Mihanicos

 It is always a good practise to scan for DTC codes before trying anything else.

If you find no codes, then the next code of practise is to check the power supplies and grounds to the various ecu and sensors/switches relating to the problem. An accurate circuit diagram is a must.

Check the pedal brake switch in case it has more contacts and verify their operation and contact resistance.

Check the circuit diagram and verify the wiring of the start/stop switch.

Check the the ground connections to the engine and engine ecu. 

Chris.

Timing belt replacement is mileage and time specific. Severe enviroment and ambient conditions impose further limitations on the service life of the belt. Check the manufacturer's manual.

From a previous Toyota ownership, I used to replace the timing belt every 100 000 km  ( 60 000 miles ) or 5 years whichever came up first.

If you have an interference engine valve timing and the belt snaps, then you will need another engine or a full engine overhaul.

Chris.

If there are any bent valves, the engine will have reduced power, difficulty in starting, increase fuel consumption and vibration at low rpm.

Check and adjust the valve clearances if adjustable or locate the noisy hydraulic self adjusting valve buckets and replace them.

If you have any worn or damaged valve guides, you need to remove the cylinder head to inspect and repair.

You can inspect the pistons through the spark holes with camera. If there are is no valve contact evidence, then " seeing is believing " !

Chris.

Before you remove the timing belt you must verify the timing marks of the engine. 

Set the crankshaft pulley against the mark as outlined in the manual but make sure all the intake and exhaust valves of cylinder No1 are closed ( piston No1 on compression stroke. ) If the valves of No1 cylinder are not all closed, rotate the engine one revolution clockwise and re align the crankshaft pulley mark as outlined in the manual. 

Both camshaft marks should now be aligned against their corresponding fixed reference marks. There marks are always available and you should find them before you attempt to remove the timing belt.

The camshaft in question is set to 60 degrees btdc relevant to the crankshaft position. Normally the cranshaft is always set to tdc. 

Take fotos of all the marks so you have no doubt how to time the engine.

The attached diagrams are not clear and illegible so I cannot read them and comment.

Chris.

You are very welcome.

Chris.

Corrosion on the washers that connect the cells in series indicates contact resistance which in turn limits the charging current to the cell in question and to the whole Battery ( a series circuit ). Hence the voltage difference amongst the cells and the final level of charged Battery voltage which in turn will cause a hybrid Battery check code if below threshold values.

Toyota sell the washers separately. Ideally they should be made of silver oxide like in high current contacts but the cost would be much higher. A high temperarture grease on them after assembly could help to inhibit corrosion.

A fully charged cell is about 8.5volts. Before assembling the Battery ( cells series connected ), you need to connect all the cells in parallel for a for a few hours so that all of them attain the same voltage. ( balancing ). The hybrid Battery ecm monitors the voltage accross each pair of cells and there is a threshold votage difference permitted between any of them which if exceeded a check hybrid Battery code will be flagged.

Chris.

Disconnect the 12v Battery and remove the Battery ground from the body and the gearbox. It is also advisable to disconnect all ground points of the car.

When welding, keep the ground as close as possible to the point you are welding. Make sure you clean the ground point to a clean bare metal, this will ensure that the current will flow to the welding point directly. Remember the current always flows through the lowest Ohm resistance, hence the need for a zero ground resistance in the welding circuit, otherwise the current will flow through the car's ground wiring, causing catastrophic damage. A good practise is to remove the safety plug too.

Chris.

In that case, according to the codes of practise, they should carry out all maintenance work as outlined in the maintenance schedule according to the mileage registered on the clock  advising the customer accordingly.

This is standard procedure followed by reputable dealers and mechanics.

Chris.

In my opinion  the dealers should follow the directives of the manufacturer.

Normally, a well serviced automatic transmission should present no issues and should last the life of the car, assuming normal use and as designed by the manufacturer.

Chris.

In the Lexus original repair and maintenance manuals the transmission fluid is recommended to be  changed with the filter at definite milage or time intervals  whichever comes first.

This information is under the maintenance section, of each model at lexus-tech.eu website.

Chris.

Change the filter and the transmission oil with original parts.

Low oil level or a different transmission fluid other than the one specified by the manufacturer cause shifting problems similar to yours.

Chris.

Support the car on stands high enough so you can work underneath. Make sure the  car is level. Drain the oil. One plug is for draininig, the other for the fluid level. Remember which is which. You normally drain half the capacity, about 3.5 litres.

If you have a filler plug add the same amount plus half a litre more. If you have no filler plug, disconnect the higher rubber tube of the transmission ( driver's side ) of the flow and return oil pipes to the oil cooler. Add oil through the rubber tube. Cover with plastic bags any open tubes to protect against dust.

Reconnect the rubber tube or fit the filler plug.

Start the engine and circulate the oil through the gears remaining 5 seconds at each one. Repeat the process twice.

Keep the engine running until the transmission fluid temperature  is between 30C and 40C. Drain the excess oil by opening the level plug. I drain at 35C. You can use an infra red laser thermometer to read the temperature or the scanner.

If you have a good scanner, make sure you have no line pressure code. In this case the oil must be topped up with half a litre and circulate the oil again. Normally you do not get this code.

If your oil filter is paper, you should change it. If it made out of fine steal mesh, no need to change it. (Japanese market cars )

Go go for a test drive. With light throttle accelerate very lightly and watch out for a smooth silky gear change, noticing the engine revs drop at the gear change but feeling no jerking from the car.

Try full out acceleration to confirm smooth silky gear change.

