Battery replacement on new LE 2020?

[kayos90]

Just bought this car brand new and I noticed that it had the “Replace Battery” warning on. I asked the dealer before walking off the lot and they said that it was on the show floor so it’s normal. I’ve been to a few dealerships and noticed the same as well. They said there is no issues and the car will charge as I drive in it. I’ve driven it for about 160 miles now and the lights are still on... should I be concerned. I’d hate to have walked out with a battery issue because of ignorance.

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[John8]

Just bought this car brand new and I noticed that it had the “Replace Battery” warning on. I asked the dealer before walking off the lot and they said that it was on the show floor so it’s normal. I’ve been to a few dealerships and noticed the same as well. They said there is no issues and the car will charge as I drive in it. I’ve driven it for about 160 miles now and the lights are still on... should I be concerned. I’d hate to have walked out with a battery issue because of ignorance.

They should have charged it and made sure everything was right, before they sent you on your way. The problem is, many dealers didn't know, that with BMWs, you have to lock the car, to get the least amount of battery use while it is parked. So what is happening, is, the battery is being drained while on the showroom and they don't do anything to maintain it, since it the Supra isn't getting driven.

 

[kayos90]

They should have charged it and made sure everything was right, before they sent you on your way. The problem is, many dealers didn't know, that with BMWs, you have to lock the car, to get the least amount of battery use while it is parked. So what is happening, is, the battery is being drained while on the showroom and they don't do anything to maintain it, since it the Supra isn't getting driven.

what do I do now? Is it not safe to drive? I’ve already driven it a good distance without any issues...

 

[John8]

what do I do now? Is it not safe to drive? I’ve already driven it a good distance without any issues...

I would guess it is safe. No other indicators on your dash? I would have the dealer register the battery if needed but they should know what to do but I have found, only the mechanic that has ad the special training by BMW knows what is up. I did research through some big BMW dealership, speaking with the head of the service department and that helped a lot, as well as some of the statements above in this thread. They can also do a charge and load test on the battery, to make sure it is ok.

 

[kayos90]

I would guess it is safe. No other indicators on your dash? I would have the dealer register the battery if needed but they should know what to do but I have found, only the mechanic that has ad the special training by BMW knows what is up. I did research through some big BMW dealership, speaking with the head of the service department and that helped a lot, as well as some of the statements above in this thread. They can also do a charge and load test on the battery, to make sure it is ok.

no other indicators. Well there is a tire classification thing but it’s very minor. Just changed it to manual.

 

[jgoad13]

no other indicators. Well there is a tire classification thing but it’s very minor. Just changed it to manual.

Its perfectly safe, but you need to go to your dealer and have them order the replacement battery. If they wont do it then you need to call corp. There is no other way to make the message go away.

 

[kayos90]

Its perfectly safe, but you need to go to your dealer and have them order the replacement battery. If they wont do it then you need to call corp. There is no other way to make the message go away.

I need the battery replaced? Dang... how long does this take. This seems like an unfortunate mistake for me to walk out with a defective battery. How can a new car need a battery replacement?

 

[JasonO]

I need the battery replaced? Dang... how long does this take. This seems like an unfortunate mistake for me to walk out with a defective battery. How can a new car need a battery replacement?

You need to ask for a new battery under warranty. They didn’t maintain it prior to sale, so that is on them to sort with Toyota.

They can register the battery again after charging it. With that being said, you bought a new car and you should have a battery in good condition. Deep discharges cause damage to the battery. You may have lost a couple months or a couple years of life. It is terribly hard to say without expensive diagnostics they don’t have.

 

[kayos90]

You need to ask for a new battery under warranty. They didn’t maintain it prior to sale, so that is on them to sort with Toyota.

They can register the battery again after charging it. With that being said, you bought a new car and you should have a battery in good condition. Deep discharges cause damage to the battery. You may have lost a couple months or a couple years of life. It is terribly hard to say without expensive diagnostics they don’t have.

I'll take it into the dealership locally I guess. Unfortunately, I bought the car in Corpus Christi and I live in Austin. Drove all the way down there since I got a better deal. Hopefully I won't get denied service in Austin...

