We have a 2006 IS 250 that has occasional stalling or momentary lapse of power - not long enough for engine to totally stop, but engine power can disappear for a second or two while accelerating or turning corners.

Two days ago the car would not start. The starter turned over, lights came on, etc., but the engine would not start. I tried an hour later and same result. Wife tried it in late afternoon and would not start. I tried again in the evening and it would not start. Again, every time the starter motor was turning the engine over. We connected jumper cables and after several attempts the engine started, raggedly like it was flooded (the old carburetor days), and slowly smoothed out. We ran the engine for 5 minutes and shut down. The next morning the car started without any problem. We took it to the dealer and they couldn't find a thing wrong from the diagnostic tests. The battery tested perfectly fine.

We thing the non-starting and occasional stalling are related. Suggestions?

 

I was having the same issue with my 2006 IS350. I noticed that sometimes I am braking or coming to a stop that the engine would act like it's about to stall. It actually never died while I was driving it. I've brought it to the dealer and they didn't find anything wrong nor could they replicate the problem. I'm not sure they tried that hard.

Anyway today I was watching a DVD on my ML for about half an hour waiting for a friend and when I started the car, the starter clicked rapidly but the engine wouldn't turn over. My friend came and we jumped the car and that's when noticed there was a lot of build up around my battery terminals. I'm guessing my dealer never looked at my battery.

The car's working okay again but I bought a new battery at Autozone for 90 bucks and I'm going to replace the old one. I figure it's about time anyway.