Jesterking

Hello Lexus enthusiasts! Ok, I'm really close to pulling my hair out, so please help me!! I am at the end of my rope on this one. So, I have a 2004 Lexus Es330. My ABS, Brake, and Check Engine Lights are ALL on. I've ran OBDII tests, as well as scanned with an ABS scanner. I get the code P0500, which indicates "Vehicle Speed Sensor," and I also got codes for Bank 1 Cam Pos sensor, and Driver front ABS wheel speed sensor, both of which have been replaced, and those codes have stopped pulling. But this P0500, is a pain in my ****! I have no speedometer, no cruise control, and I would very much like to have these frills back in my life!
So, I read through a few forums and threads to get as much info as I could, before purchasing, or wrenching. I see a few posts that suggests that there exist TWO VSS on the transmission: an input VSS and an Output VSS, and of course, an ABS/wheel speed sensor at each wheel.
I check a few videos and other threads which indicate that the VSS is on top of the tranny , under the air filter box. So, I go ahead and pull the VSS out of the top of the transmission from another 2004 at a wrench-a-part salvage yard, since I was already out there getting some body parts for my '04. I get home and I remove the VSS from the top of my tranny (pretty much directly under the air filter box) and I put in the VSS from the salvage yard. I Start the car up, and take her for a little test drive. OMG!!! still no speedometer, still no cruise control, and not only that, but the trans barely shifted from 1st to 2nd, but even more difficulty shifting from second to third, RPM's just racing higher, and the shifting DEFINITELY was having serious issues. So, ok, I tell myself, that one must be worn out or bad, too, maybe worse, the way it made my car respond. So, I order a brand spanking new one and I drop that badboy in the tranny, and guess what?! SAME result!! if not, worse! Still no cruise control, no speedometer, no more fancy readouts telling me how many more miles I can drive n the amount of fuel that I have in my tank, etc. So at that point, I am thinking that I must be trying to change a sensor that IS NOT bad. ?? Right?! I start looking at some more forums, and ANY information I can about HOW MANY Vehicle Speed Sensors there are on this model of lexus and where they are located, exactly. Last night, while I was replacing the ignition coil on cylinder 3 (bank one, of course) I decided to go ahead and crawl myself on under the car and see what I can see. I did not find ANY OTHER ANYTHING that resembled ANY kind of VSS that was either visible or feel-able (I touched around on the tranny, in places that I couldn't see) and nope, nothing.I read in one thread, someone saying that there exist two VSS sensors on this model, and that one of them has a three prong connector and that the other one has a two prong connector….and the poster of the thread stated that he found the VSS under the air filter box, but that wasn’t the one he needed to replace, that he needed to replace the other one. I can’t recall if he said he’d bought the three prong connector, but that he SHOULD’VE bought the TWO pronged connector, or if it was the other way around, but I just remember that he’d purchased the incorrect part. Also, he had found the VSS on the top of the tranny case, directly under the air filter box, but that was not the part he needed to replace, and was having a similar dilemma as I am: He COULD NOT locate another VSS on the tranny. Can anyone, someone, PLEASE here know anything about that? I just would like a little light shed on this Who can enlighten me about this VSS? Does my car have one or two on the tranny? If it has two, how do I find it? I think I may have read in a different thread that the VSS (the one on top of the tranny) has to be “programmed” somehow, specifically for the car it is in, I guess VIN specific. That would be some total garbage, right there, if that is true, because, don’t you see….I am trying to AVOID trips to ANY dealership, especially a danged high end, snooty, Lexus dealership, where they will take your soul and the soul of your first born, to fix a problem like this one, and then go home and sleep like little babies. I do not take my lexus to the dealer. I never have. I just really would like someone with some firsthand kind of experience and knowledge about this P0500 code, to shed some light on this one particular topic. And to please tell me, How many Vehicle Speed Sensors exist on a 2004 Lexus ES330, Where are they located on the 2004 Lexus ES330? And a HUGE thank YOU to any and every one who can help, any at all,even in the very least, with this issue.

Nad1370

^^^
Needed a drink after reading this. lol
This was just recent.
I know it was for an RX but its the same system minus the awd.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...lp-needed.html

Not sure what you replaced on top of the trans.
Could be the turbine speed sensor which has nothing to do with speed display on the combo meter.
This would mess up your shifting if its bad.

First thing i'd do is hook up a scanner that will communicate with the ABS.
I think an able OBD scanner with live data.
What you'll be looking for is speed when the car is moving.