My battery died twice on me and I'm not sure what is the root cause. First time it died, I had to call roadside assistance for a jump and then I went to the dealership to test my battery and they said my battery is fine. It happened again this weekend and I had to get it jumped. The only thing I have in my car is a Garmin GPS but it auto powers off when engine is stopped. What could be the issue?

 

Could be...but how long have you been using it before this battery problem started?

 

You need to give us way more information. How old is your battery? If its more than 5 years you should replace it. Get a volt meter to measure your battery, they are less than $10 at a local store.

If your battery measures less than 12.2-12.5 V with the car off, then you need a new battery.
With your car on, if your battery is less than 13-14.5 V, then you need a new alternator.

 

I think I read someone else having this problem because their car wouldn't lock or disengage the steering wheel when they open the car door. Every time you turn off your car and you get out of the car, you should hear a locking sound from your steering wheel. I believe if there's something wrong with that, where it doesn't lock the steering wheel, it drains the car battery?

 

Either your battery, alternator, a short in a wire or an accessory draining power. Testing the battery and alternator are easy if you have a voltmeter.

Disconnect the battery and let it sit for a couple of hours. With the voltmeter reading DC volts, check the battery. Voltage should be about 12 volts.

Reconnect the battery, start up the car and check DC voltage again. Should be about 14 volts if the alternator is working properly.

Shut down the car and let it sit again for a couple of hours. Retest the battery voltage (without starting up the car). If voltage is low, there is something draining your battery. Low voltage is around 11 volts or less.

This sounds like an intermittent problem so it may be a little more difficult to track down. Sounds like something is draining the battery if the battery is in fact ok.

 

You might want to check you alternator with a simple volt meter and did you hook up a sound system any time since the last battery died?

 

I would unplug the GPS and check the battery....maybe it's time to get a new one....

 

That's sucks.
As of now I have 140k on MY06 IS350, and so far I'm on my 2nd car battery(knock knock)... changed it last year rcvd from costco.

FYI - costco battery won't fit right but works great.

 

Since we are on the topic of batteries, I checked mine last night, and my batteries are bleeding. Is this bad? And what's the reason that it is?
Thanks

 

Sounds like the battery. Get it checked out

 

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