2020 TRD Off-Road Battery Continually Dying Following Service

Last Wednesday, I took my 2020 TRD OR DCSB into my local dealer for it's 40k service (Service #1). I have never had a single issue with my truck or it's battery. It has always performed like a dream since I purchased it ~3.5 years ago.

The vehicle has 40,000km on the odometer (~25,000 miles), which is about 800km/month (500 miles/month) since I purchased the vehicle.

When I picked the truck up from its service last Wednesday, it was slow to turn over. I equated it nothing more than the service department potentially having the ignition on causing a slight battery depletion during the service. However, that night it was slow to turn over again (after sitting for a few hours), again the next morning on the way to work and again coming home from work. I tried turning the vehicle off and on directly after driving it, and it started just fine when it didn't sit for any period of time between starts (which I believe rules out any alternator or starter issues).

The next morning (~12 hours later), however, it didn't start at all. Completely dead battery.

Boosted it and drove it right back to Toyota who did a battery test (finding good health) and proceeded to keep the vehicle for ~7 hours to diagnose the issue. They couldn't find anything wrong, left the battery charging for a few hours, and gave it back to me saying "drive it more".

Drove it about 40km that night (25 miles) and parked it overnight.

The next morning, dead again.

I have zero aftermarket parts installed that could be drawing power from the battery. The truck is completely stock with the exception of some cosmetic modifications.

It drives me crazy that this only started happening the second I picked it up from a service, after having literally no issues ever with the vehicle.

Has anyone ever experienced anything like this or may be able to point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

 

Batteries don't last forever. It was probably a coincidence.

 

OEM batteries are bad, mine lasted about 2 years here in MN, got replaced under warranty and the new one will end up getting replaced again before winter.

 

Sounds like I'll be off to the "best replacement battery" threads.

 

Perhaps the battery was disconnected during the original service.
I would use a battery terminal cleaner (wire brush type) on both the battery terminals and the cable connectors. Then take it for a long drive and try again the next morning. If it persists then perhaps it is a dying battery.

 

you can get it load tested, but at 3 YO, it is about due anyways. Low mileage (less use) is actually no better than hard/high use. Low mileage vehicles tend to sit for long periods of time and/or get used for short distances,, neither of which are good for batteries.
Also, letting a battery die is hard on it, so while it could very well be coincidence (in for service), leaving the ignition on while doing work could have been the final straw.

 

This is why I installed a SAE plug in my wheel well during covid. My truck was driven so little that I had to keep it on a charger during the cold winter weeks that it just sat.

 

Boosted the battery this morning to start the truck up and took it for a long (45 minute) drive.

Instrument cluster lights and touch-screen head unit both started flickering and shutting off and on as if they were shorting out. Not great.

Truck is back with Toyota now.

Drives me crazy that this truck has never had a single issue, and started acting this way the second I picked it up from a routine service.

 

Sounds like a loose connection if acting up while running. They’ll be able to identify pretty easily, I wouldn’t get too wound up.

 

I seriously doubt anything they did for that 40K service would impact your battery or charging system, but maybe their procedure had them disconnect the battery? Check the terminals for cleanliness and tightness. And it could be your battery just went TU. Any auto parts store can do a quick load test.

Good luck and carry on!

 

My battery is still good after 5 years.


My truck sits 5 days a week too, no tender.

 

You got a magic battery. Mine goes dead in the winter after 2 days if Im not hooked up. But we get weeks below zero here and it sucks.

 

Three previous stock 3rd gen’s had their batteries die in less than 24 months. Two under warranty and the last one (2020 Sport) was on my dime. Hopefully my current one month old 2023 will have a longer battery life, but my battery life record is not good

 

Factory battery is kind of short lived and lead acid batteries don’t tend to come back after being drained.

 

Your situation sounds familiar on this site and 2 others I watch. One is a Corvette site. Batteries don't last that long especially since you live in the Great White North near me. I'd just go to Costco or C Tire and get a new one and call it a day.

 

Haha! I guess I do!

I think this winter it’s time for a new one though.

 

guessing just a coincidence on the dead battery, it happens. they may have had the doors open, or ignition on too long during service. it is under warranty so, they should replace it. they are not going to purposely discharge your battery, and send you on your way 2-3 times, just to get a little warranty money from toyota. guessing now, being back again, they will swap a "new" battery in. you still need to fully charge it with a charger, not by driving it.

the alternator is not going to charge the battery in 45 minutes. get a battery tender and hook it up until fully charged. (with a 750-800 m-amp junior tender, it may take 24-36 hours. for a higher amp, it will be faster but, at a cost of longevity of the battery, so be careful there too. do this once every 4-6 weeks whether you daily drive it or not. with lower miles and more sitting, and all the battery drains on these new vehicles, smart key, toyota monitoring for service, location, gps, xm/sirius alarms, remote starting... it doesn't take much time to drain the battery. the older they get the easier it is to discharge.

Get a tender and use it. Ski

 

Could someone have tightened the battery terminal without supporting the cable and broke the terminal inside the battery ?

 

Toss a new high quality aftermarket battery in it and be done with it- that’s almost certainly the issue. OEM batteries are the least expensive ones manufacturers can source that meet their specs. Modern autos and motorcycles often act very erratically with a dying battery. Dying batteries often can test out fine too, so even testing ‘ok’ is not infallible.

 

I searched tacoma world for "best replacement battery" and found this thread What battery did you end up going with?