1996 SC300 Computerized Death Trap (merged threads)
12-15-06, 05:25 PM
#16
I've had my car completely die a few times on the freeway with no power what so ever and steering wheel lock up when I first purchased it. My reason was because I had a faulty battery and alternator but I'm pretty sure the same would happen for other vehicles that run several ECU's. I've seen several posts in the past about the same thing in the forced induction/engine section.
12-15-06, 08:54 PM
#17
Things break! 
Cars break, locks break, computers break....everything mechanical will at one point in its lifetime break.
Now... Her car broke...and she panic'd... Had some bad luck with getting some help (might have been cause she was yelling on the phone, and being anything but polite) and was left alone...to her misery.
After her tantrum blew over, she decided to write this epic tale of how Lexus is out to get her, and voiced her apparent inability to comprehend cars in doing so.
This should be seen as a rant, and nothing else.
Cars break, locks break, computers break....everything mechanical will at one point in its lifetime break.
Now... Her car broke...and she panic'd... Had some bad luck with getting some help (might have been cause she was yelling on the phone, and being anything but polite) and was left alone...to her misery.
After her tantrum blew over, she decided to write this epic tale of how Lexus is out to get her, and voiced her apparent inability to comprehend cars in doing so.
This should be seen as a rant, and nothing else.
12-16-06, 07:47 AM
#19
Pole Position
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 263
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I had that problem also.
I have experienced the same problem. While driving at 70 mph on the highway, the engine just quit. This happened several times and after coasting to a stop on the side of the road, I waited a couple of minutes and restarted the car and it ran fine for days.
Did I go to Lexus??? No! I have a close friend and neighbor that is a mechanic and has specialized in Lexus, Mercedes and other luxury cars.
Shannon said his experience suggested that the problem was an ECU. He believed that it was the Fuel Pump ECU. Since I was able to buy one from a memeber of this forum for $50.00, we thought that it was worth the money to prove or disprove the Fuel ECU theory. I put it in a month ago and had driven my SC400 everyday since and have had no failures.
I do not know if that is your problem, but for $50.00, it is a cheap way to rule it out.
Shannon, my mechanic, said that if it was not the fuel ecu, it would most certainly be the engine ecu. (Much more expensive, but still cheaper buying it from a member of this forum than going to Lexus).
Did I go to Lexus??? No! I have a close friend and neighbor that is a mechanic and has specialized in Lexus, Mercedes and other luxury cars.
Shannon said his experience suggested that the problem was an ECU. He believed that it was the Fuel Pump ECU. Since I was able to buy one from a memeber of this forum for $50.00, we thought that it was worth the money to prove or disprove the Fuel ECU theory. I put it in a month ago and had driven my SC400 everyday since and have had no failures.
I do not know if that is your problem, but for $50.00, it is a cheap way to rule it out.
Shannon, my mechanic, said that if it was not the fuel ecu, it would most certainly be the engine ecu. (Much more expensive, but still cheaper buying it from a member of this forum than going to Lexus).
12-16-06, 07:50 AM
#20
12-16-06, 07:59 AM
#21
Pole Position
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 263
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
???
OLT, One of the problems with searching these forums is often I do not know what search terms to use. I did a search on 'engine turns off', 'Engine stops', 'Engine quits' and so forth because gthat is what it was doing. If I knew before speaking to my mechanic that it was probably an ecu, I might have found the information here by searching on ecu. But, so many times when a person asks a question, he is attacked for not searching first. There are many times when I have searched and found what I needed. But, this problem was a tougher one. I am just happy to have fixed this problem so cheaply.
12-16-06, 08:00 AM
#22
Lexus Champion
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: New Orleans Suburbs
Posts: 1,773
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
What a great story! It had a beggening, a middle, and an end. Good stuff right there. I know where she is talking about. I got lost one time when I took the off ramp that kinda isn't a off ramp, just a connection ramp, but anyway, I got lost due to me taking that ramp.
12-16-06, 08:06 AM
#23
Keeper of the light
iTrader: (17)
OLT, One of the problems with searching these forums is often I do not know what search terms to use. I did a search on 'engine turns off', 'Engine stops', 'Engine quits' and so forth because gthat is what it was doing. If I knew before speaking to my mechanic that it was probably an ecu, I might have found the information here by searching on ecu. But, so many times when a person asks a question, he is attacked for not searching first. There are many times when I have searched and found what I needed. But, this problem was a tougher one. I am just happy to have fixed this problem so cheaply.
