Dead battery after 2 weeks of inactivity

So go to move my Tundra today - damn battery is drained !

Jumped and started right up - thought maybe something got left in accidentally (just had tires changed out prior to parking it) - nope, all good and nothing drawing power.

Seems very odd for a new truck and battery to have this issue. Seems to be charging fine now - but I’m gonna either have to find a battery tester or take it in to be checked somewhere tomorrow.

Temps briefly hit below freezing a few days ago - but this cannot be a good sign. Guess we see what test reveals - then I decide if I take it back to dealer asking for it to be replaced.

Is the quality of battery Toyota is using just gone down hill that much - or is it a one off? Granted most batteries these days are getting worse and worse reliability wise it seems after a good run. I mean take any battery from 1980s - the stuff in the 2000s was way better and more reliable (much like many of the cars themselves) - but seems to be reversing course with a 5 year battery life becoming the exception and not the rule.

 

OEM batteries are very hit and miss. Toyota and Subaru seem to be the most commonly mentioned offenders of sh*t stock batteries. Some have good luck, some don't. How old is your truck and battery? My 2017 WRX battery didn't make it past 2 years. Might not have even been 18 months, but I cannot remember for sure.

 

5 months

380 miles (not that mileage matters really to battery life)

If it’s gone - it will be warranty so no worries.

Glad I carry a jump box with me always.

 

Drive your truck more

 

In these scenarios battery is the first suspect. Call your dealer and let them know, and they can tell you what you can and can't do to have it covered.

I just bought a battery for my WRX at NAPA because I wasn't going to pay to have it towed over 100 miles for a warranty battery. They required the battery be in the vehicle when brought to them, and they would only replace it with OEM.

 

Love to - but:

- gas is 3.89 a gallon
- I work from home and between trying to give 3 different vehicles “regular” use - it’s hard to do when I don’t have many places to go
- Just getting the vehicle at rear of the drive out has become a challenge these days

Can’t wait to lose one of these cars - but can’t sell it till title issues are cleaned up. Every damn day I look at a vehicle that’s paid off I can do nothing with while awaiting the courts to conclude an estate. To make it worse - I occasionally check to see what Carvana would pay and realize I will be getting everything I paid for it back - and it was used lightly for 3 years. Crazy the market is that strong - but nothing I can do - and doubtful that it loses much value anytime soon.

 

If I leave either of my Yotas sitting for two weeks the battery will be dead. New or not.
You can take your battery out and have it tested at Orielly’s or wherever. I’d guess it will test good.

 

Sell it!!

 

Buy a battery maintainer, I got the noco genius 5 and let it keep the battery topped off while it’s parked for any extended time

 

Got a NECO 10 - don’t t think that will help

First - ANY battery should be able to hold reasonable charge for 2 months of inactivity- much less 2 weeks ! I keep all my stuff on maintenance charge during the winter when not in use - but a vehicle sitting a week and not starting is a problem! What if I flew someone and parked at the airport - I one would say it’s reasonable to need to jump the vehicle when I return home a week later. Sitting at home is no different than sitting in a parking lot.

Secondly - went this AM - dead again of course. Thought I’d jump it again and let it run 30 minutes or so again to give it a chance to recharge. Immediately after disconnecting the jump box began running very rough - no power to speakers (radio on - but amp not powered) - voltage on dash jumping up and down wildly and climate control not working.

Needless to say something else is going on here I suspect. To the dealer today to be checked. Could be as simple as a combination of a bad battery and some popped fuses - but I’m doubting it. If it was just the amp not powering - I’d guess fuse. But with the climate control and running boards not powering - makes me wary.

The battery not taking a charge I could potentially see being a AGM thing - but all the other issues too ??

Guess that’s what warranty is for.

I swear this truck is cursed or something.

Selling it - why? Only thing I remotely like is the Ram interior aside from Toyota. I’m in the truck 55 and Tech12Volts setup and power running boards/tires another 5k. Could I get 60k back for it - likely yes. But I gotta buy a replacement - and the 60k I drop on a Ram gets me a vehicle with a more problematic track record of electronic problems. It sucks when a new truck has issues - but it happens. I can live with 1 issue - it’s if it becomes a trend that will cause me to jump ship.

 

Tundras act all kinds of funky when a battery is going bad or has a bad cell. And batteries can be bad brand new! Confident it is likely the battery or you may have some rodent damage somewhere. Sitting vehicles, rarely driven, make great rodent condos.

 

I am 99% certain no rodent damage - but that was my first fear.

If there were - it shouldn’t jump off the box and run fine with a good power source for a battery.

Radio - could be as simple as reset of the receiver - but the other stuff makes me wonder.

It needs a new battery. I am impressing that on the dealer and we see if that and a blown fuse resolves things.

 

I learned this from my 4runner, I bought a battery maintainer for the Tundra.

