Warning Lights:malfunction Indicator Lamp & Traction Control

[Amber]

Hi,

CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT & TRAC OFF WARNING LIGHT

I'm new to the club here. I've had my 1994 gs300 for about 3 years ago. Awesome ride. A couple of days ago, I noticed a few problems with it though. Thought it'll be a good idea asking other lexus owners whether they've had the same problems as i'm having and how u all could help me out!

Vehicle History: First I might tell you a little history of this car. I'm the second owner of this vehicle. No accidents in this car. It's got 200,000 kms on it. Lots of kms but excellent vehicle. Never had a problem with it before. Even now, with both these warning lights on, I do not hear any unusual engine noise or any difference in the performance of the vehicle. I must say that in mid December 06' due to heavy snow/cold weather, the Lexus was parked outside and we didn't drive it during the snow condiitons, but we did start it up to get it warmed up. One day when I go out to warm it up, it wouldn't start, so I pressed hard on the accelerator and then it did start up. Then after the snow, when the roads were clear and nice (no snow), I took it for a drive when I noticed the radio would turn on and off and so would the interior lights, that's when I knew something was wrong so I took a U-turn and brought it back home instead of going farther. Turns out I need a new Battery. So, I get a new Battery in the car. With the new batttery, the car's running nice as usual. After about a week these two warning lights come on. I take it to a repair shop, they said maybe the batterys not installed properly, so they took out the Battery and put it back in. Later that day, when driving home from the repair shop, the warning lights do not appear while driving, so I assume the Battery wasn't installed properly before, and its fine now. But the next day , both of the warning lights come back on , so now I assume it has nothing to do with the Battery.

I have 2 warning lights that come up when I start the car, and they both stay there while driving, meaning there's a problem.

CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT; 1st warning light is the 'Malfunction Indicator Lamp'; warns that there is a problem somewhere in your engine electrical system. (From Owner's Manual, pg. 29)

TRAC OFF WARNING LIGHT ;2nd warning light is the 'Traction Control System OFF Indicator/Warning Light'; this indicates a malfunction in the anti-lock brake system or engine system. (From Owner's Manual, pg. 29)

I MUST SAY: that even with these two warning lights (mentioned above), my car is running perfectly fine. I don't hear any kind of unusual engine noise, no squeaks, no nothing. I'm hoping it's nothing and just a malfunction of lights or sumthing. basically no effect on vehicle performance.

One of the other warning lights that I've had come up while driving for a long long time (even when I purchased the car from dealership / before the first two appeared) is the 'SRS Warning Light'; a malfunction somewhere in the parts monitored by the warning light system. I've had this come up since I bought the car, never affected the performance of vehicle, but will get it chekced when I get the first two warning lights fixed. This light doesn't affect performance of my vehilcle either.

I've called the Lexus dealers and they've told me both these lights (the 'Malfunction Indicator Lamp' and 'Traction Control System OFF Indicator/Warning Light') usually come on together, and indicates there's a problem somewhere in the electrical system or someplace else, they'll find out once they hook the car it to the computer system.

It'll be really appreciated if i could get your feedbacks regarding these issues and whether you've had any sort of experience with them, repairs, cost, all the things related etc.

-Amber:)

[chips229]

Hi and Welcome to the LOC :)

It might be worth checking all of the electrical plugs going to the ABS brake sensors.It could be just a poor connection due to corrosion causing the fault.It might also be worth taking out and cleaning the connections on all the light bulbs on the front and rear lights on your car.

My rear fog light wasnt working,i thought the bulb had gone it turned out to be corrosion on the connections.

Chips.

[Amber]

Thanks Chips!!!

Tomorrow morning, that will be the first thing I do. Take out and clean all connections on all lightbulbs, and checking out poor connections. Hopefully the problem will get solved, so I won't have to take it to Lexus Dealership. I'll keep you updated, let you know how it goes, and if needed get more helpful tips from you!

-Thnx... Amber. :)

[dangerous brain]

OK how savvy are you with technical stuff?

http://mkiv.supras.org.nz/techo.htm#ENGINE_CODES may be a help to diagnose the actual problem or point you in the right direction without having to take it to the dealer.

http://www.mkiv.com/techarticles/trac_off_mil_odo/index.html may be relevent from the actual problem side not the how to do it as obviously the cars bits are in different places/shapes.

The airbag thing is there because at some point its been disconnected and the light not reset. It latches permanently on when this happens. Switching it off is a £40 job at lexus or follow these instructions (its the same engine as the supra) http://www.mkiv.com/techarticles/airbag_light/airbag.htm

I'll see what else I can find.