VSC and VSC Off Lights - Limp Mode
#542
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Location: TX
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Dealer wants to charge for diagnosis of issue.
I have a 98 GS400 that has had off and on issues with the electronic throttle. Lately it happened to my wife in the middle of an intersection and scared her so bad she won't drive the car. I found out about the Toyota Economic Loss Settlement and towed my car into the Park Place Lexus dealership in Grapevine TX. Of course they knew nothing about the Customer Support Program. I handed the service adviser the FAQs I printed out from the website with the specific information highlighted. So far they have replaced the throttle body at their expense but it hasn't fixed the problem. They have their senior tech working on it and he cannot determine what the problem is. They want to charge me $99 for the initial diagnostic charge and now $100/hr for additional diagnostics. Has anyone else who had this issue and taken their cars to a dealer had to pay for any diagnostic charges? Has anyone else also had a dealer not know how to fix the issue?
Thanks for your responses.
Thanks for your responses.
#543
Lexus Test Driver
iTrader: (1)
I have a 98 GS400 that has had off and on issues with the electronic throttle. Lately it happened to my wife in the middle of an intersection and scared her so bad she won't drive the car. I found out about the Toyota Economic Loss Settlement and towed my car into the Park Place Lexus dealership in Grapevine TX. Of course they knew nothing about the Customer Support Program. I handed the service adviser the FAQs I printed out from the website with the specific information highlighted. So far they have replaced the throttle body at their expense but it hasn't fixed the problem. They have their senior tech working on it and he cannot determine what the problem is. They want to charge me $99 for the initial diagnostic charge and now $100/hr for additional diagnostics. Has anyone else who had this issue and taken their cars to a dealer had to pay for any diagnostic charges? Has anyone else also had a dealer not know how to fix the issue?
Thanks for your responses.
Thanks for your responses.
Do you check your MAF? I had a lot of issue with my car and I thought that was the TB, or something electric issue. I change the spark plugs wires, spark plus, coils, TB and TB gasket and nothing. The porblem still after I chance the MAF. My car is a 100% now with all the power of the 2jz engine and not issue or cel at all. I just try to help you with my experience on my car. I know your say that the senior tech work on your car and cannot found what happen with your car . I have a 2 good friend that both are a senior tech. One is on the Toyota dealer and the other one on Lexus dealer and both cannot found out what was the issue with my car. Also, I know that you have a GS400 but try that to see what happen. Good luck
#544
WHAT??
I too took my car to the dealership to verify if my 2001 GS300 was covered, after a day in the shop I was told that it was within the dates and VIN and it did need a manifold. Okay, great, BUT that I needed to produce service records within the last seven years to show that maintenance by a Dealer or acceptable mechanic was conducted, blah, blah, blah before they would attempt to get any % of warranty on the manifold (accelerator loss).
I do my own service since I am in the country and don't trust dealers.
They said that in the agreement stipulation it says that evidence of maintenance must be provided?
Does that sound right? I am an ex-mechanic and now an aerospace engineer and have done all my own work!! Its not rocket science....trust me. lol
Help I don't deal with dealerships much...
I too took my car to the dealership to verify if my 2001 GS300 was covered, after a day in the shop I was told that it was within the dates and VIN and it did need a manifold. Okay, great, BUT that I needed to produce service records within the last seven years to show that maintenance by a Dealer or acceptable mechanic was conducted, blah, blah, blah before they would attempt to get any % of warranty on the manifold (accelerator loss).
I do my own service since I am in the country and don't trust dealers.
They said that in the agreement stipulation it says that evidence of maintenance must be provided?
Does that sound right? I am an ex-mechanic and now an aerospace engineer and have done all my own work!! Its not rocket science....trust me. lol
Help I don't deal with dealerships much...
Hi all, I wanted to add my story as a way to say thanks to the people on this thread for all the great info.
A few months ago I bought a 2000 300GS with a 180K miles on it. I wanted a reliable car for city driving. At first everything was fine, but after a couple of weeks of normal use... Check Engine light went on, followed within a day by the dreaded VSC lights and limp mode.
