Threxx

And it only has 35k miles with a fresh tune-up at 30k!

I filled up at a local gas station and as I started pulling away I started making a sharp right-hand turn at about 5 MPH to pull away from the pumps and I started to notice that my steering felt weird. The motor is so smooth and quite I couldn't tell that it turned off... but I did notice the gas was doing nothing for me and the steering was no longer 'boosted' feeling.

So I looked down and my RPM is at 0 and all my lights are on... my car is still in drive. So I cranked it and it started right up.

What in the world could have caused this? Should I call my dealer and tell them to find out (for fear of it doing to me again, but this time on the highway!!) or should I wait and see if it happens again.

My first thought was dirty gas... but my fuel filter was just changed and I only use 93 octane Amoco- and Amoco above all others prides themselves on having the cleanest gas in the industry. Not to mention if it had been bad gas, the car probably would have continued to stall on me or at least idle roughly. And I drove it for 30 miles afterwards without a hiccup.

Threxx

Nevermind... I'm going to guess it's this problem, that everyone seems to be having.

I bought this car because I thought it would be reliable...

4k miles of driving and I've had to have the waterpump (and serpantine belt) replaced because it was leaking, both headlights replaced because of condensation, $780 worth of service done at 30k miles, and now my car stalls on me at idle without the A/C on... wow... so this is why everyone says Lexus is so reliable?

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Threxx,

I don't think it's the same problem. The low idle issue only is noticable when you are at a full stop, in drive with your AC off. If I read your description correctly, you were under power pulling out.... you wouldn't have been able to do that if your car had died.

Might have had some crap in the bottom of your tank that got pulled into the fuel line all at once giving some blockage before it broke loose.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i bet your car is not CPO? i am sure you are just unlucky with teh car, the previous owner probably didn't take care of the car at all. i got my 98 gs400 with 32k miles, and now it's at 42k i believe and it's still running silky smooth. i didn't NOTHING except oil change, one diff oil change, and one tranny flush

IS200 3SGTE

Yes Lexus is reliable but just like any other automobile it has to be taken care of properly, u think if u treat something like crap it will last forever?

most of time it is the operator not the equipment that causes the problem (not saying it is you, previous owner could have been horrible with the car) but don't be so quick to blame the car for everything.

sorry if this offends anyone but when i see something like "i thought lexus was reliable but since i have had a few probs with a used car this has totally proved that theory wrong" it gets me a little peeved.

Threxx

Umm... well first of all headlights don't take in water because of abuse unless somebody just decided to pop the hood, pull the seals back, and pour some water in.

Second of all, it wasn't a CPO... I didn't feel like paying the extra 7-8k premium just to have Lexus tell me it was a nice car and that they'd give me a warranty until 100k miles when I can get one from warrantygold.com to 150k miles for 1200 bucks.

And lastly, I did a heck of a lot of investigative research on this car. I work in the insurance industry, so I was able to look up the previous owner's contact information and check out the title. The car has never been in so much as a fender bender, and the previous owner was a 55 year old doctor. I called him and asked him how he treated the car and he told me he'd only floored it once in the entire life of the car just to see what it would do. He said other than that his wife told him that he drives way too slow and people occasionally honk at him for taking his time accelerating from the stop light.

He had nothing to gain by lying to me about it because he had traded the car in to a car dealer 2 months prior... he already got his money for it... I bought it from a wholesale dealer who bought it at an auction.

aldo23

I had a similar problem. The other day(and it happend before) I was in rush-hour traffic and all of a sudden my car turns off. There wasn't an abrupt halt or any indication that the car died, the only thing apperant was that all the gauges lit up. So i put the hazards on, and w/in a few seconds the car was back to normal.
My car is CPO, so whatever happens, its not my fault. Now if my problem continue, than we have a problem. So thats the approach I would take Threxx..

BananaGS

We all know that Lexus had a few minor problems in earlier release of GS, especially 98-99, 2nd gen GS, but totally new car, so just like 1st gen GS, there are some problems here and there (like faded paint molding, water in head light), Lexus had done alot better job in the 2000+ car. Beside, Lexus service are blowing my mind everytime I take my car in.... They are willing to fix these mistakes and not making it again.

