2008 LX 570 Slow crank issue

umarali · September 23, 2016

Hello,
I want to share my experience for folks here who may be having similar issue for better troubleshooting.
Started with slow cranking when you press engine start button it cranks 2 or 3 times and stops press button again all lights dim like as if battery is dying and cranks slow slow and then starts maybe have to try third time as well.
I checked online and most of people mentioned same problem in different vehicles being starter going out.
I checked battery with multimeter, after about 4 to 5 hours of turning off engine it was showing around 12.4 volts. I cranked motor and the voltage reading was 13.5v while engine running.
other signs i experienced was that the courtesy and interior lights turn off and i had to manually put them back on auto every time. Another related issue was that the navigation was taking some time to boot and show progress bar with text saying system booting which never happened before and take 10 to 15 seconds everytime i start. One more issue was that as soon as vehicle turns on the lexus link calls itself and had to turn off.
So i took it to autozone and had them load test battery which revealed that battery apparently has a bad cell so its not a starter.
Next thing i called lexus since it has lexus battery, they told me that warranty works like this: first 2 years free replacement, year 3 and 4 50% proration and year 5 6 and 7 25% proration. My battery is 3 years and 2 months old so they will charge me $104.65 to replace battery which i believe better than buying $100 walmart battery.

TrevC · September 23, 2016

There is a saying I use when recommending someone to buy a battery which is 'you get what you pay for'.

Now, I know you may well have paid loads of money for a battery from the dealer but it is not necessarily a quality battery, just expensive!

You can usually tell if it's a quality battery by the weight of it...try lifting a cheap battery and compare it to one of the same size but of better quality/cost...the heavier one usually has more lead content in it....cheap ones don't.

Always buy the best you can for the money, and warranty isn't necessarily an indicator of quality.

Cheers Trevor

eugene.s · September 28, 2016

Thanks, Umarali, for sharing your experience. I've never experienced isolating a bad cell in a battery. When we suspect a quick battery drainage, my local folks here firstly suggest checking whether the alternator works OK and produces enough current in engine-on mode.

So, next time my battery is out, I may use your 'total' load test experience.

Out of Lexus, I've owned GX470 before and now own LX570 (2010). I've found stock batteries as not very good, even by their designed characteristics. Perhaps one of the best batteries I've found is INDIGO 115D31L (made in Korea) - proved to be compatible to both cars. But I think it costs significantly more than $100 (at least in my place).