I have a 2008 is350. When I put my foot on the brake and press the start button I just hear 1 loud click and then nothing. My A/C works, my heat works, my radio works, my headlights are bright, and my windows roll down. I got my battery tested at an auto parts store and it was fine. I’ve had this problem before and it usually starts after a long time of trying then it won’t happen for a while and then it happens again. I don’t know if it’s the starter or what but it’s frustrating me. Thanks

 

Do you hear the fuel pump priming itself when you have the ignition on? If so, may be the starter, may be the fuel pressure sensor, could even be a blown fuse. They're all fairly easy to check to see if those are the problem.

FPS: it can be unplugged and then see if the car cranks and starts, and if it does, the FPS is your issue (I would absolutely not drive the car around with it unplugged, you can pick up a replacement part for $30 on eBay). See here for relative information on how to disconnect/unplug the FPS: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...ml#post9759981

 

Remove the battery cables to the battery terminals and ensure a CLEAN and solid connection.

I assume the "START" button is lighting up green when you press the brake pedal?

 

Tough to say but probably going to be the beginning signs of the starter going bad. In my case it started as a single click and gradually got worse. I had Lexus test it for me but replaced it myself on my GS.

PERFORMED AN ELECTRICAL SYSTEM TEST. FOUND EXCESSIVE AMP DRAW FROM THE STARTER MOTOR ~|~CAR WILL CLICK 4-5 TIMES THEN START. REPLACED BATTERY LAST MONTH. GUEST DECLINED REPLACEMENT ~|~ ~|~233151 1.0 693

 

it is green when I press the brake. I got it started but Putting it in the on position then putting the shifter over until it said “return to p” on the dash then I put it back in park and it started. So I don’t know what that means.

 

So is it back to running correctly?

 

well I started it multiple times last night and throughout the day yesterday and it was working fine. But I started it this morning and it died after about 1 second of running. So I kept my foot on the brake and started it again and it ran fine and started up again about 4 hours later and ran fine for 60 miles. It didn’t throw any codes either. So I’m lost about that. I’m gonna try to clean my Throttle body tonight and see if that does anything but I don’t see that working. I’m lost on what to do about that. But there’s probably another forum for that

 

^What you described about hitting the START button and it attempting to kick over for a second and then dies immediately sounds like what exactly happens when you disconnect the battery for 20 minutes + and then reconnect it.

Are we sure that all of the battery connections are solid, including the ground cable from the battery terminal to the vehicle's chassis?

 

well when it started and died I just pressed the start button again and it worked. And I started it multiple times before it did this after the battery was put back in. I noticed that the MAF was loose and the screw only had 2 threads left until it was unscrewed completely so I’m assuming that’s why it died. But the starting problem hasn’t happened again yet so I’ll wait and see if it happens again like it has the past couple months. But someone said it sounded like my starter solenoid may be bad cause it didn’t even attempt to crank and it was only ONE loud click and not multiple.

 

More often than not; the click is a loose or bad connection. It makes that sound for several reasons.
Primary is not having enough current to spin the starter motor that cranks the engine.
After that - drained battery and starters that either have a bad solenoid or starters that draw too much current.

Try jumping it the next time the click happens. CONNECT BATTERY POS TO BAT. CONNECT BATTERY NEG TO ENGINE BLOCK! What happens?