The wife started the Lexus today (it was about 20 degrees this AM when she started it) and when she put it in reverse, the car spat out an engine light and a battery light. she put it in park, started it again, put it in reverse...same exact issue.

she let it sit for a minute, started it again, let it warm up for a couple minutes, put it in reverse, and voila, problem disappeared.

anyone else have this problem particularly in cold weather? any idea on the causes?

The battery was just recently installed but i checked the connections and it seemed fine. my friend said maybe it has something to do w/ tranny fluid (which looks full and clean) as it's happpening upon shift.

thoughts???

 

prob just the cold start. cars really don't like any degree below freezing, let alone 20 degree weather. as you already know, You should always start the car and let it come up to temperature before driving it. This helps all the internal fluids, internal parts, external parts, yatta yatta yatta come up to temp gradually, thus preventing a whole list of potential problems.

 

Thanks for the quick response - I figured as much but wanted to be sure!

 

Oh my that's a HAWT 4th gen.....*shakes out of it* oh yeah...and

^^+1. I completely concur with his assessment.

 

you never let a car sit until its up to operating temperature. that's terrible advice. no ASE mechanic would tell you that.

its best to start it, allow for the oil pressure to reach every part of the engine. it should take no longer than 20 to 30 seconds in the worst conditions. then, you drive the car, but not heavy load -- go slow , easy on the gas, use lower gears. it will A) not hurt the car to do that B) warms it up faster C) save you a tons of gas

your original question therefore go unanswered. I think you should have it looked at as through the web, its hard to tell what is happening.

 

I'm guessing his assessment involved the electronics involved more than the engine block...which is what I agreed with. But then, you're in Jersey and probably know better than a Texas boy: how consistently well DO electronic things work when it's oh-my-God cold up there (32º and below)?

 

llcoolpass gave the proper information.

 

slooooooooooooow,
no one mentioned electronics until you did as far as I remember.
and to answer your question, electronics dont seem to care about low temperatures. They hate high temperatures. Many distributors on japanese cars go bad because of heat... it killsthe cam sensors and the hall effect sensors and the ignitor modules.
Y'all come back now, ya hear? [how's my fake texas accent?]

 

Oh well...that was about as much of a wild-a**-guess as I could make from down here. That's definitely true about the other extreme though - heat. We have actually heard cars and car parts scream out in pain down here in the 120° Texas heat.
If you finished it with a big spit, you're on your way.

 

thanks for all the respones, guys. it's nice to have a friendly forum to come to for advice - seriously. the VW forum i was a part of before we had to trade in the passat for the lexus were filled with punks that were all into satisfying their own egos through the internet, which made it kinda rough to get straight answers out of people without dealing with their biased opinions on whether or not i should take it to this-guy or that-guy in the boston area...blah.

annnnyway...busy day at work, but the issue the wife had the other day hasn't recurred. i'm hoping it was a cold-weather quirk. it passed state inspection and they do look for pending codes, which means i was able to take care of Code P0171 myself by spray-cleaning the MAFS at least for now! knock on wood. i just told the wife to let it sit for 15-20 seconds in real cold temps before shifting to reverse...we'll see how it goes.

 

well regardless, i dont see any harm by letting your car come up to temp before driving it. [plus id rather get into a warm car than a cold car.] i would definately think that allowing the fluids(ie oil and antifreeze) to come up to temp would prevent wear and tear on the engine. This way your not going from one extreme to the next(20degrees to 300degrees). Cuz last time i checked most materials get briddle and break when consistantly going from one temp extreme to the next.

but before we ramble on anymore, does anyone have any proof on any of these theory's to back it up? any REAL ASE techs in the house?

on the other hand, my car(2nd gen) has experienced some of the problems stated above and it turned out to be the cold start and i never experienced it again. not defining the prob as that solely. However based on my experience that could have been a possibility.

 

Read this>> http://www.wcr.ab.ca/news/2002/0128/...up012802.shtml

 

ya cause when my car isnt up to the temp guage like the first line and i turn my wheel it squeels really really loud and when i let it warm up it wont do it so from now on im lettin my car warm up before i drive it

 

thats your powersteering pump! i agree with you man, im always gonna let my car warm up, for sure! call me neive or ignorant but, ill spend the extra gas 1) to stay warmer 2) because this website listed above is a western religious reporting, that is clearly titled "OPINION" 3) beacuse coming from a mechanic background i believe its gonna prevent what ive always been informed as un-natural wear and tear on my car 4) because any un-natural build up from idling will be broken off and burned during my lead foot highway shenanighans!

So....anyother factual information out there...???

 

Most likely the squeal is caused because your power steering belt is glazed, or you have improper tension. If it continues to do that after adjusting the tension, than buy a new belt! I guarantee that'll stop the noise.