hey guys,

I just came back from a long trip abroad, only to find that my car won't start.
Conclusion was that the battery went down and thus the car needs to be jump started.

The big question for me is : why did the 2 other cars: a 1996 S-class and a 2002 Honda Accord had no problems starting after the 6 weeks and while my car, the newest of the bunch and the most advanced, had problems starting?

I had thoroughly checked the cars before I left, as in leaving none of the lights on.

Any ideas why mine failed, while the others didn't ?

 

You could had a draw somewhere.

My friend bought an '05 ultra last year with less then 2K on it, started just fine from the show room floor. Drove it the entire day, and night. The next day he tries to start the battery, and its a no go. Car needed a new battery for no reason.

So you really cant be rational with these cars sometimes.

 

Batteries can develop a short and fail for no apparent reason prematurely. If it is a 2005 model, I would ask the dealer to check it out and replace it under warranty.

 

If the problem returns after a battery replacement....

Have the battery checked for a constant draw of power, like a audio power amp that doesn't switch off. This is preformed with an amp meter, installed inline with the battery ground connection.

 

car was dead again today ...

have scheduled an appointment on monday at lexus of manhattan. hopefully there's nothing major with it.

 

Cool, let us know what it turns out to be.

 

my car did this... i think it had something to do with the smart key being in the car and my regular key in my pocket..the codes must have been out of whack for some strange reason..the car will start, but die right after wards..

weird, but it only happened once...

mike

 

well the dealership couldn't find anything wrong with the battery.

they just charged up the battery, and checked it.

its funny, because i thought i would have charged the battery by letting the car run and driving the car around for about 1 hour.

on another note, i think i just got 'robbed' for my 10K service. Paid $200 dollars for basic oil and filter change, tires rotation and checking of brake pads.

 

I would be insulted if they just charged up the battery and told you to be on your way.

 

yea, i kinda let it go, because i was tired and i wanted to avoid the afternoon rush traffic home.

but if the car wont start tomorrow morning, or anytime this week, i will be making lots of noise at the dealers.

 

My 02 is slow starting in the mornings, the current is just not there. I wonder if the its a draw or more of a weak battery. The batter is an insane 84 month battery which is 7 years! Seeing as how the car is only 4 years old I'm doubting that there's anything wrong with the battery because usually batteries at faulty produced which causes them to fail when the car is just purchased as seems to be the case above or reliable batteries that last approximately the stated life.

DO we know if there are any TSBs on battery draws for the LSs?

 

May I suggest you may have started a new thread...

Batteries last three to four years, regardless of what the warranty or what is written on the case. This is real life results, replace your battery and you'll be fine.

 

The Lexus batteries have a 84 month warranty, anyone know if this is a free replacement priod or a prorate period?

 

Believe my black case replacement Lexus battery is 36 months free replacement and 84 months on the prorate.

 

Warranty's are simply (for the most part) a marketing ploy to get you to chose option A over B . . . four years is not bad on a battery and in most cases, its still a prorated warranty.

On a technical note, double check to make sure your + and - terminals are securely fastened. A loose connection could create a situation that makes it extremely tough to recharge the battery via alternator. I ran into a similar situation when I changed to an aftermarket battery and aftermarket terminals. There's a design flaw in the terminals and it killed two cells in my gel battery after about 3 months.

G