lawpurv

Hi! I have a 2000 RX300AWD and I NEED some help. I have about 57,000 miles and had an air sensor changed some 20,000 miles ago. This summer my car went dead while I was driving it and I had it towed to a shop where they changed the battery. Since then, I have occassionally had a problem starting the car. It would sound like it was about to start when I turned the key and then it just wouldn't. This still happens on occassion and i figured out if I press the gas pedal while turning the key, it'll turn on.

Today, I had a problem starting it and when I pressed the gas pedal it started. But then the check engine light came on. I put the car back in the garage and am trying to figure out what to do next. I have to drive it on a trip around 700 miles before I can take it back to the dealer (Think it'll make it?) Any ideas are welcome and Thanks in advance!

Tammy

First thing, is the seal on your fuel cap in good shape and is the cap tight? This is the first check always.

Look for a local "Autozone" store and ask them to read the error code for you. The plug in is at the base of the dash near the steering column. Folks here can interpret the error for you.

Bercasio

iTrader: (1)

It sounds like it could be the throttle positioning sensor....have that checked out. Good luck!

lawpurv

Thanks for the info. I went to AutoZone and this is what I found out. Their code was: "P1130: Manufacturer controlled fuel and air metering." Inside, they got a print out on it and that said: "Lack of HO2S Switch - Adaptive Fuel At Limit."

Any ideas on what this means and where to go next and do you still think I am ok driving the 700 miles before getting it to a dealer? Thanks!

Also, I checked the fuel cap, it looked fine to me, and I asked the guy at Autozone to take a look at the cap and he said it looked fine as well.

Just found this in another forum from "RX in NC" apparently he had something similar and this is what he posts: "The culprit was indeed the Air/Fuel Ratio Sensor (also called the Bank 1 Sensor). Those of you with RX300s should note that trouble codes P01130 and P01135 indicate problems with this particular sensor. It's good to know that AutoZone's code analyzer got it right in our case."

If this is true and you think this may be my problem, do you think I am good driving around for a week and 700 miles?

rxdriver

A Heated Oxygen Sensor (HO2S) measures the amount of oxygen in the exhaust. That information is used by the computer to adjust the air / fuel mixture going in to the engine.

Unfortunately, P1130 is sort of non-specific. What it means is that the sensor isn't switching between "too lean" and "too rich", and it's not switching because it's stuck in one direction because something is too far off. The computer is trying to compensate for either a "too lean" or "too rich" condition, but it can't do enough to get the O2 sensor to reflect the change.

While the sensor could be the problem, it could also be OK and indicating there's an underlying problem with either the air supply or the fuel supply. There is a self-test system on the sensors, and the presence of another code could indicate if the sensor is failing the test or not, confirming that the sensor is in fact the problem.

I'm not sure how this could be, but I found a couple of web sites that said in addition to the usual fuel and air things to check, another possible cause for P1130 is either too much oil in the engine or the oil dipstick isn't fully seated. Sounds kind of far-fetched to me, but very inexpensive and simple to check, like the fuel cap.

No clue if it's safe to drive or not... it would take more diagnosis to find the root cause of the problem. Good luck with it.

lawpurv

Thanks rxdriver. Question, now the light is off. Would that imply that the sensor is no longer stuck in one position, or is that just a fluke that it is off and may come back on in the near future?

rxdriver

Since the light is off, the computer hasn't seen the problem again since it was read by AutoZone or in some amount of time specified in the computer. This doesn't really tell us if the sensor is to blame or not... under the right circumstances, the sensor could still have a problem. Or else, those circumstances are the problem, and the sensor is doing its job.

Chances are it will come back on in the near future. If it does come back on, I'd have certainly have a dealer look into the problem. Even if the light doesn't come back on but it's still hard to start, then something is wrong somewhere and it warrants further investigation.

Tammy

Might I recommend you stop by a Toyota dealer and purchase a new air filter. The part number is 17801-03010 (toyota). Just unclamp the two outside latches, lift slightly to unlatch the inside hinge. Then lift the upper filter box half only about TWO inches and lift up and slip out the filter. Take care not to disconnect the hose attached to the rear of this half. Slip in the new one the same way and take care to rehinge the box half inside prior to relatching the outside latches. The MAF may be a little dirty if it hasn't been replaced yet. It's the part with wires attached on the air tube between the air cleaner and the intake manifold. It will cause a check light. Don't unplug it unless you plan to remove it . The computer monitors it with constant battery power...a function of your On Board Diagnostics Two (OBD-II).

Bercasio

iTrader: (1)

Like, Tammy said it could also relate to the MAF Sensor connected to the air filter line or previously mention possibly the throttle positioning sensor....

lawpurv

Thanks for all the tips. The light is off right now and I'm going to get it to the dealer next week. I will post what the dealer says.

Francis

It happened to mine before. About 2 years, I needed to trun the key few times to get the car started. Then a year later, I even needed to gas it to keep the rpm go up to help the car start. It only happened occassionally. Then one day I had to gas it to keep the rpm going. If I let go, rpm will back to zero and the car die. No engine light on. Dealer replaced the idle speed control ($430) and the car start perfect now.

Francis 99' RX

lawpurv

OK, so thanks to all the help and suggestions I took my car to the dealer in NC. As I expected, there was something wrong. The idle speed control went bad (Thanks Francis) and the Bank 1 air/fuel ratio sensor went bad. The grand total came to around 850 and with some arm pulling I could only get them down to around 750.

When I went to drive away from the dealer, the car managed to bounce up and down when I switched gears. After dropping 750, I called the service tech out to my car and said something isn't right. He thought so as well and took it back into the service shop and they had it fixed in about 4 minutes. Apparently the computer was not completely reset with the new idle speed control and they needed to restart it. I sort of question if their computer is controlled by some magic switch that the dealer could send some message to making me bring the car back to them for some money, but I'll leave my conspiracy theories for another day.

Anyhow, the car runs like brand new again and hopefully it wont blow another one of the some 200 sensors on it anytime soon. Thanks again, and if anyone has a suggestion on some new tires let me know. I have the Bridgestone Duelers on there right now, I went through the first set in about 23k miles and the second set in about 24k miles. I get the tires rotated, balanced and aligned with a 4 wheel life-time alignment about every 2,500 to 5,00 miles so they will pro-rate them for me since they are SUPPOSED to last 60,000 miles.