I found the battery on the 04, RX330 completely dead one morning. Ialso noticed that the driver's door was not completely latched. Right away I figured that the dome light had drained the battery, but why? The manual states that the dome light automatically shuts off after 20 minutes.

After recharging the battery I visited the local dealer. They tell me that this is how it is supposed to work.

If the door is completely open or completely closed, the system will shut off the dome light. If the door is patially closed, the system will get confused and will leave the dome light on!!!

This sure seems like a design problem to me.

 

So, I decided to test out what the dealer told you. I know for a fact that if my door is wide open the light will go out eventually. Same with when the all doors are closed. So today while I was working on the car I decided to test out what they told you. I left the door partially open. Open where there was still a noticable gap in teh door jam indicating the door was ajar, but close in that it was latched where you couldn't pull the door open without using the door latch handle. Anyway, I don't know how long it was but when I looked at the dome light after a while it was off the way it supposed to be. Now, I only did this with the drivers front door so I have no idea if leaving the rear door open will act differently. Eitherway, it sounds like your dealer is misinformed

 

Anything to do with the CBEST settings?

 

I went out and cracked my passenger and rear pass. door open and after 20 minutes my lights were still ON, so I dont know about this???

 

You were given a bad story. The action that RX recognizes is a closed door (thru the switch) is when the door is fully shut. Open is recognized as partial or full ajar (same switch). I dont know of any other state which can be confuse the ecu.

There are two possible solutions [each with its inconvinence (sp?)].
Set the light switch position to off. (Dome light does not turn on even when you open the door).
Visit you RX at night to confirm light has been turned off. (trip).


Salim.

 

or maybe... Close your door! Thats seems as a good solution, doesnt it?
Also, your doors wont lock when you dont have it completly shut, will it? When I try to loack any of my Toyota's while door is not fully closed, I get annyoing beeper working hard to remind me of that... Doesnt the RX have similar feature?

 

Are you sure it's the dome light and not the headlights causing the problem? I had this happen to me a few times on my 01. After pulling in to the garage at night the headlights remain on for a few minutes after closing the door. The door did not close tightly and the headlights remained on. Thinking it was only the timer, I went in to the house expecting them to go out. Next morning, dead battery.

 

On a 330, I believe the circuit is deactivated once the door is opened. I had the dealer change my CBEST setting to remove the delay in turning off the headlights, and now the lights turn off as soon as the door is opened, not closed.

But I gotta agree with spwolf - close the doors all the way and there won't be a problem. Can't fault Lexus for that.

 

Sorry to those who disagree, but it's a poor design. My kids leave frequently use the rear dome light to read at night and I've come out several mornings to find that it had been left on all night long. Our previous car (a VW) used to shut the interior lights off after a preset period of time. It's a logical safety/convenience feature that should be a part of every car.

 

Looks like you need to tell your kids to cut the lights off when they are done back there! Or dont let them read in the car! Not a lexus problem

 

i'm sure you closed the door on the VW.

Also your remote entry system will beep at you if the doors are not fully closed. Don't ignore this beeping. It's beeping at your for a reason.

I think also the manual is assuming that people would "close" the door

Those who think it's a design problem, I'd like to say it's a user problem. It's like saying "I hit a patch of ice going 90mph and skid into a snowbank!" "Poor tire design!!!"

I went out to the car and left the passenger door ajar and the battery drained.

Poor design? CBEST setting change allows for the lights to turn off as soon as the key is pulled out or it can be on a time delay. There are multitude of "customizable options" It's called "choice" and the power is in your hands. (Some people like the time delay. I don't like it but that was factory standard programming for my RX) Visit your lexus dealer and tell them that you want the setting changed. This will get rid of the "poor design problem" without having the fix the design.

Sorry if I seem to come out harsh, but it seems that the complaints are not warranted since there is in inherent "design flaw". Especially when there is a option of you going down to the dealer and having the "programming changed" They set the settings to satisfy the "vast majority" and being given the choice to change that is not a design flaw.

It's a design error that you have choices on how the car light operates? Seems like "flexibility in design" rather than design error.

This was a response to the whole thread, not just one or two people.

 

I don't think, in a normal case, a dome light left on all night will drain your battery. I guess maybe if it was left outside in the cold, but I've done this too many times to count and no problems starting.

Change your battery