so me and my girl are on the freeway im' in my lexus and she is behind me in her 2000 rx300 then she calls me on the celly and says that she cannot accelerate, and the car keeps decelerating and so she pulls over and the car dies... and it won't start back up... i tried jumping it and it catches for about 2 seconds then dies again. it turns over but doesn't start... the car has 50k on it exactly... i'm tryin to figure this out b4 i take it to lexus... and plus the car doesn't start lol. cause i'm thinking either the battery is dead... bad alternator <--- problems from diff post and i had a 240sx taht did this same thing to me.... and it turned out to be the maf... any1 plz help i do not want to take it to lexus... and pay them and another towing fee... but if i have to then i will... also this car has had all maintenance through lexus as the book show for them..

 

Bad alternator => poor battery charge => problem sustained runing + problem in TURNING engine over.

[note bad battery can also create the same symptoms ie. root cause may not be the alternator]


Engine dying can be due to following things.
1. Ignition problem [spark] .. if the engine turns over in starting battery etc can be eliminated.
2. Fuel + air.
3. Safety/anti-theft [battery is common]

if the rx is dead on the road pay for the tow to dealer. If you have already towed it to home, check for simple things ... use different master key check terminals are tight, charge battery (swap battery) etc. Failing all that have it towed to a trusted mechanic shop/dealer. Computer diagnostics may be required.

ps. with a poor alternator a new battery can perform well fro few hours.

Salim

 

but all accessories lights are fine... but i guess that just means the battery still has some juice but not enough

 

Since electrical does not seem to be the issue, my only other guess would be the oil gelling issue. If that's the case and you can prove that you kept up with oil change, you can get a new engine free of charge.

 

My RX300 died last week ago, when I put reverse back up, my rx300 suddenly stop working,and after restart engine continues running smooth. Reason why did engine died; I hadn't oil changed 6000 miles since I had been oil changed two months ago so!

 

take it to Lexus and please post back what the problem was.

 

well i didn't tow it to lexus and thank god... my friend and i (he is the master mechanic at honda) started to check things out... make a long story short... the car ran out of gas. but the funny thing is the gas meter was on quarter tank. but there was no gas what so ever in the vehicle...faulty sender unit and sticky needle... ****in gay but thats was all.... filled it up with gas runs completely fine. just told my girl friend to fill up ever half tank, or she could take it to lexus and spend alot of money to get the gas light to come on

 

When I take my RX to the track, it has less than a 1/4 tank in it. A full tank can make .3 difference (big in racing). I have noticed a trend over time where that stick needle will make the gas light come on earlier even though I still have enough for the 10 mile return trip back to my place at high speed. Sometimes, I need to pull the negative battery cable off to get it to reset though normally more than a 1/4 tank will get that needle working. I wonder if there is a lot muck at the bottom with the Pemex gas down here.