Rx330 Dead Battery

[mccldwll]

Was away for a month and when returned battery was dead. Wouldn't turn over at all. A few warning lights came on. Jump started it (properly) and drove it for 20 minutes. Ran perfectly. Got home. Shut off and tried it again. It started, then died immediately. Then nothing. I've never had a battery not recover after that much driving. Was it simply so totally drained by all the silly little lights that it needs a pro trickle charge to restore, or is it simply a POS battery which is shot?

Thanks.

[code58]

Was away for a month and when returned battery was dead. Wouldn't turn over at all. A few warning lights came on. Jump started it (properly) and drove it for 20 minutes. Ran perfectly. Got home. Shut off and tried it again. It started, then died immediately. Then nothing. I've never had a battery not recover after that much driving. Was it simply so totally drained by all the silly little lights that it needs a pro trickle charge to restore, or is it simply a POS battery which is shot?

Thanks.

The only way to know is to PROPERLY charge it and load test it. How old is the battery? I have ruined more than 1 battery by accidently allowing a small drain for a period of time. Doesn't have to be much of a drain but 2 weeks, 24 hrs. a day will do it. The sad part is if the battery has any age at all a full discharge is often enough to kill the battery so that it can not successfully be brought back. To jump start a car and charge it with the alt. is not an adequate way to charge it. A lot of people think because they SEEM to have gotten away with it that is OK. Not so. Charge it with a slow charger (I personally use a "Smart charger" which does a good job- it truly has a pretty good brain in managing the charge). Then have it load tested and you'll have your answer. Good Luck!

[mccldwll]

Was away for a month and when returned battery was dead. Wouldn't turn over at all. A few warning lights came on. Jump started it (properly) and drove it for 20 minutes. Ran perfectly. Got home. Shut off and tried it again. It started, then died immediately. Then nothing. I've never had a battery not recover after that much driving. Was it simply so totally drained by all the silly little lights that it needs a pro trickle charge to restore, or is it simply a POS battery which is shot?

Thanks.

The only way to know is to PROPERLY charge it and load test it. How old is the battery? I have ruined more than 1 battery by accidently allowing a small drain for a period of time. Doesn't have to be much of a drain but 2 weeks, 24 hrs. a day will do it. The sad part is if the battery has any age at all a full discharge is often enough to kill the battery so that it can not successfully be brought back. To jump start a car and charge it with the alt. is not an adequate way to charge it. A lot of people think because they SEEM to have gotten away with it that is OK. Not so. Charge it with a slow charger (I personally use a "Smart charger" which does a good job- it truly has a pretty good brain in managing the charge). Then have it load tested and you'll have your answer. Good Luck!

Thanks. Battery code is H6NK, which IIRC stands for 8th month of 2006. Duralast 600 CCA. I assume from your response that all the little lights, monitors etc. on the RX must be enough to drain a battery in a month. Unreal. Does the "Smart Charger" attach to battery on car, or is it necessary to remove from car? If remove, are there any precautions other than shutting off radio? I've been dealing with a top notch, honest, small battery shop for 15 years (never will sell me something if not needed), minimal charges for things like trickle charges. I could jump start again and drive it in for evaluation/trickle, or remove and just take it in. Alternative would be to buy a charger, but if battery shot......

The interesting thing is that starts or doesn't, and did start momentarily after driving. Did have enough juice to light up instrumentation (after driving) even when wouldn't start--a threshhold power requirement for starting, which if not met, wouldn't even attempt it. Maybe for safety of the electronics. Is this the case? Thanks again for tip on necessity of trickle charging.

[code58]

Was away for a month and when returned battery was dead. Wouldn't turn over at all. A few warning lights came on. Jump started it (properly) and drove it for 20 minutes. Ran perfectly. Got home. Shut off and tried it again. It started, then died immediately. Then nothing. I've never had a battery not recover after that much driving. Was it simply so totally drained by all the silly little lights that it needs a pro trickle charge to restore, or is it simply a POS battery which is shot?

Thanks.

