vmichelle

Just as the title states, my '06 IS350 died on me on my way home from work.

Turning onto my street my music started skipping and my power steering turned off. I could see out of the corner of my eye the "Check VSC" light flashing and my Nav screen flickering on and off. I was just barely able to pull into the loading zone at my building when the car decided to die and give me a full blown light show - engine, e-brake, ABS, SRS warning, P/S, battery (I'm probably forgetting some). From there it decided to cycle through turning everything off, flashing the warning light in the center, turning the other warning lights on, and repeat (Engine light on and Nav screen off the whole time). Engine was no longer running and refused to turn over or turn off completely (DRLs and check engine light on the whole time), and eventually the light show stopped. I disconnected the negative on the battery so as to turn off the DRLs and anything else that might still be drawing power.

Went back to the car and tested the battery with a multimeter and it showed 6.8V. I was able to give the car enough of a charge with a booster pack to move it out of the loading zone and into a parking stall, but the electronics would still flicker and show warning lights. I couldn't keep the car running long enough to test the alternator so the battery is now hooked up to a charger for the night.

Any suggestions?

HAiS250

iTrader: (10)

How old is the battery? Sounds like battery is going out

Bichon

My guess is battery or alternator. I'd lean towards alternator if it has been starting up fine, and then just died in the middle of this one particular trip.

vmichelle

I bought a brand new battery from Lexus when I purchased the car because the old one was on its way out and the battery passed when I took the car in for a provincial inspection a month and a half ago. Terminals and cables were checked and cleaned when I installed the new one but I did notice a tiny bit of white powder buildup on the negative terminal clamp. After leaving the battery to charge all night I checked it this morning and it's showing 13.13v. I'm also leaning towards the alternator but I would think that it would show some symptoms of failing prior to this. I should note that I found an aftermarket switch under the steering column installed by the previous owner and the car also has an aftermarket remote start/alarm system in it. The button seems to serve no purpose and I've never used the remote start. Getting in touch with the previous owner curently about those two items. I don't believe that those two could be to blame though since I haven't had any problems up until now.

HAiS250

iTrader: (10)

Sounds like your alternator is not charging your battery. Did you try and start your car after you have it charged over night?

vmichelle

Went to start the car this morning and on the first try it started but then died right away. Started a second time and no problems. Rpms levelled out and it just idled fine except the centre caution light was still illuminated for about 45 seconds then went away. I turned on a bunch of stuff and kept the rpms at 2000 for a bit then rechecked the battery and it was sitting at 12.3v while engine is running and 12.5v when off.

pheonix72

iTrader: (6)

You have a bad alternator. It should be putting out at least 13VDC (and up to 14.5VDC) while the car is idling.

darkdream

That happens to me but it was because my battery was bad since I don't drive my car often. The power steering turns on and off right?

FSportIS

iTrader: (13)

This happened to me on my 06 IS350 few weeks ago. My alternator died and I replaced it with DENSO alternator and it is so far so good.

In your case, it is either the battery or the alternator. Your mechanic has the little tester to check it. I highly recommend DENSO alternator and Interstate battery.

vmichelle

Thanks everyone for your help.

My boyfriend is going to go home and take out the alternator while I'm at work and drop it off at a shop in town that specializes in alts. We've dealt with them before - truck just recently had battery/power issues, turned out to be a faulty wire. I swear electrical issues are contagious, so all of our issues really stem from his days of owning Land Rovers (because we all know how that goes...).

Checking the alt will cost me $10 (more than worth it). If that's the issue I'm going to see if he can repair it as it will cost me less than ordering a new or re-manufactured one.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Sounds just about the same thing that happened to me when my alternator went out. Got a reman unit from Auto Zone for $160 with core and DIY replaced it. Been good ever since!

Please note, a bad alternator CAN cause a good battery to go bad as well; so after a new alternator is installed, it would be a good idea to have the battery checked for proper voltage.

Sleepy2is

It's an alternator problem same exact problem happen to me

jst17

Exactly the same thing is happening to me atm, I will update you when the dealership starts working on my car tmmrw.

FSportIS

iTrader: (13)

How much does the Lexus dealership charge you for this? I would imagine something like $500 parts + 300 labor = 800 bucks???

I got the DENSO unit for $200 and 120 labor = 320 total for me with an independent shop.

How much did everyone of you spend on part + labor?

islandbeef

Rule of thumb.

Don't bump the jams or turn on the AC when the engine isn't running.

A new battery will die quickly, then you'll need a jump.