New Is350 Did Not Start

[Skins08IS350]

I just bought a brand new IS350 today. I drove it around for a good part of the day, parked it at a friends house for a couple of hours, and when I came back, the car did not start. I had the key inside the car and my foot on the break. The orange/yellow "check" light came on, on the left side of the dash and the red battery sign came on also. The rest of the lights/navigation/radio worked as well, the engine just would not crank.

After about 20 minutes, the car started. Has anyone experienced this or have some sort of explanation on why this could be? It is a bit concerning considering this is the first day of ownership.

[VIS250P]

I just bought a brand new IS350 today. I drove it around for a good part of the day, parked it at a friends house for a couple of hours, and when I came back, the car did not start. I had the key inside the car and my foot on the break. The orange/yellow "check" light came on, on the left side of the dash and the red battery sign came on also. The rest of the lights/navigation/radio worked as well, the engine just would not crank.

After about 20 minutes, the car started. Has anyone experienced this or have some sort of explanation on why this could be? It is a bit concerning considering this is the first day of ownership.

Go back to dealership and explain the situation...

[Rav T]

Go back to dealership and explain the situation...

Wow, helpful post.

[tex2670]

Go back to dealership and explain the situation...

Wow, helpful post.

And you have better advice for a car that is litterally brand new, and it is clearly not a battery issue with the key, since the "No Key Detected" msg didn't flash? I don't think posts like yours are what this forum is all about.

[bartkat]

Go back to dealership and explain the situation...

Wow, helpful post.

If you don't have an alternative answer it's better you don't post anything.

[Gaugster]

I just bought a brand new IS350 today. I drove it around for a good part of the day, parked it at a friends house for a couple of hours, and when I came back, the car did not start. I had the key inside the car and my foot on the break. The orange/yellow "check" light came on, on the left side of the dash and the red battery sign came on also. The rest of the lights/navigation/radio worked as well, the engine just would not crank.

After about 20 minutes, the car started. Has anyone experienced this or have some sort of explanation on why this could be? It is a bit concerning considering this is the first day of ownership.

One Question. Did you leave the key in the car when you went into your friend’s house and then return to the vehicle a couple of hours later?

If you leave the key inside the interior and try to lock the car it will freak out and make a bunch of beeping noise etc... However, if you leave the key fob inside the vehicle for an extended period of time (with or with out locking) it will be disabled in order to conserve the battery life as well as prevent the ability to bypass the vehicle immobilizer for aftermarket remote start systems etc….

The fob would become active again only once a button was pushed on the fob itself.

Regards,

[lambobaby1218]

So if I leave my key fob in the car overnight, it's not going to drain my battery, is it? I always leave it in the car, and have never had a problem...

[Gaugster]

So if I leave my key fob in the car overnight, it's not going to drain my battery, is it? I always leave it in the car, and have never had a problem...

Yes, that is correct. It is common for owners and dealerships to leave the fob in the vehicle for demo purposes. But the system can be disabled if it is idle for a long time and/or the fob is in the wrong place. This is needed to reduce the drain on the vehicles battery as well as the key fob. It needs to be woken up but pressing any one of the input buttons.

Still curious to get some feedback from the original poster.

[clay1]

So if I leave my key fob in the car overnight, it's not going to drain my battery, is it? I always leave it in the car, and have never had a problem...

Yes, that is correct. It is common for owners and dealerships to leave the fob in the vehicle for demo purposes. But the system can be disabled if it is idle for a long time and/or the fob is in the wrong place. This is needed to reduce the drain on the vehicles battery as well as the key fob. It needs to be woken up but pressing any one of the input buttons.

Still curious to get some feedback from the original poster.

This leaving the fob in the car killing the battery seems fishy to me. I literally almost never take the key out of the center console. I drive it from my garage at home to a parking garage in the city and leave the key in the console so the attendants can move the car - I always park on the outside of a tandem space. I have been doing this for 9 months. No dead battery yet. That accounts for about 95% of the use of the car. The other 5% of the time I take the key with me to go into a store (but this is rare)

[lambobaby1218]

I agree, Clay, I've never had a problem, and the key most always stays in my purse, which is always in my car, unless I give it to a valet person, and I've never had a drain.

However, maybe it's the resetting issue that Gaugster is talking about, the key needing to be taken away from the car so both can reset themselves?

[Gaugster]

The passive entry system uses a lot of power when active. So a poorly designed system will allow the battery to be depleted. However as I mention, most system now can disable themselves to concerve power and therefore not affect the vehicle battery.

The original post from skins08IS350 did not mention any battery trouble as all of the other electronics seems to work fine.

[Skins08IS350]

The passive entry system uses a lot of power when active. So a poorly designed system will allow the battery to be depleted. However as I mention, most system now can disable themselves to concerve power and therefore not affect the vehicle battery.

The original post from skins08IS350 did not mention any battery trouble as all of the other electronics seems to work fine.

Not sure how this will effect it, but since it was the first day I bought the car, the extra key fob was in the car, and the other one was with me in my friends house.

So are you saying the car will not start unless I unlock/lock with the keyfob? I am not following why it matters where the keyfob is for an extended amount of time.

BTW, I have not had any issues since then.

[bartkat]

Maybe it got confused and didn't know which fob to listen to.

[Skins08IS350]

Maybe it got confused and didn't know which fob to listen to.

Doubt it b/c I was using two key fobs all day.

[Gaugster]

It is possible that the combination of the two key fobs with one of them being left in the vehicle caused the issue. My wife and I ride together a lot and have both key fobs with us but have not had any problems. She keeps it in her purse and mine is in my pocket. Once she put her purse in the trunk and it gave use a warning beep.

If you look in the FM you can see that there are multiple antennae in the interior and exterior of the car. Each antenna covers a zone in or around the car. Usually these detection zones overlap each other. The car needs to determine where the key fob is when a door sensor or the ignition switch is pressed. The idea is to only unlock the doors when the system is sure that the key fob is outside the vehicle. Likewise the system will only allow the engine to start when it is sure that the fob is inside the vehicle. You can test this by rolling down you window and holding the fob outside the vehicle. The car should not start if the ignition switch is pushed until you bring the fob inside. You will also get the “Key is not detected” message from the cluster.

The Lexus system can handle up to 4 unique key fobs. A lot of design and testing goes into the development of these systems to avoid malfunctions but it still can be tricked once and a while.

Hope this helps