I thought "Oh great here comes the money pit." I took it to my local mechanic who's a great and reasonable guy who ran the codes which came up with O2 sensors and the Accelerator Position Sensor. I didn't much care about the O2 sensors, but the APS, I bought online from a Lexus dealer for $350.
The mechanic installed the APS and the car ran great for one day, then... warning lights and limp mode again.
This time I got on the web to do some research and came across this thread. After reading the whole thread I found the links to the Toyota Class Action Settlement website and figured what the heck, I'll give it a shot. So I printed out the relevant pages and made an appointment at my local Lexus dealer to get the car inspected.
They inspection cost me $62.50 (1/2 hour of labor) and came back with the same 1121 code for the APS plus the O2 sensors. At this point the service writer is trying to talk me into $1800 worth of repairs. I showed him the print out from the Class Action site and the guy looked at me like I was crazy. I stayed polite and told him to please check it out on his end, and that I would also contact Lexus and would be in touch. To this day I've never heard back from that guy.
On the way home the car dropped back into limp mode, so I stopped at the garage and asked my mechanic to check the Air Idle Control Valve that has been mentioned on this thread as the culprit part. He called me back within an hour saying that's the one. The connections had cone bad on the part, but he had gerry-rigged it back together just to see if that would do the trick. It did, for a while.
In the meantime I called Lexus corporate. The first person I got had no idea what I was talking about, but put me on hold and asked a superior who got on the line and assigned me a claim number. It took about 2 weeks of my being persistent, but finally last week they called me to say they were sending me a check for the Accelerator Position Sensor that I bought online (I had sent them copies of the receipt), and that they would authorize my taking the car to the dealership for another APS install. I told them thanks for the check, but I didn't see the need for another APS since the one I had in there was brand new. I was going for the full throttle body assembly.
At this point things got a little dicier. The Lexus corporate person started weaseling saying that they could only go by what the dealership was telling them, and according to the dealership, the problem was the APS, but since the car also had these bad O2 sensors, and those WEREN'T covered by the Class Action Settlement, and they really couldn't be sure what the problem was etc...
So I said: OK send me the refund check for the APS, and I'll get in touch with the dealership to make an appointment for the repairs. With the money from that I bought all 4 O2 sensors, and the Air Idle Control Valve and had everything installed by my mechanic. The car is running great. If the limp mode problem returns (which I seriously doubt) I can now take the car to the Lexus dealer and make it their problem using the case number I've been assigned, since the O2 sensors have now been replaced.
So bottom line:
1) Yes Lexus will repair your car if you have this problem.
2) Yes, the bad part is the Air Idle Control Valve, NOT the APS.
Thanks again to all who contributed to this thread.
A few months ago I bought a 2000 300GS with a 180K miles on it. I wanted a reliable car for city driving. At first everything was fine, but after a couple of weeks of normal use... Check Engine light went on, followed within a day by the dreaded VSC lights and limp mode.
I thought "Oh great here comes the money pit." I took it to my local mechanic who's a great and reasonable guy who ran the codes which came up with O2 sensors and the Accelerator Position Sensor. I didn't much care about the O2 sensors, but the APS, I bought online from a Lexus dealer for $350.
The mechanic installed the APS and the car ran great for one day, then... warning lights and limp mode again.
This time I got on the web to do some research and came across this thread. After reading the whole thread I found the links to the Toyota Class Action Settlement website and figured what the heck, I'll give it a shot. So I printed out the relevant pages and made an appointment at my local Lexus dealer to get the car inspected.
They inspection cost me $62.50 (1/2 hour of labor) and came back with the same 1121 code for the APS plus the O2 sensors. At this point the service writer is trying to talk me into $1800 worth of repairs. I showed him the print out from the Class Action site and the guy looked at me like I was crazy. I stayed polite and told him to please check it out on his end, and that I would also contact Lexus and would be in touch. To this day I've never heard back from that guy.
On the way home the car dropped back into limp mode, so I stopped at the garage and asked my mechanic to check the Air Idle Control Valve that has been mentioned on this thread as the culprit part. He called me back within an hour saying that's the one. The connections had cone bad on the part, but he had gerry-rigged it back together just to see if that would do the trick. It did, for a while.
