I have a 05 LS430 with 63000 miles. Have owned it for a couple of months. Parked the car last night with no problems. Today I started it and it gave me these lights with a red exclaimation mark.

When I turned out of the subdivision and into the busier road, the car had little power and felt like the brakes where on. Needless to say, i turned around and came right home.

Is this a major problem and should I not drive it, even to the dealership? Any help with be appreciated.

 

Sounds weird..i'd make an appointment to go to the dealer a.s.a.p

 

check your ebrake if you have a red exclamation mark... and that your traction control is on... not sure what else if not take it to the dealer

 

I had the same prob for about 3 months on my LS... One day I changed the battery and oil and the lights went away. It's been about 6 months and no lights came up.

 

I got similar a VSC warning message and light the last two times a battery in my 2000 LS400 started to fail. It's possible but unlikely that your problem is caused by a bad battery cable or corrosion at a battery terminal.

I've usually gotten 3 - 5 years out batteries over the past 18 1/2 years driving Lexus LS cars. Most times the battery failed over a period of days or weeks. One expensive battery failed after only about 1 year.

If your battery is original (it would likely have a Toyota label on it) you might as well just get a new battery before you do anything else. If you got 63,000 miles out of a battery in an LS in Missouri climate, you are doing great.

I no longer bother to take my car to a repair shop when a battery starts to fail and I no longer buy the expensive batteries my repair shop sells. I haven't found expensive name brand batteries to last any longer.

The last time my battery started to fail, I limped the car to the nearest Walmart and bought one of its Everstart batteries. The people in the service area were busy so I installed it myself using a wrench from the car's tool kit.

Stores may list more than one size battery as fitting your LS -- be sure to get the larger size that completely fills the battery compartment in your car since it will likely have more cranking power than the smaller size.

 

Two weeks ago, I got into the car on a Monday morning and the car was dead. Not a way to start the week and on a newly purchased car to boot. Went to Walmart and bought jumper cables. Was racking my brain trying to figure out what caused it.

Thanks for the info on the batttery. I am hoping that this is the problem. I can't afford to take time off and am afraid to drive the car to the nearest dealership which is in Springfield....45 mins away. I'm not sure the car can take it. It is VERY sluggish!

I will let you know if this solves my problem. Thanks so much.....crossing fingers!!

 

So I found out it was a knock sensor. Never heard a knock or ping or anything, but that is what the code showed. I am hoping that nothing else goes wrong with this car. Yikes! Thanks for everyone who replied.

 

If you were able to start your car with jumper cables, I don't see how a defective knock sensor could have caused your car not to start. The knock sensor code could have been left over from the past. I sometimes think some repair shops used old stored codes to generate additional business.

I wonder if a bad knock sensor could turn the Check VSC message and warning light on.

Sometimes its necessary to just clear all the old codes and start afresh.

Regardless, I sure hope a new knock sensor solves the problem. Is a knock sensor covered under the 6 year/70,000 miles power train warranty?

45 minutes from Springfield? Are we in Branson? LOL

 

You bring up good questions and I must admit, I had asked them over and over myself.

We were going to call Lexus and find out about the 70,000 mile. My husband was wondering the same thing. The repair shop we use has worked on all my other vehicles. He said, I believe, that they tested the knock sensor against the other (don't quote me). There are two on the LS and one was bad.

I will have to ask him if he reset the codes? I don't want to question his expertise, but hey, it's my hard earned money. If it isn't the sensor, he will let me know and not charge me for it.

Yes, WE are in Branson. You are good!!