Booyah

HA--both the Kid and the dealer are smoking Crack!! BS a batt goes dead in a week

flipside909

Good luck. Keep us updated with your find.

jfelbab

300 milliamps does not seem to be a large enough draw to drain a good battery in a week. Do the math... .3Amps x 24 hours = 7.2 Amps per day x 7 days = 50.4 Amps per week

A storage battery for your vehicle has about 650 Amps when fully charged. It takes a couple hundred Amps to start worst condition.

I suspect your battery is defective.

Tedc123

OK, I am an idiot. I did forget to charge the new battery. When I checked it it was showing 12.55 volts and I thought, "ah ha, it's draining already." Battery is now fully charged and I will do a parasitic draw test and check at various times to see how many milliamps are being used. Hopefully, it was just the old battery that is the problem. My wife has called some 800 number to tell them about the ridiculous treatment from the dealer, i.e., it's normal for the battery to die after a week, buy a battery buddy, disconnect your battery, or call roadside service. Will let you know and future results.

Thanks again for all the great responses!!!

tod071

I know its beating a dead horse, but I just started up my RXh after 8 days of sitting in my car port and it started up fine. I highly doubt that its "normal" for the battery to drain after a week of not using it. I'd be going through batteries like toilet paper.

The G Man

Doesnt the RXh have like 12 batteries?

tod071

Ha ha, good one. Actually, depending on which model, 2WD has only 1 hybrid battery, 4WD has 2 hybrid batteries, but both only have 1 regular car battery just like the 350.

The G Man

I wasnt joking, I dont know much about the RXh's electrical system. If the 4WD hybrid only have 2 batteries, they must be really big. I find it funny that they would have a regular battery on board considering that the hybrid can do the same job. Do all Hybrids have a regular battery?

RX330inFL

The RX 400h battery pack consists of 30 nickel metal hydride modules, each with 8 cells.

Lil4X

It is not uncommon for a battery to short internally, either between cells or between plates in a cell. The usual failure mode is for one cell to fail and the grid collapse within it, which will then start to drain the other cells. The check for this is to remove the battery, charge it, test it immediately, then a day or two later. We used to be able to do this with a hydrometer, but that's not always possible with "maintenance free" or sealed "batteries". Those have to be loaded and tested for current draw.

I once had a Suburban with a "dual battery" option - the connection of which made absolutely no sense at all. My Dad and several other electrical engineers were totally mystified by the second battery that had only two 12-ga. wires connected to it, but it died regularly every two years - as did the main battery. You had to replace two batteries instead of one. After a few years, I ditched the second battery, but the single remaining battery still self-destructed after 24 months in service like clockwork. We never did figure it out. Must have been somebody at ACDelco's retirement plan.

Fortunately, given the cost of most things Lexus, a 12v battery becomes the "cheap" solution to any number of electrical problems. Most are available with "free" installation, or if you are an intense bargain shopper, you can always DIY.

Grumpa72

Huh? Can you translate that last sentence into English? How can my car have two batteries that are one battery?

tod071

I think I got myself mixed up. I was thinking of the # of motors and got confused with the batteries. The number of motors depends on the model type (2WD vs 4WD). Only 1 hybrid battery "pack" and 1 car battery. Regardless, the hybrid battery cannot run by itself. It needs the car battery to run.

inspired

ah, that make sense now

Tedc123

It appears the battery was the culprit. Let the car sit for a week. I checked voltage each day and was only losing .04 V. Car started fine after a week of sitting.

Thanks again for all the responses!

Ted

Tedc123

Update, the battery is not the problem. We went out of town for two weeks and when we returned I kiddingly said something to my wife about her battery probably being dead. Sure enough it was. Not a good way to start the morning when you get back home at midnight.

Lexus replaced another battery. This is the 3rd one in an 08 with 12,000 miles. The dealer is now telling us that if we do not drive the car every 3 days it is normal for the battery to be dead! Can you believe it? I thought it must just be the dealer and called the 800 # and sure enough they are agreeing with the dealer.

Thank goodness our 97 Saturn SL2 with a 171,000 miles was next to the Lexus in the garage. It started right up so my wife made it to work.

When some customer care rep called from headquarters to tell me it was normal for the battery to drain in 3 days I told her they should inform consumers of that in their manual and or provide a kill switch for those times when the car will not be driven for a few days.

My wife is livid and will probably be selling the car.

In the meantime, we just have to remember to put a trickle charger on any time we don't drive the car.

If anyone has any suggestion as to someone else at Lexus who might be able to resolve this issue please post the telephone number.