Do not use any other oil except the original despite other oils may be fully synthetic " better " guaranteed for life etc.

Chris.

The visible screws are for the horizontal adjustment, one for each beam. The height adjustment screws are accessible from the wheel housing and you must remove the top part of the plastic protective cover. To accurately adjust them you need to make a drawing of the position of the centre of each beam  by measuring their distance apart and their height from the ground. Look closely at the lens and you will see a small dot.

Draw a horizontal line accross the dots and a vertical line through each equal to their height from the ground.

Put the car on level surface 9 meters from a wall where you position the drawing of the beams. Make sure the drawing is at the same level as the car. Aligh the center of the car with the centre of the beams on the drawing.

First adjust the low beam horozontally and then adjust the height. For maximum visibility dip the low beam 2mm per meter distance from the wall. ( 18mm below the horizontal line ). 

For the high beam aim its centre at the intersection point of the horizontal and vertical lines of the drawing.

Look at Youtube videos to see the low beam pattern and which part of it is aimed against the drawing.

Chris.

Make sure the car is full of petrol and the tyres inflated.

You may have a fuel filter blocked.

Chris.

Thanks for the update and the information. I would replace the crankshaft position centre. The camshaft position sensor should be ok.

I am very impressed about the engine timing. I have never seen anything like it on any engine I worked before. 

Chris.

I have checked the timing marks of my engine from Lexus original factory repair manual.

The crankshaft is set to TDC and No1 cylinder on compression stroke with all intake and exhaust 

valves of No1 cylinder closed. The camshafts timing marks are all adjacent to the timing chains on their either sides, not on the vvti gears.

Normally a manufacturer follows the same marking and identification system in the factory.

Chris.

If the battery  cranks the engine reasonably well, it should be able to produce a spark.

I am not sure about the timing of your engine, I have a different model to yours.  But the reference used, as far as I know is always the crankshaft at TDC. Never before I have seen a BTDC point as the reference and how many degrees BTDC is Autodata referring to anyway? It may be a print mistake, Autodata is reputable. 

Confirm the engine timing from another reliable source. If you have an interfetence valve timing, the valves may hit the piston with catastrophic consequences.

Chris.

The igniter plug should have three wires, one is the +12v, the other is the ground and the third is the control wire which has the pulse to connect the 12v through the coil to the ground. A power transistor within the igniter does the switching. The coil and the transistor are connected in series. Make sure you have power and ground to the igniter when the ignition key is On and check that you have a pulse, about 5v dc when cranking. You need an oscilloscope to do this or a good scanner. You can connect a multimeter to detect the pulse, it may register something or a 6v lamp with a resistor in series to limit the current to just light the bulb.

There should be a fuse controlling the power to the coils. Check that fuse.

The Battery should be well charged because when cranking a lot of  current flows to the starter thereby causing a voltage drop. On cranking, the Battery voltage should not fall below 10 vlolts.

Turn the engine clockwise and check that the timing marks alighn and also check that No1 cylinder inlet and exhaust valves are closed. You can still set the timing to the marks but be 180 degrees out in which case the engine will never fire.  To check this, remove the spark from No1 cylinder and put a long screw driver in it. As you approach TDC the screwdriver will rise following the piston stroke.

Chris.

PS

Merry Christmas.

A good scanner would read all the codes. If your scanner is good and there are no codes displayed, then the ecu is probably without 12v supply or it has no ground. If it has power and ground then it may have packed up but very unlikely since it was working before. You need the circuit diagram of the car to locate an elecrical fault. A bad crankshaft position sensor will inhibit the engine from starting but you must check it  before condeming it.

The ecu switches the coils to ground to produce the spark to each cylinder. There is always 12v supply to the coils when the ignition is On.

Check the mass air flow sensor.

Make sure when No1 cylinder is at top dead centre,  both intake and exhaust valves of No1 cylinder are closed ( compression stroke ). 

Chris.

Reset the fuel consumption display at the beginning of a journey. Engine idling for long times and temperature drop increases fuel consumption.

Clean the Mass Air Flow sensor to improve economy. Replace the air filter sooner than the specified interval. 

Chris

If the hubs are not true then the hand/foot brake will not be able to hold the car even on a small gradient. Adjust as outlined by another learned member and  if unsuccessful, take the hubs off and have them machined. 

Chris.

From my limited knowledge about Lexus brakes, which operate along similar principles in most models and considering your case, I would consider the following:

The speed sensors detect the rotational speed of the wheels and this data is entered to the skid control ecu.

The skid control ecu in turn controls the ABS, Traction control and Vsc.

ABS main relay is controlled by the skid ecu. It supplies power to each solenoid and to the skid control ecu.

ABS motor relay is controlled by the skid ecu and supplies power to the pump motor.

The brake pedal stroke sensor detects the brake stroke volume and this data is fed to the skid control ecu.

Check all relevant connectors for good clean contacts, cables and harnesses for damage.

Clean the speed sensors and remove any dirt and rust from their seats. Make sure they are squarely and fully home seated.

Chris.

The complete original repair manual is also available from Lexus-tech.eu in cd form.

Chris.

If you have drive shafts in the front or rear, when their cv joints wear out they make the sound you described.

Chris.

I would repair the caliper. You should be able to buy a piston as well if you need one. Any scoring within the caliper  use sand paper to smooth the surface. Normally Toyota master and slave cylinders are made from aluminium alloy and there should be no corrosion.

Any abrassion on the piston indicates eccessive uneven rotor  wear more on the outer circumference  than the centre. Replace the piston if it is not true.

Chris.