Car:2006 IS250

Ok first thing I noticed was song I was playing through a bluetooth adapter started stuttering. Ok then the ABS, Brake and traction control lights came on. Then it was hard to steer the car. Then it was hard to accelerate almost as if the brakes were holding the wheels. Finally the instrument panel lights went out and the speedometer and tach did the 'startup' sweep a couple of times. Anybody got any ideas of what the heck is going on?

 

What is your battery voltage/is your alternator making charging current and/or belt still intact?

This doesn’t sound like a “crazy” malfunction; it sounds very normal for certain common problems.

 

Battery is 11.42 volts. Belt is intact. Don't know about charging current.

EDIT: Autozone says the battery is good but needs to be charged. If the alternator is bad, I don't get why I didn't see a battery light?

 

Best next step is to charge the battery fully (Overnight on a 8/10 amp charger, or up to a week if you are using a trickle charger - be aware of that).

Then start the car and measure the voltage across the battery terminals. If less than ~14 Volts (ideally more), time for a new alternator, or rebuild it yourself (not hard).

 

Got new battery. The voltage when the car is off is 12.44 but when it's running it's 12.04.

 

That shows nothing was wrong w/your old battery. Your alternator is not working.

A new battery would be about 12.8V. If yours is 12.44, already, it’s being run down and not charged.

 

Agreed, alternator needs replacement; ideally before deep discharging your new battery.

 

I took the car to a Toyota dealer and they confirmed the alternator is bad. Can anybody explain why the battery light didn't come on?

 

When you turn the key to “ON” (not start), does the red battery light come on then?

 

I swear when I checked before there was no light. Now that I got the car back after the alternator was replaced the light comes on.

 

What is this plastic cover and why is the belt rubbing against this? Hopefully you can see it.

 

You need to:

- Make a point of finding the person who installed that belt/pulley, then
- Go give them a little rabbit-punch to the kidney to inspire them to be less of an idiot.

Definitely mis-routed, and looks like the wrong pulley. That may be your problem. Did you have work done recently? You may not have needed a battery or alternator. We assumed your belt was at least installed correctly.

here is what it looks like (my car rn), and a link on how to do it correctly.

https://www.clublexus.com/how-tos/a/...ne-belt-367281

 

No work done recently. I think the belt was on correctly before. I took it back to the dealer and they put the belt back on correctly (I think). I told them I wanted a new belt and they said they would order me one. The only reason I even discovered this was because the customer service guy was trying to show me where they claimed that my valve cover was leaking and the tech said he thought the leaking oil is what killed the alt. I noticed the melted plastic and was like WTF. I didn't really see any oil. Is it even possible for that to happen? Of course they want like $900 to replace the valve cover seals and they said I need rear brakes for like another $600.

EDIT: BTW the voltage is only showing 13.2 while the car is running. I did have the A/C going and the radio up loud.

 

Before discussing anything else, get the correct pulley and install the belt correctly. I think it may be the correct pulley, the grooves that appear are in fact, not truly grooves, but rather transferred rubber from the belt being installed on the wrong side.

can’t diagnose anything before fixing the serp belt. Since it is clearly too loose, it is probably the source of your problems. Probably. See the link already provided.