ChitChat

My key fob remote wouldn't open the doors, so I used the key. Then when I went to start the car it said key not detected. Called Lexus and they said to hold the remote in front of the start button for 30 seconds, but that didn't work.

I realize the battery might be dead, but the funny thing is both of my fobs don't work.

Also, last night I noticed the light inside my car didn't turn on as usual when I exited.

Any ideas if what might be going on?

MikeP

Could it be that you car battery is dead? Try turning on your headlights and if they don't go on, that's another indicator your car battery could be dead, or the connections to the battery terminal are loose or corroded.

Cruiter

Sounds like your 12v battery in the back is dead based on the interior lights not working. I'd call Lexus to have them jump it. Are you still inside your 36 month window? If so, they'll probably replace the 12v battery.

VVRX

Ordinarily, I would say it probably is the battery, but before you go that route check out a fuse. In this case fuse 32 which handles your starter along with several electrical components including your interior lights.

ChitChat

I'm waiting for AAA to give me a jump start. I'm not too happy with Lexus's customer service right now!

I called Lexus to find out if I get AAA to jump the car, can I drive it straight to their service department to leave it to be diagnosed and get a loaner car. I was told they're closing in a 1/2 hour (that would be 2:30pm on a Saturday) and they won't have any loaner cars available until next Friday!!! What, no loaner cars for a week?? This is not what I expected from Lexus after all their bragging about their customer service when I bought the car.

They're advice was for me to wait until they open on Monday, leaving me all weekend without a car. It wasn't until I kept questioning them what my other options were that they mentioned Lexus roadside assistance could jump it or supply a new battery, which I didn't realize was available to new car owners for 4 years.

So I call roadside assistance and they tell me the same thing, that all my local Lexus service centers are closed for the weekend and they will call AAA for me. Gee, thanks, I could have done that myself! So they advice me that once I get the jump I should drive around for a half hour to fully charge it. Let's see how this goes!

Oh, and I wasn't sure if it was my remote key fob battery that was dead, so I went to my local car alarm company and was told they aren't allowed to touch Lexus keys, only Lexus can do it because it's so complex. So again, I would have to wait for Lexus to open on Monday to get a key battery changed. But I'm pretty sure it's the car battery that is dead because the headlights won't even go on.

MikeP

You might want to check with Sam's Club, Costco, Sears, Walmart for a battery. It will probably cost you a lot less and you can get it today. Any of those places and others should have the specs to replace your battery. You can verify the specs by looking in your owner's manual.

ChitChat

All is good . . . turns out my battery was low and just needed a jump. Once the car started I noticed I left one of the overhead lights on overnight. Geeze, it's hard to believe that little light drained the battery!

MikeP

Happy it worked out well for you.

UCSB

I don't know if you have a 350 or 450h, but the battery in the 450h is the smallest battery I have ever seen in a car. It definitely looks easy to drain.

LeoDLion

I would invest in a battery trickle charger about $30 or so.

jjabro

In response to my earlier post - I figured I'd provide the actual cause....
Because my car was only 10 months old and the car battery being dead seemed impossible and both key fobs dying so soon and at the same time seemed unlikely (plus the power light lit up on both) I wasn't sure why my key fob would not let me in my car.

After unlocking it manually with the key - upon entering my car, I had ZERO electric power. No lights, came on, no dashboard notifications, nothing. I had left the 'auxiliary power' on when i got out of my car the night before - Hence the battery died. My lights are on auto, so I didn't even consider any other ways my battery could have died. This of course will kill your power and cause your key fob to not work.