jpcdmd

I got my 93 ls400 back from the local toyota dealer today. I had it in to replace a leaking rear main seal and oil pan gasket (190k miles). Picked it up over lunch, drove about four miles back to work, parked the car. Left work at 6 and the car wouldn't start. Power locks barely operated, instrument cluster faintly lit up, stereo and headlights would not work. The battery is about two years old, haven't had a problem with it since i bought it. Its a Sears Diehard warrantied for three years. i'm in Phoenix, no cold days here. I called the service rep and he played it off like it was just a coincidence that my battery has died the same day they worked on it.

This sounds fishy. Is it possible something was not hooked up properly after the tranny was dropped and reinstalled? Does the engine ground strap need to be removed to replace the rear main seal or oil pan? It seems to me that the problem isn't with the battery, but that it is not charging, and that driving the four or five miles back to work drained the battery.

I'm going to have it towed tomorrow back to the dealer to fix an exhaust leak because they didnt put the exhaust back on right, but I'm worried that they'll find out what they did wrong and cover it up, making me buy a new battery. I can tell they disconnected the battery to perform the service because they didnt put the terminal covers back on.

Any thoughts on what might have happened?

hyperopt

Possible but can't say with any certainty. People quickly blame others when something goes wrong soon after a service without proper evidence to backup their claims. Let face it, a 10 years old car is an old car and it will break down more often and in smaller time frame in accordance to Murphy's law, so let's not speculate to your favor without cold hard evidences. And, yes, the mechanic did the right thing by removing your battery terminals.

jpcdmd

problem solved.......

the battery was the culprit. I had it towed back to the toyota dealer to fix the exhaust leak and they tested the battery and found it wouldnt hold a charge. Replaced it and all is well. What a coincidence, I'm so used to nothing going wrong with the car that made me question what had happened. Now if i was driving an s-class.................................

lspower

driving an s-class..................your car would be in for service every 2 weeks

seanl

Keep in mind that the dealer might have left the key or lights on so that the battery was in fact drained as a result of their actions.

Older batteries that get drained sometimes die shortly thereafter. Just a thought...

1994 LS400

Hey Jpcdmd~
How Much was it to get the Rear Main Seal and Gaskets replaced @ Toyota ? Also did you ever get a burning smell when your car was leaking oil ?
Thanks,
Paul

JPI Racing

They left your lights on and now it drain out the battery. Just curious, how much was the mainseal job?
JPI