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2010 RX350 Battery Drain Issue

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Old Feb 22, 2015 | 02:16 PM
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Exclamation 2010 RX350 Battery Drain Issue

I checked my rx350 battery health and it is good.Still I am having recurrent issues when battery dies
And needs a restart. It happened many times and last one just happened this morning and I have feeling that this is related to rear hatch door...let me explain what happened:

Yesterday evening I went for grocery shopping and opened the rear hatch door using my car key remote, kept the groceries and closed the rear hatch using the button on the bottom of rear hatch door. I drove back to home and parked the vehicle in the garage. This morning I opened the rear hatch again and closed it, drove it to a house one block away, returned home and parked the car.
When I tried to start 1 hour later, the battery had already died.
So, I have a feeling that opening and closing the rear hatch door 3 times caused this battery drain.

I wanted to check if any other RX350 owner had the same issue and how you fixed it.
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Old Feb 22, 2015 | 02:23 PM
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If it's 4-5 years old, it's time to replace the battery. Cheap insurance.
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Old Feb 22, 2015 | 02:30 PM
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I went to auto zone and they checked the battery health. It is perfect.
So, I don't think replacing battery I'll solve this issue.
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Old Feb 22, 2015 | 02:33 PM
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I agree with sderman, have the battery tested under load. Most auto supply stores will do this for free. You might want to check out this thread in the Third Generation RX Forum. Your vehicle is a 2010 model so this should have been posted there.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...fter-jump.html
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Old Feb 22, 2015 | 04:24 PM
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Batteries can be like a finicky person. Good one minute and no good the next.
A dead cell can kill a battery, then recover and be good for a few days, only to kill it again.
The only way to pinpoint a dead cell is to do a specific gravity test of the battery acid. You can buy a device to test this at an auto parts store cheaply. Your battery has to be the type that allows access to the acid. If it is, follow the instructions with the gizmo, and I think you will find one or more of your cells will give a low reading. If so, replace the battery, Costco recommended because of their return policy, and go forth, young man!
Ray A.
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Old Feb 22, 2015 | 04:50 PM
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Intermittent bad connection? Check battery cables for tightness.
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Old Feb 22, 2015 | 05:42 PM
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Thanks for your replies. I went to Advanced Auto Parts again and did a maximum load test of the battery.
They said tested to be good and asked me to check with dealer.
I will try to do the acid test of the battery.

However, what I am trying to find out is why the RX350 is causing battery to loose charge rapidly when I operate the rear hatch door using power button or remote. I am trying to find out if someone else had the similar issue
Or is it an issue with only my vehicle.
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Old Feb 22, 2015 | 08:42 PM
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Lexus dealers replace 3 batt out of 4 - 5 years my 2010. 2 free because they still under 2 years warranty and 1 paid $150 . They couldn't find out why my car draining batteries a lot. Just got a another one 2 weeks ago.
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Old Feb 22, 2015 | 08:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Matul01
Thanks for your replies. I went to Advanced Auto Parts again and did a maximum load test of the battery.
They said tested to be good and asked me to check with dealer.
I will try to do the acid test of the battery.

However, what I am trying to find out is why the RX350 is causing battery to loose charge rapidly when I operate the rear hatch door using power button or remote. I am trying to find out if someone else had the similar issue
Or is it an issue with only my vehicle.
I think it's a coincidence, but I'd be very interested if there's a connection (no pun intended) between the hatch mechanism and your battery problem.
Ray A.
PS wear old clothes when testing the battery acid. Mini-drops will get on your clothing and holes will appear when you launder. You can't avoid it.
Rubber gloves and eye protection is a good idea too.
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Old Feb 23, 2015 | 06:44 AM
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Starting batteries are designed to do just that.........very high surge for a short time to get the engine running.
The battery load while operating the door is very small & outside the scope a starting battery is designed for.
It will work fine for the most part for 3-5 years + the best compromise vs. a deep cell battery.
Internal plates are built differently on a deep cell storage battery. A deep cell is designed for small even loads over a much longer period. They will also start an engine but after 200-300 cycles they too will give up the ghost.
Found out the hard way last year out on the water with a pair of deep cells.
Learned a long time ago that I don't really buy batteries. I just rent them !
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Old Feb 23, 2015 | 06:52 AM
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Total agreement with everyone else, if your battery is the original in a 2010, it's past it's normal service life regardless of how it tests on a meter. The real test is under stress when starting. Time to invest in a new one.
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Old Feb 23, 2015 | 07:26 AM
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How often do you drive the vehicle? How many miles are on it, i.e.: how many starts? My father has a 2010 ES350 that he rarely drives as he is retired and has had issues with dead batteries. He is on his second battery with only 35,000 miles. He got a battery tender to keep it topped up while in the garage.
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Old Feb 23, 2015 | 12:32 PM
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Default Battery drains

Originally Posted by sweetboy02
Lexus dealers replace 3 batt out of 4 - 5 years my 2010. 2 free because they still under 2 years warranty and 1 paid $150 . They couldn't find out why my car draining batteries a lot. Just got a another one 2 weeks ago.
Hi guys, I have similar problem on my 2010 RX350 AWD. Once happened in 2012, I drove about 50 Km to airport. I wait with engine running. It suddenly died quietly. Cannot restart. Called Road side assistance to jump start. Went back to dealer, and tested result is the battery in good condition.

Today, Feb 2015, second time, after a very cold night, cannot start. Jump started with my other car. But this RX350 shows up several warning lights: in the middle "CHECK AWD SYSTEM", the ENGINE SERVICE light, the SLIP CONTROL light, and the EXCLAMATION MARK light. But it runs just like normal.

Anyone know what is the problem? What shall I do with it?
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Old Feb 23, 2015 | 03:27 PM
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Following a boost in very cold weather the running engine is using about all the battery capacity you may have.
Battery must be warmed before it will take a substantial recharge. Depending on it's state of charge when it was boosted, it may never come back.

Batteries are difficult, at times, to diagnose. Bad cells at times do not appear on a full load test. Everything appears OK. Turn on just the radio for 15 minutes & you're on the phone to roadside again.

If it's still the original simply replace it.
If you have access to a simple voltage tester, you should see about 14.2 - 14.5 VDC across the battery terminals with the engine running. This will give you an idea of what the charging system is doing for you.
A hydrometer is very cheap to buy & get your own test of the acid inside.
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Old Feb 23, 2015 | 03:48 PM
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Originally Posted by sderman
If it's 4-5 years old, it's time to replace the battery. Cheap insurance.

I agree. When it comes to car repair and self diagnosis, start with the cheapest part first. Besides the most your going to get out of your battery is probably no more than another year. Replace the battery and see how things go.
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