 

[digicidal]

I'll take it into the dealership locally I guess. Unfortunately, I bought the car in Corpus Christi and I live in Austin. Drove all the way down there since I got a better deal. Hopefully I won't get denied service in Austin...

You shouldn't. I purchased mine at a different dealer than I had do the charge and re-register to clear the code. I'm not too worried about the battery life issue personally... since it's in my service history - if the battery fails during the warranty period, I'll get a replacement then which will run longer outside warranty. If you've got that long a drive, it's charged back up anyway.

Not that I think there's anything wrong with getting the new replacement... I just didn't feel like going through the wait. It's a warranty service either way so shouldn't cost a penny. FWIW I drove mine with the warning on for weeks with zero issues.

 

[kayos90]

Talked to an extremely unfriendly advisor in Austin that stated that I needed to shut off the electronics manually every single time I exit the car before locking otherwise it drains the battery and that’s what’s causing the “Replace Battery” issue. This is before even checking the car out or anything. Then he started to say I should’ve read the owners manual and he’s not here to argue. Unbelievable.

 

[jgoad13]

Got my battery charged again today re-registered. No more “replace battery” warning! Let’s see how long it last.

 

[clementc]

Talked to an extremely unfriendly advisor in Austin that stated that I needed to shut off the electronics manually every single time I exit the car before locking otherwise it drains the battery and that’s what’s causing the “Replace Battery” issue. This is before even checking the car out or anything. Then he started to say I should’ve read the owners manual and he’s not here to argue. Unbelievable.

Same issue i had too. Bought my LE brand new from Round Rock Toyota and noticed it had the "Replace Battery" warning on as well. When i asked the dealer before driving off the lot, they simply said it was sitting on the floor for a while and it will go off after driving it. Drove it for couple of weeks and the lights were still on. Had to take the car back to the dealer to charge up. It didn't seem like they were aware you had to register the battery for the lights to go off (I had to tell them that I saw someone sharing on the Supra forum about their experience with dealer). Left the car with them for a couple of hours and finally it was all good to go. Great.

Fast forward couple more weeks, the Supra's battery is completely dead and wouldn't start from my garage. Had to call Toyota Roadside Assistance to jump start it. After driving it less than a mile today, the car shut off completely in the middle of my neighbourhood. Had to have the guy come back and tow it straight to the dealer.


Hopefully Toyota is able to replace the battery and resolve this battery issue. Anyone else had to go through this ordeal?

 

[kayos90]

Same issue i had too. Bought my LE brand new from Round Rock Toyota and noticed it had the "Replace Battery" warning on as well. When i asked the dealer before driving off the lot, they simply said it was sitting on the floor for a while and it will go off after driving it. Drove it for couple of weeks and the lights were still on. Had to take the car back to the dealer to charge up. It didn't seem like they were aware you had to register the battery for the lights to go off (I had to tell them that I saw someone sharing on the Supra forum about their experience with dealer). Left the car with them for a couple of hours and finally it was all good to go. Great.

Fast forward couple more weeks, the Supra's battery is completely dead and wouldn't start from my garage. Had to call Toyota Roadside Assistance to jump start it. After driving it less than a mile today, the car shut off completely in the middle of my neighbourhood. Had to have the guy come back and tow it straight to the dealer.


Hopefully Toyota is able to replace the battery and resolve this battery issue. Anyone else had to go through this ordeal?

Sounds like a legit bad battery. I know the non-registering is a common issue as the sales team is not aware of it. That being said, the dead battery has to do with the fact that the battery is still running despite you not being in the car...

 

[digicidal]

If they were able to charge it and register it... the battery was still well within specs - so it being dead is because it sat in idle mode for way too long most likely (or some other parasitic drain caused it, but if you didn't add a dash cam or other electronics without shutoffs I doubt that).

If you locked it then it should have been fine, but if you didn't - and keep the keys too close to it, it might not fully shutdown I suppose. How long between drives was it sitting (and how short were the drives)? Even when I lock mine, I've usually already shut it down completely by holding the radio power button 3 secs. before I even exit the car. Shouldn't need to do both, but it's become a habit.

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