The only way to know is to PROPERLY charge it and load test it. How old is the battery? I have ruined more than 1 battery by accidently allowing a small drain for a period of time. Doesn't have to be much of a drain but 2 weeks, 24 hrs. a day will do it. The sad part is if the battery has any age at all a full discharge is often enough to kill the battery so that it can not successfully be brought back. To jump start a car and charge it with the alt. is not an adequate way to charge it. A lot of people think because they SEEM to have gotten away with it that is OK. Not so. Charge it with a slow charger (I personally use a "Smart charger" which does a good job- it truly has a pretty good brain in managing the charge). Then have it load tested and you'll have your answer. Good Luck!

Thanks. Battery code is H6NK, which IIRC stands for 8th month of 2006. Duralast 600 CCA. I assume from your response that all the little lights, monitors etc. on the RX must be enough to drain a battery in a month. Unreal. Does the "Smart Charger" attach to battery on car, or is it necessary to remove from car? If remove, are there any precautions other than shutting off radio? I've been dealing with a top notch, honest, small battery shop for 15 years (never will sell me something if not needed), minimal charges for things like trickle charges. I could jump start again and drive it in for evaluation/trickle, or remove and just take it in. Alternative would be to buy a charger, but if battery shot......

The interesting thing is that starts or doesn't, and did start momentarily after driving. Did have enough juice to light up instrumentation (after driving) even when wouldn't start--a threshhold power requirement for starting, which if not met, wouldn't even attempt it. Maybe for safety of the electronics. Is this the case? Thanks again for tip on necessity of trickle charging.

mccldwll- No, in my opinion, if you don't have anything added in the way of electrical or electronics, if the battery is in good shape, it shouldn't go dead in a month. So many batteries these days are junk that it is hard to recommend a GOOD battery. Though the battery is only 2 years old, a lot of them are already getting weak by then. You just don't know it when you drive it every day. It doesn't take a lot of amperage to start a car that is in good shape- then it runs on the alternator. The battery is pretty much just for starting. When run every day you won't realize it is getting very weak, but setting a few days, much less a month will reveal the truly weak battery. If it's only 2 years old, is there a chance it is still under a full replacement warrantee? A lot of batteries now have a 3 year free replacement warrantee before they start pro-ration period.

Actually, the "smart charger" I spoke of is a really great charger- I bought it at Sam's Club for about $50. ( normally about $90.- $100. elsewhere) It senses the battery as it charges and regulates the charge (even shutting down very briefly if needed), so that there is never any overcharging or overheating as is sometimes the case with a standard charger. It is well named because it totally regulates the charge so that you can put the charger on and walk away and forget it without doing a trickle or any other special preparation or monitering. Yes, you can simply put the charger on in the car- no need to remove the battery. If you're not comfortable with that, simply remove the neg. (ground) cable while charging. If you have no other need for the charger, I wouldn't recommend one just for this case. Your battery needs to be charged and then load tested by someone that KNOWS what they're doing- sounds like that shop should fit the bill. My guess is the battery is bad. A battery in fairly good condition can be rendered junk when fully discharged. I have ruined more then 1 battery by accidently allowing a small drain for a couple of weeks when on vacation. A near new battery may be able to take it but a battery 2 or 3 years old will be pushed over the edge by it. Once charged, the battery will need to be load tested to tell it's true condition.

Electronics are very fickle in current cars but my guess is the battery has bought itself the big dirt nap-(the permanent one-LOL). Good Luck!

[mccldwll]

Was away for a month and when returned battery was dead. Wouldn't turn over at all. A few warning lights came on. Jump started it (properly) and drove it for 20 minutes. Ran perfectly. Got home. Shut off and tried it again. It started, then died immediately. Then nothing. I've never had a battery not recover after that much driving. Was it simply so totally drained by all the silly little lights that it needs a pro trickle charge to restore, or is it simply a POS battery which is shot?

Thanks.

The only way to know is to PROPERLY charge it and load test it. How old is the battery? I have ruined more than 1 battery by accidently allowing a small drain for a period of time. Doesn't have to be much of a drain but 2 weeks, 24 hrs. a day will do it. The sad part is if the battery has any age at all a full discharge is often enough to kill the battery so that it can not successfully be brought back. To jump start a car and charge it with the alt. is not an adequate way to charge it. A lot of people think because they SEEM to have gotten away with it that is OK. Not so. Charge it with a slow charger (I personally use a "Smart charger" which does a good job- it truly has a pretty good brain in managing the charge). Then have it load tested and you'll have your answer. Good Luck!

