Hi there. Has anyone encountered issues with their NX350h particularly after the tracker/OBD dongle installation?

The car was only just over 2 years (from brand new). I was offered the free Tracker (even it's a phase 2 car) after speaking to Lexus HQ and had it done about 2 to 3 months ago. The Tracker was installed at an authorised dealer about 1 and a half hour away and also had the 2nd year service done at the same time (my local authorised dealer can't offer Tracker installation as they were "not trained" somehow). All seemed fine afterwards.

We went away for a 3-week holiday last month and the car did start/drive after return. However the car couldn't be started a week a few days after the last drive and the Tracker appt did say the battery went down to 11v - I needed to get Lexus roadside assistance at the end to jump start the car and did an hour drive straight after to recharge the battery. The app did say it's back to 12v and seemed to holding it well since.

My wife did drive the car for short trips at least once weekly since. However I just noted the battery status went down to 11v again on the tracker app and the car was only last driven today (and about 5 days ago prior; both short trips). I have booked the car in with my local dealer to check in 2 weeks but does anyone have similar issues since the tracker/OBD dongle were installed? I heard the tracker didn't drain any battery but the OBD dongle. However is it normal for OBD dongle to drain it so quickly? We do have a dashcam powered by cigarette lighter port for a long time and it's powered off anyway when the engine stops - we had no issues for leaving the car untouched for over a month prior. Thanks!

You have heard correct regarding the Tracker itself. This isn't connected to the car's power supply so cannot be responsible for a 12v battery issue. If the dongle is drawing any power, I would have thought it too small to create a problem. Mine has been fine. I have noticed the voltage reading in the app only shows whole volts, so a 12.1v battery would show 12v; whether a 11.9v battery shows 11v or 12v I'm not sure.

Nor am I sure what defines a 'short trip' in terms of how far you need to drive and under what conditions, to prevent the battery ending up with less voltage than it started. I suspect that there are too many variables to give a reliable guide.

My wife does 10 to 20min non-highway drive with it every few days normally and it's been used like this more or less the same in general apart from long trips occasionally for the past 2 years. We really only had issues after the tracker/dongle installation so naturally I thought it's linked as you can imagine. Obviously it could be "dying" slowly but who knows lol. Thanks anyway.

12 minutes ago, ApePat said:

My wife does 10 to 20min non-highway drive with it every few days normally and it's been used like this more or less the same in general apart from long trips occasionally for the past 2 years. We really only had issues after the tracker/dongle installation so naturally I thought it's linked as you can imagine. Obviously it could be "dying" slowly even the installation but how knows lol. Thanks anyway.

I Have two Trackers Installed in My car None of which are Lexus...Both DO NOT draw any power from the battery so I Don't Have this Problem ( Touch Wood )..!!!

7 hours ago, ApePat said:

hour drive straight after to recharge the battery

I don't think this would have been long enough for a full charge, and in my experience, the 12v battery charges much more quickly with the car parked up and in ready mode. 

You should consider a battery dongle such as:

https://www.ancel.com/products/ancel-bm200

Much more information about the state of your battery than a device in the cigarette lighter socket and it continues to monitor even when the car is parked and locked 

 

If the OBD dongle is removed, can the battery powered Tracker still be activated when required? I am considering to remove it if it causes issues with the 12v battery

20 hours ago, ApePat said:

Hi there. Has anyone encountered issues with their NX350h particularly after the tracker/OBD dongle installation?

The car was only just over 2 years (from brand new). I was offered the free tracker (even it's a phase 2 car) after speaking to Lexus HQ and had it done about 2 to 3 months ago. The tracker was installed at an authorised dealer about 1 and a half hour away and also had the 2nd year service done at the same time (my local authorised dealer can't offer tracker installation as they were "not trained" somehow). All seemed fine afterwards.

We went away for a 3-week holiday last month and the car did start/drive after return. However the car couldn't be started a week a few days after the last drive and the tracker appt did say the battery went down to 11v - I needed to get Lexus roadside assistance at the end to jump start the car and did an hour drive straight after to recharge the battery. The app did say it's back to 12v and seemed to holding it well since.

My wife did drive the car for short trips at least once weekly since. However I just noted the battery status went down to 11v again on the tracker app and the car was only last driven today (and about 5 days ago prior; both short trips). I have booked the car in with my local dealer to check in 2 weeks but does anyone have similar issues since the tracker/OBD dongle were installed? I heard the tracker didn't drain any battery but the OBD dongle. However is it normal for OBD dongle to drain it so quickly? We do have a dashcam powered by cigarette lighter port for a long time and it's powered off anyway when the engine stops - we had no issues for leaving the car untouched for over a month prior. Thanks!

No problem with the same setup (tracker and dongle) on my NX350h since they were installed last September.

My hunch would be your (relatively) infrequent use of the car being the more likely cause of the battery drain. I use my car fairly regularly (round trips of 90 minutes - with a few hours break in between - 3 or 4 times a week) and have had no problems - the Tracker app consistently reports the battery voltage at 12v (although this value has likely been rounded up or down so isn't that accurate).

Just A Hunch But I Suspect The problem Is coming from Your dashcam.....I would focus on that but Again Just a Hunch..!!!

Get a multimeter too so you can take an accurate reading of the battery voltage.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

It was the recovery guy who told me to drive it for 45mins or so after it had a jump-start. He did say we could leave the car with the engine running for 1 and a half to 2 hours to recharge according to him.

