Engine Light On Trc Light Flashing Then All Fine?

ChrisIS200SportTTE · May 7, 2012

Hi everybody. I am brand new to this so forgive the noobie!

I have a 2001 IS200 Sport TTE Kitted. I have owned it for a month and think I actually love this car!

Here is my problem. I gave a lift to my mate who is 23 stone (biggest guy I've ever met) The thing is he got in the car passenger front seat when the car was turned off. I started the car and the Engine managment light was on and the TRC off light flashed every 10 or so seconds. I drove him to the train station and then took the car home so I could arrange get the car looked at. All in all drove about 2.5 miles with these lights on. I got home rang Lexus and they told me to bring the car in. The thing is when I got back in the car and started it the lights were off. I didn't take it to Lexus or any other garage and have since done 500 miles in the car over a 2 week period and the lights have never come back on and the car drives like an absolute dream. I also had the timing belt and tensioners changed at Lexus the day before the lights came on.

Does anybody have any idea what this is all about and did my overweight friend or Lexus changing the belt have anything to do with it? Or was the ECU just having a moment?

Hope somebody out there can shed some light on this.

Thanks

Chris.

steve2006 · May 7, 2012

Hello and welcome to the LOC.

If all seems OK after 500 miles I wouldn't worry, the codes will probably be still stored should you need to read them.

The acid test may be to collect your friend from the train station and see if he sets things off, I take it you haven't mentioned the problem to him?

ChrisIS200SportTTE · May 7, 2012

Hey thanks for the reply. No I didn't tell him lol... Didn't want to upset him!

I guess that would be the test but he's gone abroad for 6 months so apart from trying to find a fat person to sit in my car I guess I can't test it!

I was just wondering if anybody else had this problem of the lights coming on for such a short period and then everything being fine. Guess I was hoping it was common for the ECU to have a funny 5 minutes!

I guess I'll just leave it and pick him up from heathrow in 6 months and see if he sets it off! :-)

lamela · May 13, 2012

Hi mate

I had an is200, and had the exact same fault as yours. After a month or so, the trc etc light started flashing again, so this time I took it into lexus dealers. They put a computer onto it, and there were no faults stored, but I didn't know this before I bought the car, but the technician there told me a lot of is200 have a fault on the ecu, and the problem with mine was the ecu. So when the light eventually stopped, I sold the car. But just wanted to let you know, that it could be a fault with the ecu, if it did start flashing again. And a new ecu is not cheap. If you get a secondhand one, you'd have to buy all the locks aswell, I couldn't afford all that, plus you don't know how long a secondhand one will last.

ChrisIS200SportTTE · May 26, 2012

Well the lights never came back on until today! Done 1895 miles since they last appeared! Just started it and the engine light is on again with the flashing trc light. Turned it off, left it for 10 mins and now their gone again and the car drives perfect!

I know I need to go and get the codes read but I'm away working all week and I'm an event caterer so im working 8am - 11pm for next 7 days so I have no opportunity to take it to a garage and I need to drive 30 miles per day.

Am I doing damage to my engine? Really worried. Lexus dealer told me that if the engine light is flashing then that indicates a more serious problem but if it's just on all the time then it's normally nothing to major. Does this sound right to you guys? It's going in in 8 days to get read.