Knucklebus

I'm not driving a lot between being retired, snow and the previous tornados we've had in the area. I've been driving the truck mostly.

The GS sat for about 12 days without me touching it. I never lock it in the garage. I went to check on it last night as I needed to go somewhere and it was dead. I had to use the physical key to open the door as it was locked. I didn't do it intentionally.

Battery was showing 2.2V. I put it on the charger and the car immediately starts flickering the head/taillights and chirping. I popped the negative cable and charged the battery overnight. When I hooked up the cable again, it set off the alarm/panic. Getting the keys out of my pocket while bent over the fender without smacking your head on the hood is a talent I have mastered.

This battery is less than 2 years old Advance Auto Gold. I've tested my car previously. It simply will not survive more than about 8-9 days without draining the battery beyond starting capability. The Honda Ridgeline will sit for months and start without issue. My Dad's Cadillac ATS is about as bad as my GS so I'm assuming there's a lot going on electronically in these things that older cars never had to deal with.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

does your car have an aftermarket dealer installed alarm by any chance? i suspect so.

i don't think there is a personalized setting to make the car lock if the key is not nearby.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...-attached.html

Knucklebus

Nope, all stock except for the rear camber arms to get the rear alignment where I wanted it.

charley95

Could just be a bad battery?! I had to warranty a Toyota battery recently that only lasted just over a year. Battery lifespans are always hit and miss, I got 9 years out of the original battery in my Corvette, it lived on a Battery Tender. Let us know if you find a culprit.

bclexus

It sounds like the car didn't like being powered up by just a charger.

Your car may be experiencing the parasitic drain problem that many Lexus vehicles (not just GS models) have dealt with over the years, which was (and likely still is) very difficult for Lexus to determine exactly what causes the drain. There are many threads about it. I hope that is not your problem with a quickly draining battery.

peasodos

iTrader: (1)

Something is draining your battery. Network gateway ECU is what comes to mind, several threads about replacing it with the updated part number.

jgscott

iTrader: (1)

Yes I had to replace this in my ES350. The battery would die just sitting. After replaced, never that problem anymore, sat for 5 weeks no problem. Before 5-6 days dead.

Knucklebus

I've checked the parasitic drain and it is well under the limit. I don't remember the exact values but if it was 50mAH, mine was like 20mAH. I think they spec'd too small a battery for these cars. It needs to be at least 100CCA larger.

The alarm went off as I was reconnecting the now fully charged battery. It never did this when I've disconnected the battery before but it was never dead before.

Another interesting thing I notice, the steering wheel stayed retracted when I started it up. When I pressed "1" for my preferences, it returned to my desired position without issue.

jgscott

iTrader: (1)

Either something drained the battery....... or you have a bad battery. It didn't go to 2.2 amps for no reason.

Knucklebus

It was 2.2 VOLTS, not amps. It just won't hold more than a week. I replaced the last battery because of this issue and there was probably nothing wrong with it other than the power hungry car. After charging it fully, it starts and restarts fine for another week but if you let it go beyond a week, it better be on a battery tender.

Who in this forum has parked their car for at least 2 weeks and it fired up after sitting that long?

The only thing I can think of is my wife's car sits beside and if I drive her car when we go somewhere, maybe my car anticipates the door opening and fires up some stuff based on the proximity of the key fob?

peasodos

iTrader: (1)

Not normal, you have unusual drain. I've had my car sit 4 weeks at one point when I was out of the country and started up no problem.

bclexus

Yeah, my GS 350 has sat for many weeks and fired-up without a hitch.

I too think you have something (maybe deeply parasitic) draining your battery. I think you mean 20 milliamps of drain, which is within practical limits. I presume you got that figure between the 12 volt battery and the entire car's electrical system, and not just a portion or segment of car's system, correct?

There are some people that think the key fob being physically close to the vehicle may be a factor (by sending a signal to the vehicle) in the vehicle's 12 volt battery draining so quickly. What I recall reading is that a bad solder joint on the PCB of a module was felt to be the cause of so many parasitic battery drains, but I'm not so sue the real cause was ever identified with absolute certainty...

JDR76

My car sits up to 3 weeks at a time in the garage and I haven't had any issues starting it up.

AJLex19

If the doors were last locked, the factory alarm engaged but battery was dead, replacing the battery would trigger the alarm to come on immediately once fresh power would be delivered from the new battery (this happened to me a few years back and I almost crap my pants when I connected the terminal and the alarm/horn started blaring!!)

During 2020, my GS did sit for a couple weeks in March/April and there weren't any battery issues/startup issues. I think there might be some merit to the mysterious parasitic battery drain (Network Gateway ECU others mentioned) in your scenario. I never had that battery drain issue but generally, what I used to do esp during cold weather months, was try to start up the GS once week at least and let it run for a few minutes if I knew I wouldn't be using it much.

jgscott

iTrader: (1)

4 Weeks left my GS350 parked in Myrtle Beach SC when cold, more than a few times. No drain, started right up with no low sounding starting either. Its likely the Network Gateway ECU (common many Lexus models problem, like peasodos said. The only other thing could be is, if you left the interior lights on for a long time not knowing? 2.2 volts is a drain.