bclexus

@JDR76 - Yeah, but your original equipment factory installed battery was about 5½ years old, which is pretty typical for replacement timing even when the car is driven every day to keep it charged.

Your battery's lifespan was right on target for Washington state!

bclexus

The car the OP is/was interested in had a brand new battery installed an it was after only 108 days and the car had been 260 miles during that time to keep it charged!

Well now...let's see what one fellow from Washington state says 'bout his battery after 18 months in storage!

How long can a car sit and still start with a brand new battery? Here's what a fellow from Washington state said:

I left a vehicle in Seattle at a storage facility when I went to Alaska in 2001. When I got back 18 months later the Cadillac fired right up with no problems. The Caddy did not need a jump start and had no battery tender. I’m sure that some vehicles have sat for over a year then started up.

bclexus

My 2018 GS 450h was delivered to the Lexus dealer on 10/5/2018. The original owner drove the car 5,643 miles and parked it in his airplane hanger on 4/30/2020. It was not started or driven from 4/30/2020 until 12/8/2021, which is 587 Days or a little more than 1 year, 7 months. It fired right up!

I had the original equipment 12 volt battery load tested on 12/10/2021 (see image of the analysis below) after the car was not driven for over 1½ years and it checked out to be perfectly healthy!

This is rock solid evidence that a car battery should last a lot longer than just the 3-4 months (with 260 miles driven) that Lexus dealer blamed for why the new battery already died.

JDR76

Er…no. The car is still less than 4 years old. Not sure where you came up with 5.5 years. I replaced the battery at about 3.5 years and 5k miles on the car. No worries though, as I understand that my car sits a lot, and the replacement was covered under warranty.

bclexus

@JDR76 - Oftentimes a Lexus vehicle destined for the U.S. is actually manufactured in Japan in the early to mid part of the previous model year. So, for example, if a 2013 model was manufactured in early-mid 2012 it is now actually about 12 to 12½ years old from the production build date. If that holds true with your 2020 model year Lexus, your car is now about 5 to 5½ years old. You might have 'owned' the car for less than 4 years, but the battery originally installed in your car (which is what we're discussing) would right now be a minimum of 5 years old; (2019.5 to 2024.5 = 5 Yrs). That's unarguably a fact...

So, to bring it up to the current timeline and do some specific clarifying - - It's pretty certain your 2020 model year GS was manufactured in Japan sometime in the year 2019. So, it is now at least 5 years (60 months) old - - most definitely not 'still less than 4 years old'!

Getting back to the topic of the battery - - In summary, if you replaced the original battery at 3.5 [model] years of age - that puts that originally installed battery lasting about 4 years (48 months) from the date it was installed in your car. And, low 'n behold, 48 months is right bang-on target (47 to 56 months) for the life expectancy of a battery in Washington state according to the battery life expectancy map (below).

One could argue that the new battery likely spent about ½ year of its early life in the car before it was delivered to the U.S. Lexus dealer and finally sold, without the car being driven and the battery being recharged, but that does not change how old the battery was when you replaced it, nor how long the battery actually lasted. It's quite certain the originally installed battery lasted about 4 years (48 months) from the date it was installed in your car - with maybe as much as the first ½ year of its life just sitting idle and maybe even disconnected while on the dealer's showroom floor. These details actually help make my point.

Something tells me when your 2020 model Lexus was prepped to be put on the dealer's showroom floor or prepped to be sold, the car's battery fired up the engine with ease right away even after sitting idle for many months without the car being driving. That pretty much negates the pathetic excuse the Lexus service center gave the owner of the car this thread is about. The excuse given the owner why the new battery died in just 4 months was because the car was not driven enough, though the car had been driven 260 miles, probably accumulated over multiple driving trips. My point is - that excuse is bunk!

JDR76

I'm not really sure why we're having this discussion over a lighthearted comment that I made. In any case, some of your unarguable facts are just not correct. My car was manufactured at the END of 2019, not early to mid 2019 as you assumed. And I replaced the battery a few months back (I think it was February/March). So when I replaced the battery, it would have been in the car for 4 years and 4 months. The car is now 4 years and 8 months old. Getting closer, but not up to the 5 year mark yet.

For the record, I'm not complaining about having to replace my battery. Thankfully it was covered under warranty and I am well aware that the fact that my car sits for long periods in the garage, and is often used only on short drives, cuts down on the life expectancy of the battery. Our Highlander is now closing in on 6 years old, with the original battery, still going strong, but the Highlander gets driven daily, whereas the GS does not.

bclexus

@JDR76 - I'll do my best to explain using your quotes...



@JDR76 - You seemed to portray that replacing your battery at 3.5 years as not being very old and the reason was because your car sits a lot. But then you posted a bit later saying you replaced the battery at 4 years, 4 months (52 months), not at 3.5 years as you had earlier stated. With your adjusted more accurate time period in mind, I just simply pointed out that 48-52 months is right on target (47 to 56 months) for the life expectancy of a battery in Washington state according to the battery life expectancy map.

The primary reason for my post that you're questioning was not particularly to address your battery replacement time period, but instead to point out the ridiculous excuse, in my opinion, that the Lexus service center gave the owner of the car [this thread topic is about] - that the reason his brand new battery died in only 4 months was because the owner only drove 260 miles in the 4 months since it was replaced. I destroyed that ridiculous excuse which is often given to unknowledgeable owners by service advisors and even trained techs. I citied how long a typical new car battery usually sits idle before the car is finally sold to the first owner. In addition, I also pointed out my own car as an example of it sitting for 587 days or a little more than 1 year, 7 months without being driven before I acquired it and had the battery load tested to learn is was perfectly healthy...after siting 587 days and not being driven!

