Battery Drain Issue
03-12-15, 05:09 PM
#46
I guess my concern is that the car needs to be plugged in at all. I could see the need for a battery charger if the car was left for weeks without running, but a few days to a week? We all accept that most smartphones have to charged daily but I would not have thought a car would have the same battery draw while "off".
03-15-15, 07:23 PM
#50
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Is it me, or are the various reasons for battery drain very reassuring? If it were a systemic issue, then I'dhave some concern. It sou ds like the OP had a malfunction seat extender. One or two Had ecu trouble...
03-16-15, 05:14 AM
#51
Yes, I would not worry about it, and that is what warranties are for.
03-20-15, 06:17 PM
#52
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I appreciate all the comments and findings here. I agree that the reported battery issue is not systemic and the root cause just takes some time to find. I have checked all of the "usual suspects" that have been suggested in the the forum (interior/trunk light, seat control switches, etc.) No problems found among the suggestions yet..
My F-I-L has been driving the car for about two weeks since returning to NJ. As long as he drives it every two to three days the car starts fine. There was one additional incident (that makes three calls to Lexus Roadside in March).The battery was jumped again and was declared to be fine. The Lexus dealer's service department did not want to look at the car after the third battery incident, but pushed for the battery trickle charger again (?) as they had after keeping the car overnight after the second roadside assistance call. It has been in the upper 40s to mid-50s recently so temperature is not the culprit.
My concern is now twofold: why is the dealer not taking the number of incidents seriously and why are they still pushing the battery trickle charger as the solution? The longest the car has sat idle since my Dad came home was three days, so something is drawing the battery down faster than normal. I need to call them again next week and find out what they do in these cases.
It will be interesting to see what happens after this weekend because it snowed today (Dad won't drive), we pick him up Saturday for dinner, and if there is still snow on the ground he will skip church on Sunday. Monday will be the third idle day.
My F-I-L has been driving the car for about two weeks since returning to NJ. As long as he drives it every two to three days the car starts fine. There was one additional incident (that makes three calls to Lexus Roadside in March).The battery was jumped again and was declared to be fine. The Lexus dealer's service department did not want to look at the car after the third battery incident, but pushed for the battery trickle charger again (?) as they had after keeping the car overnight after the second roadside assistance call. It has been in the upper 40s to mid-50s recently so temperature is not the culprit.
My concern is now twofold: why is the dealer not taking the number of incidents seriously and why are they still pushing the battery trickle charger as the solution? The longest the car has sat idle since my Dad came home was three days, so something is drawing the battery down faster than normal. I need to call them again next week and find out what they do in these cases.
It will be interesting to see what happens after this weekend because it snowed today (Dad won't drive), we pick him up Saturday for dinner, and if there is still snow on the ground he will skip church on Sunday. Monday will be the third idle day.
03-22-15, 03:42 PM
#53
Ask your service manager if they tested how many milliamps the car is drawing from the battery when it is off. I read somewhere that a dealer found that the car was drawing more than spec and that caused them to dig deeper to find the cause. They did find the cause and I believe it was one of the on-board computers (ECU).
03-23-15, 02:21 PM
#54
Lexus Champion
Perhaps your FIL isn't driving the car enough to charge the battery. How long or how many miles does he drive? If he only drives for about 15 minutes or 10 miles a day, this may not be enough to charge up the battery.
03-23-15, 08:29 PM
#55
I appreciate all the comments and findings here. I agree that the reported battery issue is not systemic and the root cause just takes some time to find. I have checked all of the "usual suspects" that have been suggested in the the forum (interior/trunk light, seat control switches, etc.) No problems found among the suggestions yet..
My F-I-L has been driving the car for about two weeks since returning to NJ. As long as he drives it every two to three days the car starts fine. There was one additional incident (that makes three calls to Lexus Roadside in March).The battery was jumped again and was declared to be fine. The Lexus dealer's service department did not want to look at the car after the third battery incident, but pushed for the battery trickle charger again (?) as they had after keeping the car overnight after the second roadside assistance call. It has been in the upper 40s to mid-50s recently so temperature is not the culprit.
My concern is now twofold: why is the dealer not taking the number of incidents seriously and why are they still pushing the battery trickle charger as the solution? The longest the car has sat idle since my Dad came home was three days, so something is drawing the battery down faster than normal. I need to call them again next week and find out what they do in these cases.
It will be interesting to see what happens after this weekend because it snowed today (Dad won't drive), we pick him up Saturday for dinner, and if there is still snow on the ground he will skip church on Sunday. Monday will be the third idle day.
My F-I-L has been driving the car for about two weeks since returning to NJ. As long as he drives it every two to three days the car starts fine. There was one additional incident (that makes three calls to Lexus Roadside in March).The battery was jumped again and was declared to be fine. The Lexus dealer's service department did not want to look at the car after the third battery incident, but pushed for the battery trickle charger again (?) as they had after keeping the car overnight after the second roadside assistance call. It has been in the upper 40s to mid-50s recently so temperature is not the culprit.
My concern is now twofold: why is the dealer not taking the number of incidents seriously and why are they still pushing the battery trickle charger as the solution? The longest the car has sat idle since my Dad came home was three days, so something is drawing the battery down faster than normal. I need to call them again next week and find out what they do in these cases.
It will be interesting to see what happens after this weekend because it snowed today (Dad won't drive), we pick him up Saturday for dinner, and if there is still snow on the ground he will skip church on Sunday. Monday will be the third idle day.
