09 RX cold morning starting issue
 

I live in Ontario Canada and it has been rather wet lately to say the least...this morning my RX had a difficult time starting...it took 3 turnovers...any thoughts? It has 80 000 kms on it right now...fully serviced...etc...not sure if I need new plugs...made an appointment with Erin Park Lexus on Tuesday to figure out issue...don't really want to go because I am going after work...

Also, the nav system is weird lol...just picked this one up...my dad took the 08 I recently purchased...

Thanks...

Plugs do not need to be replaced until 120K miles, some 190K km. Doubt those are your problem.

Assuming no check engine lights on after the car is running, correct? If not, that also points to plugs not being a problem as if they were not firing proper or an ignition coil was a problem you would get a light and an error code to go along with it.

With all the water, perhaps you got some bad gas. Try some dry gas additive. Inexpensive. And, be sure to put some premium fuel in there.

Could be a failing battery, how old is it?

Definitely another item to look into. You, the OP, mentioned that it took three attempts to start, however, there is a lot of room for interpretation. Why three attempts? Did it start and then immediately die on you? Or, did it just not start and you just released the key?

Cold weather can affect a battery's performance. So, another thing that you can check.

The battery is fine! When I turned it over this morning, I turned it off just as if was about to crank on...so I am not sure at all...

Started fine this morning...I would assume that it was the moisture...I just picked up this one and I am not sure if the previous tank of gas was just regular unleaded...I am still taking it to the dealership on Tuesday...there are no dash lights which is weird...the dealership also mentioned that there are no previous maintenance recommendations either...so I would imagine it just being a hiccup...

Will keep you posted...

+1 for the battery. I had the same problem last year, end of winter 2011. I wasn't sure because it was fine in summer. But, again, when the cold weather started in november (2011), the problem came back... Same thing happened with my Highlander...

This reminds me of my wife's rx
 

When we first bought the car used , it came with a car starter which worked beautifully.

After 1 year my wife complained that the car started was a hit and missed. Didn't really pay much attention to it till she mentioned sometime the click is off.

This got me thinking, battery issue? But it starts ok.

We this winter just couple of weeks ago, I was waiting for her and thought I turned the ignitions completely off. Well tried to start her up after maybe 10 minutes and battery dead.

Well after that I noticed a big hesitation when turning her over (this is her truck).

I dropped by my nearest Costco, picked up a new battery, went home and installed it.

Every went well, programmed the windows and took it out for a spin. All was good and left it there.

This week she come to me and asked if I got the car started fixed, because it starts up with no problems now I said no, but my conclusion was that the battery didn't gave enough CC to turn over.

Short story: could be the battery due to our cold winters.

Cheers

My 08 was slow starting, always started just cranked longer than it always had. Put in a new battery and all was well again.

Hi Guys,

That's the thing, it turns over fine...it just won't grab...like...fuel pump etc...it's a long turn over before it actually starts...

same symptoms with my 07 RX350, the battery was the culprit.

Same here.

I'm not disputing everyone here, but I am not sure it is the battery...it cranks perfectly...hmmm...just longer...will see what the dealership says...

Have a great weekend...

That's exactly what I'm telling you mine did,cranked perfectly just took longer to start. I can't explain it but I put a new battery in and it starts fast now, cranking is still the same just starts faster now.

So I took the RX to the dealership last night and got the battery and alternator checked...The alternator was fine and so was the battery however, the standby charge was rather low so I got it replaced...so far it starts fine...