Dead Battery

[tedc123]

Wife's RX350 has had numerous dead batteries. The first time it happened I figured she left a light on. We were able to get a jump and got home with no difficulty. The next morning the battery was dead and when we called Lexus they came out and asked if we had left the car sitting. I told them the car had been parked at the airport while we were out of town for one week. They ended up putting in a new battery and I thought the problem was solved.

We were just out of town again and sure enough the battery was dead again. They replaced the battery again and told my wife that the car must be driven every 3 days! I thought the dealer must be trying to pull the wool over my wife's eye and called the 800 # for Lexus and sure enough got the same response from them. I told them they should notify consumers of that and or provide a kill switch for those times when you need to leave your car for more than 3 days.

I think it is absolutely ridiculous that a car that is less than 1 year old is on its 3rd battery. Thank goodness our 97 Saturn with 170,000 miles was parked beside the Lexus otherwise my wife would not have made it to work on time.

Anyone else think think it's nuts that corporate is saying it is to be expected that your battery will drain in 3 days?

Any suggestions about someone else we can call. I believe there is too much current being drawn while the car is sitting which is why the batteries drain and do not think we should have to hook up a trickle charger or disconnect the battery (these are the solutions the dealer has offered to us). I would like to know how they think we can hook up a trickle charger when we are parked at the airport.

[AprilNicole]

have you checked the alternator

[GDixon]

Wife's RX350 has had numerous dead batteries. The first time it happened I figured she left a light on. We were able to get a jump and got home with no difficulty. The next morning the battery was dead and when we called Lexus they came out and asked if we had left the car sitting. I told them the car had been parked at the airport while we were out of town for one week. They ended up putting in a new battery and I thought the problem was solved.

We were just out of town again and sure enough the battery was dead again. They replaced the battery again and told my wife that the car must be driven every 3 days! I thought the dealer must be trying to pull the wool over my wife's eye and called the 800 # for Lexus and sure enough got the same response from them. I told them they should notify consumers of that and or provide a kill switch for those times when you need to leave your car for more than 3 days.

I think it is absolutely ridiculous that a car that is less than 1 year old is on its 3rd battery. Thank goodness our 97 Saturn with 170,000 miles was parked beside the Lexus otherwise my wife would not have made it to work on time.

Anyone else think think it's nuts that corporate is saying it is to be expected that your battery will drain in 3 days?

Any suggestions about someone else we can call. I believe there is too much current being drawn while the car is sitting which is why the batteries drain and do not think we should have to hook up a trickle charger or disconnect the battery (these are the solutions the dealer has offered to us). I would like to know how they think we can hook up a trickle charger when we are parked at the airport.

That is absurd. Try the service department of another dealer or an independent shop. I have left the RX for weeks at a time without a problem.

Unhooking one of the battery leads and then seeing if it will spark when touching it to its terminal will tell you if there is a significant draw or short somewhere. Just be aware that some items may need to be reset when the battery is hooked up again.

[SW03ES]

Its not that uncommon that new cars suffer dead batteries, sometimes the batteries have a bad cell, sometimes they were drained and charged excessively as the car sat on the lot or in the showroom.

BUT, after that many replacements you are correct, something must be wrong. The car must be driven every 3 days? Thats absurd...

[rx350guy]

When our RX was barely 3 mos old we let it sit for more than a week once while on vacation, and it fired right up when we returned...no problem.

I think you're being fed a line of you know what..

[Dick_Lake_Tahoe_NV]

Yup, dead in 3-days, that's absurd. A car battery should have a capacity of about 60 Amp-hours. To drain it completly in 3-days, indicates that current is being drawn from the battery at a rate of about 1-amp (and the battery would be dead in about 60 hours).

So disconnect either lead from your battery and put an ammeter from the battery terminal to the lead, and measure the current draw--make sure all doors are closed and all lights are off. Current draw should measure a few milli-amps--just to keep alive various computer functions and the clock in the car. This will give a clear indication that something is wrong with your electrical system. (If you want a comparison, just check the current draw on your other car).

Now you have a good basis to go argue with your dealer. If you can't make these measurements--then have your dealer do it.

[Blayd]

have you checked the alternator

It is not the alternator as, even if the altenator was non-existant, the battery should last longer than that on its own.

[Alphadog]

Wife's RX350 has had numerous dead batteries. The first time it happened I figured she left a light on. We were able to get a jump and got home with no difficulty. The next morning the battery was dead and when we called Lexus they came out and asked if we had left the car sitting. I told them the car had been parked at the airport while we were out of town for one week. They ended up putting in a new battery and I thought the problem was solved.

We were just out of town again and sure enough the battery was dead again. They replaced the battery again and told my wife that the car must be driven every 3 days! I thought the dealer must be trying to pull the wool over my wife's eye and called the 800 # for Lexus and sure enough got the same response from them. I told them they should notify consumers of that and or provide a kill switch for those times when you need to leave your car for more than 3 days.

I think it is absolutely ridiculous that a car that is less than 1 year old is on its 3rd battery. Thank goodness our 97 Saturn with 170,000 miles was parked beside the Lexus otherwise my wife would not have made it to work on time.

Anyone else think think it's nuts that corporate is saying it is to be expected that your battery will drain in 3 days?

Any suggestions about someone else we can call. I believe there is too much current being drawn while the car is sitting which is why the batteries drain and do not think we should have to hook up a trickle charger or disconnect the battery (these are the solutions the dealer has offered to us). I would like to know how they think we can hook up a trickle charger when we are parked at the airport.

Someone is definitely giving you false information. Based on what they are saying, you could never leave your car at the airport or go on a vacation for more then 3 days.

I would find another dealer. period. Maybe try a Toyota dealer, although they may not do warranty lexus work. Also, I would go higher up at corporate - this is 100% wrong. We have left ours in the garage for a week or more while away and it starts fine.

If you have had 3 different batteries, something is actively killing them. I would suspect the alternator is sending to much current to the battery; maybe you are missing the main ground loop - although your battery should last more then 3 days then. You have a serious electrical issue, but I am not sure why Lexus is not doing more to fix the problem.

[KVBY]

This is not true at all. And I humbly believe you should not listen to this explanation at all. I had a dead battery on delivery and declined to accept it. The lead tech jumped it and told me to have the car running for about 20 to 30 mins to get charged up.

Since then, I have not had a problem. I have left it for about 2 weeks on vacation and returned and it started the same way. no extra effort. The only advice I got was to disconnect the leads that for a longer duration (1 month+)...

I suspect there is something wrong in the electrical system and you should have it checked out or try to get it changed under lemon law. Any electrical problem should not be taken lightly as most car fires are caused because of an electical malfunction!

Thanks,