Thanks. Battery code is H6NK, which IIRC stands for 8th month of 2006. Duralast 600 CCA. I assume from your response that all the little lights, monitors etc. on the RX must be enough to drain a battery in a month. Unreal. Does the "Smart Charger" attach to battery on car, or is it necessary to remove from car? If remove, are there any precautions other than shutting off radio? I've been dealing with a top notch, honest, small battery shop for 15 years (never will sell me something if not needed), minimal charges for things like trickle charges. I could jump start again and drive it in for evaluation/trickle, or remove and just take it in. Alternative would be to buy a charger, but if battery shot......

The interesting thing is that starts or doesn't, and did start momentarily after driving. Did have enough juice to light up instrumentation (after driving) even when wouldn't start--a threshhold power requirement for starting, which if not met, wouldn't even attempt it. Maybe for safety of the electronics. Is this the case? Thanks again for tip on necessity of trickle charging.

mccldwll- No, in my opinion, if you don't have anything added in the way of electrical or electronics, if the battery is in good shape, it shouldn't go dead in a month. So many batteries these days are junk that it is hard to recommend a GOOD battery. Though the battery is only 2 years old, a lot of them are already getting weak by then. You just don't know it when you drive it every day. It doesn't take a lot of amperage to start a car that is in good shape- then it runs on the alternator. The battery is pretty much just for starting. When run every day you won't realize it is getting very weak, but setting a few days, much less a month will reveal the truly weak battery. If it's only 2 years old, is there a chance it is still under a full replacement warrantee? A lot of batteries now have a 3 year free replacement warrantee before they start pro-ration period.

Actually, the "smart charger" I spoke of is a really great charger- I bought it at Sam's Club for about $50. ( normally about $90.- $100. elsewhere) It senses the battery as it charges and regulates the charge (even shutting down very briefly if needed), so that there is never any overcharging or overheating as is sometimes the case with a standard charger. It is well named because it totally regulates the charge so that you can put the charger on and walk away and forget it without doing a trickle or any other special preparation or monitering. Yes, you can simply put the charger on in the car- no need to remove the battery. If you're not comfortable with that, simply remove the neg. (ground) cable while charging. If you have no other need for the charger, I wouldn't recommend one just for this case. Your battery needs to be charged and then load tested by someone that KNOWS what they're doing- sounds like that shop should fit the bill. My guess is the battery is bad. A battery in fairly good condition can be rendered junk when fully discharged. I have ruined more then 1 battery by accidently allowing a small drain for a couple of weeks when on vacation. A near new battery may be able to take it but a battery 2 or 3 years old will be pushed over the edge by it. Once charged, the battery will need to be load tested to tell it's true condition.

Electronics are very fickle in current cars but my guess is the battery has bought itself the big dirt nap-(the permanent one-LOL). Good Luck!

Thanks again. Battery is in shop overnight. They'll load test it this a.m.. I'll replace if at all questionable. Life's too short. And I'll buy a Smart Charger to have around next time I'm at Sam's.

That Duralast (Autozone) battery has a 2 year warranty. I bought RX used in '07 so no help there. Person I bought from has an RX300. My guess is that he swapped the original 330 battery to his 300. Otherwise wouldn't battery have been covered under lexus warranty, so car would either have an original Lexus or replacement Lexus battery (or does Lexus use Duralast branded)?

Re: drain, no glove box or other compartment left open that I know of. Is there anything else active full time , or on standby, with enough draw to drain over extended period? If not, seems like might be a warning to change out a weakening battery anyway.

BTW, I left town for a 4000 mile roundtrip in my 16 year old Volvo 245 (holds much more stuff and weight, and more dependable/diagnosable if any trouble). Replaced an 8 year old battery before trip simply as a precaution (no trouble). Returned and my 20 year old Volvo with a 5 year old battery started immediately.

