HELP! - won't start
 

New to the Forum and would greatly appreciate any help.
vehicle is 1 2007 RC 400h with about 65k miles.
returned from a two day trip driving 200+ miles with no problem.
pulled into the drive and while unloading accidentally set off panic alarm by leaning on fob in my pocket. cleared honking horn by pressing door unlock button.
Tried to start car to pull into the garage and get check engine light
Tried again and get all main dash lights blinking
Tried again and get message to place transmission in P when starting (which I always do).

I cannot find anything in the owner's manual about this.

Any idea as to what can be causing this and how to clear it?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Your last words told me your problem "place transmission in P when starting" I got the same thing, got it jump started and bought the Optima Yellow Top battery locally and put it in no more problem. After putting in the battery you have to reset the power windows, sunroof and rear lift gate.

Thanks.
My current battery is about three years old so that may be the problem. I'll try to yellow Optima.
W

Is the reset procedure in the Owner's Manual?

Yes, Has also been discussed on a number of previous occasions here in the forums. So, you can always search for the notes from others as well. Here is part of what is in the Owner's Manual.

http://drivers.lexus.com/t3Portal/do.../sec_01-05.pdf

and with hybrids you are only going to get 3 years out of your battery compared to six o a normal car. reason is hybrid relies on 12v battery to run all functions until engine starts,which can take a momeent depending on how your drive. normal combustion engine immediately starts recharging battery via alternator once engine starts. as recommended above buy the optima deep charge battery. try advanced auto parts and do online search for coupon. my hybrid dies last month and i found 20% off coupon online, got $180 battery for $140. buy online then you simply drive to local store, pick up with receipt, and they install. otherwise, expect less life from battery with hybrid.

Turned out my problem was a 27 month old Toyota 84 month warranted battery that had not been serviced since new. My wife regularly gets Lexus service every 3,000 miles but they obviously had not checked the battery. The electrolyte was low in all six cells - very low in two. A fill up and overnight charge seems to have fixed us for now.

Thanks to all for input and recs on Optima. I'll get it when the time is right.

That will do it. Weird that your 400h battery is not a sealed unit like many of the others installed as OEM.

Would definitely be placing a call, if not done already, to the service manager to chide them a bit on their failure to maintain the battery. Assuming that was not a typo and that your RX is seeing the shop every 3K miles (as opposed to 5K which is standard) they are making a good dollar on your business.

[QUOTE=RX330inFL;7330821]That will do it. Weird that your 400h battery is not a sealed unit like many of the others installed as OEM.

Would definitely be placing a call, if not done already, to the service manager to chide them a bit on their failure to maintain the battery. Assuming that was not a typo and that your RX is seeing the shop every 3K miles (as opposed to 5K which is standard) they are making a good dollar on your business.[/QUOTE

I plan to turn my wife loose on the service rep........and ask for a refund of the last "service" fee.

Because of you post I checked my 30 month old Lexus replacement battery. It was about 2 cups low. I will keep a better eye on it from now on.

2 cups is REALLY low. I was about a cup low and could not start.......

Wrong. The 12 volt battery is recharged via the traction battery. The engine does not have to be running to charge it. So it can start charging as soon as the system is on, engine running or not. The problem is it's a very small (power wise) battery - 450 CCA iirc and a small reserve capacity. This is the same battery used in 4 cylinder Honda Accords

And may I say the Optima battery is not cost effective, I would go to Costco, or Walmart and buy their best replacement battery. Because of the hybrid charging the battery I have hear the Optima is not a great deal.