Upon re-reading the manual, I am now learning it was my fault.

My car sat in the airport parking lot for 3 days and when I returned, my battery was dead.

I had to use the key to open the trunk and open the driver's door and call Lexus roadside to get a jump start.

Here's what I learned:
1)It's easy to get into the trunk with the key but that's as far as you'll get in the trunk; nowhere to go from them.
2)You can only use the key on the driver's door. There is not key hole on the passenger's door even though you can pop off the cover on both side. On the driver's side, pop off the cover, insert the key, open the door; the cover goes back on pretty easily. I suggest you read the manual and try this at home before you have to investigate while on the road (it's not difficult but it will be that much easier when you are stranded).
3)Since I wasn't quite sure how to use the key in #2, I called a dealership in CT which was the only one open this time of night. They didn't really know how to work to key....I eventually figured it out myself.
4)I called Lexus roadside and they appeared in less than 30 minutes, jumped my car, no charge, sign and drive.
5)The reason why my battery died is I left the headlight ON in the middle position (the one with the headlights symbol) and not in the full AUTO or the the dot (sign marker lights) position.

I just assumed that if you left the light on, they would eventually go out if the car is turned off. When they eventually went out, it was just later the next day. I remember walking away from the car, looking back and seeing the tail lights still on and said to myself "those lights will go out eventually" and went to catch my plane.

So I experimented and there is a combination that you can open and close the doors and move the light switch and then finally use the remote to LOCK and the lights never go out when in the ON position. Unless you have a particular habit that works, you're probably better off just turning off the headlights.

Only cost me about an hour in 40 degrees, no snow, no family members stranded. It would have been worse.

 

Thanks for the heads up, that's unusual for a Toyota. In the past when you left the lights in the on position they went off after the drivers door was open, if the car was turned off first.

 

I think the lights should have been set to go out by default. If that's the case, it might not be you fault that the battery died.

 

So I was getting luggage in and out of the car and doors were open and trunk was open and I was running a little late for flight....so honestly I don't know the order in which I did things and locked up. But I'm pretty sure it was the headlights that drained the battery (at first I though ipod or phone or radar detector).

 

Glad to hear it turned out reasonably ok.

A couple of cars in my stable have a system that senses a long term draw on the battery (as in map lights left turned on by grandkids) and shuts the system down to protect the battery. I am surprised that Lexus doesn't have a system like that so if lights are left on inadvertantly they will be shut down and the battery saved. Or in this case (where headlights were in the "on" position and not in the auto position) I would have hoped the car would have "saved itself".

 

kensteele,

Wow. That really sucks.

I for a fact can testify that I leave my headlight switch on the "ON" position when I park my car at work and at home. Usually after a preset amount of time after I close ALL doors (including the trunk) the headlights will go dark. You do not even need to lock the vehicle. It seems once my vehicle notices that all the doors are closed and the headlights are on, it will begin a timer to turn off the headlights even if they're on the "ON" position.

So why did I mention trunk above as one of the doors?

One day while I was returning to Costco after spending plenty of quid, I did my usual park in the garage. I popped the trunk and started unloading the trunk when someone called me. I went inside, talked for a while and then came back to my car. That's when I was surprised and noticed my headlights were still on! I finished unloading the trunk, noticed there was something flashing on my dash indicating not all the doors were closed, and then closed the trunk.

Sure enough, after a small wait, my headlights went off.

I wonder if maybe a door or something in your vehicle was still ajar when you left? Sorry again, mate. Glad everything is okay now though.

Cheers,
Kermee

 

Lexus should add that feature (with an option to turn it off) ASAP!

 

normally the headlights go off after about 30 sec, even if the switch is in the ON position.

 

normally the headlights DO go off when in the ON position and I have been able to duplicate this repeatedly so during the normal course of business and day to day activity, you should be fine, the lights turn off in a few seconds.

However, as Kermee mentioned and as I have experienced, there is a certain condition or combination of events that will not permit the lights to turn off automatically when set to the ON position. I haven't been able to factually determine what that is but I have been able to do some things with my car in the garage and get the lights to stay ON for several months and more (thus draining the battery). This must be what happened to me and I think it has something to do with the trunk. We both had unusual circumstances and/or one off situations/interruptions that involved the trunk and the ON position.

Until I can figure out exactly what this is, lights go OFF or I wait to see them turn OFF automatically. the manual is not very explicit about this as far as I can determine.

 

That's one of the reasons I don't like automatic headlights that stay on for 30 sec after you exit the vehicle--I like them to turn off immediately after I lock the car.

 

The dealer can set the auto feature to turn the lights off immediately after you turn the engine off. By default they stay on 30 seconds. I'm going to have mine set that way. I usually sit and wait for them to go off to be sure so the auto off "immediately" is a better option for me.

 

another quick note, after three days of battery drainage, I didn't lose a single setting. Everything from memory seats to bluetooth pairing to nav destinations....all persisted. Perhaps the battery was not totally gone (the trunk light and the red door lights were very very dim).

 

You can also just hit the lock button twice to turn off the lights.

 

Again, that's the way it works most of the time until you do something unusual.

Try this. Your car is unlocked, the doors are closed, the light switch is OFF.

Open the door, get in the car, turn the light switch to ON without starting your car, talk to somebody on your phone and forget what just happened, get out of the car cause you are in a hurry to go back inside, slam the door, and hit the lock button on the remote twice, and run inside.

You will have a dead battery by the end of the day.

 

you should just leave it at auto next time