2009 RX350. 205 MILES.
Drove home and parked. 2 hours later I went to leave again. Turned key and nothing. No crank, no start. Had brake firmly depressed. Checked battery and it was good. Lights, radio, windows, etc. all working normally. Manual tells me that fuse "AM1" (??) is for the starter system so I am going to check that. Will also look to see if any other fuses/relays are associated with starting the car. Just wondering if anyone might have had the same problem and whether there are other thing that can be checked before I have to pull out my wallet.

Thanks in advance!

 

How did you check the battery?

 

Checked with a multi meter

 

If you open the hood and look down between the air filter housing and the engine cover you can see the starter........ Use a small length of pipe to reach down in there and hit the starter a few times while somebody's trying to start the engine.

Sounds like the starter solenoid is stuck. The vibration created by hitting the starter with a metal object might be enough to break loose the starter solenoid piston so that the starter works.

If hitting the starter works.......you'll need to remove the solenoid body from the starter case. Doing this will allow you to clean & lube the solenoid body as well as the solenoid piston.

I did this when the engine in my son's 2008 Lexus wouldn't start.

The solenoid is a really simple device. It's four pieces:
1) Solenoid body.
2) Solenoid piston.
3) Solenoid piston spring.
4) Solenoid piston attachment thinga-muh-jig.


Or you could just pay Lexus $870 to replace the starter with a new one. That's how much they wanted to do my son's car. Such a rip-off. I even asked at the service desk if they could just clean the solenoid to get the starter working again.......they told me "We don't clean parts to fix them, we replace them".

I ended up cleaning the solenoid and spent (literally) a single dollar for a tiny packet of grease....lubed the solenoid piston, put it back on the starter and the car has fired up every day since that time a couple years ago.

You don't need a dealerships tool inventory to accomplish this task. You need one screwdriver 🪛...one 10mm wrench🔧 and a 13mm socket wrench
10mm wrench to disconnect the battery.
13mm socket wrench to disconnect a cable on the solenoid.
A screwdriver to remove the solenoids two attachment screws.

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The solenoid tip is well worth your time to check. Good luck.

 

Look for a indy shop that works on Toyota's vs the dealership.

 

Great Advice, Always start with the Easiest fix, it's Usually the way to Go!

 

All:
Thanks so much for your input. Oddly enough, I figured I would just wait until today to do any further checking. Then, I got back in the bcar, and it started with no problem. Has started over and over all day, but I'm am going to check that solenoid as suggested! REALLY appreciate the help.

 

Quite dangerous if you do not find the cause of the non start. Better investigate further. You do not want a bigger failure at some point. When you need the car in an emergency and it does not start. Good luck.

 

The start installation is a super easy DIY job.

Not sure if this interests OP but it can be swapped out in 15 mins.
This is on a X330 so not sure on the newer ones.

 

Yes indeed I will make sure it is checked out.

 

You can quickly confirm if the starter solenoid is bad, shove a 14 gauge or lower wire in place of the black connector (it might be brown) and touch the other end to battery +.