Hey Peeps:

For my 00' RX300 FWD yesterday I had the old pos GoodYear Intergritys replaced with 4 new Michelin Cross Terrain stock 225-sized tires (woo hoo!). I drove the truck in traffic for about 15 miles, stopped and parked the truck for about an hour, then started to drive the truck again then noticing that the Check Engine light that had come on, then followed by the Traction deactivation light very soon thereafter (I'd say within 2 minutes or so).

I tried turning off/on the traction light while driving to see if it would respond and it did not, and stayed on. I ignored the lights and drove the truck for an hour in moderate traffic and then parked the vehicle for 41/2 hours (went to the Orioles/Yankees 17-9 slugfest in Baltimore). When I started it up after the game, the traction disengagement light had gone away leaving only the Check Engine light that now still lights up when I started the truck up late last night after the game and still on today.

Should I unhook positive or negative battery terminals or other, or is there a known issue that exists when you have tires changed on the truck? They did nothing other than a mount and balance at a non-dealer shop, replacing the old tires with new (or so they say). I typically trust most to do a straight-forward job with something like this - was there something I/they missed doing before or after?

Any help/response is appreciated.

KF

 

I had exactly your problem on my 04 RX330. I had to patch a puncture in my tire which let all the pressure out. I patch, added air, and put the wheel back on. The next day, the check and VSC and trac lights all came on.

I scanned the code (OBD2) and got P0500 something with the speed indicator malfunction. I cleared it.

I think it was because each wheel has a "tire pressure monitoring system" in each one. When I let out all the air, the system thought something was wrong. The solution, was to follow the owner's manual to reinitialize the tire monitoring system. Since I did this, the lights never came back on. Interestingly, the "low tire pressure" light NEVER came on during this entire ordeal.

good luck.

 

If all they really did was replace the old tires with new, there is no way they could have caused the CEL (no tire pressure monitor on 00 RX). Are you sure they didn't check your air filter? This is a common practice and if it was dirty they would attempt to sell you a new one. Anyway, when you open the top of the air box to check the filter it is very easy to pull off the vacuum hose behind the air box causing a CEL. This hose is located directly under the brake fluid container. If that's it, all you need to do is re-attach it to the metal tube below and reset the light by pulling the EFI fuse or disconnecting the battery.

 

Guess that's always not a bad thing to try when in doubt. Thanks for the feedback as something was temporarily unhappy tripping the sensor in the traction/electrical.

 

I keep etting the Traction accompanied with Chk Engine light reoccurence. IT seems now to be related to when I accelerate hard from stop in the Truck is best I can ascertain. What alwys happens is traction light comes on first, then very soon after, the Chk Engine. Then within a few miles the traction light goes away and leaving the Chk engine light. Last time that went away too eventually after a day or two, but it keeps reappearing. Any ideas are appreciated for this consistent idiosynchrocy of my truck, which I'm starting to get sick of.

 

You're beyond the point of a loose fuel filler cap..

The traction light with the check engine lamp is common occurance with FWD.. Slip by your neighborhood AutoZone and have the errors read from the diagnostic computer... Post the codes here. The plug is located at the base of the dash, near the steering column.

With the codes, the folks here have the documentation to interpret and give you a good ballpark where the problem originates. Parts are too expensive to "shotgun" the problem.

Please include the mileage on the vehicle.

 

I have the service manual, so I can help you if you find out which code it is.

 

Truck has 48000 miles. I'll drop by AutoZone and have the codes spec'd out and will advise back here - I really appreciate the help peeps.