully charge the battery.

Nor do I know whether it could fully charge again since it was drained several times already.

So the best I could do at this point is to go to another dealer, have them install the battery and hope for the best...OR get an Optima deep cycle.

Tried the Lemon route. Lost. Didn't bring a lawyer. They did. Predictable ending I would say. They blasted me out of the water pretty much, accusing me of everything from negligence to pruposely draining the battery myself to get a refund.

The old !Removed! butt-hole of an arbitrator bought their story. I mean who's gonna believe poor old me right?

I would sell the f*cker except I am really busy redoing my house. I'll sell it soon enough.

But one thing is for sure. It will be a long time before I buy another Lexus.

[steviej]

The car is actually still under warranty, but I am afraid the dealership, Lexus of Massapequa isn't quite up to the task of handling this problem, nor are they honest.

←

Then do just that!!!!! Make use of your warranty for crying out loud. It should be honored at any Lexus dealership. Why do you put this off?

Bay Ridge has been suggested to you multiple times. Go to there and explain all that has happened and all that was done. Ask them to do a drain test and see what they find out. If something comes up, ask the service manager to send a letter to the "snake in the grass" at Massapequa that failed to do this on multiple occassions.

steviej

[amf1932]

The car is actually still under warranty, but I am afraid the dealership, Lexus of Massapequa isn't quite up to the task of handling this problem, nor are they honest.

←

Then do just that!!!!! Make use of your warranty for crying out loud. It should be honored at any Lexus dealership. Why do you put this off?

Bay Ridge has been suggested to you multiple times. Go to there and explain all that has happened and all that was done. Ask them to do a drain test and see what they find out. If something comes up, ask the service manager to send a letter to the "snake in the grass" at Massapequa that failed to do this on multiple occassions.

steviej

←

nicksan-

Wow!! I advised you to try Bay Ridge Lexus July 2004, so I don't have anymore sympathy for you or your problems.

If you recall I went to the bother of contacting the Service Manager to tell them your "tales of woe", but you never found the time to follow it through!!

I feel like a real !Removed! for even trying to help you out in the first place.

Sorry pal.....I'm outa here.

[nicksan]

Well, I checked out the dealer rating and Bay Ridge wasn't too high on the list, not that I didn't trust your judgement or not appreciate you trying to help me. I'm sorry if I made you feel like an "as*".

My life has been a real hell this past year with my home renovation so my mind was elsewhere.

I decided to take it to Rallye in the hopes that they will actually be honest about the electrical. Because the car was purchased from Massapequa and the battery serviced there, Rallye would not give me the battery for free. They will however run a full diagnostics under warranty. Sure they are going to rip me a new one for the battery, but I have a $300 voucher from Lexus HQ so I am going to use that to get it done, plus the 25k service.

Also I complained about the front suspsension making some noise. They said the struts need to be replaced! They will do it under warranty as well. Wow, I guess that's one more thing Massapequa didn't check.

I said no thanks to the $149 wheel alignment offer.

$60 to replace the wiper? Ouch...Actually the wiper assembly was broken...so that's beyond the blade. I still had balance left over from the $300 voucher so I went for it.

Not going to keep the car too long so might as well use the full $300.

So now, hopefully when I get the car back it will be "sale ready". I can feel comfortable selling it now that I will have my problems addressed.

Again, I truly am sorry for not following up with Bay Ridge.

In the end, Rallye was a little more convenient for me and since the house is going along now I feel I have the mental power to take care of other things in my life, like my cars!

[SW03ES]

Now I'm starting to see why the arbitrator sided with the Lexus dealership...

To be honest, sometimes in business there are customers you're not upset about losing, there are also customers that you sometimes work to get rid of because they just aren't worth the amount of time their neuroses take to address. IMHO you're one of those customers to the Lexus dealerships and to Lexus in general.

Best of luck to you.

Edited December 19, 2005 by SW03ES

[nicksan]

SW,

That's mightly big of you kicking me when I'm down, suggesting that I am some kind of mental-case Lexus customer from hell.

And all I ever did was search for help.

I never provoked you. I always showed my appreciation for all the help I got from here, if not in actions, definitely in words.

But that's your right.

Thanks for the posts where you have actually been very helpful. I'm just sorry that it turned out this way.

[SW03ES]

Dude, we have tried helping you time and time again and you refuse to listen to us.