In the meantime I called Lexus corporate. The first person I got had no idea what I was talking about, but put me on hold and asked a superior who got on the line and assigned me a claim number. It took about 2 weeks of my being persistent, but finally last week they called me to say they were sending me a check for the Accelerator Position Sensor that I bought online (I had sent them copies of the receipt), and that they would authorize my taking the car to the dealership for another APS install. I told them thanks for the check, but I didn't see the need for another APS since the one I had in there was brand new. I was going for the full throttle body assembly.
At this point things got a little dicier. The Lexus corporate person started weaseling saying that they could only go by what the dealership was telling them, and according to the dealership, the problem was the APS, but since the car also had these bad O2 sensors, and those WEREN'T covered by the Class Action Settlement, and they really couldn't be sure what the problem was etc...
So I said: OK send me the refund check for the APS, and I'll get in touch with the dealership to make an appointment for the repairs. With the money from that I bought all 4 O2 sensors, and the Air Idle Control Valve and had everything installed by my mechanic. The car is running great. If the limp mode problem returns (which I seriously doubt) I can now take the car to the Lexus dealer and make it their problem using the case number I've been assigned, since the O2 sensors have now been replaced.
So bottom line:
1) Yes Lexus will repair your car if you have this problem.
2) Yes, the bad part is the Air Idle Control Valve, NOT the APS.
Thanks again to all who contributed to this thread.
#545
Follow up
Well the dealer has a list of items that 'disqualify' the vehicle from being repaired. the one that got me was "excessive carbon deposits" on the butterfly valve I guess. They just said sorry and pointed at the list given to them by 'corporate' and handed me back my keys.
How about that..
How about that..
#546
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
Thats typical Lexus Dealership attitude. Ive had a 2013 GS 350 for almost 2 years now...they treat owners of new cars the same crappy way.
Overall their cars are awesome, but the dealers are a) not very well familiar with their own cars, and b) dont like to fix things without charging outrageous fees and c) will NOT replace 1 small part of say a throttle body, or other large assembly, but insist on replacing an entire $2000 assmebly rather than a $50 part of that assembly.
They also like to say "Oh, Thats Normal" to just about anything.
"Rich" people dont care cuz they buy new models every 1 or 2 years, get nice loaner cars when they take their cars in for an issue, and since they are covered bumper to bumper, they never really deal with this crap. Lexus dealerships know this, and provide free bananas coffee and snacks in nice show roms, and treat non-brand new owners like crap.
Ive dealt with 4 yes Four! Lexus Dealers in Phoenix since 2000, same crap at all of them. Arrogant, ignorant, and lazy...
3 Of the dealers couldnt even diagnose my Master Cylinder failing at 120K miles on my 98 GS300, and after sending my on my way, it nearly killed me when the brakes went 100% out (1 mi from the dealer) - I never took that car back.
My Wife's RX300 - same types of BS, and the 2013 GS350 - same crappy customer service...and that my friend, is why this forum exists, and why I attempt to help people when possible.
Cadi Dealers are similar...and Im betting so are other luxury cars...its the way of the world anymore.
Overall, I love my Lexuses, and buy them because they pretty much are really good vehicles, and far easier and less expensive to fix than a BMW or Mercedes - which I know from first hand experience.
Overall their cars are awesome, but the dealers are a) not very well familiar with their own cars, and b) dont like to fix things without charging outrageous fees and c) will NOT replace 1 small part of say a throttle body, or other large assembly, but insist on replacing an entire $2000 assmebly rather than a $50 part of that assembly.
They also like to say "Oh, Thats Normal" to just about anything.
"Rich" people dont care cuz they buy new models every 1 or 2 years, get nice loaner cars when they take their cars in for an issue, and since they are covered bumper to bumper, they never really deal with this crap. Lexus dealerships know this, and provide free bananas coffee and snacks in nice show roms, and treat non-brand new owners like crap.
Ive dealt with 4 yes Four! Lexus Dealers in Phoenix since 2000, same crap at all of them. Arrogant, ignorant, and lazy...
