What Can Be Draining Your Lexus Car Battery?

Few things rival the sinking feeling you experience when you get behind the wheel of your car, turn the key, and realize your battery is dead or dying. Now what? More importantly, why is that battery dead already?

Have you noticed your Lexus car battery doesn't seem to be lasting as long as you feel it should? What could the problem be? Is something draining the charge without you even knowing it?

If you can avoid a dead battery, you’d likely do so at all costs. Let's look at a handful of things that might be draining your car battery or why it just won't hold a charge anymore.

An Old Battery

Car batteries included, nothing lasts forever. You may get five years out of your car battery depending on how you drive, where you live, etc. General everyday use, frequent short trips, and extreme temperatures can shorten your battery's life by one to three years. Even after a jumpstart, if your battery quickly dies, it's likely time to have it replaced.

Frequent Short Trips

An extreme amount of power is sucked from your battery every time you crank the engine. While the engine runs, the battery is recharged by the alternator. However, particularly if your battery is older, not enough recharging time is being allowed to your alternator if you're going on a lot of short trips. Your battery’s lifespan can be significantly shortened by too many quick trips.

Alternator Issues

As just mentioned, while you drive, your alternator recharges your battery. If your alternator is faulty, effective battery charging won't take place. Have your alternator checked if you think this could be the problem.

Extreme Temperatures

Hot summer days and freezing winter weather can cause battery problems in any vehicle. Extreme temperatures are better resisted by new batteries. But intense heat or cold could hinder the performance of an older battery or make it die entirely.

Corroded or Loose Connections

If there is a lot of corrosion around your battery connections, or if they are loose, proper contact isn't being made. Clean the corrosion off safely and check to see that the connections are tight. For advice on how to clean the terminals, check with a technician or a YouTube "how to" video.

Parasitic Draw

The name of this battery draining effect pretty much says it all – there is a “parasite” sucking valuable energy from your battery. Your car’s alarm system, radio, clock, computer system, and more all could marginally impact the life of your battery because, while your car is off, they still require power. The impact shouldn't be that drastic, however. What can severely drain your battery are things like bad relays, door lights, interior lights, and more.

When you turn off your car, make sure that every light is off including doors, the glove box, your trunk, etc. When you leave the car, make sure all doors and your trunk are firmly closed and latched.

Turn to Prestige Lexus To Find Out What's Draining Your Lexis Battery

Does the battery on your Lexus keep losing power? Something might be draining it without you even realizing it. To find out what's draining your battery, and possibly replace your battery with a new one, turn to the knowledgeable, certified service team members at Prestige Lexus. They'll be happy to check your luxury automobile over and get it up and running smoothly again. Consider speaking to one of the technicians about scheduling your Lexus for regular preventative maintenance. That way your vehicle will always run at peak performance. For service, please call 855-917-3434.

If you’re in the market for a new or used Lexus, we can be of assistance there as well. Our sales team will be happy to show you around and help get you behind the wheel of your next luxury ride. You can call 877-929-9191 and speak to a representative about sales, or you can use our convenient online form to start a conversation with us.