Would You Have Bought Your GS400 If You Knew About the Rough Idling at First?
#16
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I have a '98, and I believe it was one of the earlier produced onces being I bought it off lease 2 years ago. Regardless, I have over 80K miles now (not very happy about that) and my car idles like a baby. Outside or inside, it is quiet and smooth. I have to say that this problem is NOT normal, and I would complain until it is fixed.
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The TPS is not an easy replacement...with what you have just mentioned, I would do a wetwash clean on your filter and look at the entire air flow setup (all the plastic ducting) and see if there is any oil residue...if so clean it....look at the MAF and very carefully clean it off using throttle body cleaner or electrical contact cleaner and some qtips---BE VERY CAREFUL..dont break the two small wires...I would then relook the Throttle body itself and clean it as best you can with a clean rag and some carb or throttlebody cleaner...if you have no luck with your idle issue, bring it to the dealer and let them replace the TPS...
Bryan
Bryan
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I must say that driving my gs400 is a pleasure and i have not had any problem with any sort of idle. It idled fine with the stock air box and still does wonderful with the swift racing intake. would never think twice bout changing cars because of a bug which i am sure is easy to fix....but i am going to knock on wood and hope i never "complain" about idle bryan
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I have a '98 and it has a very low idle around 500 rpm w/ a/c switched off. The car has a slight shake which I find annoying. Since I usually run with a/c on, I have not worked myself up over it.
However, this combined with the tire/wheel/noise issues and the occasional creaks and rattles has not endeared me to this car. It may be acceptable for a Toyota, but not for a Lexus. I had a 1990 LS400 which ran like a top - I am sorry I switched to the GS400.
Vroman13
However, this combined with the tire/wheel/noise issues and the occasional creaks and rattles has not endeared me to this car. It may be acceptable for a Toyota, but not for a Lexus. I had a 1990 LS400 which ran like a top - I am sorry I switched to the GS400.
Vroman13
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Lexus is a really nice car I have to say. However, most of the dealers I've been through have serious customer service and service problems. If you live in Houston, Texas, stay away from Sterling Mccal and Mr. Rick Lee of Sterling Mccal Lexus. These are very rude people and extremely incompetent. Even if the windshield falls on your face, they'd say it's normal because you're driving too fast! (exaggeration of course). The point is, they'll say everything is normal if they can't fix a problem. And they can't seem to fix any. If you know of a good dealer in Houston Texas, please let me know. For now, it seems I have to fix every thing myself (fortunately, this car doesn't break down as much). Unless you want to waste weeks of time and headache then get your car back with the same problem and the same old talk "that's normal for this type of car." Don't be surprised if your car runs like a horse carriage and noisier than a Huyndai because the dealer will tell you it's NORMAL. Clear Lake Lexus have really nice customer service, but again, the techs are extremely incompetent. Tough luck.
#23
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I have a 99 GS400 with about 43K miles on it. I have the stock intake on it.
My local dealer does all the regular maintenance and service. Never had a problem with rough or low idle.![Thumb Up](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif)
LEXUS RULES!!!!
My local dealer does all the regular maintenance and service. Never had a problem with rough or low idle.
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LEXUS RULES!!!!
#24
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Originally posted by Hameed
I have a 99 GS400 with about 43K miles on it. I have the stock intake on it.
My local dealer does all the regular maintenance and service. Never had a problem with rough or low idle.![Thumb Up](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif)
LEXUS RULES!!!!
I have a 99 GS400 with about 43K miles on it. I have the stock intake on it.
My local dealer does all the regular maintenance and service. Never had a problem with rough or low idle.
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LEXUS RULES!!!!
my wife and i both have 1999 gs400 with about 53 thousand miles on them.. never have experienced a low idle problem on either one. however i wouldn't purchase a car that had that problem.
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In Oct '03 I bought my first Lexus from the dealer, a '98 GS300. Seemed okay at the time, however soon after the check engine light on and hesitated badly on acceleration. When starting, it seemed initially to be okay and then would "lug" down to about 400 rpm acted like it was going to stall, which it usually did.
The dealer has been fabulous about fixing it. Especially considering it is not a certified car.
The O2 sensors have been replaced several times and a bunch of other things. The hesitation under accelleration was fixed, but it keep stalling on the start. Sometimes just turning it off and restarting seemed to solve it.