Kicking you when you're down? Are you an adult? Quit feeling sorry for yourself and expecting everybody else to feel sorry for you and do something about it. We're all tired of you drifting in here every few months and whining "woe is me" and then refusing to do anything to better your situation.

Its a car, get it fixed or sell it. Quit being such a drama queen about it.

Edited December 21, 2005 by SW03ES

[nicksan]

SW,

Adult? Hmmm...I AM 34, but I'd like to think I am young at heart!

Drama Queen? Well, maybe a little, I must admit. Sometimes I'm a bit too passionate about certain things and being a New Yorker all my life I am quite a cynic, and am quick to cry fire. Or maybe I AM just a nut...AHHHHH....where's my prozac?!?

Believe it or not, I do have better things to do than to obssess over my car. You know make it shine so much that you need sunglasses to stare at it (detailaholic...is that what you call it?), make sure there are no finger prints on it. In fact I often have bird sh*t all over my hood along with leaves, coffee, you name it, it's on there. Sure, I mind. But I'm too busy to wash the car, and as long as it starts and takes me and my wife to where I need to go, I'm a happy Joe. That's what cars SHOULD do. Nobody to impress. None at all. That was back in college. I have a good paying job so I bought my Acura MDX and the ES to finally have the nicer things in life, however materialistic that line of thinking is. Still, I do have bird sh*t on them. I am ashamed to admit.

And you are absolutely right about my forum behaviour. In fact I was surprised that I had accumulated 150 posts. My my. I guess I WAS whinning. Whaaaaaaa. You are right! I apologize if I offended anyone by not taking their advice. Clearly I was acting like a child (??? ...hmmm who's actually acting like a child here again?)

What are my 150 posts to your 6000. Obviously you spend a LOT OF TIME in here. I envy the fact that you have time to post 6000 times. It is apparent to me that you have a huge heart, helping all those who need it.

What can I say SW. You are the best.

Adios, ciao, see you later...I will miss you dearly.

[Aija]

I dont post much but wow... a True drama forum!

[SW03ES]

Nick, I really have very little interest in your personal story nor is it relative to the topic at hand. Your opinions of me and what I do with my time mean absolutely nothing to me either.

If you want our help and are willing to accept it please stay, if you're just here to !Removed! and complain and refuse to take any of our advice on ways you can better your situation then you're wasting all of our time and you should leave. Look at your response to my post, more passive aggressive whining, more "Oh I'm the victim at the hands of the big bad man". That gets you nowhere, no wonder the arbitrator found against you if you went on like that. I'm surprised you didn't call me a "doo-doo head"

[kcpth]

Alright now now guys... no one means n e harm here.

I'm sorrie to hear u r still having this battery woes nick. Since it is under warranty... do bring it back... or get rid of it (I would take it from u if i had money =P)... it has caused u more than enuff share of headaches. Have u gotten it to other places to see wut the problems might be? Have u put it under a load test from other places? Try disconnecting the Remote start like someone else has stated. I've heard some good things n bad things about remote starts. Have u tried SK's idea wit the LED bulb since they require less juice to power them... n the normal dome bulbs require more... so it wouldn't light... n then henceforth draining it. Like computers which can be a pain in the !Removed! to trouble shoot... cars can be that way too. Im currently having problems trying to trouble shoot my sister's boyfriends car... his battery is draining too.... but i think it's his Kickers (subwoofers)... b/c the previous owners wired them totally WRONG... n created one hell of a mess... n i believe he should replace all his ground wires too.

Well good luck to u. Congrats on ur house renovations. Nick... SW n others dont mean n e harm... we all want to help u... if n e of us LOC members have problems wit the car... we all feel it too... they just want u to follow through wit wut they r suggesting... as it is a way to troubleshoot n knock one problem off of the list.

On a last note... everyone has different personal life. People r busy n relax differently... n others may do some relaxation by helping others. Plus SW n SK n whomever... r Officials of the site... they need to keep this site running to help others who r in need.

I wish u the best of luck. The year is coming to an end... n hopefully the 06 year... will bring a better outcome to ur life. Life is filled wit many tests... we have to deal wit it wit the hands we r dealt = ) Take Care

Tom

Edited December 22, 2005 by kcpth

[txlight75]

I had this same issue and it was not the battery or alternator. After replacing both I discovered that the problem was my automatic shut-off on my headlights was not working. I never stay to make sure they cut off becuase I trust that the part works and it turned out to be defective. The problem may be that your lights are staying on and draining your battery.