rd430

Hello All,

Purchased a 2002 Millennium Silver SC430 with tan and black interior two weeks ago. Traded in my 2004 350z convertible for the Lexus with a couple of bucks out of pocket for the purchase. Vehicle maintenance has been kept, however it will soon be due for the 120K maintenance. Now onto the questions, I have never owned a toyota\lexus before, mainly a Nissan and BMW guy, so I'm am looking to become familiar with the quirks of the car. Today I had my first issue, the battery died on me while starting it up in my garage. Way to go Lexus!!LOL Seriously, I'm a realist and I have been buying used cars for years so no biggie. Jumped on CL, look at what batteries people were buying and ending up going to AutoZone and buying\installing the Durlast Platinum battery with the three year warranty. Car started up once the battery was connected.

I know its an older car and I have been reading on CL about alternators and starters going out, so I have a few questions:

1. Is it normal for the RPM's to be slighly below 1 while idling or in park?

2. Is it normal for it to take roughly 1.5 - 2 seconds to catch and start?

Just trying to find out if this is normal behavior or a precursor since the battery did die on me :-) It also looks like from the records that the battery may not have been change for a few years.

Thanks in advance.

husker741

Congrats and welcome to the board!
I have owned a GS400 and now my SC430, and yes both idled a little below 1,000 rpm. And I have never really timed my starter, but that doesn't sound bad if it takes 1.5 seconds to start. If it is colder, of course it might take a little more time to start, but I don't think it is abnormal for 1.5 to 2 seconds. If you have anymore questions, the stickies on the top of the page really help answer those questions. Hope this helps!

OBP

Welcome RD430. My SC is a little younger (2005) but my idle is below 1000 and when I start, it does take a few cranks to get going. Dunno if it is a full 2 seconds but it isn't as quick as some other cars I have. Your situation does not sound bad. Post some pics !

BimmerGuy

Mine takes about the same to start. Also a 2002, but with 78K miles.
Idle is under 1000rpm when cold and around 700 I think when warm (I'll double check this today and post later tonight).

kjcole

'02 here with 93K miles. Agree on idle speeds. Maybe 1 - 1.5 s on cranking time.

VVTiBob

Welcome!

Your idle is within normal range. You may even feel a slight vibration while stopped in drive with the air conditioning off, that vibration should go away if you turn the air conditioning on. If in your opinion the vibration is more than slight, you may have a motor mount issue considering the age and mileage of your car. Many of the early 02s had this issue.
If you haven't done so already, you should pull the car's dealer maintenance history by going to
http://drivers.lexus.com where you'll find it for free along with manuals etc etc.

MrVancey

Same here with my '03 with 73K miles. RPMs under 1,000 when idling (warmed up). I too wondered about the cranking time. Glad to hear it's normal.

rd430

All,

Thanks for the feedback, as it seems the idle and crank time is within normal standards. I have been on the Lexus Driver site and pulled the service history, very nice feature as some car companies dont have that. I probably will have the 120 point inspection done just to see what Lexus comes up with. I have always liked the car and have had many many convertibles, 300zx, 350z, chevy z24, mitsu eclipse and this is my first hardtop convert. I'm sure I will have more questions and will follow normal search protocol first.LOL But I can say, would look to see if its worth upgrading to the next gen nav disc, some sort of bluetooth\ipod...etc etc.

Thanks again and look forward to verying discussions!

A1Lexis

iTrader: (6)

Welcome to CL and congrats on your purchase. There is a wealth of information on this site. If you are handy with a wrench you can save yourself a lot of time and money. Read all of the stickies and search if you have questions. Easy things you can do to start is change your cabin and air filters. If there is no record of fluid changes replace those for peace of mind. Most of all drop the top on nice days and enjoy your car.

rd430

I'm fairly handy, more on the interior electrical side and minor under the hood stuff. But I have to say replacing the parking light on the headlight was rather crazy. I also pulled the ML speakers on both doors since the were both shot. There is manual labor and then there is MANUAL LABOR! Good write up on removing the door panels.

rd430

Here are some pics:

Harold57

Nice looking ride rd430. This is the first time that I've seen the calipers painted gold. Gold and silver make a good combination. Welcome to the forum.

BTW, in case you were wondering, the 5 holes in your passenger side foot well carpet is where a netting type pocket used to be. It doesn't provide much storage but it does some. If you want to replace it, I believe that Sewell carries it and I seem to remember someone else on the forum saying that it is fairly cheap (low cost).

A1Lexis

iTrader: (6)

Nice looking SC Did you replace the parking bulbs with LED's? My door speakers were shot also.......but thanks to the great DIY pics and thread I was able to repair them.

rd430

@Harold57...yes I'm missing the net, will order one based off your suggestion. I choose the gold calipers because of the light brown wood in the car, thought it would compliment more of an even flow to the car. I changed the wheels to the RS VR5 19"rims and Falkin 245/35/19 tires all the way around with a 30 and 35 window tint. I will probably put the lexus stickers on the calipers this summer when i feel like taking the wheels off.:-)

@A1Lexus...no I just replaced the parking light bulb because it was out. After reading all the post about replacing lights\bulbs seem more of a hassle to get at the rest. The parking light bulb seemed more difficult than it should of been but I got to it. My speakers were ripped all the way around so glueing didn't seem like the best, so I ordered those CADENCE XM698 250 WATT 6x9 8-OHM. I just needed something decent, so will let everyone know how they sound once they arrive.

mandyfig

Welcome to CL. You might want to consider Sewell Lexus for your needs, we have a CL discount. Have fun shopping stuff for your SC!