Slow starting, battery or starter?

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Bleu62

Bleu62

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Nov 12, 2012
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I don’t usually ever have any issues with my wife’s 2017 gx460. Granted, nothing is wrong yet but last time I drove it, I noticed that the typical roar took a bit longer and slower than normal. Has anyone experienced this? Is this normal?

Im about 3500miles in to my last oil change and use amsoil on all my vehicles. Their bottle says 10000 miles but im too dumb and untrusting for that, so I was going no more than 5000. I’m assuming that it isn’t the oil but it’s the only thing other than the battery, which I checked and put on a trickle charger over night just in case.

Which brings me to the starter. Fingers crossed that it’s not the starter.

Anyone that’s had this and fixed it, im in your debt.

Thanks!
 
I haven't had this issue in the GX yet but I would take it to an autoparts store and let them load test the battery. At least it will help narrow down your issue if there is one. 7 years on a stock battery is pretty good. I'd be willing to bet it's the battery.
 
Bang Bang said:
I haven't had this issue in the GX yet but I would take it to an autoparts store and let them load test the battery. At least it will help narrow down your issue if there is one. 7 years on a stock battery is pretty good. I'd be willing to bet it's the battery.
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Not only the battery, but have them check the alternator also.
Battery may be fine, but if the alternator is on the fritz, your battery isn't getting it's charge.
 
Bleu62 said:
I don’t usually ever have any issues with my wife’s 2017 gx460. Granted, nothing is wrong yet but last time I drove it, I noticed that the typical roar took a bit longer and slower than normal. Has anyone experienced this? Is this normal?

Im about 3500miles in to my last oil change and use amsoil on all my vehicles. Their bottle says 10000 miles but im too dumb and untrusting for that, so I was going no more than 5000. I’m assuming that it isn’t the oil but it’s the only thing other than the battery, which I checked and put on a trickle charger over night just in case.

Which brings me to the starter. Fingers crossed that it’s not the starter.

Anyone that’s had this and fixed it, im in your debt.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
You are correct to assume that the oil is not an issue. unless you are out of oil and have seized ther engine... oil has absolutely zero effect on starting. None, nada, zip.

Slow cranking is almost always battery and/or contacts at the battery/ground/starter

Mark...
 
Thank you all for the input. Does charging the battery not fix this? I read a thread about a specific battery for the GX. Can anyone speak to this? I’m definitely an oem+ mechanic. I haven't even looked into a single maintenance job on this bc I maintain and service it regularly and haven’t had a single issue.
 
If charging the battery restores vigorous starting, then the alternator is suspect, OR the battery connections at the battery or the starter. But if the battery is bad, charging won't fix it, certainly not for long.
 
Bleu62 said:
I read a thread about a specific battery for the GX. Can anyone speak to this?
Click to expand...
Not sure, but you might be referring to a group 27F size battery, which is a lot bigger in size and capacity. If you live in cold climate, or rely on your battery to power stuff for camping/overlanding duties, then this might be an attractive option. Otherwise the OEM size might be fine for your use case.

I use an Odyssey 27F because I live and Minnesota, and also use my GX for overlanding so the battery has to run my fridge and CPAP overnight.
 
I will shop around for the 27f. Being 7-8 years old I know I am going to need to soon. Thanks again!
 
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BigSwede said:
If charging the battery restores vigorous starting, then the alternator is suspect, OR the battery connections at the battery or the starter. But if the battery is bad, charging won't fix it, certainly not for long.
Click to expand...

If the battery is going bad charging it can "fix" it for a little while.

The stock GX battery is a standard sealed lead acid battery like most vehicles have these days. A standard charger is fine.

Grab the terminals and try to rotate them on the battery posts. If they move they're not tight enough.
 
A cheap battery tester can be purchased on Amazon for around $35. I bought one last year, and it's pretty nice to be able to test the battery in a couple of minutes without having to pull the battery out and take it to the parts store for a free test. I mainly use it to check up on my camper battery, but have used it on my GX as well.

FYI, the stock 24F or larger 27F can be hard to find in an AGM. I tried for my rig and no one had one in stock. I ended up with an Odyssey 34R, which has been an awesome battery. It fits in the stock location with a 1" wood spacer under it. That being said, if someone would have had a 27F in stock when I needed a battery on short notice, I would have bought one. Summit Racing is where I normally get them at, but you can also order them through Autozone with free shipping. Once you have a good AGM battery, it's hard to go back to a normal flooded lead acid.
 
I had this problem on a Porsche Cayman. There were several contributing factors.

1. Poor OEM bulkhead connection from battery to distribution block which went to the alternator and starter. (battery in front and engine in middle)
2. Corrosion inside the cable to the starter.

There were a few videos on diagnosing this. One of the tools used was a thermal imager to see the high heat created from resistance.

All boiled down to corrosion and poor connections.
 
Rednexus said:
A cheap battery tester can be purchased on Amazon for around $35. I bought one last year, and it's pretty nice to be able to test the battery in a couple of minutes without having to pull the battery out and take it to the parts store for a free test. I mainly use it to check up on my camper battery, but have used it on my GX as well.

FYI, the stock 24F or larger 27F can be hard to find in an AGM. I tried for my rig and no one had one in stock. I ended up with an Odyssey 34R, which has been an awesome battery. It fits in the stock location with a 1" wood spacer under it. That being said, if someone would have had a 27F in stock when I needed a battery on short notice, I would have bought one. Summit Racing is where I normally get them at, but you can also order them through Autozone with free shipping. Once you have a good AGM battery, it's hard to go back to a normal flooded lead acid.
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✔️!
I've been using Odyssey batteries for decades. Smaller than lead acid, but heavy. I have PC1200's in the stock location, one for house, other to starter.
1727278838570.jpeg
1727278860755.jpeg
 
Bleu62 said:
I will shop around for the 27f. Being 7-8 years old I know I am going to need to soon. Thanks again!
Click to expand...
I definitely prefer to replace the battery on my schedule rather than the batterys. Been there, done that.
 
If you have a battery tester, it's pretty easy to keep up on the health of the battery, and replace it if you start seeing a reduciton in cranking amps/cold cranking amps, or the general state of battery health.

That being said I'm still going to splurge on a NOCO 2,500A jump back when I get a winch in the rig. I figure it's a lot smaller and more versatile than adding a secondary AGM battery.
 
Rednexus said:
If you have a battery tester, it's pretty easy to keep up on the health of the battery, and replace it if you start seeing a reduciton in cranking amps/cold cranking amps, or the general state of battery health.

That being said I'm still going to splurge on a NOCO 2,500A jump back when I get a winch in the rig. I figure it's a lot smaller and more versatile than adding a secondary AGM battery.
Click to expand...
When using my winch or 3,000 W inverter, I always have my engine running.
 
New Toyota 27F battery in and starting much better. $161 out the door for a Toyota lifetime battery. Getting off the hook way cheaper than I expected.

Thanks for all the input!
 
Bleu62 said:
New Toyota 27F battery in and starting much better. $161 out the door for a Toyota lifetime battery. Getting off the hook way cheaper than I expected.

Thanks for all the input!
Click to expand...
And your alternator is okay too?
 
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