njmurvin

My wife drove the IS350 to school today (works there). No problem starting, running, etc. At lunch, she tried to start it - totally dead, no clicks, no nothing. I went over with the other key FOB (just in case) and same thing. I looked under the hood to make sure no one played games (it's a school after all), and the cables were firmly in place. My only guess is that the battery shorted out during the drive there. I can't think of anything that could have been left on for only 4 hours to drain the battery that completely.

So, I assumed batteries would be considered wear items and would not be covered at 3.5 yrs and 35k miles. Apparently, that is not the case. I called Lexus and was told it's covered under the 4/50 warranty. On top of that, I have the CPO. But, that doesn't kick in until Jan, 2010.

So, kudos to Lexus for taking care of its customers!

IS-SV

Good outcome w/warranty, as expected.

Evitzee

So what was the problem? Battery no good?

aliu603

iTrader: (18)

woah nice!

trixxx519

iTrader: (14)

my lights close by itself if i forget to turn it off, dont yours?

njmurvin

I called Lexus roadside assistance. They dispatched a AAA guy who came in about an hour. After successfully jump-starting the car, I had to listen to his sales spiel about what crappy batteries Lexus uses and all others (except his) are now made in Mexico in the same factory, yada yada. He tried to convince me that Lexus was lying to me that it was covered and that they would "surprise" me with a pro-rata charge that would be $100+. For a mere $129, he would "have me on the road in no time." I politely declined, proceeded to the Lexus dealer, handed over my car and stepped into an RX350 for the drive home. I haven't heard yet if the battery is the problem or if it's something else in the charging system.

No, nothing was left on and, yes, the lights go out on their own even if you leave them on. However, I was told this isn't the case if some doors are left open when you turn off the car. I checked the light switch and it was still in the auto position.

njmurvin

UPDATE: Dealer called. Can't find anything wrong with the battery or charging system. They're trying to figure out how it could have drained in 4-5 hours. So far, no scenario seems plausible (lights on with door/trunk open, etc.). Lights were on "auto" when I got there and it was parked in broad daylight - so, the lights should have been off when she parked. Nothing else in the car could drain it that fast.

Anyone here ever have an intermittent battery failure?

IS-SV

Never on Lexus or Benz. Had a Jag with defective battery at under 2 years, replaced for free under warranty.

No gizmos plugged into cigar lighter, etc.?

njmurvin

Actually, there was something in the console box - which I removed prior to taking to the dealer. Nothing turned on though. My Garmin charging base is in there. But the Garmin itself is in the glove box. So, unless something shorted that out to cause a drain (would more likely blow a fuse than discharge the battery), I can't imagine it being the cause. Besides, that power source turns off with the ignition.

phongh

iTrader: (5)

It probably your alarm went off and the battery is out of juice? happen to me before when I first got my car.

Clay Easto

Please keep us updated.

07B&T

Funny this happened to you too!

I had my car at the dealership yesterday for service. Got done, went to pick it up........nothing, nada, deader than a doornail. Obviously they apologized profusely and I took the same RX350 home with me. They were going to check it out today, make sure nothing was wrong, and replace the battery. They said they have seen this happen before, the batteries just crap out.........but seriously?????

I'll let you know what I find out from them this morning.

njmurvin

Picked it up last night. Dealer still unable to find anything wrong. Latest hypothesis is that my wife opened the door before turning off the ignition. Then, when she turned it off, the beeping started (never understood why it does that). So, maybe she pushed the start button again feeling that she might not have turned the car off correctly (because of the beeping). Dealer says the car in either "accessory" or "on" position will stay that way even after all the doors are closed. He also said that would drain the battery over 5 hours. Anyway, it started up fine this morning. So, we'll see.

IS-SV

Good information/followup, thanks.

Yes, I never understood why it beeps after ignition is turned off, like a seatbelt warning or something........

07B&T

Well, mine turned out to be 'nothing'.....sounds like the dealership must have left something running/on/etc..... Gotta go pick it up here in a bit.

Morons.......