Anyway back to the dealer in mid-December (out of its 30-day warranty). They kept it for three weeks (and provided a service loaner-RX330-nice).
Finally they cleaned the tank, found some debris at the fuel pump. And they replaced the fuel and the regulator.
Now, so far (since 01/07/04) it's running great. What great dealer--Lexus of Rockville, MD!
Does any of that sound like the problems you've been experiencing?
The dealer has been fabulous about fixing it. Especially considering it is not a certified car.
The O2 sensors have been replaced several times and a bunch of other things. The hesitation under accelleration was fixed, but it keep stalling on the start. Sometimes just turning it off and restarting seemed to solve it.
Anyway back to the dealer in mid-December (out of its 30-day warranty). They kept it for three weeks (and provided a service loaner-RX330-nice).
Finally they cleaned the tank, found some debris at the fuel pump. And they replaced the fuel and the regulator.
Now, so far (since 01/07/04) it's running great. What great dealer--Lexus of Rockville, MD!
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Does any of that sound like the problems you've been experiencing?
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Originally posted by vroman13
I have a '98 and it has a very low idle around 500 rpm w/ a/c switched off. The car has a slight shake which I find annoying. Since I usually run with a/c on, I have not worked myself up over it.
However, this combined with the tire/wheel/noise issues and the occasional creaks and rattles has not endeared me to this car. It may be acceptable for a Toyota, but not for a Lexus. I had a 1990 LS400 which ran like a top - I am sorry I switched to the GS400.
Vroman13
I have a '98 and it has a very low idle around 500 rpm w/ a/c switched off. The car has a slight shake which I find annoying. Since I usually run with a/c on, I have not worked myself up over it.
However, this combined with the tire/wheel/noise issues and the occasional creaks and rattles has not endeared me to this car. It may be acceptable for a Toyota, but not for a Lexus. I had a 1990 LS400 which ran like a top - I am sorry I switched to the GS400.
Vroman13
I have 106K miles on my 99 GS4 and don't experience any idle problem. "If you knew about the rough idling at first"...I would look at another GS4 that ran the way I liked.
If my car fell "ill" with low rough idle or stalling, I would fix it. I would make sure it got fixed. I think some people are too soft with their dealer or other service shop.
MAN...what a great overtime game...RAMS vs. PANTHERS
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Hey guys, I have had no problems what so ever with my 1994 GS300, until today, I dont know if this could of made the problem start, but today I had my engine cleaned when my car was detailed, I also removed my subwoffer from the trunk and two wires touched and sparked. After taping the wires and what not I went and parked my car. About 4 hours later I started my car and it started fine, but it dropped from about 1250RPM to 500RPM and then started shaking a little, now at 1500RPM it doesnt shake, and when I put it in drive it stays at 500RPM and shakes. So I have no idea what is wrong I dont know that much about cars at all, but I dont want to go to the dealer and have them feed me some crap and charge me up the yingyang for parts and what not. So if you guys could reply to this or Send me a email Id appreciate it. Logroll1@yahoo.com
Thanks
Geno 1994 Lexus GS300 Owner
Thanks
Geno 1994 Lexus GS300 Owner
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Originally Posted by bryanb124
tinygs:
I now refer to my third point...have you had the dealer inspect your throttle position sensor?????
Regardless, I have posted this before:
If you use a performance air filter that requires oil YOU HAVE TO BE SURE YOU DO NOT OVER OIL IT!!!! Over oiling your performance air filter is the sure cause of your problem. I beleive right now that if we took a poll, the majority of people who are having this idle problem are running a performance air filter.
The "More is better" solution does not work with performance air filters...if you over oil them, the oil will be sucked up through the air passage resulting in three problems:
1) oil all over the air intake passage ways that always ends up on your MAF sensor
2) oil all over the throttle bottle, resulting in carbon and crud build up on the butterfly in the inside of the throttlebody
and 3) oil then contaminates the throttle position sensor causing it to malfunction and read the incorrect position.
