Majorghn

I was Doordashing tonight and car was fine until I had to wait at Papa John's for my orders.....a long long time! Their manager just walked off the job!

I let my car idle and was listening to music while I waited. Car idled for about an hour! I had turned it off for awhile then turned back on...Dash just lit up with these icons. See photo


Drive it home and switched over to my scooter to deliver last order! When i came home and started car all those icons were gone except low tire pressure icon that's always on.

What is VSC? That warning came on also.

Car drove funny while coming home also, vibration in the steering wheel! What the hell is going on with my Lexus?

LeX2K

I'd guess a problem with the charging system. Long idle time ran down the battery, or could be a combination of the battery not charging correctly and the battery starting to die. Or you simply need a new battery.

Majorghn

The care was "idling"! Which means it was running, battery not going to drain when running. Incidently I did have battery checked 4 days ago at parts store out of curiosity since I just bought car in March, and its fine, battery was purchased in 2021.

Something else caused that? Car does not have a VSC switch to Accidently turn on or off!

Thanks for your reply though.

sthpawil

As mentioned before, it is most likely a charging system issue.

That happened to me a couple of months ago... the dash lit up like a Xmas tree, then the radio turned off, and then my headlights turned off. Was okay the next time that I drove it, but then it happened again. In my case, it turned out that the alternator was going bad.

Replacing the alternator is a little of a pain... you'll need to remove the front cross support and cooling fans, but it can be done without removing the radiator. Watch a couple of YouTube videos (Camry alternator) for guidance. Be careful or you can crack the radiator ports.

NAPA has DENSO remanufactured alternators. ONLY USE DENSO brand alternator!!!

Could also be a loose connection or bad ground.

Here is one video that helped me: https://youtu.be/gEgh-II6HZI


Cross support and cooling fans removed. Radiator tilted toward front of vehicle, but not removed as mine has the cooling line for the transmission attached to it.

spaceballs

Alternators are a PITA for this engine, the book time is 4-4.5 hr, which is about accurate, you can push the radiator out of the way to make space.
I think the official Toyota repair manual beings with "First remove front bumper..." :-D

sthpawil

No need to remove the front bumper, but you do need to remove the plastic shield on the underside.

Bellbb1154

My 2009 es350 had that same issue replaced Gas cap and new battery posts haven't had a problem since 2years now

TCoolest2

I did Uber eats with this car, and I'm going to go with what everyone else says, it's the charging system. This car does not seem to like idling long, and constant engine stops and starts. Eventually had an issue starting after delivering for an hour or two. The VSC thing always comes on when its related to the charging system. Usually always comes on when I have the battery disconnected during some maintenance, goes off after some driving.

Anyways yeah like the other says, may be the alternator, maybe just from age. Autozone told me multiple times that their charge system says my alternator should be replaced. Car still starts fine since I stopped doing uber so, haven't replaced it.

Majorghn

Can parts store test the alternator?

Gerf

Just borrow a multimeter from someone and check the battery voltage with the car running before you start taking things apart.

sthpawil

A simple way to check the alternator is to check the voltage of your battery with the car running and all lights/accessories turned off. Using a multimeter (voltmeter), ground to the body and check voltage. Should be 13.2-14.8 volts. Usually it will be 13.5 or higher.

chuyrobles

Yes, parts store can check the charging system; put a code reader to check for any stored codes. Some stores will do that for you also. A bad ignition coil can also behave as you’ve described. A stored engine code will usually identity the faulty coil.