Took my 2016 RX 350 into Goodyear auto service for what I thought would be a simple oil change and tire patch. They patched the tire and did the rotation. The next day I noticed the car did not seem to start as effortlessly as normal but not so bad as to alarm me. It just seemed odd. Today is the second day after my visit and the car won't start at all. Starter clicks and electrical system goes nuts. Had trouble getting it to shut off. Any ideas what they screwed up? Battery was not showing any signs of needing replacement prior to this visit.

Some background that might be relevant: I have a long history with this shop. They have always been extremely honest, above and beyond, and have always taken responsibility for their mistakes. And they've made some whoppers like not tightening the oil plug on my last car to the point most of the oil leaked out. They have a history of making mistakes so wrong filter or wrong oil would be no surprise here. And BTW, they did not bother to fill my tires properly, tires ranged between 29 and 38 when I measured the next day. So there is evidence of careless/incompetent work.

Any ideas would be much appreciated!

 

Sounds like the battery went kaput…could just be coincidence that it went right after the oil change. Maybe: try charging the battery fully with a battery charger, and/or take it to Autozone or Advance Auto or Interstate and get the battery checked under load, and/or just get a new battery if it’s more than two or three years old. The summer heat can be especially tough on batteries.

 

The clicking is generally a sure-sign the battery has reduced voltage, but what do you mean you had trouble shutting it off?

Start with checking battery voltage; charge the battery, then do a load test. If the battery is 4 years or more, forget about the load test and just get a new one. When replacing the battery, always, always, check the voltage at idle to make sure the charging system is not the cause of the battery going bad. Voltage output at idle should be 13.5-14.5 volts.

And I would not keep an auto shop after two mishaps.

 

After pressing the Start button the electrical system seemed to come on normally at first, A/C fan was running, there was an attempt to start the engine (clicking), but then quickly the display started jumping around erratically and flashing (I am a programmer and honestly I still have a hard time describing what it was doing). I calmly pressed the button several times, waiting a few seconds between presses, to try and shut if off, but the car would nether start or shut off, the display just kept jumping around to different screens and things were flashing. Finally about the 5th press of the start button it calmed down and shut off. After finally shutting down it locked normally. Prior to the oil change 2 days ago this car always started effortlessly and the battery showed no sign of stress. I'm not sure how old the battery is, I have had the car for 1 year. It could be old, but it seems kind of hard to believe Lexus would not have an indicator for a battery in need of imminent replacement given all the other diagnostics/telemetry it has??? And also, doesn't Lexus handle a low battery condition more gracefully than this? I'm no car expert, my area is programming and IT, so I'm grabbing at straws, but it would seem surprising to me.

Regardless, of course I'll pursue this and replace the battery if there is any doubt. I have trouble getting past the coincidence with the oil change and the history this shop has of careless mistakes. I have previously valued honesty over competence but I'm rethinking that now, maybe I'l crawl back to the dealership with my tail between my legs so to speak.

 

That's nice that the shop takes responsibility for all their mistakes. I would recommend changing to a shop that doesn't make mistakes in the first place.
I would also agree to have your battery load-tested, and go from there.

 

It's not hard to find a competent shop, especially if price is no object. But finding an honest repair shop that charges fair prices for parts and service? That's like finding a leprechaun my friend. If price were no consideration and I didn't mind getting hosed I would always go to the Lexus dealership and be done with it.

 

There should be a date somewhere on that battery, see how old it is. If it’s more than 3 years old it could be time to just replace it. While you’re there, it might be a good idea to check the battery cables to see if they’re tight…

 

Thanks, I'll do that. For future reference (this is my first Lexus), is "sudden death" so to speak the normal behavior of a Lexus with a nearly exhausted, gradually failing battery? Is there no kind of warning failure is coming and once the battery is shot no elegant message saying something like "Insufficient power to start car, check battery" (as opposed to the display and controls going bonkers)? The odd thing about this was no indication at all the battery was under stress. Until the oil change 2 days ago every start was effortless, and everything worked perfectly. Nothing was left on overnight or that sort of thing other than whatever power the car always draws when the engine is off for the alarm and remote locks. For $76K this surprises me given that everything else is automatic to the point it even criticizes my driving sometimes.

 

Check the oil level on your dipstick. Worst case scenario is you've got an oil leak from an improperly installed oil pan plug or oil filter housing. This would allow you to get home. As the oil continued to leak friction increased making it harder to start. Eventually the engine seized, and the starter can only click.
The past service screw-ups you mentioned drew me to this conclusion. Dang it, I hope I'm wrong here.

 

The low battery could explain your electronics acting funny like that.

The battery should have a sticker with a date code, It is usually a two digit code like B2 where B is for February and 2 is 2022. If C9, C is March, and 9 is 2019, and so on. The stickers are usually on a side of the battery and they can fall off. Voltmeters are pretty cheap and it dont have to be a high grade one.

 

I had a battery with the sudden death syndrome. I had to get the battery jumped, then run it in to get a new battery. As soon as I turned the car off, it would not start again.

 

Everyone should have a voltmeter. What is the voltage on the battery? If it is well below 12v, you diagnosed the problem without even doing a load test. I would check the oil level too.

 

All good advice. Start with the easiest, work up. Measure current Battery voltage, if below 12.3 I would suspect bad battery. The behaviour of your dash lights also leads one to suspect low voltage/battery issue. If battery is 12.5 or better, check oil level. If low, as in not on hte stick at all. Call tow truck and have vehicle taken back to shop.

My thoughts on this shop, yes Lexus service is a little expensive, my dealership is excellent and actually competitively price. I also have two excellent independents to deal with. Kacking the motor or having an accident because tires are not properly inflated, lugs are loose, is not worth the money you are saving. Either find a good independent, do your own or pony up for Lexus competence.

This may be helpful in understanding your battery and whether it has issues.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...tery-life.html

 

Some new information that makes all of this even more confusing... Battery is now dead. Goodyear claims they checked the battery with some kind of test instrument that does not put the battery under load and it passed. Wait for it... This battery is the original from 2016, it had an 84 month warranty so it would seem that is not impossible. So how did a battery that old supposedly pass Goodyear's battery check and then die 2 days later? And if the tester is not an old school load tester, how would that have killed a battery that was working fine 3 days ago, no trouble cranking the engine? None of this makes sense. Oil level is right and no signs of leakage so I suppose that leaves the remote possibility of wrong filter or wrong oil causing engine stress and killing an old battery during startup but that seems like a stretch.

Regardless of everything else it's obviously time for a new battery so I'm going to do that and see what happens.

 

8 year old battery? Definitely replace it.