i had the lights on ON for some reason yesterday and parked outside, the battery died while i was at work

i have had the lights set to ON and they would go off automatically anyway when i parked in the parking garage, does the light make a difference?

also i had a coworker try to jump my car and it didnt work, lexus came out and said most cars wont have the voltage required to jump the rx330

 

Perhaps you're confusing the ON position with the AUTO position.

With mine, when ON they don't turn off automatically, engine running or not

The compression is 10.5 to 1 ... a good current load for a starter. It needs a good quality wire in the jumper cables . (inexpensive older cables may not work)

 

I thought the headlights went out (after a minute or two) when the key was taken out of the car, regardless of the switch position, but I'm not sure. The book should mention something about this.

I hope your dealer really didn't say other cars don't have the necessary voltage. Maybe he slept through high school physics. All cars have 12 volt batteries, so they all have the same voltage. He probably meant amperage, which I think is a function of the size of the battery, but a car with its engine running should be able to jump any other car, especially a 6 cylinder.

I think the above note is more on point. If the RX needs a big kick to get going, and I don't know if that's true, then larger conductors in the jumper cables would offer less resistance and I guess would conduct more current, if that's the correct term.

I have always carried jumper cables in my cars, and although I have not had to use them much, it's nice to know they are there if I need a jump (because there is no substitute), and it's nice to be able to help another driver when his battery dies. I dumped an old set a few years ago and got a nicer set, and did notice that they had much heavier conductors.

Be prepared.

 

Yes, all cars will not only have the voltage (About 13.5-14V when running), as well as enough current to jump start another car even the RX. I've done away with jumper cables though and carry those jumper/starter battery packs. That way I can do it myself and not need another car.

Also, I too thought the lights would go off when the ignition is shut down after a minimal amount of time no matter what position the healight switch is in. I remember I used to sometimes forget to turn off the lights on my SC, and in the morning when you start the car it would turn back on. I never use the "Auto" setting so I know it was not that.

 

I have found that if you press the lock key twice on your fob the lights turn off immediately. This is in the AUTO position. I will have to try it in the ON position.

 

Not too long ago the Caravan I use to drive to the unsafe part of town where I work went on the fritz. My uncle forgot to bring the jumpers, but he just took the battery out of his Chevy (a modern Chevette down here) and put it in the Caravan for a few second and started the car. Enough juice got flowing...he removed the Chevy battery and put back in the dead one from the Caravan. After making the rest of the trip home, started up without issue.

My RX300 sits most of the time at home, but with the Optima Red Top, not an issue and every weekend it is ready to go out on the road and up to the track.

 

I've done that with my wrecked SC as well that had no battery. I would just start it using my battery jumper pack, remove the pack, and move the car from the lawn to the driveway and back when I was working on it. It didn't even need a battery

 

I remember in high school just about all of us had VW bugs (because they cost about $250.00) and if the battery was dead, you just needed one or two buddies to give it a push, you pop the clutch, and it starts right up.

A year or two I had to show a (younger) friend how to "roll start" her car which had a standard transmission -- she had no idea.

Modern conveniences! Today if the battery goes dead, you can't even put the windows up.

 

Seems like a cool device to carry around. Here in Mexico, people like to carry around portable air compressors for the tires. They are inexpensive (under $20 USD) and plug into the cigarette lighter.

That push start idea with the VW Bugs is still happily in use down here where the Beetle continues to live on. I have done this a few times helping my uncle fix VW Beetle Taxis...though we affectionately call the Beetle a Vocho down here.

 

are you sure you didn't have a door slightly ajar? if any door is not properly closed after walking away from the car, the interior and exterior lights will remain on. this is true of AUTO or ON position.

i leave mine on Auto all the time in all the cars, and i just make sure the door is shut before i go into the house. when parked outside at a mall or something, you know right away if the door is not tight b/c the key will do a constant beep to warn you that something is not shut.

 

There is a C-Best setting (or whatever they call it now) that I had the dealer change when I first got my car. When the headlights are set to AUTO, they will turn off immediately when the driver's side door is opened. It's not for everyone, but I prefer it this way.

Gary

 

I did the same.

 

I wish I had known about that, as the "instant off" makes more sense for me, also.

The delayed off is to allow the driver some light while he enters his house or whatever, but I just don't trust those auto-off timers with such an important thing like headlights. If there is a malfunction (or if the door is not closed tightly) and the headlights remain on for hours, then the car won't start.

Bad news.

 

You can still get the dealer to program it for you. I think it is called Lexus Personal Settings. There is a whole list of settings. If they never did it for you, they should do it for no charge now. My understanding is you get the first programing free.

 

Double lock action [lock followed by immediate lock] on the remote also cuts the lights out instantly.

Salim