When your car is running normally everything is fine, nevertheless if it starts to have regular complications you may start to worry, specifically if your car won’t start. In this article we will learn you where the starter of a Lexus RX is, it will help you to resolve your ignition complications. To achieve this, we will first explain the purpose of a starter, then, where is the starter on a Lexus RX , and, at last, how to replace the starter of a car.

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Purpose of the starter on your Lexus RX

We start this article by detailing the purpose of the starter motor on your Lexus RX. The starter is an electric motor which is powered by your battery, its role will be to make your engine run at a high enough speed to start it (usually around 300/400 rpm). It is built from three most important parts:

  • The Solenoid: This part is an electrical relay that will action as a switch, it will be activated by the key of your Lexus RX and let the current from your battery to the engine unit of your alternator.
  • The engine unit: Most important element of your alternator, it is the one that will drive the flywheel of your Lexus RX and generate enough speed for your engine unit to start.

  • The engagement pinion: This is the last component of your starter, it is the toothed wheel that will be in direct contact with the flywheel, it allows to send the force from the starter to the engine.

Where is the starter on a Lexus RX?

Now that we have fairly quickly described what a starter is and how it functions, we will answer the question that most of you have to ask yourselves where is the starter located on a Lexus RX? It is quite easy to locate a starter, indeed, it is a large component that will almost always be placed in a similar location. We let you see the two possible locations for your car starter below.

Location of the starter on classic Lexus RX

First and most basic case, where to locate the starter of a Lexus RX with a conventional motor (implied without start and stop). The starter has a specific action, to start the engine unit of your car, for that, it must always be near the engine unit flywheel of this one because it is the component that it actuates when it is used. The flywheel is located at the junction between your gearbox and your engine unit.

Location of the starter to Lexus RX with start and stop

And now second possible starter location of your Lexus RX . This case is much less frequent. It only is about engines equipped with start and stop, and a good component of them will be equipped with a starter placed close to the flywheel. However, on some specific series or engines, the starter of your Lexus RX may be included in your alternator, it is then named a starter-alternator, to locate it nothing much easier, locate your accessory belt and you should see the big starter block.

How to replace the starter on a Lexus RX?

Finally, we’ll describe to you quite fairly quickly how to replace the starter of a Lexus RX. This process is not actually difficult, it can be considered by people who have a minimum of basic mechanical experience and adapted tools. Stick to below the most important steps to carry out this intervention:

  • Disconnect the battery on your Lexus RX, if you don’t know how to do it, don’t hesitate to consult our article which explains how to do it without taking any risk.
  • After finding your starter, loosen the fasteners that hold it in your engine unit block, there will generally be 2 or 3
  • .

  • It will be time to disconnect the power cables from the starter motor of your Lexus RX, nevertheless before doing so we advise you to take a picture of the set up to avoid making a mistake when reassembling.
  • It’s possible that to take out it you may need to take out parts like the gimbal.
  • Remount the new starter, being careful when connecting the connectors.
  • Reconnect your battery and test your starter.

If you need more guides on the Lexus RX, go to our Lexus RX category.