After having my '09 DD for a year and a half now, I went to start it tonight and things got weird.

I hit the key fob to unlock the door with no issues. Dome light comes on... everything is normal. Until I went to start 'er up. All I got was a quiet growl. Not relay chatter like a normal dead battery situation. Growled like a large cat. Lights on the dash lit up, but very dim. I release the key and tried again. An even quiter growl and dimmer dash lights. I hit the headlights... not dim at all.

I pop the hood and wiggle the battery terminals. They're strong, clean and tight. I get back in and spin the key. She fires right up like, "What the he11 were you doing under the hood?... we ain't got no issues! Drop that hood and let's hit the road!"

Drove all the way home without incident. No CEL. I have yet to check for any codes.

Is it possible there's an issue inside the battery, like a poor connection? Battery was new last July.

 

Clean the battery cables and terminals

Starters need 60-75amps thru BOTH battery cables, instantly
All the lights combined need maybe 25amps, so bright lights means battery cables can pass 25amps, so no comparison

The "click, click, click" from dead battery means under 15amps, so yes dim lights in that situation

Your starter was probably getting under 40amps(thru one of the battery cables), which was the growling noise as it was trying to turn the engine over