Locked up my '07 G35X daily driver in the garage for about 11 days while we were on vacation recently. When I went to start the car the next day to go to work, the battery was completely dead. I am 100% sure I didn't leave headlights, dome, etc. on. No issues at all prior to this. I put it on a trickle charger for about 12 hours & it recharged and has been fine since.

I've read some other threads talking about 3 years being reasonable battery life. But it seems pretty odd that the thing should go after sitting for 11 days. Does this sound unreasonable to anyone? Anybody have a similar experience? Any thoughts?

 

mine lasted exactly 3yrs... the last time i started it before it died, it didn't sound like it was going to start, but it did.. the bad thing is, when it started, it must have sent a rush of current to my $1000 amp and blew out a couple channels.. i had to buy another one... so, in addition to my $200 replacement yellow top optima, i had to buy another $1000 amp...

Btw.. my car sat for about 5 days before all this happened.. and my stereo and amp was in pristine condition...

 

OE battery's only last an average of 3 years, mine lasted 4 and I consider myself lucky. If your battery was strong you could have parked it for months and it would have started upon your return. You may have charged it and it may seem alright now but it will shortly let you down. Good chance you have a weak sell, have it tested so you don't get let down again!
Gary

 

If my car sits for that span, I hook it up to a battery tender.
I've never proactively replaced my cars' batteries, but I've got 4 years on the SUV and it gets a new battery this weekend despite no issues so far.

 

Because I mainly drive my car on the weekend, I routinely leave it undriven from anywhere from 3-7 days. My first battery died after 9 months. My second, about 18mo. I went with an aftermarket battery for my 3rd and use a Battery Tender in the winter time. I am still not convinced there is a drain somewhere but the dealer says everything is normal--they even suggested I disconnect the battery every time I park at home (which I think is ridiculous!). Some have this problem, others say they leave the car for 30 days and start it up no problem! To muddy the water even more, G37 folks are saying their dealer is upgrading their batteries to the M battery and also doing the TSB on the vent control valve (not sure it is even related).

 

There were times where my G was parked in the garage for weeks.. Sometimes up to a month.. But my car always started...

 

OP - I'm a little surprised that your battery drained like that without something drawing power from it. I'm in a similar climate with a similar car and I keep mine in my garage all the time too. I have never had a battery issue yet.
Also, someone posted that a battery is only good for an avg 3 years. I believe that battery life should be much more than that. We had a 99 Protégé for 9 years and only replaced the battery after the 8th year. I have never had a vehicle that killed a new battery in just 3-4 years and I have had 14 different cars/trucks (as near as my memory can recall). It all depends on the vehicle and how the owner/user utilizes it.
i.e. do you only draw battery power while the car engine is running or do you like to show off your after market sound system by parking somewhere, opening all the doors and trunk and cranking the tunes?
Maybe I have just had luck with batteries but I think if properly maintained and used it should definitely be fine for more than 3 years.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I'm very surprised this happened, too. My car is 100% stock, nothing that isn't original equipment that would cause a drain. That's what's made me wonder if there is something with the way all the engine systems & computer function that there is a significant persistent drain going on - or if my battery just happens to have been weakened to the point where 11 days of inactivity was enough. Thought about a bad alternator, as well.

 

My radar detector has a voltage reading. It seems like it is putting out all the right voltages...14.8V when charging, about 13.5 or so when battery is charged. I know now not to listen too long with the stereo with the car off--it uses up a lot of power. If I left my car for 1 month parked, I would bet money the car would be dead on startup. What sucks is I have no confidence in leaving the car at airport parking for a week on vacation, unless I had a portable starter in the trunk. Also, symptoms mainly reared it's head in the winter where the low battery conditions were exacerbated.

As soon as it warms up, I'm going to do some voltage tests with the aftermarket battery--seeing how much the battery voltage declines every 24 hours it sits.

 

I had my G new since Jan 07. Adn i remember reading a couple owner batt dyinh within months, or a little more than a yr! My car is pretty much a weekend driver also, it's sits in my garage. but we don't have as cold weahter here, as u guy's in the mainland and other places. But I used to be able to leave my car without starting a little over 2 weeks, with no problems! Would start right up! but I just noticed this past couple weekends. I let it sit for almost 2 weeks, maybe like 7 days, and when i went to start it, it cranked kinda slow, so now i know if anymore than 2 weeks without driving, garuntee my Batt would be dead! and it's been 3yrs on my orginal Batt. So think I gotta replace mine soon. Also remember our Batteries are not Maintanence free, gotta add water if the level is low! So I see a Optima Batt in my future.