Weird starting problem

[alethal]

Let me preface this whole thing by saying my wife is in Virginia with my truck and I do not have any first hand information to give. Also I know jack diddley about cars although I bought my 100 eager to learn bit by bit as I upgrade it.

The truck: 2006 LX470 with 130k miles, always dealer maintained (a great disappointment to my wallet) and is completely up to date with recommended maintenance.

The problem: Friday after driving without problem for a significant amount of time the parked and turned off the truck. Maybe about 15 minutes later they tried to turn it on and nothing happened. When they got a jump it fired right up. They drove to an advanced autoparts, no error codes, the person there says the battery, starter and alternator all checked out. No trouble starting it up further that night. No problems all day Saturday with multiple short and long drives. (My wife loves racking up the mileage on my baby).

Now this morning (Sunday) she tells me that while it started there was some hesitation, it took much longer. I know, not a ton of details on that.

So after reading some threads here my thoughts are in order
1) A bad battery, some of the cells are shot so at times it works, but as they become more corrupted failures will become more frequent

2) The multiple cell phone chargers are causing a parasitic draw and are leaching it to death? But this doesn't make too much sense if the alternator is working well they battery should be fully charged after a long 1 hour drive (which was the scenario with the first failure to start)

3) The altenator is bad

4) The starter motor is bad - I really doubt this one, if this was the case a jump start shouldn't have fixed the problem.

So is there anything I'm missing? I'm thinking i'll just have her replace the battery before the 7 hour drive home that way she doesn't get stuck in transit.

 

[Bomar]

I also would look at key. Make sure not cracked and transponder is loose and might be causing issues.

 

[jLB]

Not really enough information to narrow it down, but I would add

on #4 the "jump start" may just be coincidental.
#5) loose or corroded battery terminal?

 

[alethal]

Bomar - thanks for the suggestion, the key seems fine, all the remote features are working well
jLB - checked, looks good - and I completely agree, its not nearly enough info

 

[2001LC]

If you have the Factory 10 yr battery still in, it now greater than 10 years old.

I've had more than one battery test good at parts store, that wasn't.

I bought a 5 yr battery at Wal-Mart, 5 1/2 years ago. It's now showing similar sign as yours, just by leaving a door open for prolong periods.

My girl friends' MDX also show similar sign, battery test good but with slightly weaken cranking amp. It had to be jump again, two months later, which new battery has cured issue.

Headlights left in Auto position does have same draw on battery, as does security system. Weak battery will generally show, after sitting 24 to 48 hours. Generally they will take a jump to start once you get a no start condition, then work again for a while (day, week or even longer) then condition happens again requiring a jump.

Make sure tech cleans and greases battery post & cable clamps if/when they replace it.

 

[alethal]

@2001LC - Thanks! I do leave the headlights in the auto position, all the time, as well as the wipers. I'm not sure if it is factory battery but you are right, its been 10 years. I'll have my wife replace it.

So i guess my follow up question is should I not leave my headlights/wipers in auto position? Or with a healthy batter is the draw small enough that it won't be a problem in a car that is driven daily?

 

[Sandroad]

I'll go with #1, or the loose connections @jLB mentioned. Connections can look good but be dodgy. It's not #2 and it's not likely to be #3 with your symptoms. Could be a starter, but it's MUCH more likely to be a battery. Like @2001LC noted, the battery testers at auto stores can show good when a battery is bad. It's actually hard to test a battery for all possible problems. It was good to check the key too, but if that looked good, it probably is.

 

[2001LC]

@2001LC - Thanks! I do leave the headlights in the auto position, all the time, as well as the wipers. I'm not sure if it is factory battery but you are right, its been 10 years. I'll have my wife replace it.

So i guess my follow up question is should I not leave my headlights/wipers in auto position? Or with a healthy batter is the draw small enough that it won't be a problem in a car that is driven daily?

Owners manual states to turn headlights to off when parked for prolong periods. Check your owners manual for notes on wipers auto . But generally, with good battery, this is not issues if parked less than week or so.

 

[jLB]

jLB - checked, looks good - and I completely agree, its not nearly enough info

They usually look good, but you may want to have your "remote eyes/hands" give the terminals a few little tugs and see if they move.

 

[SoCal Dan]

Wondering if it could be a fuse box issue?
Recent long crank starts

 

[alethal]

Well for those who were wondering it was indeed the battery. Turns out that there was a lexus factory battery from 2002 in my 2006? Some dealer switch or something? Either way the dealer is going to get an earful come Monday after I just shelled out for a big service and my wife gets stranded with our kid in another state.

 

[ton504]

Well for those who were wondering it was indeed the battery. Turns out that there was a lexus factory battery from 2002 in my 2006? Some dealer switch or something? Either way the dealer is going to get an earful come Monday after I just shelled out for a big service and my wife gets stranded with our kid in another state.

I would like to know what "big" service you paid for. Take a picture of the work order.

 

[DirtDawg]

Yup, I'd say a 14 year old battery has a high chance of failing

I would definitely go back to that dealer and complain. They gave you a full service, yet let you leave the lot with a 14yo battery??? I know some techs are bad, but checking the battery is pretty basic.