 

So 3 hours from call to Toyota roadside - 2 hours past initial promised arrival and they call asking has anyone shown up yet….No - ok, would you like me to ask if they are on the way? - ok, I just called and they said they can’t do it now - would you still like me to send a tow truck ?

I know it’s not Toyota - but this service provider they use is beyond horrible. I’d hate to have to rely on them in a real breakdown away from home.

 

Simply PATHETIC...Thanks for sharing

 

What can I say - it’s Agero.

They are the contractor of choice for most roadside programs that aren’t AAA.

They are horrible in my experience on all sides. Why Toyota uses them is beyond me - other than cost.

I pay for AAA for this very reason - if I need it/it’s there. ToyotaCare can be worth it - but the roadside and rental suck. Dealer was less than enthused to take the vehicle in to be reviewed this morning - but when I offered to simply pull battery yesterday and allow them to swap - it was a flat no.

I mean I get it if Joe Schmoe calls up and says I’ve got a 2-3 year old battery that’s not right - I want a new one. Ok - I mean perhaps he’s wrong and he is asking for something slightly better than what they have. Even if it’s still under warranty - I want to see the car and not just take their word for it. But on a 21 day sold a few months ago - what benefit am I gaining with a new battery ? I am no better off with what I have over a new one other than potentially solving the problem. If it doesn’t work - ok, we tried the simplest solution and it failed - move to step 2. Best case it resolves the issue and it’s done - and it took no more time than your completing the paperwork to bill Toyota for the battery.

 

You keep mentioning blown fuses?? What fuses blew? That is extremely unusual for a battery issue and could be indicative of other problems. My guess is it is simply a bad battery.

 

No idea - at this point letting the dealer sort it out. It’s warrantied and they need to see it to agree to to a new battery.

BUT - clearly there’s more than the battery as when I put an alternate power source in place - accessories and climate control not working.

If it were just the battery - these items would work fine provided there is sufficient power available. The fact they are not tells something else is wrong.

 

And agree it’s unusual for a fuse to blow with a jump - they shouldn’t as long as everything is hooked up right.

Fuses are just the simplest check to perform though before going into it deeper to find faults.

 

My Tundra battery had a bad cell at less then 2 years with no warning. I owned 2 Tacomas previously and batteries went bad close to 3 years. The difference with the Tacomas is I got a slow start warning. Alternators are designed to maintain a charge and not to charge a dead battery. In fact it is not good for the alternator. If I have a low or dead battery it goes on the charger. I had a Motorcraft battery go bad at 9 months. Fortunately I had the boat with me and pulled a battery out of it. A good battery should not be dead at 2 weeks.

 

Exactly - an AGM battery when dead is NOT going to be able to be brought back to life by the alternator. Once it’s dead - it’s dead.

You can put it on a charge overnight with a trickle and it may be able to get back to a level that will allow it to take charge from the alternator again - but odds of that battery giving problems again are high and given that it’s a 5 month old part - I think I’m reasonable in asking for it to be changed now to avoid future issues.

The other stuff again - I have theories on - but will let the dealer diagnose and repair as needed.

They pointed out correctly that these systems will shut off to conserve power when low voltage is detected. It could be as simple as that would guess - the alternator isn’t putting juice to the alternate power source used to start - so the system reads it as a low power situation and cuts off power to the accessories. Swap a new battery in - start it up and if they work - issue solved.

Radio could again be as simple as reset of the head unit. It’s done this before to me and seems to be a common issue with JBL head units not working randomly - reset and they are fine.

Regardless - service has once again underwhelmed me.

 

And as I feared - dealer is beyond useless.

Immediately faults “aftermarket radio” for the issue - says they can’t tell anything else before doing a $159 diag - which could be much more than that.

Of course they have no particular reason to SUSPECT the radio installed 6 months ago - only they won’t touch it because of the kit installed from Tech12Volts or even agree to swap the battery !!

Christ - change the battery…if there’s STILL a drain - then I agree, it COULD be the amp installed and warrants investigation. But saying you can’t swap the battery until I agree to pay $159 is weak. I will buy my own damn battery for $150 and skip your clueless diagnostics.

I swear - I am done with these morons. How/why Toyota ever allowed them to sell new cars is beyond me.

Asked did you even check the battery connections/test the battery - “No - we saw aftermarket radio and that’s almost always the problem” - asked aftermarket radio or aftermarket sub and amp - um - well speaker wire that’s not factory.

All I needed to hear - when they diagnose the battery being drained as being caused by aftermarket SPEAKER WIRE - I know I don’t want these clowns touching my vehicle.

