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Battery Going Dead


tommcgraw

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  • 2 weeks later...

Owned 2004 SC 430 (less then 35k miles), 5 dead batteries dealer says its an issue (I was told I'm not driving enough) and not sure what is causing it, bottom line its cheaper to replace a battery than pay a mechanic to try to figure it out...sold car, very frustrating, then bought 2008 IS 250, no problems with battery (sold car), just bought 2010 250H less than 1,000 miles....you guessed it...dead battery. Looking at all the posts from this forum and others I think Lexus has a HUGE problem with their batteries/charging systems and they don't know the answer. There are way too many posts on batteries for a car that costs 40k-60k, this is simply unacceptable and now I'm switching to a German car...not waisting my time with Lexus anymore, too bad I like them but don't want to get to know my dealer or triple A guy as well as I have over the past few years.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have a Lexus IS-250 And for no reason the car alarm went off for over an hour. Well needless to say the battery died.

They tried to recharge the battery But from reading ALL these post I can see that LEXUS HAS A PROBLEM with their batteries. Along with all the other recalls.

So the dealer replaced the electrical problem that caused the alarm to sound for over an hour. I was smart enought to purchase a LEXUS certified pre-owned.

BUT, now they will are stating that they are not replace the battery because it is a wear and tear item? I don't think so , the battery was fine. I KNOW And so does everyone else in the neighborhood, and I will get them to replace the battery.

Don't let LEXUS push us around. They make the best cars in the world, you couldn't give me another car other then a LEXUS, but we pay a laarge amount of money for that quality.

WIth the large payment, I expect to be taken care of when the car fails.

I am losing my patience with the recalls and the poor treatment of customer service that LEXUS has begun. If they don't start getting their act together I am not sure I will be as much of a loyal customer as I currenlty am.

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  • 1 year later...

  1. Our 2011 RX struggled to start - only 18 months old. At recent stop at our recycle center, it barely started. I drove right over to local Sam's Club and bought a new one (Lexus Dealer is 1-1/2 hours away). Auto tech at Sam's said they've been replacing many of the 'Toyota Service' batteries. Beware - see your dealer if your RX struggles to start.
  2. Bill - N. Carolina

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  • 5 weeks later...
  • 7 months later...

At my 26,000 mile checkup, I wanted to change the battery on my 2010 RX350 but BF said to wait. Battery just died with no warning three days ago but it was original and four and a half years old. Read stories about how to reset car settings if replacing the battery myself as opposed to dealer installation, so installed an Interstate battery and all settings remained the same! Everything else has been dealer serviced, but this saved time and am sure some bucks.

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  • 5 months later...

We bought a new 2011 RX350 in March 2011. We are now on our third battery. My wife is the primary driver and has consistently driven 4,000 to 6,000 miles per year for the past thirty years. She has never had a dead battery until this model. The mileage with this car has also been about 4,000 mies per year for the past three years. However, she was told by the dealer that she 'doesn't drive enough' with this car and that is why the battery keeps dying.causing the car to be jumped or towed three times. They claim that they have 'tested' the car and there is no short circuit or current drain with the batttery.

However, they did not say that there were poor OEM Batteries placed in the vehicle.

The most recent problems that we had was in the past week which started with a dead battery on Tuesday morning in our garage followed by a house call to jump the battery. The car was driven about twenty miles on Tuesday to recharge the battery. Another thirty miles were driven on Wednesday only to be followed by another dead battery on Thursday morning. There was then another call to the dealer and a tow from our garage on Thursday. It was returned the next Tuesday with a new OEM battery and an apology...but no problems were found.

The service and the attentiveness by the dealership was great but we are now left waiting once again for the annual battery meltdown to come next year. We can only hope that it will occur in our garage as it has hppened in the prior two years and not in a remote location.

Our only hope is that Lexus will come up with a better solution to replace the current, "We don't drive enough" admonishment. We probably won't wait for that. We won't be driving much more than we already do, just to keep the car alive.

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  • 9 months later...

I just got back from a 3 hour trip, parked my RX350, went to use it a half hour later and the battery was stone dead. Had to jump it. This has happened 2 times now. Has anyone had this problem?

Another quote like yours:

I have a 2009 RX350 with 43,000 miles. (still under warranty) I've had to jump the car off four times in the past 3 weeks and have taken it to the dealer twice. Both times they said the battery checks out and can't find anything wrong. They suggested that maybe we left the key on ACC and that drained it. That's not the case. The battery is shot, I replaced it today and they agreed that the battery was bad. My question is that: 1) could something else be draining it? The dealer said that they couldn't find a parasitic drain or 2) Is Lexus service incompetent and dishonest? This is our first Lexus and so far, I'm totally unimpressed. Thanks.

