Dredog84

Hello all,

New to the Lexus family, we purchased a new 2023 GX and the few months of ownership have been less than ideal. About a month ago the car just started dying on us after sitting in the garage for a couple days. I called roadside assistance and they came out and told me I have a bad battery. Got a new one from a Toyota dealership a couple weeks back and yesterday am after sitting for a couple days over Christmas the car was completely dead. Ended up putting it on a flatbed trailer and have it towed to the nearest Lexus dealership that is 3 hours away 😳. I am obviously going to have the dealership try to figure it out but does anyone have any insight on what our problem might be?
Thank you in advance!

ASE

"Dying on us" ... what does that mean ... not starting ... or dying upon start ?

Dredog84

Car is not starting. It has no power whatsoever, completely dead. No lights come on, nothing works.

hzhao

Have you check the battery terminal if it is loose?

Dredog84

Yes, both sitting snug as they should

ASE

Have the battery load tested.

jonshonda

Two bad batteries within as many months is unlikely. There is an electrical drain somewhere. The good news is that it is a pretty big draw if it kills the battery that fast, so Toyota should be able to figure it out. Yeah it sucks, but we are all human and ***** happens. No one is perfect.

ASE

^ yes, have the dealership check for parasitic current draw beyond spec.

Dredog84

That’s what I’m thinking, there’s some sort of draw that kills the battery. Not sure what that would be. The only aftermarket upgrades I did to the rig would be wheels and tire, tow hitch receiver(car was already wired for it) and an electric brake controller that was just a simple plug in. I guess I’ll have to wait and see what the dealership has to say about it.

Gxauug

Start by unplugging that brake controller.

John00

ive seen this in other vehicles often, but not with something so new. you can check yourself if you dont want the shop to. you can put an ammeter inline with the battery. see what the draw is. it might be intermittent also.
when you see a high draw remove fuses then you can find which one causes the draw. unless its not one of the fused lines, but then it will be a big draw.

Dredog84

Just heard from the dealership, the brake controller was the issue.It was constantly drawing off the battery and if the vehicle would not be driven daily it would just drain it.

IanG

What make of brake controller was installed? I have never had an issue with my Redarc

Dredog84

Curt Echo Under Dash wireless controller. Sounds like it’s a faulty one, I’ll have to get a new one and keep an eye on it.

Gxauug

Good news - I hope the dealer bill is reasonable.