3 Of the dealers couldnt even diagnose my Master Cylinder failing at 120K miles on my 98 GS300, and after sending my on my way, it nearly killed me when the brakes went 100% out (1 mi from the dealer) - I never took that car back.
My Wife's RX300 - same types of BS, and the 2013 GS350 - same crappy customer service...and that my friend, is why this forum exists, and why I attempt to help people when possible.
Cadi Dealers are similar...and Im betting so are other luxury cars...its the way of the world anymore.
Overall, I love my Lexuses, and buy them because they pretty much are really good vehicles, and far easier and less expensive to fix than a BMW or Mercedes - which I know from first hand experience.
Last edited by az-dave; 01-13-16 at 12:44 PM.
#547
Lexus Test Driver
iTrader: (1)
Well the dealer has a list of items that 'disqualify' the vehicle from being repaired. the one that got me was "excessive carbon deposits" on the butterfly valve I guess. They just said sorry and pointed at the list given to them by 'corporate' and handed me back my keys.
How about that..
How about that..
#548
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
If something else comes up I might, but at the end of the day I do 99% of my own car work regardless how big, I just wanted the dealer to solve some issues several years ago, my 98 GS300 barely gets driven anymore...but I had similar negative experiences the last 2 years with small issues on the 2013 GS 350 we now have.
Its out of general warranty now (51,000 miles) so it wont go to dealer at all unless its a drivetrain issue.
Its out of general warranty now (51,000 miles) so it wont go to dealer at all unless its a drivetrain issue.
#549
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Join Date: Jul 2016
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I had an error code 1121 on my 2001 IS300. TRAC OFF light was flashing and car went into limp mode. Thanks to this thread I took my car into Longo Lexus and told them about the Toyota Economic Loss Settlement. They checked and said that my vehicle was eligible. They gave me a loaner and replaced the whole throttle body assembly at no charge. Service was great and car is running perfectly. But hurry because I think the coverage ends in August 2016. Thanks to this thread and Julien at Longo
#551
Today I had this problem. The car wouldn't even shift into any gear. It was locked in Park position. It turned out to be a fuse. I pulled out the 7.5 fuse under the label "panel" and noticed the fuse box cover calls for a 15 fuse. So I replaced the fuse with a 15 fuse and the lights immediately went away. I was able to shift into any gear again. No CEL. I scanned it with OBDII and no codes. (It didn't have any codes before this started anyway so).
With ALL dash lights gone, I noticed my car drove a bit off, as in a slight loss of power, slightly weaker acceleration and an overall slower climb up to highway speed.
Is the slight acceleration symptom that I am describing "limp mode"??
#553
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I am trying to find out why my 1992 sc 300 is in fail safe mode. No overdrive. No check engine light/ trans light. I had a o/d off light flashing while drive for a while. Replaced shift solenoids. Light went off still not overdrive. Transmission does not slip and feels strong. Last time it was not in fail safe mood was in the highway before the solenoids was replaced. Had no overdrive but have it near 70 mph and than for no reason and car did not skip a beat or slow down rpm's jumped from 4,000 rpm to 5,700 and damn I really hit the brake. I am think bad sensor. Can a o2 sensor make it go into fail safe mode? I have had 3 people say it needs a dealer level scanner, like at Lexus or transmission shop, but they all said that in the phone. But would they even be able to see it was o2 sensors? I hate to say someone and get no where. Damn obd 1.
#554
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I have a 1992 lexus sc 300 in fail safe mode no check engine light, it is the TPS and or the whole assy? If it is the whole assy can I use one off of another model lexus or do I need to try and find a good one from 1992-1995 sc 300/ 400 shift point feel wrong in the gears I do have. And now for a sec or two the car acts like it is going to die and than kick righ tback in, and it is the same way more than 3 times now please help. This has been driving me crazy thank you. Shaun
#555
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1992 lexus sc 300 update tps right side unplugged car running does nothing and unplugg the left side motor goes nuts like it should but car is in fail safe mode so is this the right test for this? If one tps senor works but not the other is the accelerator position sensor working?