 

Personally, I've never gotten more then 3 years out of a regular battery in the Arizona heat. I've only been buying X2 Power AGM batteries ( made by Northstar) for the past 5- 1/2 years, and they are fantastic. Will definitely go at least 5 years. I replaced the one in my Silverado at the 5 year mark for peace of mind. And my Silverado had a very, very nice aftermarket stereo system.
I trust these batteries so much, I just replaced my nearly brand new Tundra battery with one as well.

 

This is always what it boils down to for me. I sucked it up and bought one of these a little over 2 years ago and life has been good.
https://www.batteriesplus.com/product-details/auto_light-truck/battery/x2power/sli27fagmdp

 

Exactly my thought - buy a decent battery and be done with it.

It’s $159 just to have them LOOK at it - pay $350 - get a better battery and then send the bill to ToyotaCare asking them to cover it.

If they say no - escalate to next level. They got me for 55k in a new truck, 1k in added warranty and want to argue over a freaking battery replacement (if nothing else - swap it with one from one of the Tundras on the lot)

On a positive note - Carvana offered 62k for my truck - could sell at a small profit today.

 

Or take the battery to Orielly’s or equal, and get a third party printed report from their battery test machine showing the battery is dead - if it is. Toyota would have a hard time disputing that.

 

Replaced my factory battree last month at 4 years and 10 months for peace of mind. Up to then it had been flawless. I do practice good battree management.

 

Near 5 years is good for any battery.

To me - 3 years is an “average” - especially in areas that routinely see a 3 month stretch of sub freezing or 90+ temps daily.

I got readings yesterday and am putting it on full charge and repair mode today - will take readings next 3 days and see if I am losing power on the battery itself - and if I’m good, then I’ll hook it back up and if I’m losing power in truck - that tells me I’ve got an issue somewhere in the electrical system itself and not the battery.

Could just get a battery tester and do it that way - or take it in. I tend not to completely trust these things though - can report “good” when the battery will take a charge though but not hold it for any period of time. That’s what I’m thinking is going on here.

I’m still swapping batteries too - just doing this to determine am I keeping this one as a backup or am I giving it back for the core. A good backup battery to me is worth $15 - a shot one is worth nothing.

Always seem to find a use for a battery in something around a farm and I have too much of my father/grandfather in me to turn is older but useable things like batteries or tires with some life left in them - so I wind up with a pile of them in an outbuilding until they are used or useless and I get rid of them. I do have to admit - I rarely find myself hauling away much - everything seems to find a use somewhere.

 

The dealer locally couldn’t identify an aftermarket radio from OE - and immediately blamed the aftermarket speaker wire for the issues (ignoring lights, power steps and a few other accessories added that also could be at fault). Kinda surprised they didn’t fault the swapped tires myself - they were that clueless. So I doubt an electrical engineer writing them a full report saying the battery was bad would make any impression.

Toyota Corporate- who knows. It’s $359 - if they wanna argue with a customer who dropped 55k on one of their vehicles - fine. Tells me all I need to know when it comes time for my NEXT vehicle purchase.

Ford is far from flawless - but on my work vehicles they have been pretty accommodating and actually gone above and beyond honestly. RAM much of the same in my experience. A flawed product can happen to any maker - how you respond speaks volumes. I guess responding to flawed products makes some dealers better over time.

Also got to add - the dealer told me they were unable to lock my vehicle due to no power and electric locks. I reminded them I sent the fob and key to the doors - so they could lock it. Replied to me - no, we can’t - the key only lets you UNLOCK a vehicle using the cylinder in the door - you can’t LOCK a car using that key/cylinder. Should have been my sign to run - I know.

 

So an update - put it on charger overnight and then ram it through repair mode. Seems to be ok - but slowly losing power based on the meter.

Sent my findings to Toyota Customer Care - who immediately said - “we will have the dealer customer care rep contact you within 24 hours”. Ok - well unless they have the authority to pay for my replacement battery - not sure what good that will do - but ok.

No reply - follow up with Toyota again “We are sorry - we will send another message to the dealer - allow 24 hours for reply”. Clearly Toyota is not willing to step up and handle it - blaming the dealer and tossing it to their CS manager who could give a shit less. Said manager doesn’t even have a name per Toyota - just a generic email from the dealer - sure sign it’s not a single person responsible.

I mean on one hand - it’s $370 and I put something better in place and don’t have to worry about it. On the other - nearly 60k spent with dealer and Toyota and neither can handle a simple warranty issue ?!? We are not talking something pricey or difficult to relate here - it’s a failed battery. It happens - why can’t you just make it right and stop playing around ?!?

Getting my free Toyota care oil change in near future at another dealer - asking them to put on the replacement drain plug for me and I will do my own oil changes going forward. Too simple of a job to do on a Tundra to waste a trip to a dealer anywhere. I’d do it myself from the start - but don’t feel like dealing with the first time mess of draining oil with the skid plate installed. Swapping the drain plug makes it nice and clean. Probably have them change the filter cover too with the metal one.