NOW, if oil is on your MAF sensor, it cannot get a correct reading of the amount of air travelling through the system. In a fuel injected car, when you step on the gas, you are actually stepping on the "air". All it does is open the throttle body wider allowing more air to come in, unlike old carbeurated engines which put more fuel in. The MAF "sees" this the computer then puts more fuel in to the air mixture based on a predetermined chart and the position of the throttle body (which, oh by the way comes from the the throttle position sensor!).
Now, even if you have cleaned the throttle body and the MAF, if you did not clean the entire air passage (take it off the car and clean it with a good degreaser or throttle body cleaner, let dry and then reinstall), everytime you start the car and use it again, the excess oil that is still in the air intake passage will eventually get back all over everything
especially if you continue to over oil your performance air filter.
'nuff said
Bryan
I now refer to my third point...have you had the dealer inspect your throttle position sensor?????
Regardless, I have posted this before:
If you use a performance air filter that requires oil YOU HAVE TO BE SURE YOU DO NOT OVER OIL IT!!!! Over oiling your performance air filter is the sure cause of your problem. I beleive right now that if we took a poll, the majority of people who are having this idle problem are running a performance air filter.
The "More is better" solution does not work with performance air filters...if you over oil them, the oil will be sucked up through the air passage resulting in three problems:
1) oil all over the air intake passage ways that always ends up on your MAF sensor
2) oil all over the throttle bottle, resulting in carbon and crud build up on the butterfly in the inside of the throttlebody
and 3) oil then contaminates the throttle position sensor causing it to malfunction and read the incorrect position.
NOW, if oil is on your MAF sensor, it cannot get a correct reading of the amount of air travelling through the system. In a fuel injected car, when you step on the gas, you are actually stepping on the "air". All it does is open the throttle body wider allowing more air to come in, unlike old carbeurated engines which put more fuel in. The MAF "sees" this the computer then puts more fuel in to the air mixture based on a predetermined chart and the position of the throttle body (which, oh by the way comes from the the throttle position sensor!).
Now, even if you have cleaned the throttle body and the MAF, if you did not clean the entire air passage (take it off the car and clean it with a good degreaser or throttle body cleaner, let dry and then reinstall), everytime you start the car and use it again, the excess oil that is still in the air intake passage will eventually get back all over everything
especially if you continue to over oil your performance air filter.
'nuff said
Bryan
I think you're off-base with the "If you take care of your car and do maintenance on it, you won't have this idle issue" statement. Read through all the threads about this issue again and you'll see that everything you've mentioned has been suggested over and over, plus more (PCV valve, spark plugs, adjusting throttle cable, etc.). Some people have even had the dealer replace the MAF, throttle body, and TB sensor two or three times and they STILL have the problem. Many of us are frustrated because the dealer cannot figure out the problem.
If you were unlucky enough to have this problem YOU WOULD BE WHINING TOO
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This may be the cause of your problem:
Did the detailer pressure wash your engine or use a hose? Water most likely go on the engine and is causing it to idle wrong. You need to let it dry out. There was a thread in the 1st gen GS forum where someone did the same thing and his GS3 started idling bad. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=148774 The problem was solved, most of the water was near the sparkplugs and it caused the misfire. This part of the engine is particularly hard to dry because it is recessed in the head, but with some work you can get all the water out.
The problem with the GS3 not idling properly is a separate issue than the GS4. Usually the GS3 doesn't idle properly if it has too much carbon buildup on the throttle and sometimes aftermarket air filters causes oil to cover the MAF sensor. This is different from the GS4's problem because even if you clean up these things and do all the other maintainance the problem is still there. Some people tend to think it has something to do with the electronics.
Originally Posted by logroll1
I had my engine cleaned when my car was detailed
The problem with the GS3 not idling properly is a separate issue than the GS4. Usually the GS3 doesn't idle properly if it has too much carbon buildup on the throttle and sometimes aftermarket air filters causes oil to cover the MAF sensor. This is different from the GS4's problem because even if you clean up these things and do all the other maintainance the problem is still there. Some people tend to think it has something to do with the electronics.
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Hey thanks alot Eric, I will try that tommarrow, the only problem is that if it doesnt fix the problem, I wont be able to do anything about it. Im shipping my car tommarrow to California from Hawaii. Is there only long term effects if I dont get a chance to get that water out if there is any? And will driving it cause any problems? Oh by the way the detailer said he did some kind of steam cleaning.
Thanks
Geno
Thanks
Geno