JAVA&TEA

Hi everyone! I got my 2005 RX330 right after Thanksgiving last year, it's not yet been 4 months eversince I got it. Anyway, I was out of town last week for 5 days and when I started my car yesterday, nothing came on. The lights were out, the remote didn't work. The battery was dead. A roadside assistance came and jump started my car. Then, I called back the service department at the dealer and he advised that it could be because I was out of town for 5 days. I was like...it's a new car and does that mean I have to have someone to start my car for me if I had another vacation again?? Besides, it was only 5 days. Did it happen to other RX330/300 owners before? Is that normal? What could be the cause? A defect?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

shortbear

you probably left the cablin ight or your headlights on.

HarrierAWD

Or a door might be ajar, which leaves the dome light on.

rxdriver

Don't know if this applies or not... I know you can't leave the key in the ignition of any RX when it's not running, as the electronics will eventually kill the battery (even if the key is off).

JAVA&TEA

Thanks for your input. But, no, I didn't leave any lights on and the doors were closed completely.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

I never left the car sitting for that long so I have no idea how much the current draw is, but 5 days still seems short. It is possible that you just have a bad battery. Those Panasonic batteries are not exactly the best. Some last a real long time while in the past I've seen others go bad within months.

Out2L8

Not sure I agree. I leave my keys in the ignition on my 04 RX-330 when I'm at home with the car in the garage. (obviously not running)

No - I will NOT tell you where I live!!!!!!!

Did the same thing with my '00 RX-300 and I've never had a problem!

rxdriver

Well... I re-checked the RX330 owner's manual, and Out2L8 is right.
I'd swear the RX300 manual mentioned the fact that you shouldn't leave the key in the ignition when the car is off. I figured that it must have something to do with the transponder chip activating a circuit and drawing power.
Nonetheless, I can't find a mention of it in the RX330 manual.

I also think the RX300 manual told you not to leave the headlights in "Auto" mode for more than 2 weeks without running the car, as that would also drain the battery. Can't find that one in the RX330 manual, either.

Booyah

I have been gone for 20 days and mine starts right up! 5 days is BS---something is not right

shortbear

if it happens again I would take it back to the dealer and ask for a new battery. The lexus people are pretty cool, I dont think they would have a problem with that.

I switched from Mercedes to Lexus because of their service.

HarrierAWD

In that case, I'd ask the dealer to measure the current draw at the battery, with keys out and door closed.

NeverSatisfied

Your battery is probably defective. The brand new car's battery is covered by a warranty (I believe my Honda's was covered for the first year, which I had changed out cause it died in the middle of the day while running errands).

Booyah

More than likely you have a dead cell in your battery--if thats the case it would die fairly quickly. They would be able to check that easy with a battery tester

akazemi

It is obvious that the service adviser has no clue as to what is going on. There is no way that a battery should die if left for 5 days.

Have the dealer do a load check. If the battery checks out , then they need to check to see if something is stealing power. I had a Jeep with a similar problem. Turned out that the light in the glove box would stay on and drain the battery.

JAVA&TEA

Thank you for all your suggestions and input!

I went to the dealer today for a check up on the battery. They found a dead cell in the battery, and replaced with a new one for me without charging me anything. They have also intialized the windows and the sunroof for me since they were not working as smoothly as they were before.