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In November of 2014 I went out to my car after work to go home and it would not crank. I had just changed the battery so I knew it had to be the starter. After about 20 minutes of trying it finally started. I immediately drove it to a lexus dealership to get changed. They told my the starter by itself would be $700 so I told them that was outrageous. so I brought a starter from AutoZone for only $125 bucks!. Lexus told me they would charge me $740 in Labor so at this point i was stuck so I said go ahead and do it and they gave me a loaner ES. After only 7 months the starter went out again and I had to get it towed ****ing $100. At this point there was no way I was going to lexus again so I decided to try to put a new one on myself. After countless hours of searching for a DIY i finally discovered that the starter is located under the passenger side exhaust manifold. It is not under the intake manifold on the LS460 big misconception on the forums here. After removing the passenger side wheel,removing the two little small plastic covers in the firewall I then bent the two heat shields out the way and BAM! There was the freakin starter. I then proceeded to hit with a hammer but that didnt work. I then reach up on top of the starter and what do i ****ing feel? The damn starter connector had rattled out of the harness clip after re-attaching the starter connector wire to the harness the car fired right up. It seems that these cars have a defective starter connector harness and overtime can rattle off or loose overtime!. Below are some links that I hope help explain this!
This could save you $1000 of dollars and if you take it to a mechanic they will not tell you and take your money for no labor.
This problem will also give you the same symptoms of a failing starter due to the harness making connection barely and moving around!
Last edited by kontrazeus; May 26, 2015 at 07:06 PM.
After countless hours of searching for a DIY i finally discovered that the starter is located under the passenger side exhaust manifold. It is not under the intake manifold on the LS460 big misconception on the forums here.
Countless hours searching? There's a thread further down the list from yesterday that covers this very topic.
Good info on the harness though! Also good info on how access to the starter might be easier than the info provided in that other thread.
Yes you can access the starter but it cannot be removed without taking the exhaust manifold and oil dipstick off!. the spacing is also very tight to maneuver your hand in! This is what I did..
1. remove passenger wheel
2. remove 2 plastic covers with a 10mm socket or Phillip screwdriver
3. bend first heat-shield up towards the motor
4. remove one visible bolt of the second heat shield and bend upwards and you will see starter
5. It is very difficult to see until you bend the heat shields it took about 30mins before i finally saw it!
*(*You do not need to remove the undercover unless you are removing the starter completely
Yes you can access the starter but it cannot be removed without taking the exhaust manifold and oil dipstick off!. the spacing is also very tight to maneuver your hand in! This is what I did..
1. remove passenger wheel
2. remove 2 plastic covers with a 10mm socket or Phillip screwdriver
3. bend first heat-shield up towards the motor
4. remove one visible bolt of the second heat shield and bend upwards and you will see starter
5. It is very difficult to see until you bend the heat shields it took about 30mins before i finally saw it!
*(*You do not need to remove the undercover unless you are removing the starter completely
Hopefully I never have to worry, but that's the first thing I'll check for before ordering a starter...can't believe the exhaust manifold must come off to remove the starter.
Before you get your starter changed read this!!
