Another flat battery on Brand New LC

[stephenramsden]

We purchased the 2027 LC 250 a week ago, drove it 175 miles to the garage and parked it but when we tried to take it for a spin 5 days later….dead battery.

I charged it and took it back to the dealer where they did a parasitic drain test, load test, and voltage measurements showing the battery in perfect health…etc…

The service advisor told me in writing that I should delete the Toyota app from my phone and delete my phone from the Land Cruiser and then reinstall the app and phone because something “might be stuck”.

I did that nonsense and now three days later after being told nothing was wrong, the not running battery voltage is down to 12.17 V again from a high of 12.76 at the dealer.

The LC has been locked and sitting in my shed for three days with nothing on.

I purchased a Noco starting battery and a Noko trickle charger which is currently plugged in in the rear cargo area directly charging the battery. The gauge on the trickle charger showed it with barely any voltage so I am waiting to see how long it takes to charge back up.

The charger would not work plugged into the terminal under the hood for whatever reason so I had to put it directly on the battery.

What the heck is going on with these vehicles’ batteries going dead after three or four days parked with nothing turned on? That's unacceptable at an $80,000 price tag.

 

[EOD Guy]

It's a thing........ Not saying I like it but it is a thing. I have mitigated the dead battery issue by installing a more better battery and installing a solar charger under the roof rack. If I have the doors open for more than a few hours, I plug in my trickle charger.

 

[wpage]

May be a thing. Certainly there have been things reported here. If you search you will find situations like yours...
Batteries are a unique thing. If your vehicle was sitting for some time. Even as new, the battery may have discharged to the point where it needs a good refresh to restore,
Or it could be a defect and that needs replacement. Good luck finding resolution.

 

[Kosmic Kitty]

May be a thing. Certainly there have been things reported here. If you search you will find situations like yours...
Batteries are a unique thing. If your vehicle was sitting for some time. Even as new, the battery may have discharged to the point where it needs a good refresh to restore,
Or it could be a defect and that needs replacement. Good luck finding resolution.

I notice that when I'm loading things in my LC (wine and have the tailgate open the headlights stay on even with the ignition off - this seems like a bad idea with battery concerns.

 

[stephenramsden]

I did take the vehicle to the dealership for a full set of tests including parasitic drain and battery health. They said it was fine.
I noticed before I put the charger on it today (3 days sitting) that it was reading 12.17 V which to me is pretty low.
I will charge it fully overnight and then see how long it takes to get low again.
It’s a thing yes, but unexpected at this level of vehicle, especially advertised as an off road classic.
I mean, I would imagine that any serious off roader/camper is going to leave the doors and/or rear hatch open for more than a few miniutes when they are parked in the woods somewhere, no? I would assume this would be built in to the design, especially with an AC outlet running off the same battery.

 

[EOD Guy]

IMO it's the DC to DC inverter that uses the hybrid battery to charge the 12v battery, there's a miscalculation in the software/procedure that allows the charging to happen. Seems to me that when the vehicle goes to sleep so does the charging of the 12v battery. The 12v battery does have a monitor on it but it doesn't seem to allow the charging system to work without the vehicle in run mode. FYI......... 12.8v is where mine normally measures even with the trickle charger attached.

Kind of wished they would retrofit a conventional Alternator that was completely divorced from the hybrid system.......... I'd pay for the parts!

 

[t3lcfe]

I did take the vehicle to the dealership for a full set of tests including parasitic drain and battery health. They said it was fine.
I noticed before I put the charger on it today (3 days sitting) that it was reading 12.17 V which to me is pretty low.
I will charge it fully overnight and then see how long it takes to get low again.
It’s a thing yes, but unexpected at this level of vehicle, especially advertised as an off road classic.
I mean, I would imagine that any serious off roader/camper is going to leave the doors and/or rear hatch open for more than a few miniutes when they are parked in the woods somewhere, no? I would assume this would be built in to the design, especially with an AC outlet running off the same battery.

To fix the LC hybrid “12v battery thing”, I had this system permanently connected to LC 12v battery. Even if the battery juice is low, the BS200 will start the engine.
Also, it can help the battery life longer.
With that I can monitor the level of juice, charge and discharge time/percentage…
I like it.
Check the reviews in YouTube

 

[wpage]

To fix the LC hybrid “12v battery thing”, I had this system permanently connected to LC 12v battery. Even if the battery juice is low, the BS200 will start the engine.
Also, it can help the battery life longer.
With that I can monitor the level of juice, charge and discharge time/percentage…
I like it.
Check the reviews in YouTube

^^^ Its great we have all these potential solutions....
Wouldn't it be nice if Toyota worked this all out and gave us a decent reliable machine !