Hey gents, at times when I attempt to start the car when it's cold the car will start n die. When I try starting it again all goes well....

Any thoughts.... Appreciate all your feedback!!

 

my initial reaction would be to get the battery checked...

 

+1

 

Why would "start n die" indicate a bad battery? There's enough juice to spin the starter and have the car start - twice. I think something else is the cause. Maybe there's a partially clogged fuel filter or weak fuel pump that is not allowing fuel pressure to come up quickly enough. If these cars have an external fuel filter, you may want to start there. You can also try a trick that works on some domestics:

- Turn the "key" to on, but not all the way to start.
- Pause a second while everything stabilizes.
- Turn the "key" to start.

 

Fuel filter does sound like the possible culprit. I will have that changed and see how things go from there... Only when it is cold this happens. Another thing.... Last night I had to brake hard cause if a stupid driver and my Brake light came on... The one that comes on when you apply the parking brake!! Any thoughts on that??

I still have warranty on this car, I guess I will have it checked out....

 

Sometime when you brake (or corner) hard and if you have low brake fluid, the sensor can go off. Not sure about the starting problem. The 2UZ-FE in my Sequoia did that once (engine died after starting) after I started it without proper mounting the air flow meter.

 

Regarding the starting----my thoughts are a fuel problem (filter/pump/etc), not battery.

Regarding the brakes---my thoughts would be to check your brake fluid level.

How many miles do you have on the car?

 

Only 62k...

 

^^^
Has it ever had a fuel filter change? I had a pickup coast to a stop at about that mileage because the dealer never changed the fuel filter at 30K as I requested.

 

Unclear on that... I have had the car since early 08 with 32k on it... I have never changed it and is it part of the 30k service? If not then I don't see this being changed at all.

 

I haven't looked at the recommended service intervals/owners manual reference the fuel filter...however, when I was approaching ~75k miles with my 2002 Acura RL, I couldn't find a part # (Purolator nor Honda) for it's fuel filter.

Intrestingly enough, when I went to the parts counter at the Acura dealership, they told me the fuel filter NEVER needed changing?! They didn't even have any on hand nor in their stock to buy! I found that really weird.

Ultimately, in my own world, I try to change the fuel filter every 50k miles, regardless what the book says.

 

^^^
Unfortunately, not having a changeable in-line fuel filter has become popular among automakers. I think it is a combination of cost reduction and the changeover to higher pressure fuel systems. The screen over the intake is supposed to last the life of the in-tank fuel pump - which sounds like a self-defeating strategy to me. I wouldn't be surprised if the LS430 has this system since at least some other Toyotas it.

 

Fuel filter is in the tank and is not supposed to be changed. Lexus has been using the that system since early nineties with no issues. Seems like a starter or ground (more likely) issue to me.

 

Starter... Only happens when the car was sitting for a while. Today I started the car after 12hrs n it did it... The first time it starts and dies right away. Second time all goes well.

 

Is it starting all the way and then dying, or not starting all the way and dying? If the first, then i'd guess something with the fuel/air system (something with the fuel supply, mass air sensor dirty, air filter too dirty). If it's the starter contacts, it will sometimes start, and sometimes you'll just hear a click. If your headlights work w/ the engine off, you can rule out the battery. If dash lights flash on/off intermittently while driving, then I'd suspect a bad ground/dirty battery terminals.