Benjam1n

Hello all, as the title states my 08 LS will not start. Two days prior I had a fairly long highway drive in a downpour taking full advantage of my ultra high performance AS tires.. I put my kids in the back seat the following day to go out with them but we decided to switch vehicles and I believe I locked up afterwards. Next morning heading to work it turns over for about 1.5 sec, Check VSC shows on the dash and a fan turns on in the engine bay. Then nothing. Luckily I have a spare vehicle so that was it.

I try to jump using a battery jumper but no luck. The start button turns green when you apply the brakes but does nothing when pressed. Interestingly the first time of the day you try to start it it will turn for a second or two but after that, nothing, just says Check VSC, take your car to a dealer.

I've tried holding start button for over 15 seconds with foot on brake, and shifting out of and back into park with no results. Also opening and closing all doors and trunk, setting alarm then returning to vehicle. I replaced battery but she's still doing same thing.

Other weird thing is my cheap code reader which I've used on her before with success does not connect and says linking error. I had a casual mechanic friend come by and I believe check some fuses but was stumped and suggested towing to dealer. Just wanted to see if anyone has any tips or thoughts before I hire a flatbed to tow her to a local independent shop. Researching this a lot it seems that it could be starter, alternator, wiring corrosion, fuel pump or fuel pressure sensor. Thanks in advance.

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

I would suggest disconnecting the battery, leave it this way for a few hours, and after you connect it try to start again. This will clear any pending codes, but they will return if the issue is still there.

I assume your friend, or yourself, tested the battery?

Benjam1n

Yes we did check the battery. Brand new, its in a good range.

Benjam1n

Planning to call a flatbed tow truck tomorrow morning and she'll be off to a local repair shop. Just reading Google reviews tonight to pick the best one. I'm 25k miles into this adventure. 211k on the clock.

JLAWS

Sounds like the alternator is bad. You will need to have someone reset the computer to get rid of the ABS, VSC codes. An obd2 scanner won't do it. Also you won't be able to get a reading when the car is not running.

Brewmyown

Techstream will read all of the stored error codes as long as you can turn the ignition on (pressing the start button twice without your foot on the brake pedal). The car doesn't need to be running to see all of the codes. As stated many times on the forum, new batteries can test good and still fail the load or cold cranking test. Its rare, but it happens. You mentioned a possible starter issue. It could be but the most common start issue is that you wont get it to crank. You hit the start button and all you get is a definitive "Click". This happened to me several weeks ago. I got the dreaded "Click" when pressing the start button and then the Christmas tree of lights on the dash. I had to put a new starter in it. Not a horrible job but not one for someone that doesn't have a decent selection of tools and hasn't torn into mildly extensive car repairs previously.

Good luck and please post back to let everyone know your findings.

Benjam1n

This was Friday morning. Hopefully a LS being towed remains a very rare sight. No news yet from the shop. Made sure to get a flatbed tow. Of course the tow driver insisted on trying to jump it first, with no success. He deftly used a knife to pry open the little slot in the bumper to screw the tow hook into and it went smoothly.

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

It seems like no one ever puts the bumper piece back on after towing. Make sure they don't lose it.

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

I just came back to see what the status was. Hopefully its a quick easy fix.

Benjam1n

Got the call today--bad fuel pressure sensor was the culprit. It was shorting the 5 volt system which resulted in no OBDII connection. Not covered under 3rd party extended warranty which doesnt cover sensors. Also they said, for liability reasons, they have to replace whole fuel rail and gaskets not just the sensor so this is pricey one. There is a recall related to this. Called Lexus, prior owner got it done in 2015 and only 12 mo/12k mi warranty on that. The shop ordered parts and hopefully I'll have her back Friday.

Ls460kidd

Ouch that sucks

roadfrog

As this happened after the recall was done, I'd not let this go. Call Lexus Corporate.

UDel

"Liability reasons", sounds like BS to me to just run up the bill, if you took it to the dealership I would say don't bother and take it somewhere else or see if you can do it on your own. I would call corporate about a recall work that did not last, that means it is still defective and you should not have to pay for it.

Benjam1n

Yeah they pretty much got you by the ***** when you tow your car in somewhere. I'll call corporate some time and see where I get. Satisfied that corporate replaced my dashboard in my old GX. I'm happy to be hopefully getting the car back tomorrow. Having the car towed somewhere else after they already broke it down and paying them for that time they already spent to take it somewhere else where they would probably say the first place messed it up was definitely an option I had, but I just am letting the shop see this thing through and get my car back to running perfect. Any problems I'm right back there. It cost a bit (2k) but I got the car cheap and in almost 1 year of ownership this is its first big problem. Hopefully the last. And the next problem, if there is one, better be warranty eligible. A bigger problem I have is I drive too fast in this thing.

roadfrog

Don;t hold your breath. When you say "they got you by the *****", that applies to aftermarket warranties as well. Just another example of why I never purchase one.