Program Reloading After Extended Non-Use
#1
Program Reloading After Extended Non-Use
Returning from a 3.5 week vacation I encountered a strange thing for both our garaged 2014 ES350 and our 2017 RX350. Both started fine, but for both cars the screen had a message that basically said that it was doing a reload. All was fine when this was completed (about 10-15 seconds) but a few minor settings had to be manually reset. Very strange. Has anyone heard of this? And why did it happen?
#2
My guess would be that, if the car wasn't driven for 3 1/2 weeks, its battery charge level was, by the end of that time, at a well below a fully charged level, and I suspect that, when the battery's charge level falls below some threshold level, the car's computer is programmed to stop using the battery's remaining charge to keep non-essential data. Thus, if it dumped that data, it would have had to re-load it when you did start the car after that 3 1/2 weeks of inactivity.
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sderman (12-14-18)
#3
My guess would be that, if the car wasn't driven for 3 1/2 weeks, its battery charge level was, by the end of that time, at a well below a fully charged level, and I suspect that, when the battery's charge level falls below some threshold level, the car's computer is programmed to stop using the battery's remaining charge to keep non-essential data. Thus, if it dumped that data, it would have had to re-load it when you did start the car after that 3 1/2 weeks of inactivity.
Do you think deep discharges will impact the lifetime of both batteries?
#4
Thanks Lesz, I kinda figured that. But it's surprising how large the parasitic drain is. And on both vehicles. I've never experienced this on prior Lexus vehicles and my history goes back to 1999 on the ES and 2001 on the RX.
Do you think deep discharges will impact the lifetime of both batteries?
Do you think deep discharges will impact the lifetime of both batteries?
For future reference, though, I would suggest that, if you know that the car isn't going to be driven for a couple of weeks or more, it would be a good idea to hook the battery up to a Battery Tender. The least expensive Battery Tender product, the Battery Tender Junior, can be bought for somewhere between $25 and $30, and it will keep the battery fully charged without trying to overcharge it.
#5
This happens to me all the time after one of our cars has sat for several weeks. We haven’t had to reset any of the settings and it seems harmless enough though. If the cause is a low battery, a short drive always seems to take care of it. I should probably use a battery tender. It would be interesting to see if the same thing happened while on a battery tender.
Anyway, this has happened on our 2013 RX, 2015 ES and the 2016 NX so it is normal after sitting for more than a couple of weeks. The only unusual part is the loss of any settings. Which ones had to be reset?
Anyway, this has happened on our 2013 RX, 2015 ES and the 2016 NX so it is normal after sitting for more than a couple of weeks. The only unusual part is the loss of any settings. Which ones had to be reset?
#6
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TechNut (12-15-18)
#7
This happens to me all the time after one of our cars has sat for several weeks. We haven’t had to reset any of the settings and it seems harmless enough though. If the cause is a low battery, a short drive always seems to take care of it. I should probably use a battery tender. It would be interesting to see if the same thing happened while on a battery tender.
Anyway, this has happened on our 2013 RX, 2015 ES and the 2016 NX so it is normal after sitting for more than a couple of weeks. The only unusual part is the loss of any settings. Which ones had to be reset?
Anyway, this has happened on our 2013 RX, 2015 ES and the 2016 NX so it is normal after sitting for more than a couple of weeks. The only unusual part is the loss of any settings. Which ones had to be reset?
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#8
My guess would be that the extent of the discharge would not likely have been close to what it would have had to have been to cause long-term damage to the battery.
For future reference, though, I would suggest that, if you know that the car isn't going to be driven for a couple of weeks or more, it would be a good idea to hook the battery up to a Battery Tender. The least expensive Battery Tender product, the Battery Tender Junior, can be bought for somewhere between $25 and $30, and it will keep the battery fully charged without trying to overcharge it.
For future reference, though, I would suggest that, if you know that the car isn't going to be driven for a couple of weeks or more, it would be a good idea to hook the battery up to a Battery Tender. The least expensive Battery Tender product, the Battery Tender Junior, can be bought for somewhere between $25 and $30, and it will keep the battery fully charged without trying to overcharge it.
#9
I already have a Battery Tender. Just didn't think I'd need it on a modern day Lexus (and mine were garaged and in cool weather). My 99 Vette had an awful parasitic drain. The battery would go nearly dead in 2 weeks. The original DELCO literally died 2 weeks after it's warranty. Bought an Optima deep discharge battery and kept the Battery Tender on the car when not used. The Optima Battery actually lasted 15 years! Sold the Vette last year but kept the Battery Tender which I connect to the battery leads whenever I replace a battery to maintain the settings.
#10
I could be missing something in my thinking, but I would have thought that there would be more concern about leaving modern cars, with all of their electronics, for an extended period of time without being driven than there would have been with cars a few decades ago, when "high tech" meant having an AM-FM radio.
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aliee
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07-20-12 06:18 AM