jjscsix

This is a first for me. Our 2014 GS is exactly a year old with less than 7000 miles on it. We were on vacation for eight days with the car home in the garage. My wife went to start it this morning and the battery is totally dead. The electric door locks don't work...nothing. Anyone had such an experience?

I was already at work when my wife called, so I have no way of checking anything yet. Fortunately I have a third car right now she was able to drive to work. I'll head home and put a charger on it and see what happens. The timing is awful as I'm catching up at work.

Thanks for any advice. Btw, please don't ask if we left anything on. I have no way of knowing, and I seriously doubt it.

Boomin

It happens, just call lexus road side assistance, happened to my wife's IS too also 2014 and we were gone 3 days...
cheap Panasonic batteries

bclexus

Unfortunately Lexus has had a lot of dead or drained battery issues. HERE are multiple threads about battery issues with the 4GS.

Sosodef79

iTrader: (1)

Had this issue as well. As my GS is my extra car . I had to buy a battery tender and hook it up when I know I won't be driving for more than a couple of days.

Just lame that these battery's can't go into sleep mode and stay ok so we don't have to deal with this .

bclexus

Lexus has yet to publicly acknowledge there is a problem, or to issue a TSB after all these years. Is the problem the OE Panasonic battery itself or is it something with the car? No one seems to know for sure. I am told that Lexus knows full-well that many people have experienced dead batteries far before they should. However, I have also heard that many Lexus owners (who have experienced a dead battery) were told their battery and car checked 'okay' and nothing whatsoever was done about it. Many different possible reasons have been given for the battery to become drained; e.g. leaving the key fob physically too close to the car, etc., etc. I also have heard that the OE Panasonic battery has a tendency to have shorted cells, but a battery with a shorted cell is easily identified...so that doesn't explain matters when a Lexus dealership checks out the battery and it is determined to be okay. After people with a drained/dead battery problem replaces their battery, I have not heard of the new battery (regardless whether the replacement battery was another Panasonic identical to the original or a different brand) failing again, which indicates the problem is with the battery itself.

A replacement OE Panasonic battery is around $1,000. A much higher (ampere) cranking battery with full replacement warranty for 2+ years from most any source is less than $200. Some people have elected to replace the OE battery with a red top Optima battery.

It's a real shame when you can't leave a $50,000+ car for a few days at the airport or in your garage without driving it and it doesn't start because the battery is dead. And it is even more of a shame when Lexus won't acknowledge they have a problem with the OE battery. And further, it is damn near criminal when Lexus charges $1,000 for a replacement battery when a much better battery can be bought from numerous sources - such as $140 for an Interstate MTP-24 Battery from NTB with 800 CCA, 6-year warranty and a 30 month full replacement warranty.

jjscsix

Thanks for the great replies. I went home and put the car on a charger for ten minutes and started it. Then I drove it 25 miles to my office. After five hours it started right up for me a few minutes ago. My wife is pissed because she had to drive my new Audi A7 for the first time and didn't have time to figure out how to work the radio (not even the volume) so she had to listen to "Oldies" all the way to work.

bclexus

Your problem is not resolved. Why did it happen? When will it happen next? How much time, effort and resources should be devoted by you and by the Lexus dealer to figure out what caused it? What course of action should be taken now to assure it won't happen again?

99alta

A lot of new vehicles draw a significant amount of power while its just sitting.

As such if your considering a new battery don't be fooled by Cold Cranking Amps. alone vs Capacity.

In a cold climate we need high CCA, but just as important we require a battery that a high Capacity as well so when we get back from that 2 wk. vacation in the Carribean our cars will have enough juice left to crank over the engine.
So make sure you consider a battery with high Ah rating as well your other battery needs such as CCA.

I believe our stock battery is rated at 55Ah and the red top I have in my TL is 44Ah (physically smaller), so the red top will die a day or two sooner than the stock Lexus battery, given the constant amp. draw is the same.

bclexus

With only 7,000 miles on a one-year-old car it's clear you don't drive the car very much or very often, and the car may not have been driven much recently except for only short distances. If so, the battery may have been in a constant undercharged state for a long time. This also causes the battery to get acid stratification, and the battery can become dead when it sits for just a week or even less. Yet when the battery is recharged the battery can test perfectly okay. A battery that has (past tense) been in a low charge state for a lengthy period of time, or has (past tense) been in an acid stratification condition - it is difficult to determine even with sophisticated battery testing equipment.

wgu8213

My car battery died three times in January. I travel for a living so the car sits at the airport in freezing cold. I believe a combo of the cold, sitting outside for 4-7 days at a time, and how little I drive impacted the battery. My only problem is that plenty of others who drive BMW, Mercedes, Audi who do the same type of work seem to be just fine.

Third time the dealership just replaced the battery for me. I requested they replace it with the Interstate battery they keep in stock instead of the Panasonic one. Seems fine now.

I purchased a compact battery jumper just in case. Coming back to a dead battery at 2 AM after an 8 hour drive after a full day of work was not pleasant.

jjscsix

Do you know the answer or are you just screwing with me?

For a while that may have been true. But in the past month it is not true. My wife started a new job four weeks before it sat and she drives 11 miles each way. And two weeks ago I put 300 miles on it in one day. Even in her old job that was closer to home the car got driven long enough to charge it virtually every week.

I've owned 60 four wheel vehicles, and for 30 years I owned weekend cars an it was not unusual for them to sit for weeks. This is only the second time I've come out to a dead battery, and the first was a three year old car that had sat for three weeks.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

I don't know what's more amazing...
Battery failure after a week or $1K for a replacement OEM battery.

SlangBlade

I read somewhere that the issue might be related to something with the gas tank or a sensor in the gas tank? I believe it was an issue they were having with the 3IS's that I read about. Something where it checks momentarily for something, but if no feedback is received then the cycle continues and drains the battery? That's my recollection on it, but don't quote me.

I took a quick look, but I can't seem to find the explanation.

Here's the 3IS thread though: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...d-threads.html

jonathanz

iTrader: (2)

i have a 2012 IS250 and been sitting for 2 weeks in NYC cold weather, after 2 weeks the car without any issue starting..

PirelliRC

Thats what i was going to say.

The only thing to do is if you are not going to operate your vehicle at all in 3 days, just hook up a battery tender to keep the juice, nothing else you can do. You are going to waste your time and breathe trying to discuss the issue with the dealer.

I would suggest calling Lexus Headquarters if you need more info (800) 255-3987