I absolutely agree. The fact that there is no sensor, gauge, or method of detecting or monitoring battery health for a 70K car is is most disappointing!

 

I purchased a brand new Rx 450h+ in March '24 just over a year back. I recently went on a 2 week vacation and after I returned, I found that the Lexus 12v battery was dead. I called Lexus Roadside (and not AAA or someone else luckily!!!) and the technician who came jumpstarted the Lexus, asked me to drive it for a few miles to ensure the battery got charged fully and left. However I found that the display had an error message that basically said that the AWD system was disabled and asked me to see a dealer ASAP. I had the vehicle towed to my Lexus dealer and they are now saying that the ECU has been fried by an incorrect jumpstart. Needless to say, the dealer wanted to wash his hands off the expensive repair (~$2.2K) when I firmly told him that the entire jumpstart / towing procedure was handled by Lexus Roadside and they have to take full responsibility for whatever the related damages are to the vehicle. He apologized saying that he thought I had used AAA for the tow/jumpstart.
Lexus Roadside has opened a case now to claim damages from their towing contractor. They say that it could take up to two weeks to get a response and update me on the next steps. BTW the Lexus service manager said that they can run the full diagnosis only after replacing the ECU. There are a bunch of other Alarms in the App that look scary to say the least. Meanwhile I am stuck with an old Camry that the dealer gave me to use until the repairs are done. More importantly, it is not clear yet if Lexus will own up to its warranty responsibilities here to its new vehicle owners. It's supposed to be a premium brand known for reliability, it is their Roadside service, their warranty and promises - yet I am here left with a lot of unknowns. Will update this thread after I hear more from Lexus. Thx

 

Very sorry to hear about your car.

Did you happen to see where the tech placed the negative jumper cable when jumping your vehicle?

 

Unfortunately I did not pay close attention to the jumpstart as that should really be a very basic routine process. However it does appear that Lexus has managed to screw up something very basic in their fault tolerant design. I did see a spark though when the tech was trying to jumpstart - and now I am thinking that it may be related to the ECU getting smoked. In any case, all this is water under the bridge as far as responsibility for the current repairs go. Since Lexus Roadside is an authorized Lexus subcontractor/entity promoted on its App and during Lexus sales as well, I am only interested in Lexus paying up for all related damages. It is maddening that you have to deal with lackluster and sloppy customer service for an expensive new vehicle that is under full warranty. Will keep the thread posted with the latest.... Thx

 

I am shocked (no pun intended) that Lexus didn't properly mark the grounding spot under the hood and put a warning label under there as well.

 

Hey guys,

I am looking at picking up a lithium jump pack for my RX450h+ when it arrives. I have a NOCO trickle charger which has been flawless but their boost product line does not have long enough cables to reach the negative grounding post under the hood. I need to be able to connect it under the hood to jump start the car or to just to open the back hatch to jump start it from back there.

FYI - I am a little leery about permanently connecting a lithium battery to my 12 volt like the Ionic Emergency Starter.

What jump starters are you guys using under the hood?

 

We should be equally shocked that Lexus Roadside Assistance does not have drivers trained to correctly jumpstart a Lexus hybrid.

Another takeaway is that we, as owners, should watch those mobile techs like a hawk to ensure they connect correctly. No worrying about stepping on someone’s toes. Speak up!

Of course, this requires that we, as owners, know the proper way to jump the cars.

 

Agreed

 

Lexus seems to get sloppy on their warranty services!

 

I think I am gonna do that! Because if "the better half" is supervising it, might as well order a new ECU now.

 

Based on WellsB's post (#347) I ended up getting the Schumacher SL1648 since it has cables that are long enough to reach the required attachment points

 

I've since used the Schumacher twice to jump start ICE vehicles with completely dead batteries and it worked both times without issue, even while not being fully charged.

 

Hello from almost a year in the future!

Two questions:

Do you just clamp the negative cable of the charger to negative, spare jumper cable? Alligator clip to alligator clip?

And, for you and others that keep their jump box and cables under the cargo floor… what do you do when the battery is dead and you’re locked out?

 

I use an adapter for my Milwaukee M18 battery. This same battery is used with a Milwaukee flashlight in the car too. The adapter is less than us$20.

 

Thank you!