Margate330

Car was approaching 150K so I freshened it up replacing almost all sensors and selenoids whether it needed it or not and kept old ones for spares.
Looked for deals on ebay and got burned a few times lol so had to go to oem, but should've checked out Rockauto since the OEM is not gentle when they grab your wallet $$$. lol

rx330March

Dealer diagnosed code P0012 and told me they could change oil control solenoid bank 1 for $785. Just saw this thread, and although I'm shaking at the thought of screwing this straighforward fix I am going to try it. I have changed many parts when I was younger-thermostat, radiator, brakes, all on my old 97 civic with no problem. For some reason touching a lexus gives me the shakes and have attempted no repairs. Wish me luck and I may be posting in case I get stuck. Thanks ofr all the detailed instructions. Worst that could happen is have it towed to mechanic, right?

salimshah

This may not be as easy as it appears. I pulled one with ease while the other gave me a good fight. Patience and perseverance paid off. Then I goofed on putting back the filters. Had to purchase them. Fortunately I bench tested and they both worked fine. Remember to purchase the O rings.

Stay focused and your actions need to be deliberate. Quality tools help. Do not mess with any other thing and remember the vehicle is aged and all rubber hoses and pipes are brittle.

Wish you luck.

Salim

trhs75

Salim is right, as usual. I can't believe it is so expensive at the dealer!! I found changing both bank 1 and bank 2 to be quite easy. Enjoy all that money you'll save!

bordenj66

I’ve pulled the VVT solenoids from all my RX’s without issue. Yes sometime they are sticky getting out, but $700 plus for the dealer to do it is nuts.

I have been running on RockAuto VVT solenoids on my current RX for probably 60K without issue.

Margate330

Highway robbery in my opinion.

Mine were sticky too but turning the VVT's clockwise and counter-clockwise a few times to loosen it up and then pulling perfectly straight out worked for me.

salimshah

Yes $700 is steep. Wondering how much was parts [I bet they would replace them if they have an OK .. which they do if the customer agrees to $700 charge].

Salim

Margate330

Can afford a nice tool haul with money saved DIY...

JBell1

I ended up breaking my oil valve off when trying to pull it out. A solution I haven't seen here without tapping a screw. If you drop a paint can opener down the hole of the solenoid at just the right angle it will grip the solenoid in its wall opening. Then use a long screwdriver as a lever to pull the paint can opener out with the solenoid. Did this last night after not having the right size screw to tap the solenoid and didn't feel like waiting for morning to buy one.

LastQuark

Just want to drop by and say thanks for this DIY. I got codes P1349, P0300, P0301, P303, P0305, and P1346 codes all Bank 1. Vehicle is a 1999 RX300 with 140,830 miles. Original owner.

Replaced both OCV's and filters all from Dorman. The screen mesh filter from Dorman appears to be larger than OEM. Anyway, the old filters still looks clean so I will save them if needed in the future.

The bad original OCV measures 7.5 ohms at room temp. The new Dorman measure 7.2 ohms. The original must have been failing at hot.

I didn't have a hard time taking out the OCV's probably because I change oil every 5k miles.

I went slow so it took me about 2 hrs including an oil change.

Oldlongboarder

Could you please tell me which Dorman part # for the OCV is considered {bank 2}?

I completed the hack for P0330 code and it worked as far as allowing the rx300 to shift into 4th gear however vsc and check engine light came back on soon after. The new code now after the hack is P1351 Sensor/camshaft position sensor circuit range performance bank 2.

I would like to only change bank 2 because I don't have the money for both right now. Is bank 2 sensor in the front as pictured previously or the one further down closer to the firewall.?

Thank you for the reply

LastQuark

Here you go:

Bank 1:
OCV Rear (right)(Toyota) 15330-0A010
OCV (Dorman) 917-214

Bank 2:
OCV Front (left)(Toyota) 15340-0A010
OCV (Dorman) 917-211

Filter for each solenoid: 926-124 (must change)

Oldlongboarder

Thank you for helping me understand which one I needed. Hopefully this is it... no more check engine vsc light.

salimshah

Bank1 is near firewall and bank2 is in the front. Difference in the two sensors is the mounting bracket angle.

Also note the filter direction as you remove them.

Salim

Oldlongboarder

Thanks for the replies. I changed out bank 2. Pulled negative off put back. Drives fine. Went through all gears, idles fine. Shut car off and lights came back on.

Before the P1351 code I had the P0330 code but did the hack fixed that. The code reading said only P1351 so I only replaced the front one bank 2.

This is frustrating. Prior to this I had the water pump kit installed, new alternator, belt replaced, syn oil and filter done on RX300. If you ignored the vcs and check engine light you would never know there is a problem.

I need to sell this car. I was going to drive it while my tacoma was getting the frame redone (another story} beautiful trd 4x4 i've had for 18 years and 183k miles but frame is shot. toyota said no on the frame up until the lawsuit stopped and then mine went to ****.

I do not want anyone driving down the road and these lights come on the RX300 and want them to have a good car. I did not replace the vvt with oem part. I am willing to take this one out again and do that although the part had great reviews, looks the same fit perfect, etc. It's an aisin part. One autozone guy said it could be the cheap battery but it holds charge fine so I can't believe thats the problem.

Any more advice is greatly appreciated. It's a 2001 RX300, 193K miles awd. At this point I just want to get my money back out of it and ride my motorcycle until my tacoma is fixed.