Car is not starting!
 

Hey guys,

I just bought a 2000 lexus gs400 last month.

After working perfectly fine for the last month, I haven't been able to start the engine lately. When I start the car, I could hear the starter working, but it won't start the engine. All I hear is the starter, and when I depress the gas pedal I could hear the engine turning over slightly but it will not do so completely. I'm fairly certain it's not the battery, because the electronics work inside the car. I'm getting the car towed into a garage, but I want to get an idea what the problem is first. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

GS400 with starting issues...most of the time, it's the starter itself. Does the car crank normally, but just wont start? Or does the cranking sound weak? If the latter, then it's probably your starter. Can't tell you how many 98-00 GS400 owners have gone through the same issue.

If that's not the issue, check your battery =]

Don't do anything rash yet.

First, jumpstart your car or recharge it. The electronics in your car doesn't nearly take as much energy as starting your car does.

I'm 75% positive you have a weak battery.

The starter does not sound weak. I just got the car towed now to an auto repair centre, because the car was behind my neighbor's car.

The CAA (or AAA) sent two people. The first was the battery guy, told me the battery was fine, and it was most likely the fuel pump, or ignition coils. The second person was the tow truck, and he told me that the starter and everything else is fine, it's just that the gas tank is low (last quarter in gauge), and that the gas freezes when theres a little water in the tank. He told me to go to the repair center tomorrow before they opened (Sunday) and try to fill the gas tank with Methanol Anti-freeze gas fluid, and it should work fine. I'm going to give the latter suggestion a try tomorrow, and I'll see what happens.

Edit: the night before I fully charged the battery. As well, the tow truck driver attempted a boost, but was unsuccessful.

Btw, I forgot to add that I live in Canada, and it's freezing up here.

Thanks for all helpful suggestions so far.

Oh boy! Sorry to hear that =[

fuel pump and ignition coil?
wouldn't that be something noticeable when you're driving?

I'm about to fix my starter this weekend but it better not be that....b/c now that I think of it, I have heard cases for the LS400 that it was a fuel pump also.

I'm just gonna throw this out there because it was overlooked by my Lexus dealer and took them 3 days to figure it out.

My moms '99 GS4 all of a sudden did not want to start, it would crank and crank but not start. Dealer thought ignition problem, but that was ok, then they thought bad pump, but that was ok, then they thought bad gas, filled it with fresh gas. Still didnt want to start after all this.

After chasing it down for many days, they realized it was a bad camshaft position sensor. :egads:

Thanks Pete, I'll keep that in mind.

Just an update: Tried putting in some anti-freeze gas line, but engine still didn't turn over. Something unusual I found was, when I turn the keys into II position, I could hear a hum from the engine.

I'm getting a mechanic to look at the car tomorrow. This is the first time I've been to a garage, any suggestions??

The humm from the engine is normal, both of mine do it as well.

Make sure you take it to a shop thats knowledgable with foreign cars, otherwise it might take them a while or theyll start swapping out things that are not needed.

Good luck and keep us posted.