I have a 2008 GS350 AWD, and sometimes when push the start button the car is cranking but doesn't start. Eventually it stops and I have to try again. It starts after the 2nd try or 3rd.

Anyhow ever had a problem like this? The weather hasn't been that cold either.

Thx in advance.

 

it could be a dozen things....time to go in and have it looked at

 

How cold is cold? Just curious. This is definitely abnormal.

 

Low battery possibly?

 

It really hasn't been that cold this week, around 50 degrees.

I don't think it is low battery since the car does eventually start. Just weird that it would happen to a brand new car. I guess I'll have the dealership check it out, hopefully they can find out what is wrong since it doesn't happen all the time.

 

50s isnt too cold. In miami, it was around 50 and I started my car without any problems.

 

I wouldnt worry about it. Take it to the dealer and warranty whatever it is.

It could be a starter maybe, some type of short in wiring. They got the tools to scan it and check for abnormalities in the system.

 

Check your battery.

I used to have remote start on my old car and it used to do that when I use the remote start. After 2 or 3 tries it will start up. One day I put in a new battery and that issue went away.

 

It's not battery and it's not the starter motor. Owner indicated that when start button is pressed, engine will crank just fine. This rules out the battery and starter motor issue. It's just that cylinders are not firing meaning it's an engine problem. Defective fuel pump, pressure regulator (not maintaining correct fuel pressure) bad ignition or injection system etc.
Send it to the dealer. Let us know what they find out. Intereting to know.

 

My car crank fine as well, just never started until a few tries. But then again I was using remote start.

 

Just to update everyone, dropped off my car at the dealership today. When I spoke to the service associate, they told me that they actually currently have 2 other similar cases with the 08 GS350 AWD.

One of the cases it happens when the engine is still warm after it has been driven and when starting again same symptom as me. The other case happens whether it is cold or warm start.

Unfortunately, at this time they don't seem to know the cause nor is there a definite solution since they are not getting any error codes back when monitoring for those 2 cases so they think mine will be a similar case. Hopefully I'll find out more after they take a look at my car.

On top of that, I live in Canada and my vehicle was purchased from the US they told me they needed to do some type of warranty proofing to make sure the warranty is still valid for transfer for like $120.

I'll update hopefully when I have more details...but do chim in if you guys have similar experiences.

 

Picked up the car from the dealership. They were not able to diagnose the issue. Simply told me they would call me when Lexus Corporate has a solution =(

 

Mine did that once or twice.... but nothing regular,....

 

Can't be good for the car though having the starter crank and crank until it stops cuz the engine won't start. It happens to me at least once a week right now. This for a 50K car...just not cool. Hopefully there will be an easy solution soon from Lexus.

 

Just to give everyone an update, Lexus has not come up with a resolution yet. At least not in Canada. The issue has gotten worse for me now and it is pretty much happening on a daily basis of needing to push the start button 3 times and let the starter keep cranking until the engine turns on in the mornings.

I've found another posting below from a different forum and it appears the issue is definitely affecting a few 2008 owners out there:

"I never post in forums, generally I just see what is talked about. I read the forum and decided on an 08 GS350. The first time I tried to start it is toook three tries before if finally turned-over, just acted fuel starved. The problem was there every morning for the 8 days I owned the car. I thought it was an problem that would be easily resolved. It turned into a a real surprise. The dealer said that the car was the victim of some kind of programing error that had been seen on only a handfull of GS350s. Lucky me. As I understood it, Lexus changed to direct injection on GS350s this year and there are some starting issues on select (maybe a production batch?) cars in "certain" conditions. Dealer said they would put me in a car for the 30-45 days it would likely take for lexus to download the software fix for the car's injection...and have the fix tested and approved by the EPA...that is what they said...not just something I thought up. Thankfully, my dealer made arrangemenbts to take back the car and offered me a different GS350 or a nice deal on a GS460. I took the GS460 as I did not want to be "lucky" again and get another GS350 with starting problems. Just an FYI. However, I do like my GS460! "[/COLOR]

I have contacted the Service Manager at my local dealership for an update again and he has assured me that Lexus have people looking into this known issue and hope to have a resolution soon.

I still can't believe this has happened to me, as I was so confident with the quality of Toyota/Lexus, which was one of the reasons I decided not to get a BMW 5 series or Audi...