HankJ Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Hello, I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this. My car was parked at the airport all week, upon return, driving home, no problem drove about 30 min all worked fine. Parked in my home, for about 1 hr, then went out for a bite, upon starting my car, the big "L" came on the screen, then it went dead, I turned the car back off, restarted and everything came back fine. Later that night, I went out for groceries and the problem returned, but this time I couldn't get it to work, during the drive to the store, the "L" popped on the screen several times, when I tried to adjust the AC, the controls were dead, no temp displays, no outside temp, but the fan was blowing, like in a limp home mode. I did get a display that to check the external ac equipment. Also, the radio was limping, the steering wheel controls didn't work, XM didn't work and sometime, AM or FM would work, sometime, it would automatically default back to AM. While I was listening to it, the display would pop up with, "Radio Off" display. All along, the "L" would display periodically. Almost like it was trying to reboot. Finally, after driving for about 20 min, the screen and controls returned to normal!! Anybody else seen this? What should I do? Thanks, Hank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFeldes Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Sounds like a low battery.....Have it checked at Sears or Autozone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HankJ Posted April 19, 2008 Author Share Posted April 19, 2008 Sounds like a low battery.....Have it checked at Sears or Autozone. Maybe so, but I just bought a new battery a month ago??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HankJ Posted April 20, 2008 Author Share Posted April 20, 2008 Sounds like a low battery.....Have it checked at Sears or Autozone. Maybe so, but I just bought a new battery a month ago??? Batteries fine, any other thoughts. One thing that I did do was to disconnect the battery cable for about 20 min, then reconnect it, but to no help. It comes and goes, seemingly random. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HankJ Posted April 20, 2008 Author Share Posted April 20, 2008 Sounds like a low battery.....Have it checked at Sears or Autozone. Maybe so, but I just bought a new battery a month ago??? Batteries fine, any other thoughts. One thing that I did do was to disconnect the battery cable for about 20 min, then reconnect it, but to no help. It comes and goes, seemingly random. Maybe fixed!! Took it to a different place, they clean the terminals and now things seem ok!! Wouldn't have believed that it was the issue. The car started fine, all other functions worked!! Perhaps, a lesson learned ! Thanks for the help!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HankJ Posted April 21, 2008 Author Share Posted April 21, 2008 Sounds like a low battery.....Have it checked at Sears or Autozone. Maybe so, but I just bought a new battery a month ago??? Batteries fine, any other thoughts. One thing that I did do was to disconnect the battery cable for about 20 min, then reconnect it, but to no help. It comes and goes, seemingly random. Maybe fixed!! Took it to a different place, they clean the terminals and now things seem ok!! Wouldn't have believed that it was the issue. The car started fine, all other functions worked!! Perhaps, a lesson learned ! Thanks for the help!! Not so fast, pilgram! The problem returned this morning. All was well on the drive (20 min) to work, untill I pulled into the parking lot, one by one I lost functionality of the AC controls, Nav Controls and the stereo controls. This might require a trip to the dealer. Any other ideas??? :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HankJ Posted April 22, 2008 Author Share Posted April 22, 2008 Sounds like a low battery.....Have it checked at Sears or Autozone. Maybe so, but I just bought a new battery a month ago??? Batteries fine, any other thoughts. One thing that I did do was to disconnect the battery cable for about 20 min, then reconnect it, but to no help. It comes and goes, seemingly random. Maybe fixed!! Took it to a different place, they clean the terminals and now things seem ok!! Wouldn't have believed that it was the issue. The car started fine, all other functions worked!! Perhaps, a lesson learned ! Thanks for the help!! Not so fast, pilgram! The problem returned this morning. All was well on the drive (20 min) to work, untill I pulled into the parking lot, one by one I lost functionality of the AC controls, Nav Controls and the stereo controls. This might require a trip to the dealer. Any other ideas??? :( Could it be overheating? Is there a fan or a filter to clean? It acts like a computer that's trying to reboot, after its been running for awhile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HankJ Posted April 26, 2008 Author Share Posted April 26, 2008 I went to the dealer and they showed me how to pull up the fault codes, (option, display, left side corners three or four times). BTW, within this new menu, you can check many other display items, and also see the system voltage, mine runs about 13.6 v. It's either a loose connection, or more likely need a new display module. About $1k for a rebuilt. Apparently Lexus had a lot of problems with this in the past and ended up replacing a bunch under warranty. With 140,000 miles, I don't like I have a chance. I'm a little surprised that no one on the forum has had the same issue. oh well, Hank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJfrmLA Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 What about an alternator fault? Most charging systems gen up 14.2 or so volts--I think my S-class Mercedes shows 14.5 or so on the display. If the alternator isn't putting out a full charge, the regulator might be diverting the charge to the battery because it has been bled down by all the activity that occurs even when the key is off. Rather than having surplus charge to run the accessories until the battery is topped off, it may have to use all the charging to run the battery back to full charge. Makes sense to check the charging system before you drop a large on a display module you may not need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardona6569 Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 I agree check the alternator before anything. In Autozone they will do it for free. C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HankJ Posted May 21, 2008 Author Share Posted May 21, 2008 Well, after checking voltage, battery, alt : it was a bad screen. Got a rebuild (says to me that many others have had this issue) cost a large minus 25% customer goodwill. Now all is well. Good luck to all Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyPGAQuest Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 Hank, I bought a 2000 Lexus LS400 from a dealership last March. It didn't take long before I had the same problems. I'll be driving along listening to a CD and then the AC stops and the CD stops playing and then the radio starts to play. There are times when I would start the car and nothing would load. I would just turn the car off and on and that would work most of the time. Needless to say, the past several months I have not had many problems but am worried about spending the $1,850 to replace the unit when it eventually does go out. Where did you get your rebuild? Lastly, you had mentioned about pulling up fault codes. What did you mean by that and would it work on my 2000 model? Take care, Todd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdmaristodriver Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 if u just bought the battery and its new its ur altinator is bad specially after the battery sitting for a week with out use its not giving enough recharge same thing happend on my gs300 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HankJ Posted May 23, 2008 Author Share Posted May 23, 2008 jdmaristodriver, nope that wasn't it! MyPGAQuest I'm not sure about the codes working for a 2000. My dealer and their tech have been good to me and we share info. The screen was about $1000 and the shaved $250 off (thsi is my third LS from them) but I paid full labor. The "on off" that you describe is what is did for several years not knowing the root cause or complaining; then one day it died. That was the solution and all works works now Good luck Hank . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.