[SeaDuck79]

mccldwll- No, in my opinion, if you don't have anything added in the way of electrical or electronics, if the battery is in good shape, it shouldn't go dead in a month. So many batteries these days are junk that it is hard to recommend a GOOD battery. Though the battery is only 2 years old, a lot of them are already getting weak by then. You just don't know it when you drive it every day. It doesn't take a lot of amperage to start a car that is in good shape- then it runs on the alternator. The battery is pretty much just for starting. When run every day you won't realize it is getting very weak, but setting a few days, much less a month will reveal the truly weak battery. If it's only 2 years old, is there a chance it is still under a full replacement warrantee? A lot of batteries now have a 3 year free replacement warrantee before they start pro-ration period.

Actually, we accidentally left a dome light on for a week while away on vacation, and that killed the 3 year old battery. Once recharged, it's continued to work fine, but there was ZERO juice in the battery when we got back.

[Grumpa72]

If you didn't put your battery on a battery charger then you didn't charge it. Driving for a few minutes or miles only adds a little charge. The main purpose of an alternator is not to charge a battery but to keep it topped off. Nothing else!

To properly charge a discharged battery, it is best to remove the cables, clean the posts and cables, wash the top of the battery to remove debris and contaminants, pop the tops of the battery (if so equipped) and add distilled water to the top of the hole, replace the tops and charge for 4-6 hours minimum. Then, and only then, is it safe to say that the battery is either good or bad, at least imo. Any decent shop will charge it for several hours after doing some of the items I mentioned.

Gary

[code58]

Thanks again. Battery is in shop overnight. They'll load test it this a.m.. I'll replace if at all questionable. Life's too short. And I'll buy a Smart Charger to have around next time I'm at Sam's.

That Duralast (Autozone) battery has a 2 year warranty. I bought RX used in '07 so no help there. Person I bought from has an RX300. My guess is that he swapped the original 330 battery to his 300. Otherwise wouldn't battery have been covered under lexus warranty, so car would either have an original Lexus or replacement Lexus battery (or does Lexus use Duralast branded)?

Re: drain, no glove box or other compartment left open that I know of. Is there anything else active full time , or on standby, with enough draw to drain over extended period? If not, seems like might be a warning to change out a weakening battery anyway.

BTW, I left town for a 4000 mile roundtrip in my 16 year old Volvo 245 (holds much more stuff and weight, and more dependable/diagnosable if any trouble). Replaced an 8 year old battery before trip simply as a precaution (no trouble). Returned and my 20 year old Volvo with a 5 year old battery started immediately.

You're probably right about him switching the batteries- no, Lexus would only use LEXUS batteries as warrantee replacement. I assume you meant the Duralast had a 2 yr. FREE replacement- I would hate to think in this day and age there was such a thing as a 2 yr. battery. I am sure the Lexus batteries cost more than most others but are probably a little better grade of battery- they are made in Mexico, so who can tell. One thing I can say, don't buy the battery at Sam's club (i have had experience with that as have others), and IF you do buy the charger at Sam's, I don't think you'll be dissapointed at all. I 1st bought a Schumaker "Smart charger" at WM and took it back. The Sam's Club is made by Vector (at least here in Cal.) and I absolutely love it. It's a 25A and does a ton of diagnoses in addition to just being a "Smart Charger". I'm not sure that you really need one but if you do that's 1 heck of a deal!

My judgement is still that it shouldn't have drained with no abnormal drain and a reasonably strong battery.

[code58]

mccldwll- No, in my opinion, if you don't have anything added in the way of electrical or electronics, if the battery is in good shape, it shouldn't go dead in a month. So many batteries these days are junk that it is hard to recommend a GOOD battery. Though the battery is only 2 years old, a lot of them are already getting weak by then. You just don't know it when you drive it every day. It doesn't take a lot of amperage to start a car that is in good shape- then it runs on the alternator. The battery is pretty much just for starting. When run every day you won't realize it is getting very weak, but setting a few days, much less a month will reveal the truly weak battery. If it's only 2 years old, is there a chance it is still under a full replacement warrantee? A lot of batteries now have a 3 year free replacement warrantee before they start pro-ration period.

Actually, we accidentally left a dome light on for a week while away on vacation, and that killed the 3 year old battery. Once recharged, it's continued to work fine, but there was ZERO juice in the battery when we got back.