@JDR76 - I admit that your battery replacement matter just happened to get caught up in the middle of my dissertation and I apologize 'bout that!


► For reference the following quote is a portion of the service history for the car [this thread is about] in which the Lexus dealership gave the owner the ridiculous excuse for why the new battery died in only 4 months:
This particular car's history displays it definitely has something draining the battery down - likely the same parasitic drain problem hundreds of Lexus/Toyota vehicle owners have experienced. A new battery should remain healthy without being charged for a minimum of 9 months, and most likely well over a year as seen with batteries originally installed in new cars at production but not put into service for many months afterward.

I guess that Lexus service center advisor and the technicians tossed their common sense and logical reasoning and totally forgot that it's not uncommon for new vehicles (with new batteries) to sit for many months post-production to stage for loading and traveling by sea to the U.S. and finally arrive at the dealership to be prepped for sale - yet those batteries remain perfectly healthy and do not just die and are unable to start the engine because the vehicle has not been driven.

.

JDR76

Okee dokee...

jgscott

iTrader: (1)

Again at 48k there was nothing wrong with that GS but the battery discharging, due to lack of driving to maintain a charge. The car was even in the shop a few times with nothing shown to be found a problem with the charging system nor anything else.

bclexus

Jamie - I think it's definitely a problem car but only because the troubling parasitic battery drain problem that no one wants to be saddled with. Resolve that and it's probably a very nice 2013 GS350 with only 46k miles on it.

Can the battery drain issue be resolved without a lot of frustration and money spent? It might be worth it for @gio707 to find out. One thing is sure - somebody will!

Nevada

That is a common occurrence with low mileage Lexus owners. A customer lets the vehicle sit for 3 months and allows the battery to discharge. They bring the vehicle to the dealer and expect a free battery, a lot of time could be saved if they would recharge the battery themselves. The test equipment goes through an automated charge/test cycle that can take more than 2 hours, often the battery passes the performance test after several hours of charging and this ties up a workspace in the shop.

We tell the service writers that the customer will need to use a battery tender under these circumstances, but the information does not get to the customer, and they sometimes delete the comments from the repair orders.

Nevada

The D/C Cut fuse or "Short Pin" is removed during transportation.
​​​​​​​

bclexus

@Nevada - Correct, but a 'connected' new battery should last much longer than just 4 months, driven 260 miles since being replaced - or just sitting and not being driven at all. This thread is about a Lexus GS 350 that has this problem...

My car sat for 587 Days or a little more than 1 year, 7 months while being 'connected' and the battery load tested perfectly healthy.

This thread is about a car that clearly suffers the mysterious parasitic drain problem that so many Lexus and Toyota vehicle owners dealt with, getting no relief - - needing jump starts or towing services, paying for diagnosis/testing and buying multiple batteries...and then being told to buy battery tenders and to drive the vehicle more often. Bunk!

Many of these almost new vehicles should have been classified as 'lemons' and bought-back by the carmaker and given a 'lemon title' and auctioned off.

It was (and obviously still is) common for these vehicles to be brought into a Lexus service center (oftentimes towed in) multiple times and clearly many of these vehicles have never been fixed.

bclexus

That is a bullsh^t excuse and quite pathetic!

I'm guessing the comments are often deleted by the service advisor from the repair orders so their customer doesn't become irate with being told to use a battery tender on his/her $60k-$100k new Lexus!

Try telling an owner that he or she needs to purchase a 'battery tender' for their $115,000 Lexus LS 500 that has been in the shop a dozen times for a drained battery when it's driven daily and see the look they give...

This parasitic drain problem has been going on for decades with both Lexus and Toyota vehicles of every model imaginable from the LS to the Prius to Tundra trucks and every model in between. No other carmaker that I'm aware of has this problem to the huge magnitude and range that Lexus/Toyota does.

All one has to do is Google Search: Toyota Parasitic Drain problem or Lexus Parasitic drain problem to find literally hundreds, if not thousands, of information sources about this never-ending, ongoing problem.

The blame for this problem is almost always put on the customer by the service centers (as you disclosed) but Toyota/Lexus knows fell-well about this problem but refuses to address it - probably because it affects so many units that the cost would be far greater than just turning a blind eye to it and suffering the consequences of losing customers and possible future sales..

jgscott

iTrader: (1)

I had a ES350 and a GS350 at the same time. My GS350 normally sat for weeks undriven in the garage sometimes. Maybe not driven for 2 weeks. After the time when I went to start it, the battery would be drained enough that it would not start. I Did Not take it to the shop because I knew about the all Lexus models current drain. I never installed a battery tender, but did start to leave it on a 8amp charger overnight to fully charge once a week. I knew if it continued I would be buying a new battery soon. The 2 week overnight charge did the trick, if I did not drive it during that time.

The point is..... there was nothing wrong with the charging system at all. In addition as a battery gets older its Cells start to reduce the amount of reserve amp capacity also. These battery's are not Deep Cycle battery's which are designed to be drained and recharged for extended life. My advise to the op is to not write the car off due to this if they like it, but do get a check out at Lexus or Toyota for that and all other things.