propjock1

I just purchase my 2007 ES350 last month its a CPO Lexus. I am a pilot and leave the car at the airport for 3-4 days at a time. Twice I have returned to a car with a dead battery. After the second time I took the car back to Lexus and had them inspect it. I am being told that I do not drive the car enough. The service tech said that while the car is parked and shut down it still runs some sort of diagnostic monitoring and this drains the battery. I drive 17 miles from the airport home and 17 miles back. He said that when I leave it at the airport for 3-4 days the battery trickles down and 17 miles is not enough to recharge it. I have a never had this happen before with any of my other cars including a 4runner, jag and a 2011 Honda odessy. This seems ridiculous to me what do you think.

garsarno

Never had happen to my 2007 in the years I i have owned it. I did replace the battery in 10/10 as the original battery was going to be on it's fourth winter and did not want to be stuck in the winter with a dead battery. Maybe yours is the original also.

RickC5

I would say your dealer is searching for a (lame) excuse to keep from having to install a new battery. My experience is that most new(er) batteries only last three years or so, and can frequently fail as you described, rather than simply going completely dead due to a shorted call or some other catastrophic reason.

I would lobby hard for a new battery, and if that fails, buy one yourself--the best that you can find.

propjock1

I just went to an auto parts store and had them test the battery they said it was perfect, I called another Lexus dealer and they told me the same thing I don't drive the car enough to recharge the Batt after 3 days of sitting
I purchased a solar trickle charger so I could at least charge it when I was away but when I plug it into the cig adapter it thinks I am in the car and it will turn on the clock and when I leave and close the door it starts beeping with a message that it does not detect a key
This is becoming absurd

garsarno

I've left my car in the driveway for a week at a time and never had this happen. There must be a draw somewhere else on the car. But, is it the original battery?

propjock1

any ideas on how i can find what is drawing power from the batt. the dealer keeps telling me that when the car is off there is always some kind of system monitoring going on

oldgrump

All modern cars do have continuous battery (parasitic) current drain when the car is "shutdown". The ES350 shop manual I'm fairly sure will have the maximum normal parasitic drain listed, and it can be checked in a couple of minutes using either an inductive ammeter or standard ammeter (hooked up in series) with the battery ground cable. It's possible that excessive parasitic battery drain could be the issue here, but colder winter temps do affect battery capacity, particularly if the battery is old/weak. I'll bet the battery in your '07 is the original and is now about six years old, and I do agree that your driving "cycles" are not helping. If it's the original battery I'd go with a new battery. This does make me chuckle a bit.........I worked for an airline for 34 years and once or twice a week (especially in the winter) a flight or cabin crew member would come into our ops center looking for a "jump". If it was an attractive female about three or four of our guys would volunteer of course.

RickC5

I forgot to add that our '08 ES will frequently sit in our garage for several days at a time without being started. I would be livid if our battery was dead after only 3 days. Our garage is heated, which reduces the strain on the battery.

Some additional ideas: 1) Trickle charge the battery whenever you are at home, provided you have a garage. 2) Ensure the battery terminals and cable ends are clean & the cables are tight.

I still think you need a new battery.

Gregz_IS

Someone already mentioned having the parasitic load tested.

Many technicians do not know how to properly do this test, but it will pinpoint whether something is staying turned on and draining the battery.

It is normal for some modules to stay powered up for a while after shutdown, but after 30 minutes the normal parasitic load on most cars should be less than 30 milliamps.

Find a technician that specializes in electrical diagnostics and he can find the answer.

If the parasitic load is normal I would say the battery is bad even if it passes a standard load test. Batteries can fail in unusual ways. Been there.. done it.



.

garsarno

Had a battery go in my '98 Lumina LTZ during the summer after I pumped gas into it. Was original battery after 4 years. Now I replace the battery when the car is going into it's fourth winter. I had an Interstate battery (the green one) in the fall of 2010 but traded the car in this past October. I seem tor remember that it had a higher capacity than the original one.

jagtoes

We got our 2010 car in March 2010. I just turned 10,000 miles on it. It sits in the garage for days on end and we have never had a problem. You have a short somewhere draining the battery. Tell the dealer to find it and fix it. Get a loaner car and I bet you won't have a problem.

propjock1

Thanks for all of the ideas after speaking with Lexus corporate I am bringing the car back for another look

Slomojo

I have had the same experience with my Lexus draining battery after 3-4 days sitting idle. I too have been told by dealership that it's normal and there is no short circuit etc but does this make sense??. I think not!! A complete drain!! Absurd!! How often in the life of my Lexus will I then have to replace battery? A rare event for my other vehicles eg. Acura, Camry (same family), Mazda.......

So frustrating that the Dealership can't resolve. And they continue to call for other service appointments.
BMW or Benz here I come!

garsarno

My 2011 sits idle for same number of days without start up incident. Original battery from 10/2011. Something not right. What year is your car and is it original battery?

Slomojo

Thanks Garsarno. Lexus is a 2007 ES350 . Have appointment with dealership (again) on Friday so we will see what happens. This is second battery. Replaced last Nov/2012 so quite new. Hopefully I won't have to do so again!