The check engine light is on. The vehicle jerks sometimes at high speeds. The rpm's are really high, close to 3000 at 40 or 45 mph. The check engine light flashes sometimes. When the vehicle gets really bad and does not want to shift, I disconnect the negative battery cable, which clears the codes shortly and the light goes off. When the vehicle is climbing steep hills, it really has a hard time to the point where it just shut off all together. The Lexus dealership told me it was not worth fixing and I should just get rid of it. I am convinced that it is one of the many sensors it has. It is a 99' RX. I bought it with a just a little over 115,000 miles. Please Help!

 

Welcome to the Club.

The check engine light flashing usually has occurred with misfires (something I have had in the past). Autozone can usually check the OBD2 codes for you and you can let us know what they are and we can tell you what is going on. It could be just that you need to change out 1 or more ignition coils.

 

Also, I believe that when the Check Engine Light (CEL) is on, the car won't shift into the highest gear (so higher rpm).