Engine Fires But Then Cuts Out Dead (Lady Needs Help!)

[Lexus Lady]

Hello, I have Lexus RX300SE Auto. (2001) Great car. Mostly very reliable but not when it dies.

This has happened to my car three times now over 24 months!!

Once and twice was bad enough, but three times now .... come on ....enough.

AA called out to all three occasions, nice man, he got it started again by

stretching the throttle cable as a temporary fix, giving increased revs which

kept the engine idling over so I could get to a garage.

Three times in garage and they can't find a fault. Arrrgghhhh.

They connected my car to their computer diagnostic gizmo, and computer says 'no fault code',

not very helpful.

When it happens, it goes like this, turn ignition, car fires up, then dies immediately, and that's it, nothing.The car turns over but will not start.

Its a mystery. Lexus claim that I am unique; they cannot find a fault....must be me then ??

Just wondering if this has happened to anyone else ? Or if any human out there knows more than the Lexus garage

computer gizmo that says 'no fault'.

Thank you.

Lady Lexus

[steve2006]

Hello and welcome to the LOC.

The 2 mains things an engine needs to run are fuel and a spark so if either is missing the engine will turn over on the starter but will not run.

Intermittent faults are the worst to solve as you are already aware but 2 things to look at closely would be the CPS (Crank Position Sensor) and the fuel pressure.

There have been cases of a faulty ignition switch causing intermittent engine shutdown on other models,another is a problem with the alarm/immobiliser.

There is unfortunately no easy fix,diagnosis will require time and effort, it may even be a case of waiting until the car breaks down completely before the fault can be found.

[Lexus Lady]

Hi Steve2006,

Many thanks for your reply which I really appreciate.

You are better than computer diagnostic gizmo !

You have given me some pointers to check out, which is

more than I had before.

Regards

Lexus Lady.

[Mouser]

Since this is on start up, and it fires initially, fuel pressure or the automatic choke could be responsible. The AA not being able to fix it roadside tells me it's not something trivial or easy to diagnose, so the dealers being unable to help isn't a huge surprise.

Please bear in mind, it's very difficult to help without looking it over. I personally use a local cherished & performance garage for all my professional service needs, because in my experience main dealers (and a lot of other garages too I suppose) take the approach of plug in a computer and replace the part it tells you to. Root cause analysis is more difficult, and although you pay more per hour it gets done right, and the overall issue often costs less because the right part(s) are replaced.