My 2003 LS430 will not keep a battery charge longer than 6-10 days without driving. I have had it to a Toyota dealership several times and all they ca find is a dead cell in the battery resulting in a battery replacement. Have any of you experienced such a problem that has been resolved?

 

Is your battery still running down after the replacement? Did you check the alternator output?

 

Yes, the battery has been replaced just about yearly, each time it had a dead cell. Alternator output is fine, it charges the battery as it should. Something seems to be drawing the battery down while the car is just sitting. Could it be the anti-theft system that is the culprit?

 

Get the best lead type battery you can and save the receipt. I put it in a zip lock bag and leave it under the battery. I get my batteries from Wal Mart because when they go bad, usually in less than three years you get another for free. I don't like taking advantage of vendors but Wal Mart is the exception. By the way, there are very few manufacturers of batteries in the US, so the labels and weight are the only difference in lead acid types.

Most of these cars will not stay charged since there is a constant low level drain, usually from the security system. 14-18 days is about it, even with a heavy duty battery.

I'm lazy, so I simply disconnect the ground post when I'm gone for more than ten days. When I leave it connected and then return, I put a charger on it. If you don't it can over work the alternator and that costs money if damaged.

 

Either you track down the culprit (which may be easier said than done) or keep your car on a battery tender when not in use. CTEK 3300 is a good brand which I have for my other car. Good luck.

 

Yes these cars will discharge a newish battery in about 2 weeks. I have had this several times as have others and there doesn't seem to be any root cause other than a hungry electrical system. I also disconnect the negative battery cable if I'm going to be gone for a while and have never had a problem since.

 

Agreed. These cars have a fairly heavy draw. I've had my battery last for at least a couple weeks but I don't seem to get more than 3-4 years out of them.

Also try double locking the car with the remote (i.e. so the lights go off). A couple times I've come down to the car and started it and realized the map light was on. It's possible double locking turns off those lights?

 

Dead battery syndrome for 2 years. Toyota replaced combo controller which drew heavily on battery at operating temp. Problem solved--for sever months.

Tried indy mechanic. Very thorough. Found no parasitic draws. Tested many components, removing each for a separate, component only test apart from the vehicle environment. Examined all fuses. Nothing.

By chance he found a wiring harness behind the engine with a worn wire--contact friction. Repaired wire, secured harness away from engine.

Also found on/off switch under dash. Flipped off.

Unfortunately both these were done together. One or both seem to have fixed problem. Finished last week of March, 2017. So far, so good.

 

Are you using the SmartKey? The car sends out a signal looking for the SmartKey on a regular basis. If you don't drive the car very often this will drain the battery. Turn off the SmartKey by clicking the button under the dash on the right side and see if that helps, or you can always trickle charge the car when its in the garage.

 

For those of you considering a trickle/float charger, stay away from that very cheap one sold by Harbor Freight - although you would think they shut off when the battery is fully charged, they don't, and you could end up with a overcharged / damaged battery.

Not only did that happen to me, but one of the online reviewers of the product (on the Harbor Freight site), who happens to be an electrical engineer, confirmed this with his own electrical tests, on multiple samples.

 

This has to be "the" gold standard, the Battery Tender Plus, about $49. I've used it for maybe 8 years without issue.

http://products.batterytender.com/Ch...derR-Plus.html

What one should never do is to buy one of those $80 Walmart "does everything" including starting your car devices. The issue is voltage regulation. Yes they can provide 70+ amps, but it's been shown that the voltage can spike to 16V etc., causing damage. Folks that code their own cars will often spend $500+ for a power supply, the reason is the power is clean. Demand 1.25A, 13.6V, 70A, 13.6V, 100A, 13.6V (it may be 14.4 if it switches to a bulk charge). A 70A+ supply will also have a different plug (20A).

my .02....$49 and you're good to go with the tender plus...

 

When I am approaching the 3 year mark on my battery I change it regardless of condition. Nothing worse than getting stuck in the middle of a rainstorm or dark unknown area. 3 years is about the life of batteries here in the Southeast. Peace of mind!

 

It went up to $69 since you gave it a plug lol.

 

Hey! Please stop clicking it, they are watching and now it's up to $99! j/k if you get it online, it's like $49.99, Costco sells something but pretty sure it's not the standard "Plus." The thing is only 1.25A, which imho is how you want to go....

 

Speaking of Costco, that's where I just bought my replacement battery (group 24F).
Cost $99 + tax, but you get $15 back if you give them your old battery.
It comes with a 42 month full replacement warranty (but, unlike Walmart, there's no pro-rata afterwards).

I needed a new one because, as mentioned, the Smartkey search kept draining it until it would not take a charge - I got 3.5 years out of it, where the Walmart battery in my SC400 is still working, despite a manufacture date of 12/2010 - that's 6.5 years and counting! (No smart key on the SC, though.)

This Smartkey issue is covered in detail in another thread: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...-problems.html and page 34 of the manual.
No need to disconnect the battery - there's a button way under the dash, slightly to the right of the steering wheel axis.
It's quite a reach, but you'll feel it, along with another button and ****. The button that disables the Smartkey function is the button closest to the front of the car, and when it's in the depressed position, the Smartkey function is OFF (you can tell that also from the "Key" light on the dash being off).
Once you do it a few times you'll know exactly where it is, just by feel and I'm already in the habit of disabling it once I park it in the garage.

Time will tell if it helps extend the battery life.