She went out this morning to start the car and nothing. It was just cranking and wouldn't turn over... She tried about 5 times and nothing. She came in to wake me up and tell me.

Well, I went out about a half hour later and tried it and wala! It started. It wasn't the usual start (it was a low crank and took about 3 seconds but it started). It was also smoking a little.

The smoke wasn't oil or coolant, those are all fine. It also wasn't her key as I used both. I thought the transponder may have been defective.

The car is running perfect again as if nothing ever happened.

Any ideas??? She's 9 months pregnant and I don't need this happening when it's go time...

 

could possibly be the starter. Happens to a lot of GS400s, including mine.

 

i had the SAME EXACT dilemma this morning!! Ever since, its been starting perfectly fine. Battery/alternator/starter everything was checked out fine. I wonder if its something related to cold weather.

 

Starter? Hmmm. I've never seen it before. It had a fine crank. Seemed like it was a little flooded. It's weird on an EFI car...

 

cars dont like women because women are #1 cause of car death

 

First of all, congrats on the little one in the oven.

The slow crank might simply be because she might have worn down the battery trying to start it up.

The smoke might indicate a loose/bad connection. Possibly the battery terminals

Make sure you only have one Lexus key on the key ring. If the transponder sees two keys, it could get confused and not let the car start.

Yes according to this email from my sister, women are evil too. Here is a copy of the email. A little off topic. Enjoy anyway.

FBI Job Opening
For the final test, the FBI agents took one of the men to a large metal door and handed him a gun.

"We must know that you will follow your instructions no matter what the circumstances. Inside the room you will find your wife sitting in a chair. Kill Her!!!"

The man said, "You can't be serious, I could never shoot my wife" The agent said, "Then you're not the right man for this job. Take your wife and go home."

The second man was given the same instructions. He took the gun and went into the room. All was quiet
for about 5 minutes. The man came out with tears in his eyes, "I tried, but I can't kill my wife."

The agent said, "You don't have what it takes. Take your wife and go home."

Finally, it was the woman's turn. She was given the same instructions, to kill her husband. She took the gun and went into the room. Shots were heard, one after another. They heard screaming, crashing, banging on the walls. After a few minutes, all was quiet. The
door opened slowly and there stood the woman, She wiped the sweat from her brow.

"This gun is loaded with blanks" she said. "I had to beat him to death with the chair."


MORAL: Women are evil. Don't mess with them!!!!

 

Sounds like it could be the starter to me. When my starter starting having problems, I would turn the key, and nothing would happen (maybe some clicking). The engine would not turn over. But I learned if I kept turning the key 5-6 times, it would eventually turn over and start like nothing was wrong.

 

^he said it was turning over, just not starting. so it's not the starter.

the smoke was probably because it was flooded.

 

He said "It was just cranking and wouldn't turn over."

 

based on this quote, I think he meant "it was just cranking and wouldn't start".

 

I had the very same problem. Turns out it was the air flow sensor in the intake tract. I bought some sensor cleaner and cleaned the sensor and presto, problem gone.