*EDIT* I guess the car I was using to jump (Honda Civic) wasnt powerful enough so I used my friends Land Rover and she started right up! :)
But I have bad news... I let it run for about 15 mins and then drove it to the gas station to fill her up.
Then when I was pulling out of the gas station, I could get my car to go about 15 feet and then all power to the tires would go out... My car would still run, but there is no power to the wheels.
It seems to rev in neutral fine, but when I engage it in first gear it will lose all its power. Anyone have any insight on this matter?
Hey everyone...
This is my first post here because this is the first time I have run into problems with my Lexus... Ok here it goes...
I have a 1993 Lexus ES300 with a 5 speed manual transmission. I bought her for $2700 two years ago with 185,000 miles. She has been running great the past 2 years. The only thing I have had to do was to replace the tires. She had a few minor problems before I had this problem. The only one related to the way it drives was it bucked going up the hill to get out of my neighborhood when I would 1st start it up, but it would stop after I made it up the hill. She now has about 209,000 miles.
So about 2 weeks ago, I was driving it out of my neighborhood when it died at the top of the hill. It just completely cut out. My power steering was gone, my brakes lost their power. I just completely lost power. My radio was still working though. I tried to start it back up. It gave it a few good attempts (but no luck) and then the battery went dead.
I thought I ran out of gas (I was pretty low and on my way to the pump) so I put about 2-3 gallons of gas in the tank and that didn't help. My battery wasnt looking to good so I got a new one and replaced it. Attempting to start she sounds a lot better with the new battery but for some reason I still can't get her to start for me.
When I am jump starting with the new battery installed it sounds like she is trying to start... I can give her a little gas and she almost starts up. It sounds like she is so close. She wants to start but something is preventing it... I can even get the RPM gauge to move a little bit (about half way up to standard idle) but the engine never engages.
I don't know much about cars but am very interested in learning how to fix my own because I just cant afford to get raped at the shop right now.
What would you guys recommend I check... In terms of tools I have a lot of hand tools, but none of them are made specifically for cars... And I know how to use a multimeter. I'm hoping that might come in handy.
Here is a couple guesses:
Bad fuel pump
Bad starter (what should I listen for)
Bad alternator (should still start when jump starting right?)
Let me know if I am way off and point me in the right direction.
Thanks in advance for all your help.
-Spence