You lucked out on the battery recovering after a FULL discharge. That is even hard on a deep cycle battery and EXTREMELY hard on a starting battery. If it had set dead for a couple of weeks it probably wouldn't have recovered.

[code58]

If you didn't put your battery on a battery charger then you didn't charge it. Driving for a few minutes or miles only adds a little charge. The main purpose of an alternator is not to charge a battery but to keep it topped off. Nothing else!

To properly charge a discharged battery, it is best to remove the cables, clean the posts and cables, wash the top of the battery to remove debris and contaminants, pop the tops of the battery (if so equipped) and add distilled water to the top of the hole, replace the tops and charge for 4-6 hours minimum. Then, and only then, is it safe to say that the battery is either good or bad, at least imo. Any decent shop will charge it for several hours after doing some of the items I mentioned.

Gary

Excellent advice Gary. A lot of people think because a battery starts the car every time they turn the key, it's in good shape. It may be in it's death throes and start fine until the ultimate "click,click,click" Proper care is very important to the life of a battery- and FEW batteries get it. Because I don't drive my truck a lot with the price of gas up, I have mounted a solar charger on top of the dash and keep it plugged in all the time. (no, it doesn't look like Rube put it there, it actually looks like it belongs there)LOL

[artbuc]

In my part of the country (West Chester, PA), Toyota batteries are supplied by Interstate. If you go into the local Interstate distributor, you will see a big rack of Toyota branded batteries. Unfortunately, the Interstate batteries earmarked for Toyota are not their best. I would never buy a Toyota replacement battery. You can get a much better Interstate battery for much less money. If my memory serves me, Interstate batteries are made by Johnson Controls. which is one of only three major battery manufacturers left.

[Lexusjm]

Was away for a month and when returned battery was dead. Wouldn't turn over at all. A few warning lights came on. Jump started it (properly) and drove it for 20 minutes. Ran perfectly. Got home. Shut off and tried it again. It started, then died immediately. Then nothing. I've never had a battery not recover after that much driving. Was it simply so totally drained by all the silly little lights that it needs a pro trickle charge to restore, or is it simply a POS battery which is shot?

Thanks.

Just in case you don't read the user manual thoroughly...

I just replaced the battery on my 2005 RX330 and found that several things were no longer "set".

Memory positions for seat. Control of "other" windows from driver's seat. Sun roof.

All are easily reset, but are a surprise if you don't know to do it.

[mccldwll]

Was away for a month and when returned battery was dead. Wouldn't turn over at all. A few warning lights came on. Jump started it (properly) and drove it for 20 minutes. Ran perfectly. Got home. Shut off and tried it again. It started, then died immediately. Then nothing. I've never had a battery not recover after that much driving. Was it simply so totally drained by all the silly little lights that it needs a pro trickle charge to restore, or is it simply a POS battery which is shot?

Thanks.

Just in case you don't read the user manual thoroughly...

I just replaced the battery on my 2005 RX330 and found that several things were no longer "set".

Memory positions for seat. Control of "other" windows from driver's seat. Sun roof.

All are easily reset, but are a surprise if you don't know to do it.

UPDATE:

Battery recovered, and shop thought it was good. Curiously, the labeled 600 CCA Duralast battery (made by Johnson Controls) was only 500 CCA. Shop thought that rather than being simply weakened, good chance that only 500 CCA from day 1. Said had seen identical thing from Duralast many times in past. Rear hatch wouldn't open by switch, key or manual. I locked/unlocked all doors and hatch back to normal. I'll read OM about resetting sunroof and other windows, but any quick tips?

[osjohns]

Was away for a month and when returned battery was dead. Wouldn't turn over at all. A few warning lights came on. Jump started it (properly) and drove it for 20 minutes. Ran perfectly. Got home. Shut off and tried it again. It started, then died immediately. Then nothing. I've never had a battery not recover after that much driving. Was it simply so totally drained by all the silly little lights that it needs a pro trickle charge to restore, or is it simply a POS battery which is shot?

Thanks.

Just in case you don't read the user manual thoroughly...

I just replaced the battery on my 2005 RX330 and found that several things were no longer "set".

Memory positions for seat. Control of "other" windows from driver's seat. Sun roof.