My reply to his statement: I have a 2010 Lexus R350 with identical mileage and identical issues. I had it checked and asked to have it charged at a local garage. They reported that the battery was bad and wouldn't charge fully. I immediately drove the 60 miles down curvy mt. roads to nearest Lexus dealer. This is the second battery to go bad. The first was the one that came pre-installed with the vehicle. This was the warranty replacement battery 1 yr. & 9 mos. ago. Greenville, SC, Lexus mgr. claims nothing wrong with battery. Says he won't replace battery even though it says 84 mo. warranty (Lexus 00544-MF24f-575). Says if he has to "replace a replacement," I have to pay for it. It's nighttime now, I'm over a barrel. I put out the $115+ for the new battery. I ask to hold onto the old battery. Dealer seems mildly shocked. Firm inadvertently(?) tries to charge battery recycling fee. While all this is going on, I decide to report the problem to Lexus' customer service line. Case manager won't be back to me for days. Phone lady politely suggests that I could request a loaner battery until this is resolved. Dealer refuses. I do the arduous drive back up the mt. I'm asking the same question you are. Something just doesn't "smell" right. I wonder if the dealer pawned off a used battery on me for the warranty replacement a year ago, which is why it went bad so fast. Or is there something amiss in the inherent electrical system that Lexus is failing to own up to?

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  • 4 years later...

Have 2018 RX350 w/ 1075 miles the battery was dead and the  Lexus dealer replaced it about a month ago.  Back at the dealer yesterday because it would not start without a charge they said nothing wrong I don't drive it enough.  Ready to trade it in.

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  • 1 year later...

I just purchased a 2013 Lexus RX 350. It sat in my garage last night and the battery went dead. The vehicle only has 9800 miles on it. I used the battery charger to charge the battery. The truck started fine. However the check engine light and the check AWD system is now sending messages. If I get a new battery will this resolve the problem?

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 I had the same problem for years with my 2010 Rx350 Lexus replace three battery's under warranty and problem still persisted!  Lexus service told me I did not drive the RX enough to keep the battery charged, I would have to boost the car every four or five days. Finally after doing a lot of research on battery's I bought an (AGM Energizer Battery) problem Solved no more dead battery. So if anyone is having problems with a dead battery get that TOYOTA battery out of your vehicle . 

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On 12/6/2020 at 11:37 AM, Hopper_01 said:

I just purchased a 2013 Lexus RX 350. It sat in my garage last night and the battery went dead. The vehicle only has 9800 miles on it. I used the battery charger to charge the battery. The truck started fine. However the check engine light and the check AWD system is now sending messages. If I get a new battery will this resolve the problem?

How old is the battery? Check its date code. I also recommend having a code scanner to see what the code is and what are the causes. We've been using our Lexus to go to Costco and the grocery store, but every outing includes driving at least 12-15 miles out and 12-15 miles back. This ensures that the 12V battery is always fully charged. They tend to last about 5 years or so.

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  • 1 year later...

New 2022 RX 350. Refused to start. After a Jump, it started with several malfunctions listed. All turned out to be bogus. Lexus roadside assistance arranged for a flatbed to carry vehicle to Northside Lexus in Spring, TX. Battery was recharged and problems disappeared. Northside found nothing wrong with battery, but replaced it anyway. I was not charged for the repair or moving the vehicle either way. Car had only been driven 500 miles. Service rep was very nice and kept me informed throughout the ordeal. Still....

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  • 1 month later...

I have a newer 2020 Lexus RX450H - Twice now, I have found it with a dead battery after traveling for 7 - 14 days and leaving it parked while out of town.  Seems ridiculous to have to ask someone to come drive my car while I am out of town.  Thus far dealership has said there is nothing wrong with the battery.  this seems like a design flaw to me.  I am a low mileage driver (i.e. less than 5K miles per year).

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How long was it parked? If you're out of town for more than two weeks, you may consider buying a "Battery Tender" to keep the battery fully charged.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hmmm.  We bought a 2012 is250 in 2017.  Just had it in for the 90k mi. checkup on May 11.  Replaced battery.  Drove car to St. Louis and back (300 miles), also had it on road--for first extended driving since Covid--several other times.  No problems.  Three days ago, car wouldn't lock, then...lights wouldn't turn on, car wouldn't lock/unlock except mechanically, nothing worked.  Lexus picked it up yesterday, took it to dealership 45 mi. away.  On its way back now.  Service mgr says they charged the battery, couldn't find anything wrong, alternator is fine, we don't drive it enough (sound familiar?? standard line from Lexus???), and so on.  Service has always been good before, but the mgr sounded pretty cavalier about this.  We've had a couple of very minor electrical glitches before, but nothing like this.  Supposed to take Lexus to my son, doing an internship two hours away, for the summer, but now I'm leery about leaving it with him.  Something doesn't sound right about this....

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  • 1 year later...

We own a 2010 rx450h and were having to replace the battery every year for the last 5 years. The batteries cost over $300 each. Our mechanic and the Lexus dealer told us we weren't driving it enough. I decided to replace the battery myself the last time instead of paying our mechanic $200 over the cost of the battery. I discovered most battery dealers don't list a battery for the car. The one in the car was a panasonic sold only by Toyota. After several hours of research I found an Optima 8040-218 D35 that fits. My solution is to leave a smart charger like a Genius hooked up to the battery all the time and plug the charger in every time the car sits for more than a day. The more often the battery goes completely dead the weaker the battery gets until replacement is the only option.

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