I HAVE A 2013 LEXUS LS460. THE BATTERY HAS GONE DEAD ON 3 OCCASIONS. THE LAST TIME THE CAR WAS NOT DRIVEN FOR 4 DAYS! THE DEALER TELLS ME THIS IS NORMAL. CAN THIS BE?
If you drive the car only a few miles, a few times per week then this pattern of driving could explain a “discharged” battery situation. If you drive 100+ miles per week then something else is going on. So, what is your situation?
Four days should not kill a good battery and I don’t consider this normal. This could point to an excessive parasitic current draw or even a weak battery.
The fact that the car is almost new doesn’t mean that the battery is good. New or almost new battery failures do happen.
This Is Not Normal Whether You Drive Short Distances Or Long Distances. There Exists A Problem.
Have you spoken to the dealer Service Manager/Service Director ? Explain That you’d like a meeting with the Regional Service Representative, ASAP. Also, ask your salesperson for reliable transportation while you’re waiting. You can let the dealer General Manger/Owner know what’s going on, too. Somebody needs to start taking this seriously.
CSA
Be Sure The Dealer Writes This Up And Save A Copy Of Each And Every Repair Order From The Dealer Visits That Clearly Show Your Complaint And The Dealer’s Diagnosis And Remedy Or Lack Of One.
CSA
If you drive this car at least 3 miles 4 times a week, this is definitely not normal, at least for any car I’ve ever had experience with. I wouldn’t accept that as an explanation. There may be a problem w/this particular car of yours, or there may be a design flaw in the car’s electronics system. The manufactuer’s it seems they sometimes forget it is cars they are selling, with transportation as the primary function, and instead focus on selling Ipad audio systems, touch pad displays, web surfing, blue tooth cell phones, alarms, video players, etc, and the only reason for the car is to package the electronics gadgets. With all those gadgets, it’s no wonder the battery gets drained.
I have a car that gets driven once every few months.
It starts up perfectly every time.
Your situation is not acceptable or normal
Not normal. Its their problem to fix. You could have gotten an old or bad battery. They should do a load test on it first to see if its ok. Then check the charging system, then look for something not shutting down. I’ve got the same thing, a car that sits for a month and starts right up. Four days is nothing.
Your dealer can measure the parisitic battery drain with the engine off and with the doors closed. If the current value is large, then he can pull fuses one at a time to determine which circuit is using an excessive amount of current. Some current drain is acceptable for some electronic components. As I recall, 75 ma will kill your battery in about a month. Your dealer should know how to do what I described.
Maybe you will find this helpful
Thanks for all of the interesting responses. I have written my service rep at the Lexus dealership and told him of my dissatisfaction… I have requested a meeting with the regional service rep. Will keep you all informed.
It would be nice to know how much the current draw is while systems are in the sleep mode. There is a problem alright. You should be able to park the car for at least several weeks without a problem when the battery has a normal charge on it.
I noticed this bulletin today and remembered Bob’s LS460. I expect that his problem has been solved by now, Lexus issued a bulletin last month for this battery drain problem.
L-SB-0061-13;
Some early production 2013 model year LS 460 vehicles may have a discharged battery after the
vehicle is parked for 50 or more hours under certain limited conditions. The software in the Electric
Power Control ECU has been modified to reduce the possibility of this condition occurring. Use the
following repair procedure to reprogram the Electric Power Control ECU.