Hey everyone,

I've got a 1998 LS 400 that has been difficult to start on two seperate occasions when the temp gets down in the 20s at night, less than half a tank of gas, and I haven't started it up in 2-3 days. I'm able to get it started and it runs great once started, but I'm wondering if the Ethanol premixed in the gas, combined with low temperatures, and a half empty tank is causing condensation in the fuel tank? I used sea foam the last time I filled up and haven't had problems since. Any thoughts?

 

Ethanol does not help with starting up because of its lower energy content, however, 10% ethanol should not be a problem. Now E85 would be a distinct problem but I doubt that is the mix you have.

When you say "difficult to start", do you mean it is rather slow cranking until it finally fires up or that the cranking is robust and it takes a long time to fire up?

 

Almost all winter blends have some sort of alcohol to prevent gas from freezing. E85, being largely ethanol, you will see problems in colder climates if using it in flex fuel vehicles. Our LS400 should not be driven off of E85, but it definitely safe to drive with regular gas that has a small (15%) amount of ethanol, you'll hardly know the difference. That being said, it is normal if not recommended to have a small amount of alcohol in winter blends to prevent freezing, but too much alcohol, i.e. filling up with 100% E85 in flex fuel vehicles can cause some hard starts. You could have likely just visited the pumping station in on an off day/moment where there was moisture or sludge in their storage tank.

 

I'm definitely not using E85 and I fueled up with 93 at two seperate shell gas stations in different cities. I would describe the crank as robust, but it sounds different from a normal crank. At first I thought I might have a starter problem (fly wheel or solunoid). I gave it just a little gas and after 2-3 seconds it cranked, it intially idled alittle rough and after 5 seconds or so began idling normally.

 

Taking 2-3 seconds to fire up is completely normal. As 3UZFTE mentioned, you may have just gotten a tank of substandard gas. Shell is typically very good gas but try another top tier just for comparison.

Remember, one of the most challenging things we Lexus owners have to deal with is the paranoia of analyzing every little creak, groan, squeak and rattle of our machines, expecting nothing short of perfection.

I would just make a mental note and not worry too much about it. If it gets much, much worse you can worry.

Oh, how many miles on your 98?