I don't think it's my dashcam - as said it only powers on when the engine starts and the power gets cut off when the car is off. There are no major changes to the way we use the car before and after the installation (well ok maybe it's driven slightly less since we replaced our 2nd car as an electric one end of last year lol) and we didn't notice any issues even the car was left untouched for over 4 weeks before as mentioned. Yes it might be the fact it's not driven enough and it just slowly drains and the last slightly longer duration of not being driven flipped it - who knows. Or it may really be the battery. Well will see what the dealer says in a few weeks I guess.

On an unrelated note, does anyone notice issues with Apple CarPlay for the past few month? Since I've upgraded to iPhone 16 Pro Max a few months ago, the CarPlay lags big time - music can shutter regardless of app and Goggle Map can freeze for a few seconds. It sometimes even "jumps off" CarPlay and back to the Lexus menu and I need to press the CarPlay button to go back in. It can get a bit better with a restart initially but the problem persists. I did have it "checked" by the dealer when the car was serviced 3 months ago and was told there was no issue and it's probably the phone (I was hoping they would tell me there's a new software update/fixed it by updating the software etc - mine was last updated OTA Feb 24). I had an iPhone 14 prior and not sure if it's more to do with iOS18 - I upgraded my phone very much after it's released. I had a look online but can't much about the issue.

17 minutes ago, ApePat said:

Since I've upgraded to iPhone 16 Pro Max

If you still have access to your previous phone,  it might be worth reverting to it and seeing if that cured the problem....then you would know it wasn't the car's fault..

 

5 minutes ago, Lexusjim said:

If you still have access to your previous phone,  it might be worth reverting to it and seeing if that cured the problem....then you would know it wasn't the car's fault..

 

Sadly no... It's traded in at the same time when I bought it with Apple. My wife's one is upgraded to a 16 at the same time as well and had the same issue hence I was scratching my head particularly when the dealer told me "nah it's fine".

I have iPhone 16 Pro Max running latest version of iOS 18 and have no CarPlay issues. 

19 minutes ago, stepppy said:

I have iPhone 16 Pro Max running latest version of iOS 18 and have no CarPlay issues. 

Would you mind telling me the version of your car firmware?

1 hour ago, ApePat said:

Would you mind telling me the version of your car firmware?

Which section are you getting your information from, just so I give you the correct one?

3 hours ago, stepppy said:

Which section are you getting your information from, just so I give you the correct one?

Just for information, I did the OTA update for the headunit today and CarPlay again worked without issue. 

5 hours ago, stepppy said:

Just for information, I did the OTA update for the headunit today and CarPlay again worked without issue. 

What’s your HU version now ? 

Just been advised that I will not be getting a free Tracker on my 350H as Lexus have withdrawn the offer…can anyone confirm this please!

15 minutes ago, rafarules said:

Just been advised that I will not be getting a free tracker on my 350H as Lexus have withdrawn the offer…can anyone confirm this please!

Only Lexus can confirm that, not anyone here. I’m not really surprised though, the 350h isn’t vulnerable to the CAN bus attack and therefore doesn’t need a tracker. 

There are methods to locate a 'Parasitic Draw', but it does involve having a good bit of knowledge.

The basics are monitoring the current flow very accurately directly at the battery/s, whilst pulling all fuses one by one. You would have to 'trick the bonnet sensor if working in there, and also wait for some time for the ECU/car to completely become at 'rest' or you will get inaccurate readings. The doors would also have to be shut. You could be stuck in there for a while when working inside!

The basics are the same, regardless of year/model.

You may be able to ask ChatGPT for a model specific guide, if you were willing to tackle it yourself.

9 hours ago, rafarules said:

Just been advised that I will not be getting a free tracker on my 350H as Lexus have withdrawn the offer…can anyone confirm this please!

I bought this one last year. Not wired into the car, so no draw on the battery, and can be placed anywhere. Rechargeable battery lasts around 4-5 months, and battery level can be monitored on app.

Uses a 4G sim card...I bought a pay as you go one from GiffGaff....uses about 50p of data a month

No problems with it so far

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CRKS2Y1Q

 

 

12 hours ago, IGR said:

What’s your HU version now ? 

HU SW Version 2200

7 minutes ago, stepppy said:

HU SW Version 2200

Thanks. I asked because I had a new unit fitted recently after map update disaster and the new unit is HU version 2230. Then last week I received a recall letter from Lexus (campaign ZGG61) saying my car was in scope for an OTA update but it also said I wouldn't get one if I had the latest SW version. However, it didn't say what the latest SW version was - so a pointless letter really.

If you've just updated to 2200 then I can consider mine to be up to date and so unlikely to get another update in near future....

30 minutes ago, IGR said:

Thanks. I asked because I had a new unit fitted recently after map update disaster and the new unit is HU version 2230. Then last week I received a recall letter from Lexus (campaign ZGG61) saying my car was in scope for an OTA update but it also said I wouldn't get one if I had the latest SW version. However, it didn't say what the latest SW version was - so a pointless letter really.

If you've just updated to 2200 then I can consider mine to be up to date and so unlikely to get another update in near future....

To be honest there are so many different 'modules' I guess you would call them in the update screen, I really don't know what part was updated as I didn't look at it before.  

All my updates were done on collection in March last year.  This one only took less than 15 minutes.

My HU is also 2230 currently and no notification for OTA so far so I guess mine is up-to-date. I didn't think of it but thought I would give the wired CarPlay a go and it worked super smooth so it did appear to be a wireless CarPlay issue (I had no issues with wireless CarPlay at all prior iOS18/iPhone 16). Guess there is no fix currently for this then.