Dead Battery after vacation

J

jschmetzer

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Went on vacation for two weeks and let my 2011 T4R sit. When I returned it was dead....really dead. Jump started it, drove it around to charge it up, but it was dead the next morning. Took it to the dealer.....they said that there are so many computers on the thing that when you leave it for vacation you must disconnect the battery. REALLY? Can anyone confirm this? I could not find any indication that I left anything on or open or etc. Here we are a month later and my driver side window controls have stopped working. I can control the driver window, but no one elses. The control switch still works in that if it is depressed no one can open their window, but when I turn it off, they can open their windows, I can't....
 
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I just got back from a 24 day vacation myself and had to leave the T4R beast sitting in a friend's garage the whole time. The truck started right up after I got back- no issues whatsoever. So- what you are experiencing may not be normal. Almost sounds like a blown fuse or something- some of the more knowledgeable folks on here may be able to confirm that for you. Also with the window thing- are you sure the child lock button is not depressed? Could that be the problem?
 
jschmetzer said:
Went on vacation for two weeks and let my 2011 T4R sit. When I returned it was dead....really dead. Jump started it, drove it around to charge it up, but it was dead the next morning. Took it to the dealer.....they said that there are so many computers on the thing that when you leave it for vacation you must disconnect the battery. REALLY? Can anyone confirm this? I could not find any indication that I left anything on or open or etc. Here we are a month later and my driver side window controls have stopped working. I can control the driver window, but no one elses. The control switch still works in that if it is depressed no one can open their window, but when I turn it off, they can open their windows, I can't....
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The dealer has no clue. Why did you believe him? Go talk to someone there who knows something or go to another dealer. Sorry about your window switch but things go bad every now and then. Simple replacement under warranty will do the trick. Take your 4runner to any auto parts store and have your battery tested for free. If it's bad, go to the dealer and demand a new one. Do not be so naive.
 
jschmetzer said:
Went on vacation for two weeks and let my 2011 T4R sit. When I returned it was dead....really dead. Jump started it, drove it around to charge it up, but it was dead the next morning. Took it to the dealer.....they said that there are so many computers on the thing that when you leave it for vacation you must disconnect the battery. REALLY? Can anyone confirm this?
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Your dealership is giving you the run-around. There is no need to disconnect the battery.

Your battery is most likely bad (which isn't all that surprising because Panasonic batteries are pretty $hitty.) Did they even bother testing it? If not, you can have it tested at Auto Zone or something for free.
 
jschmetzer said:
@ Jaker.....supposedly they tested it, supposedly they couldn't find anything wrong.
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Take it to an Auto Zone and have them test it. If they can't find anything wrong, it's time to break out the multimeter and measure how much power is being discharged with the engine turned off.
 
Despite it being on a 2011, the battery sounds like it may have been on it's way out already? Sitting two weeks on a good battery shouldn't be a problem. Honestly though on my 2001 Tundra, if I let that thing sit for much over two weeks it's hit or miss on whether or not it will start. On that I just disconnect the battery anymore if I am going to let it sit for more than a week.

I did have a battery problem on my 2012 T4R LE though. I had a dead battery on my 1.5 month old T4R after being on a business trip for 4 days. Got back to the hometown airport stoked to get back in my rig and get home after a busy week... battery dead! :dammit:

I could fine nothing that was left on. Figured must be user error somehow so I went on my way after wrangling airport maintenance folks to jump me.

A few weeks later I went out of town for a weekend and the T4R sat at home. Come Monday morning time to head to work, got in the T4R... battery dead again! After checking everything nothing left on once again.

After that 2nd episode I took it to the dealer to get 'er checked out. No drains, battery checked fine, charging system fine. Not sure they believed my stories of nothing being left on but since things checked fine, I too thought perhaps user error again.

Then, it happened a third time. This time I went to different dealer. Same diagnostics. No drains, charging and battery fine.

At that point service manager and I both figured it's time for a new battery. They threw in a new Interstate a couple weeks back now and no problems since... I guess we will see what happens next time I go out of town for a few days.

jschmetzer as far as your window malfunction you describe, it sounds like a separate issue from the battery... agree with ChetJ about the lock button.
 
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New battery at 18K

Dealer replaced mine without asking. Brought it in for some other service. Sounds like there's nothing you did wrong.
 
jschmetzer said:
Went on vacation for two weeks and let my 2011 T4R sit. When I returned it was dead....really dead. Jump started it, drove it around to charge it up, but it was dead the next morning. Took it to the dealer.....they said that there are so many computers on the thing that when you leave it for vacation you must disconnect the battery. REALLY? Can anyone confirm this? I could not find any indication that I left anything on or open or etc. Here we are a month later and my driver side window controls have stopped working. I can control the driver window, but no one elses. The control switch still works in that if it is depressed no one can open their window, but when I turn it off, they can open their windows, I can't....
Click to expand...

just an FYI, that wont charge the battery, and its REALLY hard on the alternator.

the best thing whenever you have a dead battery, is to put it on a trickle charger, preferrably overnight.
 
In my experience, the "stock" batteries in new Toyotas have always been crap.

I had dead battery issues in new Toyotas several times before I gave up and simply started buying a new aftermarket, name-brand battery (I prefer Interstate) every time I buy a new vehicle.

Haven't had any problems since.
 
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