MplsIS300

Hello! I have a 1996 ES300 with about 250,000 miles on it. I cannot complain, she has been good to me. She has her minor problems here and there, but has been a very reliable car. I know you guys love threads with pictures so here she is today.






The issue: I have a strange problem that I have yet to diagnose. When I am driving in heavy rain and drive through puddles or drive through slush puddles (which we have now in MN), the engine bogs down and it sounds like the exhaust fell off. I can hear a rapping in the center of the car around the cat area and it is very loud. The engine stumbles and will not accelerate even when the pedal is floored. After about 20 or so seconds, after the car has time to dry out, everything returns to normal.

I had a CEL on and this is what my scan tool showed:

P0300 - Random Misfire
P0301 - Cyl 1 Misfire
P0303 - Cyl 3 Misfire
P0305 - Cyl 5 Misfire
P0135 - 02 Heater Circuit Bank 1 - Sensor 2

I changed the o2 sensor #2 (one behind the engine by the firewall) and cleared the codes and no CEL anymore but I drove it through some puddles again and it still does the same thing, but the CEL has yet to come on.

I have been under the car with a squirt bottle and sprayed everything I can reach and it doesnt duplicate the problem. This sounds electrical but i cannot imagine what would cause this to happen? I am not sure if the CEL was related to this problem? I have not been able to spray with a garden hose yet due to the the temps here in MN (dont want a hocky rink in my garage).

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

Ryan

inviz

Same thing happened to me on an hour road trip to Pensacola, FL Monday night in a massive downpour. TRAC OFF lit up and I felt a strong vibration through the middle of the car. Got a little wobbly as well. Interested to hear other opinions.