The low idle problem is only happened with a small number of people here, my dealer is willing to try different thing for me, but nothing works yet, but they are still trying. They had never come out and blame my Intake or my exhaust or anything on my part. to them. I know about car, if they had tried to bull**** me, i know, my service guy told me straight forward, there is no error logged on my car, they will replace what I think will fix the problem (so far, the TSP and TSP assembly), but they are not 100% sure what to replace next (no error, it's hard fot them to justify the warranty claim with Lexus NA)

VVT-i

That's sound really strange for the dealer who got a trade in such a nice car and send it to the auction. Most of the dealer if they get a hand on the 99 GS400 that's nice as your car, there's no way they will send the car to the auction.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

I agree VVT-i. Threxx, why do you think the dealer sold it at auction instead of reselling it?

gs400998

I serached all Lexus dealerships in my neighboring states before I found an used 99 at a non-Lexus dealer. I searched all Lexus dealerships in my area and found only one used GS400 in MN with 48K miles, none in IA, NE, one 99 GS400 with 52K in WI. There are many used 98, 99 returned to the Lexus dealerships after the end of lease but I am having problem locating one in majority of Lexus dealerships in my area.

tomtnc

I wouldn't worry until the problem becomes persistant or even predictable.

If the problem happened immediately after you refueled, I would think it was a fuel related issue. Taking a turn out of the gas station would "slosh" the fuel in the tank around and possibly stir up sediment in the bottom of the fuel tank. This could temporarily block the fuel line or interfere with the fuel pump intake screen in the tank or fuel filter (per DaveGS4's suggestion). Assuming this was the problem, the sediment could have come from the bottom of the tank or from the refueling (the station tank).

Once again, I wouldn't be too concerned until the problem becomes persistant or predictable.

Dealers send off-lease or trade-in vehicles to auction for many reasons. The main reason is inventory value (carrying cost of inventory) and cash flow issues, not "bad or good" Lexus. The pristine 99 GS4 I recently purchased was, at one time, an off-lease vehicle that was sent to the auction by a Lexus dealership.

Good luck.

amlin423

Could it be the throttle position sensor problem?
I had a similar problem...I stopped at a red light...when it turned green...the throttle didn't respond at all..it felt like it was out of gas..the VSC lights came on ..I restarted the car and it was ok..but the scary thing that happend to me was a few weeks later when I was about to merge onto the freeway, the throttle stopped responding again..i had to restart the car right before the merge...quite an experience...I took it into the dealer and replaced the TPS and have not seen the problem since..

DickLexus

Here in Connecticut there are alot of used GS400 around and alot of them go to the dealer auction in Windsor. I am going to get one there with a dealer friend of mine as soon as I can unload my SC400. Hate to part with it but I need the extra doors with a second son on the way.

He gave me a print out for 2 weeks in January that listed 5 Gs4 and over 20 gs3's auctioned off. I don;t know the condition or all the options but a 99 GS4 with 27k miles went for $21800. A 99 GS4 with 74k went for 17700. They all include the remainder of the factory warranty.

As for the GS4's reliabilty according to the latest Consumer reports it is better than average and alot higher than BMW or Mercedes.

FilBoiLsGs

I've got this 98GS400 5 years ago (new) and the car runs/performs just like day one.The milage is already 54,000 and I haven't experience any problems similar to what has just been mentioned. Nakamichi replaced one time/tires and battery. That was it. Never the car put me into embarassment so far.The same with my 98 LS400. It has 80,482 miles today and no major trouble so far. Did my 60K service at around 75,000miles last month.Replaced tires/battery& driver side power mirror under warranty. I still believe that Lexus has the best reliability,durability & dependability in the luxury car industry.
Oh by the way, my service tech replaced the gas cap @60K service.I ask why because I dont see any problem with it. It was explained to me that upon testing my gas cap can no longer hold a certain vapor pressure( it has something to do with the gas cut-off safety feature incase of accident) when they test it with their diagnostic w/c is part of their 60Kservice. Gas cap cost less than $20.00 They also told me that I have to remove the key from the ignition while filling up gas even though the engine is off and DO NOT top off gas because this would interferre the computer program design for the gas/milage/trip computer.I don't know how true but I think they (Lexus tech) knows better about their cars.Just like when you start your car, the computer sensor everywhere send info(like gas tank volume/pressure, etc,etc) from different sources to the main computer. This sounds complicated but I think this might also be the affecting factors to the problems.Some people have their key in the car "ON" position even though engine not running, and listening to their favorite music while filling up gas.One Lexus tech told me this will screw up the computer in the long run and give erroneous message.Same effect with prolonged use of cell phone and CB radios on board the first class Lexus cabin. Long time ago, I remembered that upon delivery the salesman are spending over 3 hrs just to explain all of this and that to operate this sophisticated vehicle.By following their instructions religiously plus proper maintenance my Lexus had given me no headaches. I tried using a portable DVD in the LS430 and noticed that the auto door closer won't work at times and the intuitive laser guided cruise control won't pick up the subject at one side. Brought the car back to service and wan't me to remove the DVD out of the cabin