DRealist

Hello everyone, I am having some issues with my '98 GS400. I believe it is an electrical problem, but my diagnosis abilities are on the low end of the scale. This will be a long post because I am going to try to include all details. First let me give details about the car. I have posted a few threads on this forum about my vehicle before. My car has a little over 113K on it. I had the transmission solenoid codes a few months back and was going to attempt a change myself, but luckily I have a warranty on my car and they paid to replace the whole tranny and all I had to pay was the $100 deductible. The tranny was fixed about a month ago and the CEL has not come back on since then. Around the time I got the tranny fixed, my tail lights had stopped working out of the blue. My mechanic checked to see what the issue is and found that it was a wiring issue. The brake lights worked, but the tail lights didn't. Ever since I had the tranny replaced the car has run better most of the time, but I did notice that in the morning my car feels "heavy". It basically feels like the car is in the wrong gear. When I hit the gas it feels okay, but as soon as I let the gas go it feels like the car is quickly bogged down and doesn't coast well. I also noticed that during these times if I put the car in M mode it starts on 5 and if I hit the down shift button it will only go down to 4, then as the car warms a little it will allow me to shift down to 3, then later to 2. That doesn't seem right to me even though this is my first time owning a GS and checking the manual mode. The gear never goes lower than 2. About 2 weeks ago my car out of nowhere started taking longer to start up, I would have to crank it for a few seconds longer than usual. A few days after that my car wouldn't start in the morning. I went back into the house and kept coming out to try it. Right before I called for a tow I tried it again and it started, but it started very strangely. I took it to the shop and was told that it was a bad starter. The starter was replaced under warranty and hours after I left the shop the console screen flickered several times and when I stopped for gas it started a bit slow again, but nowhere near as bad as the other times. The shifting issue and the slow start happens almost daily, mostly in the mornings/first start of the day, but can happen other times sporadically. The thing with the screen never happened again until today. Today when I started the car the screen was blank, but I could touch where the radio icons would be and it still switched stations. It was like that for about a half an hour, then when I stopped and took my daughter into school and came back out and started it the screen was back on. I am thinking it is some sort of electrical problem, but I am not sure. Anyone else have issues like this? This car does a good job at making me look like I am crazy. Sorry for the long post, but I feel like more details will help paint the picture of what is going on.

DRealist

Also I forgot something. My steering wheel telescoping had always worked, but the tilt never did until my starter was replaced. After it started working again it sporadically stops and starts working again. It appears to also be an issue that is exaggerated in the morning/first start up of the day, but can happen at any time. Again telescoping always works, but the tilt is the issue.

MikeFig82

iTrader: (13)

It is normal for the 400's transmission must warm up first a few minutes. I have a 98 GS400. In colder weather I let the car idle for 5 mins or so before I take off. I then just let it coast just taking it easy on the pedal. After the transmission warms up you will feel it start shifting smoother.

DRealist

Thanks for the reply. Do you use the manual mode? If you do does yours always start at 5 and what is the lowest that it goes to?

MikeFig82

iTrader: (13)

Yes defaults to 5. The lowest setting is to 2.

DRealist

Did you ever check yours when your transmission is running rough in the morning? Mine doesn't go down to 2 until it is warmed up.

MikeFig82

iTrader: (13)

My doesn't either. I always go manual when the transmission is fully warmed up.

DMPesso

Draining and refilling your tranny fluids at least 4 times within 40k miles will really help with the shifting even in cold weather. Now I would DEFINITELY start with cleaning and replacing if old your battery terminal posts. Make sure there is no corrosion and the grip on the battery is very tight around. This will cause many electric problems and it won't let the car run to its full potentional

KeyKeeper

If im not mistaken, the GS400 has an issue where it leaks power steering fluid onto the alternator? If Im right, I'd check the voltage at the battery with everything on and engine warmed up. If its below 13.2v I'd suspect maybe the alt has been contaminated with power steering fluid causing the stator/armature windings to fail. So many random "ghost" problems on the GS get traced back to the source....a weak charging system.

DRealist

I had more of the issues today. My fiancée had been driving the car all day so the car was warm today and it also wasn't as cold today as it was over the weekend and earlier this week. I got into the car and started it and it took the extra few seconds to start again. It started on one attempt again as usual and I went driving down the road. After being on the road stuck in traffic for about 10 minutes my screen would flicker and the radio made a pop noise. It did it several times within the first 20 minutes in the car then it stopped. After I got to my clients house for work the car sat for about 30 minutes. When I started the car up again it gave me an even longer crank until it started and the console screen was all white, but once again the radio still worked. after sitting for another hour I started the car again and once again it was a longer crank till start. This time the screen was on. I ran into the store for about 30 minutes and same result when I started it. I feel like when I go out to start the car tomorrow it may not start. I am getting very frustrated at this point with the car. I feel like I am on a witch hunt. If it wasn't for the screen and steering wheel issues, I would assume it was my fuel pump going bad. Tomorrow I will try to post some videos of all of the issues. I don't want to take it to the dealership, but I am getting backed into a corner and feel that they may be the only ones who can properly diagnose the car. On a positive note, the steering wheel issue didn't occur today.

DRealist

I will try this. At this point I am willing to change the battery completely just to see if it helps.

DRealist

If this ends up being the issue, how much will this cost? My alternator will be covered under my warranty and I assume the leak will be to, but I am worried about my mechanic finding the issue. Should I try to find it myself?