03-27-15, 08:03 PM
#56
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2014 es 350
We purchased a 2014 ES 350 9 months ago and are having the same problems. The battery goes dead in 2 days. After calling customer service, they referred to my dealer. I called the local dealer, service manager said
"I get the same calls all the time". "Its a common problem, if you drive short distances the battery won't charge and you have to drive over 40mph to keep the charge". The service manager said they even have to charge the cars on their lot to keep them charged.
I asked if we could install a higher cranking amp battery and the service manager said several people have done that and that will not work. The system is designed to only charge to a certain level and a larger battery will not help. He said they would install tenders so we could keep it charged and he would try to get us reimbursed for that expense. He also said we had three choices: 1) Have the tenders installed. 2) purchase a battery jump starter and keep it in the truck when you leave your car at the airport. 3) Leave it plugged in at the airport or have some one jump your car when it sets for more than a few days.
Those options are not acceptable so I called customer service again and asked to talk to the West Coast service manager. They did not let me talk to the regional manager and said they would have a supervisor call back. After explaining all the problems I said I want the car fixed or return my money and I will purchase another vehicle. If that does not happen I will go to the dealer and hold up a sign in front of their sales office.
I can not believe this is going on with a 9 month old Lexus.
I received a call back today saying to bring the car in and have it checked out. That is a 3 hour drive. I am not going away until this is resolved.
"I get the same calls all the time". "Its a common problem, if you drive short distances the battery won't charge and you have to drive over 40mph to keep the charge". The service manager said they even have to charge the cars on their lot to keep them charged.
I asked if we could install a higher cranking amp battery and the service manager said several people have done that and that will not work. The system is designed to only charge to a certain level and a larger battery will not help. He said they would install tenders so we could keep it charged and he would try to get us reimbursed for that expense. He also said we had three choices: 1) Have the tenders installed. 2) purchase a battery jump starter and keep it in the truck when you leave your car at the airport. 3) Leave it plugged in at the airport or have some one jump your car when it sets for more than a few days.
Those options are not acceptable so I called customer service again and asked to talk to the West Coast service manager. They did not let me talk to the regional manager and said they would have a supervisor call back. After explaining all the problems I said I want the car fixed or return my money and I will purchase another vehicle. If that does not happen I will go to the dealer and hold up a sign in front of their sales office.
I can not believe this is going on with a 9 month old Lexus.
I received a call back today saying to bring the car in and have it checked out. That is a 3 hour drive. I am not going away until this is resolved.
03-28-15, 08:17 AM
#57
We purchased a 2014 ES 350 9 months ago and are having the same problems. The battery goes dead in 2 days. After calling customer service, they referred to my dealer. I called the local dealer, service manager said
"I get the same calls all the time". "Its a common problem, if you drive short distances the battery won't charge and you have to drive over 40mph to keep the charge". The service manager said they even have to charge the cars on their lot to keep them charged.
I asked if we could install a higher cranking amp battery and the service manager said several people have done that and that will not work. The system is designed to only charge to a certain level and a larger battery will not help. He said they would install tenders so we could keep it charged and he would try to get us reimbursed for that expense. He also said we had three choices: 1) Have the tenders installed. 2) purchase a battery jump starter and keep it in the truck when you leave your car at the airport. 3) Leave it plugged in at the airport or have some one jump your car when it sets for more than a few days.
Those options are not acceptable so I called customer service again and asked to talk to the West Coast service manager. They did not let me talk to the regional manager and said they would have a supervisor call back. After explaining all the problems I said I want the car fixed or return my money and I will purchase another vehicle. If that does not happen I will go to the dealer and hold up a sign in front of their sales office.
I can not believe this is going on with a 9 month old Lexus.
I received a call back today saying to bring the car in and have it checked out. That is a 3 hour drive. I am not going away until this is resolved.
"I get the same calls all the time". "Its a common problem, if you drive short distances the battery won't charge and you have to drive over 40mph to keep the charge". The service manager said they even have to charge the cars on their lot to keep them charged.
I asked if we could install a higher cranking amp battery and the service manager said several people have done that and that will not work. The system is designed to only charge to a certain level and a larger battery will not help. He said they would install tenders so we could keep it charged and he would try to get us reimbursed for that expense. He also said we had three choices: 1) Have the tenders installed. 2) purchase a battery jump starter and keep it in the truck when you leave your car at the airport. 3) Leave it plugged in at the airport or have some one jump your car when it sets for more than a few days.
Those options are not acceptable so I called customer service again and asked to talk to the West Coast service manager. They did not let me talk to the regional manager and said they would have a supervisor call back. After explaining all the problems I said I want the car fixed or return my money and I will purchase another vehicle. If that does not happen I will go to the dealer and hold up a sign in front of their sales office.
I can not believe this is going on with a 9 month old Lexus.
I received a call back today saying to bring the car in and have it checked out. That is a 3 hour drive. I am not going away until this is resolved.
03-28-15, 09:05 AM
#58
Well after Lexus finding my battery drain issue, (faulty seat extender button (jammed in the on position). 13 ES350, 7k miles, bought new Sep 2013. I have had ZERO battery issues. Let it sit for 3 days, no issues, then 5 days, then 6 days. So it looks like my battery issue is finally solved. I will use the free battery tender when I am on trips and the car sits for weeks on end.
Last edited by sapd911; 03-29-15 at 12:11 PM.
03-28-15, 11:19 AM
#59
Well after Lexus finding my battery drain issue, (faulty seat extender button (jammed in the on position). 13 ES 450, 7k miles, bought new Sep 2013. I have had ZERO battery issues. Let it sit for 3 days, no issues, then 5 days, then 6 days. So it looks like my battery issue is finally solved. I will use the free battery tender when I am on trips and the car sits for weeks on end.
