Pre-crash safety system warning light

Sharksoz · March 15

Hi all,

Greetings from Ireland. I own a 2008 LS600h (standard wheel base) and the 12v battery has given up the ghost. The car has less than 97k KMS / 60k miles on it and full Toyota/ Lexus Service history from new. As a result of the weak battery the dash lights up like a Christmas tree when started.

I had the car serviced in my main Lexus dealership and a new 12v battery is on back order. When serviced, the mechanics reset all the error codes linked to the weak 12v battery.

Within a day of the service and while driving on the motorway the PCS warning light appeared, with the usual message of bring the car to your nearest dealer.

The car is running fine and in the intervening weeks no other lights have appeared.

The dealer has mentioned replacing the front grill, Lexus logo which has the PCS sensors in it. I'm bracing myself for that quote. I got the quote yesterday and it was $9,000 for parts and labor is $6,000... yes, you read this right...$15k to repair the PCS.

The dealer keeps mentioning front end damage...I've owned the car 3 years and it's covered 6k miles in the 3 years and hasn't had any sort of collision.

My question is has anyone had a similar issue with their PCS and could it be linked to the weak/dying 12v battery??

Any advice is greatly appreciated as the bills for the new battery and I need a rear suspension replacement are mounting up (€4.5k to date).

Dean2 · March 15

It is most definitely the battery. These cars CANNOT run properly with a weak battery in them, far too many sensors and systems that rely on the 12 volt battery being good. They will throw a ton of lights and error codes. The fact your dealer is recommending a hugely expensive fix, with a known weak battery in the car, tells me I would definitely be finding a different dealer. Where I live there are two Lexus dealers, one is GREAT the other sucks. Good thing is, pretty much any Toyota dealer can also fix a Lexus as can most good independent repair shops.

There is nothing magic about the hugely overpriced OEM battery Lexus sells you. They want about $750 Canadian for a battery that should cost $180. There is no need to wait for one to come in. I have three Lexus, all run Costco Interstate Lead Acid batteries (NOT AGMs), that replaced the Lexus Panasonic lead acid batteries that aged out. I would suggest you get a quality lead acid, put it in yourself, and I will bet dollars to donuts all of your code issues go away. Best of luck.

Sharksoz · March 15

Thanks Dean for coming back to me. Believe me I was shocked at the quote and I am intrigued to get (a) the error codes that were picked up with the weak battery in the car (b) the suggested parts that are needed to "rectify" the issue. I can source either new parts from Japan and/or used parts from ebay. A whole new grill is only $250 delivered to Ireland.

I have checked photos of the car from Oct 2022 and the same small section of plastic is cracked as it is now, so there has been no collision.

Lets see if the new $750 Panansonic battery, a code clear out and a re-calibration of the PCS system will resolve this. If not, I'll easily live with the warning life so the next few years so I get some ROI on the new battery, new tyres, near rear shocks then I think I will start selling parts on eBay, looks highly profitable 🙂

Paul