Like this guy did via pm as he posted this thread: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=253643
Not saying I'll have the answer, but if I don't it's not common and safe to post.
08-10-08, 02:13 PM
#24
Lead Lap
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: louisiana
Posts: 547
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
is this true? or is this woman crazy?
sorry if this is a repost but, i stumbled upon it trying to figure how much oil my 94 takes..
is this just an angry woman in attempt to talk trash? or has anyone else had experience or knowledge about this?
normally I'd call it BS but, she mentions her car dieing at around 110,000 and leaving her stranded, coincidentally my alternator died on me leaving me stranded in a bad area in new orleans last week at 115,000 miles. my car started loosing power, cd player stopped working, air conditioning stopped, power steering went out, car lost power and then died on the road.
here's the link
http://www.authorsden.com/categories...id=55&id=15636
is this just an angry woman in attempt to talk trash? or has anyone else had experience or knowledge about this?
normally I'd call it BS but, she mentions her car dieing at around 110,000 and leaving her stranded, coincidentally my alternator died on me leaving me stranded in a bad area in new orleans last week at 115,000 miles. my car started loosing power, cd player stopped working, air conditioning stopped, power steering went out, car lost power and then died on the road.
here's the link
http://www.authorsden.com/categories...id=55&id=15636
08-10-08, 02:24 PM
#25
that lady who wrote the article is an idiot. just a pissed off consumer with a 12+ year old car expecting nothing to break on it and has no knowledge of automobile repair. what a load of crap.
at least its not a DSM. those ECUs have a high rate of failure due to the caps leaking in them.
at least its not a DSM. those ECUs have a high rate of failure due to the caps leaking in them.
08-10-08, 03:35 PM
#27
Lead Lap
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: louisiana
Posts: 547
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
also, i have a quick question. while replacing my alternator, i also replaced a blown valve cover gasket, while i was taking off the intake manifold, to get to the valve covers, i notice alot of dirty caked up oil all over the inside of the manifold starting from behind the throttle body, all the way to the block, of course i took it all apart and cleaned it out, but what can cause this? is it a bad pcv valve?
08-10-08, 03:41 PM
#28
very true. like i said, my alternator died last week at around the same miles as hers, so i was wondering if it was just coincidence.. BUT my battery light kept coming on so i had warning, it was short, but still it was a warning... and i'm sure her battery light was on too.
also, i have a quick question. while replacing my alternator, i also replaced a blown valve cover gasket, while i was taking off the intake manifold, to get to the valve covers, i notice alot of dirty caked up oil all over the inside of the manifold starting from behind the throttle body, all the way to the block, of course i took it all apart and cleaned it out, but what can cause this? is it a bad pcv valve?
also, i have a quick question. while replacing my alternator, i also replaced a blown valve cover gasket, while i was taking off the intake manifold, to get to the valve covers, i notice alot of dirty caked up oil all over the inside of the manifold starting from behind the throttle body, all the way to the block, of course i took it all apart and cleaned it out, but what can cause this? is it a bad pcv valve?
08-10-08, 03:56 PM
#30
Had the same thing happen to my last car except i had the knowledge to know that it wasn't an ECU rather an electrical problem. It was a scary experience but the car lasted to my house where it promptly died as i pulled it into the garage. Turned out to be the alternator. No surprise, but it was scary driving around with the gauge cluster lighting up like a christmas tree.
This is one of those people that thinks they know about cars but in reality they don't know crap. Some rust in the lighter socket can kill a car...yea right. She knows that the ECU controls the car, but that doesn't mean that when something goes wrong that it's all the computer's fault. I think she's just upset that 1) she had a scary experience that could have ended in an accident, 2) because it's ALWAYS the car's fault and 3) She went to a Lexus Dealership to get her problems fixed.
This is one of those people that thinks they know about cars but in reality they don't know crap. Some rust in the lighter socket can kill a car...yea right. She knows that the ECU controls the car, but that doesn't mean that when something goes wrong that it's all the computer's fault. I think she's just upset that 1) she had a scary experience that could have ended in an accident, 2) because it's ALWAYS the car's fault and 3) She went to a Lexus Dealership to get her problems fixed.