All are easily reset, but are a surprise if you don't know to do it.

UPDATE:

Battery recovered, and shop thought it was good. Curiously, the labeled 600 CCA Duralast battery (made by Johnson Controls) was only 500 CCA. Shop thought that rather than being simply weakened, good chance that only 500 CCA from day 1. Said had seen identical thing from Duralast many times in past. Rear hatch wouldn't open by switch, key or manual. I locked/unlocked all doors and hatch back to normal. I'll read OM about resetting sunroof and other windows, but any quick tips?

I once had the same problem intermittantlyi with my RX300. It was a mechanical thing; the lock mechanism was jammed. The fix was to put some force on the door inward (or try it in the reverse direction if that doesn't work) while at the same time manually squeezing/pulling on the door switch.

[code58]

In my part of the country (West Chester, PA), Toyota batteries are supplied by Interstate. If you go into the local Interstate distributor, you will see a big rack of Toyota branded batteries. Unfortunately, the Interstate batteries earmarked for Toyota are not their best. I would never buy a Toyota replacement battery. You can get a much better Interstate battery for much less money. If my memory serves me, Interstate batteries are made by Johnson Controls. which is one of only three major battery manufacturers left.

That's not good news- I'm not much of a fan of Interstate batteries. It's really tough these days to know what brand of battery to buy- if you get any real life out of one it's an aberration- not the norm. I don't know of a single battery today that you can pretty much take to the bank (count on to be the real deal). There are people that think that Optima is the real thing because they're so expensive- I have known of a lot of people that only got a year or two from them before going bad. In my working days I built a command vehicle for search and rescue- used 2 Optima Blue top (light blue), the most powerful battery they make- rated 900CCA and they both tested new at 1300CCA. I realize these are a deep cycle, was only making the point of how strong they were when new. In less than 3 yrs. they were so far gone they would not take any kind of charge much less hold one, and they were maintained and kept charged routinely. So much for $500. worth of batteries doing much if any better than the cheap ones. At a time when they have the knowledge and ability to build some of the best batteries ever built, they seem to be building some of the worst! :(

[code58]

Was away for a month and when returned battery was dead. Wouldn't turn over at all. A few warning lights came on. Jump started it (properly) and drove it for 20 minutes. Ran perfectly. Got home. Shut off and tried it again. It started, then died immediately. Then nothing. I've never had a battery not recover after that much driving. Was it simply so totally drained by all the silly little lights that it needs a pro trickle charge to restore, or is it simply a POS battery which is shot?

Thanks.

Just in case you don't read the user manual thoroughly...

I just replaced the battery on my 2005 RX330 and found that several things were no longer "set".

Memory positions for seat. Control of "other" windows from driver's seat. Sun roof.

All are easily reset, but are a surprise if you don't know to do it.

UPDATE:

Battery recovered, and shop thought it was good. Curiously, the labeled 600 CCA Duralast battery (made by Johnson Controls) was only 500 CCA. Shop thought that rather than being simply weakened, good chance that only 500 CCA from day 1. Said had seen identical thing from Duralast many times in past. Rear hatch wouldn't open by switch, key or manual. I locked/unlocked all doors and hatch back to normal. I'll read OM about resetting sunroof and other windows, but any quick tips?

I would not be surprised at all about the CCA's. If I have the opportunity to test a battery 2 or 3 days after I have charged it I do. I have seen several times that a battery that charges up fine and load tests good (even repeatedly) may not be able to hold that charge in the long run. Admittedly, that is very rare but I only mention it because I have seen about every weird thing you can imagine sooner or later in charging and testing batteries. Good Luck with your battery, I hope it continues to do the job! :)

[pauljcl]

To whomever it may interest -- we will be leaving our RX in MI for quite a few weeks/months on end while we are in FL (our main home), and, even though I changed the battery (Pepboys/Eveready) about a year ago, I felt that some form of regular supply to keep it charged was necessary during our absences. I found a Black & Decker BM2B mini-maintenance charger ($18 at homedepot.com) that I ordered and will leave it connected. It has two or three states of charge, and, more specifically, should avoid the 'boiling/disappearing acid' problem of constant trickle chargers (solar or other).