atrac7

Hello,

This morning I got into my car as usual. Depressed brake pedal, and attempted to start my car via the push start (again, the usual). I was met with a persistent "buzzing" sound, with possibly a series of clicks in a high frequency. Car engine would not turn over. The brake pedal also felt like it was being more resistant to a full depress.

I decided to persist, so I put the car into accessory mode only. It seemed sluggish to get into this mode (as in, the steering wheel was slow to get into desired position, as were the seats in the desired memory position). However, once it did get into this mode, the things seemed fine from an accessory mode standpoint. My nav turned on, headlights were working, interior overhead LEDs were working.

Decided to try and start the actual engine again. After repeated brake pedal depresses, and presses/hold of the start button, the car's engine turned over. I was able to complete the 11 mile commute to work.

Fast forward to lunch time. Same thing....car starts....EVENTUALLY. Same buzzing, clicking, and having to almost let it "sit in accessory" mode and attempting to depress brake pedal and start button to get the engine to turn over.

I've ruled out alternator...can anyone comment if they have had similar issues before?

Cliff Notes:

• When attempting to start car via brake pedal depress/push start button I get: Buzzing/clicking sounds (not one single click, but a series of it)
• Lights turn on, gauges, navigation turns on, but initially felt "sluggish" to do so
• When persisting with turning engine over, the brake pedal seems to be more resistant in usual during the brake pedal+start button convo
• Car EVENTUALLY turns over after repeated attempts. Once on, car runs fine.
• Car has less than 50k miles on it. 2013 GS350 w/ Luxury Pkg.

veez81

It sounds like a (almost) dead battery.

atrac7

^^. I was hoping this was the case. Rather have dead battery than a dead starter.

bclexus

It sounds like you need a new battery. I would suggest dropping by a NTB (National Tire & Battery) store and having them 'load test' your battery. It is done at no-charge and can be done in their parking lot, and takes all of 3 minutes to do it. The load test will determine with certainty if the battery needs replacing.

Note: After a battery is two years old it should be load tested annually. Texas heat is not kind to batteries...

atrac7

Thanks BC -- was hoping you'd chime in with your expertise.

Since you also reside in Dallas...do you know which batteries or brands i should look at given our climate?

bclexus

I think NTB's best for our car is the Interstate Mega-Tron battery. They will know which Interstate Mega-Tron battery is best for you.

Here is Texas we are not concerned with the highest Cold Cranking Amps (like in colder climates) because a high CCA battery has its cells closer together (with less spacing between cells) and high ambient temperatures like we have here in Texas can cause battery failure quicker due to that minimal cell spacing.

JellyBean

I'll chime in and add that in 20 years I haven't had a battery last substantially more than 3 years in Texas. I too have a 2013 Luxury with the original battery and I'll be prophylactically changing as soon as the car hits 50K miles (and out of warranty). It's 49.6K now. Got the jump starter/power pack in the trunk just in case.

kingofire

I like Johnson Controls batteries personally so anything made by them I buy. Also make sure you get a battery with the most recent date code.

ssjkev16

99% chance it should due to your battery being on its last legs...

atrac7

Thank you all for confirming. Tested battery, was definitely on its way out. To BC: I was going to go with NTB/Interstate after your suggestion, but they weren't able squeeze me in yesterday after work for an installation. Didn't want to risk waiting another day/night to come in again in case I got stranded.

Went to Pep Boys on 75/Northwest Highway. Got a Bosch Platinum Series one (not AGM) for $150 installed out the door. Not bad in my opinion.

bclexus

Down that way a lot - Lakewood...

I did not see a non-AGM battery on Pep Boys' website.

Did you check to see how old the battery is that you bought? Pep Boys is known to sell old new stock, which some things like batteries is not a good thing.

drgrant

For what its worth there are a lot of Lexus cars in this model year that came with an OEM battery that was garbage, so this doesn't surprise me, although by now its probably outlived its useful life if you use it on any regular basis. I try to run my batteries no longer than about 3 years.

-Mike

endo022

Did you check this? https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...86305-5448.pdf

Does you VIN fall into the affected lot? There was a Network Gateway ECU service bulletin...it was slow battery drain that killed off the OEM battery in my car.

SanDeezy

Definitely need to change the battery the "buzzing... clicking noise" sounds too familiar. Had this problem 2 months ago, swapped batteries and good to go.

Dallasguy1

I would get the Lexus battery from the dealer almost the same price when buying from autozone etc, best part about it I was able to replace it 40$ after 4 years. They offer 72 months limited warranty.