Car Will Not Start.. Battery Dead?

[rfreeny]

Hello... As of today my 2006 Lexus LS 430 would not start and made a clicking noise when I attempted to start the car. I have heard this sound before with other vehicles I have owned and it is a familiar sound. I am pretty sure it is the battery. Is it possible for such a new battery to go dead so soon. it was not driven for 3 days and sat in my garage and it did not previously show signs of being hesitant to start.. The heat here in the south has been very hot and when I am at work my car does sit outside in the elements..the heat and its hot here for sure! I have never had any problems with this awesome car except for today. I am assuming that it is the factory battery or some other dealership brand. The battery under the hood looks like its brand new its so clean and its black in color and has a part number # 24F there is a sku # at the bottom right. Across the bottom or the battery it reads... Dist by Exide technologies Milton Georgia and the date on the battery says MFG date 4/2013?? Does anyone perhaps know the manufacturer of this battery?? This maybe a stupid question.. however, do you think that maybe the battery would possibly need water? I purchased the vehicle pre-owned and it did not have an owners manual and only one key. From past experiences with other cars such as Honda and Land Rover when changing the battery out.... it usually requires a code for the radio. Since I do not have the original owners manual with the radio code in it... Should I just have the car towed to the Lexus dealer and get them to install a new OEM Battery, get them to give me the radio code, and get a new key made as well..?? I have only owned this vehicle for 1 year. Please any advice is greatly appreciated!! Thank you in advance! Randall

[supramatt1]

• Did you try charging the battery on low or medium I would try that first if it starts than you know that that is your problem the battery interstate makes some of the worlds best batterys, I would try charging it before I took it to an expensive dealer but it is your decision.

[1990LS400]

There are no audio system security codes for Lexus LS cars sold in North America after the 1994 model year. The first thing I would do is to make sure that the battery terminals and cable clamps are absolutely spotlessly clean - bright and shiny. Use a battery terminal/cable clamp cleaning tool, baking soda and water. I think my clamp/terminal cleaning tools was less than $5 at an auto parts store.

Yes, check to see if the battery needs water and fill it to the guide marks only with distilled water - assuming it is not one of those supposedly maintenance free batteries. Batteries sometimes fail prematurely but it's unusual. I've had a battery (Interstate brand) last less than one year.

Many auto parts stores and maybe a Walmart will test a battery for you. An inexpensive specific gravity battery tester and/or a trickle charger can also often show the condition of a battery. And sometimes connections between battery cells corrode/break and reconnect randomly but usually only when a battery is at least several years old.

And of course the problem could be caused by something more serious - such as a failed starter which any competent repair shop can test by seeing how many amps it's drawing.

[rfreeny]

Thanks guys for the replies and advice. After I got a jump start I took the car to a local repairman and battery turned out ok. Turns out I had pulled the trunk lever to open the trunk and forgot it was open so that is what ran the battery down. Visibly it did not look like the trunk was open at all. Lesson learned here. :)

[1990LS400]

Good. How long was the trunk open? If the battery is good and all the connections are clean, it should take several days for the trunk light to run down the battery. If it took less than 36 hours, consider cleaning the cable clamps and battery terminals and then apply a thin coat of non-conductive, non-volatile grease to inhibit corrosion - petroleum jelly works well.

My wife fairly often does not fully shut car doors after parking in the garage - one time just last week. I, am course, am perfect and never do that. I've found repeatedly that if an open car door causes the battery to run down overnight that the problem is usually dirty cable clamps or battery terminals. Which reminds me ... its time to clean my cable clamps and terminals before winter.

[pj8708]

About 4 years ago I went to the garage, hit the start, and got that sickening sound. Total silence.

For the life of me I couldn't figure out how that battery could have drained or gone bad overnight. Finaly, in looking around the cabin, I saw that I had left the overhead map/courtesy light on all night.

I too could hardly believe that a little bulb like that could go bad so quickly. However, I put the trickle charger on the battery and it did its thing like a champ there after.

[U. A. Fogg]

I am have the same problem with 2014 Lexus GS 350.  This is the 4 time that the car has gone dead.  I have purchased 2 new batteries in the last 6 month.  The last one was from the dealer, and it is now dead.  The dealership claims to not be aware of this problem.  I went on the internet and found over 50 cases of Lexus owner having the same issue. The wanted me to install an electrical outlet to connect to the battery at night.  My answer was no. Then I was told that I was not driving the car enough miles to keep the battery alive.  Today, they told me that they would check with the Lexus Corp to see if they were aware of this problem.  I went on the internet and found over 100 complaint of the same issue going back to 2013, on all Lexus Models.