2005 LR3 HSE Starting Problems

[austen91]

The vehicle has 113k on it, and runs perfectly but from time to time the car does not start. It has been back to the dealership twice, and they ran tests and such and said nothing was wrong with it. This is a problem because now I cannot rely on the vehicle to start, and do not want to drive it.

Usually the car will start after being turned over a few times or if you put it in neutral and let it roll a but it will start. any ideas of what could be causing this? possibly the starter...?

 

[JackMac]

Need more details. Could you describe exactly what happens when you turn the key?

 

[LRB]

possibly the fuel pump...had this happen for about 4 months before it finally wouldnt start on my 2003 325ci

 

[austen91]

All the electronics will start up, but it won't even crank. After two or three times it starts to crank a little. Usually it helps to put the vehicle in neutral and let it roll back, then put it back and park and try again. usually it then cranks and after a couple tries will start, and we have brought it to the dealer twice and they haven't found anything wrong with it.

 

[ubp_sanity]

All the electronics will start up, but it won't even crank. After two or three times it starts to crank a little. Usually it helps to put the vehicle in neutral and let it roll back, then put it back and park and try again. usually it then cranks and after a couple tries will start, and we have brought it to the dealer twice and they haven't found anything wrong with it.

It sounds like the safety switch on the transmission. No idea how complicated it is on the LR's. The car thinks it isn't in Park or Neutral. It won't start in gear, and it looks like the car thinks it's in gear.

If rolling it helps, it's probably mechanical in nature.

 

[kingfishgrapeja]

How old is the battery? It seems if the computer doesn't like the voltage, it won't even try to crank. You may be just on the threshold of that voltage if you have the original battery.\

When does it happen? Does it ever happen first thing in the morning and then is it good all day, or does it happen if you shut it off after being driven and try to restart. Does it follow any pattern?

 

[jptruck]

When you turn the key, does it go "click?" It's not uncommon foer 2005 LR3's to have starters that go bad. If it's not the battery (the dealer should have checked that first), it's most likely a starter replacement you are going to need. It's hard for dealers to diagnose that issue for some odd reason. My starter seemed to work fine once the car was started and running. Cold starts would give me the "click, click, crank." Yours may be a bigger issue, but that's where i'd start.

 

[austen91]

it does click after turning the key a couple times, but not right away.

that sounds about right. its not the battery we had the battery tested, and they couldn't seem to find anything wrong with the car initially, and now it seems to be starting fine. it does happen every couple of weeks though, and the dealer said they couldn't find anything wrong with it, and they had it for over a week.

thanks for the help!!