JM5879

Okay, i've been having issues with the shudder in my car. where it's like driving a stick and shifting into 5th gear instead of 3rd. it was brought to my attention that it could be the speed sensors. now theres two of them on the tranny under the airbox. i pulled both of them out to clean them and noticed something. the one directly on top of the tranny had very small metal flakes on the soleniod. nothing to alarming. however the one thats at a 45 degree angle on the tranny was different. it's my understanding that if you were to replace them, they are exactly the same. same part number and all. but when i took the one that was at angle the soleniod was flush with the rest of the sensor. it wasnt protruding out like the other one.

to me that says something is wrong and i should replace it. anyone else come across this or any ideas?

lexus114

All I can Add is I cleaned mine last weekend,and noticed the small metal particles on the sensor on top.But nothing at all on the 45 degree angled one.(clean) I did not notice the difference between the two sensors that you mention.Unless one of yours was replaced with a different brand or something.They claim you can swap these sensors,but I wouldnt if their is a physical difference between them.

mikey00

They both should be the same. Sounds like somebody replaced one of them. You could try swapping them and see if your problem changes. Be careful with this. One of them may have been modified to fit the RX connector as I mention below.
Next thing would be to determine which one of them is the correct one. It could be Aisin Seiki/Toyota or Toyota/Toyota. Carefully look at the electrical connection on both sensors. The Aisin sensor has a off center raised rib which fits into the keyway on your RXs connector. The Toyota sensor has a centered rib. You must get the correct sensor to fit the connecting plug on your RX. Did someone clip, sand or grind off the rib on the one of the sensors to make it fit? If you go to the Beck/Arnley site you can see an image of the 2 sensors. I think the image is also at rockauto.com under cruise control sensors. The images are 180 degrees out and shot at different angles making it difficult to see the difference. I flipped the one image and cleaned things up and have them in a PowerPoint document if you have an address I can send it to.

JM5879

i had checked them both to make sure wether they were Aisin or Toyota. both said toyota on them and they're centered ribed. i was contemplating switching them out until i noticed the difference in the soleniod at the tip of the sensors. i know the one at a 45 degree angle did not want to come out or really go back in at all.

i have to leave for a short business trip tonight into tomm morning. when i get home i'll take them out again and take some pictures. i shouldve done that in the first place but wasnt really thinking about it..

mikey00

As long as you are sure they are both center ribbed, they should be Toyota. Just be careful when reading the name on the sensors. The Aisins are labeled Aisin on one side of the sensor and Toyota on the other side.

JM5879

okay so i was wrong. one is Aisin and one is just toyota. yet they both seem to fit the connectors properly as i swapped them. after swapping them and taking the car for a short drive i totally noticed a difference in how the car reacted. it seemed so much smoother when driving, idling, coasting. everthing. however the check engine light came on, but i didnt find the car running any differently when the light came on. here is a picture of them side by side. the one on the left is the Aisin, which was the one directly on top of the tranny, the one on the right is the toyota which was the one at the 45 degree angle.

mikey00

First thing: the check engine light. I am betting one of the connections or hoses disconnected when you removed the air box is not back on. Check the evap hose on the back of the airbox. If you have an Autozone around get the code read.
Second thing: the sensors. Both mine were like the one on the left, Aisin. Someone must have changed one of your sensors in the past. Check both connectors and sensors real close. Did someone possibly replace a Aisin sensor with a Toyota and sand off the raised rib to make it fit? You should be able to tell what type sensor belongs in your RX by closely examining the connector. If the keyway if offset it is Aisin. If it is centered it is Toyota. If your RX was made with one Aisin sensor and one Toyota sensor one would expect the 2 sensor connectors to be different. But if this was the case you should have had trouble when you swapped their connections.
The sensor below is Toyota and has a centered rib (circled in yellow).

mikey00

The sensor below is Aisin and has a offset rib (circled in yellow)

JM5879

honestly both of toyota and aisin looked off center.

i checked and the hose was connected in the back of the airbox. so im not sure y it happened. i pulled the efi fuse to reset it. we'll see what happens tomm..

mikey00

Another thing to check is the hose in the back sometimes comes off the metal tube it is clamped to down below.

JM5879

ah didnt check that. i'll have to check it in the morning. and to answer your question about the connectors they are offset. i believe someone replaced it with a toyota except the rib is still on the sensor.

mikey00

It may be time to do some back pedaling here. My information about Aisin and Toyota sensors having different rib offsets came from here:
http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums...20sensors&st=0
I also viewed the different images of the sersors and it sure looked like this person was correct. However, the images are shot from different angles making it difficult to do a good comparision. When I removed mine they were both Aisin and were offset which coinsided with all the other info. Also I had my RX from new so I know no one changed the sensors. After hearing about your offset Toyota sensor I am starting to have second thoughts. Maybe neither Aisin or Toyota are centered. They could both have the same offset and fit the same connector. Maybe Lexus parts offer the 2 different sensors so that you can replace your sensor with the same so that you still have a matched set. It will be interesting to see what is causing your CEL. Maybe it is speed sensor related. Maybe you got away with having 2 different kinds in the positions they were in (except for the shudder) but they now caused a code when positions were swapped.

JM5879

yeah i read that post before. so thats whats being confusing me. cause both mine are off center and honestly looking at the pics you posted those are definitely off center.

i think the CEL has something to do with me swapping. i'll see if it comes on again tomm. but the car didnt run any differently when it came on. i think the car might of adjusted to having two different sensors but moving them made the cel pop.

JM5879

well i took the car for a short drive today. long enough for the CEL to come on but it didnt. the car ran alittle funny at first, but im assuming thats from me taking out the EFI fuse to reset it also i think the cpu needed to readjust to my driving style after pulling out the fuse and swapping sensors...though i could be wrong on this.

mikey00

I guess you need to give it some time to see how things end up here. If your original problem is gone (shudder) but it still doesn't feel quite right, I bet one of the sensors is bad. I wolud replace them with 2 Aisin Seiki sensors. But that is an expensive gamble. They are about $90 each. I did some looking around today on different sites at various sensor images and still can't determine if the Toyota sensors have a centered rib or are offset like the Aisins
If anyone has pulled Toyota sensors from there RX and can verify if they have a centered rib or not please post.
I also found that Rock Auto who used to sell Beck Arnley Aisin and Toyota versions of the sensor now sell Airtex. The Airtex version has Toyota stamped on the sensor but definetly has the offset rib. Maybe someone replaced one of your Aisin Seiki sensors with an Airtex sensor. That would account for a sensor with Toyota stamped on it with and offset rib.