2000 Rx300 Engine Warnign Light Nd Vsc On Constantly

[lexusdog]

Just bought 2000 rx300 SE..... any ideas what the engine and VSC warning light constantly on means?

wheres good to go for diagnostics in West Mids Wolverhampton Shropshire are

Thanks

[Jaspersilus]

Hi

more often than not its o2 sensors bank 1 and bank 2, maybe 1 maybe both, best thing to is buy a code reader of off eBay, less than £30 quid.

It could be a number of other things also, but these sensors are the most common on MK1 and MK2 rx300.

So need to get the codes first, when you have them come back to the forum, !

This fix is almost £700 at Lexus, or a £150 DIY through the forum

Cheers Jason

[lexusdog]

seems its the Knock sensors at £138 from lexus (both need to be done) and £200 labour !!

[Boxbrownie]

seems its the Knock sensors at £138 from lexus (both need to be done) and £200 labour !!

Check the US forum, there is a "work around" for the knock sensor error (you have two sensors) , you can wire the loom with the error into the working loom and all is well with the world, and actually with the fuel available in the UK the knock sensors do not exactly work very hard anyway!

Sorry just noticed you have two faulty? Hmmm.....I'd check that diagnosis very carefully before changing either first, very unusual for both sensors to go AWOL at the same time, sounds like something further up the line maybe?

[Jaspersilus]

Hi,

sensors are available from sparkplugs.co.uk ( denso dox0243 ), about 75 pound each, takes about 1 hr to fit them both yourself,

got to go to work now, will look back in later, any questions?

Cheers Jason

ps I did mine last summer, simples!

[toocan]

I have the same problem. Looking on eBay their is a ton of OBD readers, ideally id like a USB one and use a lappie - is their a specific one I should look for? Also what software is best (preferably free)

[alnaln60]

I recently had the same problem. Costed all the parts eg: sensors x2 £138 +vat=£166 x2 =£332 Gasket set £170 Transfer hose (recommended) approx.£50 Total approx.£550 +Labour £150---2oo £700 + in all. My mechanic suggested that before I buy the parts ,give the petrol tank a couple of treatments of a good quality fuel injector cleaner.Did it.......2tanks of petrol later all the warning lights went out and the engine returned to its normal running mode with all its proper power. This was about 3 weeks ago and its still running perfectly. TRY IT!!!!!

[Jaspersilus]

Hi,

Certainly worth trying fuel system/injector cleaner for the sake of a few quid, cannot hurt to try, but this wont help worn out o2 sensors, also not sure what hose and gasket set would be be required for? Is this a lexus stealers idea?

Cheers Jason

[Teraza]

Hi,

I also have the same faults but my sensors have been cleaned by 1 garage & another wanted to replace the 3rd cat???

Can someone conform that it is just an "fuel injection" fault & adding cleaner will resolve this issues?

After a garage visit, its about every 200/250 miles before the light comes on, it has only ever gone off once on its own & is now back on. :-(

The lights come on after I was hit by a wall of water from the top of a lorry, passing me in a heavy storm.

Grateful for any help as this is costing me an arm n leg in fees.

Many thanks.

Teraza

[steve2006]

Hello and welcome to the LOC.

Injector cleaner is no guarantee it will fix the problem although for what it costs compared to new parts it has to be worth trying.

Interesting how your garage "cleaned" the sensors,are we talking O2 sensors here?

[ColinBarber]

ideally we need to know the error code(s) being produced. The lights will come on for quite a few different reasons. The suggestions are all valid but are just educated guesses.

The front O2 sensors (which are actually air/fuel ratio sensors) are a common failure point however given the age I would think the air/fuel ratio sensors have already been replace, at least once, so it could quite easily be something else such as the cat or the rear O2 sensor etc etc.

[Teraza]

Thank you for your reply's.

The car is going in to the garage Monday & I will get codes & post there after.

I'm sure 2 sensors where replaced last year, just before I brought it.

I'm still in contact with old owner (& I do have a folder full of paper work).

Thank you again, its great to know there's people out there to help me, been banging my head against a wall for the last 5 months!

Could only see more garage bills.............

[Teraza]

Morning!

Car went to see friendly garage this am, here's the findings............

P0420 Cat system inefficiency below bank 1.

Hope someone can help?

Many thanks.

[Boxbrownie]

I had the same error pop up a couple of years ago, turns out to be the sensor in the exhaust pipe where the underfloor cat resides, not either engine bay sensors.

I thought it had failed and needed replacing but turned out to be an air leak due to corrosion of one of the nuts holding the sensor in place causing the sensor to pipe face to leak, my local exhaust place removed the sensor, cleaned the threads and put a new gasket on and its been perfect ever since.

[ColinBarber]

normally one of four reasons for this:

an air leak before or around the cat / O2 sensor

the cat is faulty.

upstream air/fuel ratio sensors not working correctly

the O2 sensor itself is faulty

I would check in the order above. In my experience it hasn't been the O2 sensor at fault when this error code comes up. Ideally get the exhaust checked for leaks and have the emissions checked.

The O2 sensor itself is a bit of a pain to change because the wiring connector is located within the vehicle and you have to cut or remove the carpet under the passenger seat. A mechanic should be able to test the O2 sensor in place via the diagnostic socket to at least see if it is behaving somewhat normally. If the sensor had completely failed then you would get a different error code.

[Teraza]

Thank you for your reply's.

This makes interesting reading as before the lights come on, we had a new back box fitted by a different garage.

I will contact the "Nice" garage again tomorrow & book my "poorly baby" in .with a check list. :-)

Thank you again.

Teraza