So I've discovered what must be the most amazing way to kill your battery EVER!
Got into the car this morning, parked at the hotel last night after driving about 500 miles.
Turned the key, no gauges, but a flash or two from both turn signal arrows. Not even a hint of enough juice to start.
What's going on? Look around - Hey wait a minute, my EZ Pass is laying in front of my shifter! Hey, my flasher button is in. I never use my flasher!
Apparently, after I parked, my EZ Pass fell off the windshield and hit my flasher, turned it on, and discharged my battery overnight. What are the odds!
Luckily for me, a very nice gentleman in an older Eldorado ETC pulled in right next to me, and immediately jumped me. It pays to always carry jumpers. They coil up easily in the spare tire.
Couldn't hit that flasher with the EZ Pass again even if I spent the rest of the day trying. Now I'm nervous, parked nose out!!

 

LOL.......that is a crazy for that to happen that way. Like you said....good thing you had jumpers and a good samaritan. I always reverse into parking spaces, dunno why but I have been doing this for years. Glad you shared the story though.

 

I would recommend a car emergency kit or get a basket for your trunk to put emergency items such as jumper cables. I have the car emergency kit from Wal-mart that includes an air compressor for $38

 

On our '01 we killed the battery sitting in the garage when the trunk closing mechanism got into a "loop" trying to shut the trunk (and neither time were we aware).

Both times jumped the battery from one of the other cars and the battery "recovered" but finally replaced it last month when starting to have initial cranking challenges... The kit suggestions above are good advice....

 

No way will I live with an emergency basket cluttering my truck on a constant basis. I don't consider it worthy of a dependable well kept car such as my LS430. 10 years of no emergency happening is proof of my decision.

 

While I don't want to clutter up the usable space in the trunk. having some emergency supplies is a good idea. The plastic bucket that fits over the spare but under the trunk floor is a good spot. Should be enough room for some lightweight jumper cables and most of the other items that come in that Walmart (or similar) kits. Also, there are lots of nooks and crannies in that spare tire trunk well that could hold some useful items.

My experience is that you will only need the items if you do not have them. If you have them, my hope is that you will not be in a situation where you need them.

 

Chucked the jumper cables long ago for a li-ion jump box. Keep one in both of my cars.

 

Curious about the lithium ion jump boxes. Do you take them out and charge them periodically? Have you used them and how did they perform?

 

I use the "BEATIT TECH 600A Peak 14000mAh 12-Volt Portable Car Jump starter". It works great and comes with a nice little carrying case. You can also buy the cigarette lighter adapter and use that along with a portable air compressor for your tires. For less than $50...you can't go wrong with this or something similar. Great reviews on amazon and youtube

 

I literally just got off the phone with my wife and talked her through jumping my car. I'm in Atlanta right now in training on our new Airbus A321, and she texts me "your car won't start". I had her jump it with the battery pack in the garage (fortunately was freshly charged), and it turns out the courtesy light above the left rear seat was on.

Guess who picked up dry cleaning yesterday morning, and hung it on the hook next to the left rear courtesy light.....?

Not the craziness of an Ipass hitting the emergency flasher, but a little stressful none-the-less...

 

I've used it a bunch of times and it has never failed me. I've jump-started many different cars (neighbor's cars, co-workers cars etc). I do a lot of backcountry camping in my 4X4. We have a small camping fridge (yes, a real fridge with a compressor) and if I'm not careful it'll suck the battery down overnight. Done that a couple times and the jump starter has never failed me. I bought a second one for my wife's car (the LS) and had to use that one once. I do take them out once every few months and top off the charge. Highly recommend.