ndk83

Does anyone know if the 2005 SC430 also suffered from that faulty VSC light goin on and off?

from what i experienced (dont own the car, want to buy it) the light didnt come on for the first 5 mins of the test drive but eventually did. So it seems like it, but most of the VSC fixes were done on 2003 cars.

Also the dealer quoted me an arm and a leg to fix. I wont be able to try the jumper method that was posted in thread until after i buy the car.

so help. Anyway to spot the diff between faulty sensors that need to be replaced or one that needs the Jumper fix solution?

scdroptop

iTrader: (1)

Hi and welcome to CL SC430 forum!

I just made this thread for you! Be sure to look at to top threads and use the search function- you'll be glad you did! . More than likely if you are new to the forum or the car and have a question- our expert member panel has already talked about it sometime! Search is your friend....

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=543764

Short answer is no.

Within the above thread you would have found this:

http://forums.theautomedia.com/local...d&pp=10&page=2

ndk83

Interesting, that thread u made is very useful, and no im not new to the forum, but relatively new to the sc430 part of the forum. You responded to my first questions 2 months ago and im still in the same situation

The car im looking at is gulf spec as i live in dubai and the TSB for the US dont apply here. With that said, the car im considering has the VSC light goin off intermittently, takes a while to go off etc.

On the link u provided, it pretty much suggests to consider "aborting the mission", and i got quoted a ridiculous amount ($3000) to fix it. They didnt know what was causing the light to go off. Apparantly they cannot connect their reader to the car to find out whats wrong unless the light is on. So now im pretty worried. I was hoping there was some cases of some 2005 cars w the vsc's goin off and diagnosed w the jumper solution

VVTiBob

One other issue to consider..."drive by wire"... what I mean is the car and its ECUs are constantly monitoring and corrected items. Sometimes conditions are temporarily present cause error lights to illuminate. A way to understand some of it is to read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On-board_diagnostics

While your car may not have been bound for the US, Lexus as a manufacturer meets or exceeds SAE standards all the time. I would also disagree with your statement about TSB's while some "may" not apply, due to manufacturing date etc etc, the TSB usually excludes them by VIN after an assembly change is made. A part or designs that fails or is subject to failure in the US would like fail in other parts of the world too. SCs are built in Japan and subject to parts manufactured or imported there.

Finally, why not trying to offend, why would consider purchasing a car from a dealer who knows of a problem with it and did not fix it before you purchased it?

ndk83

I dont live in the US, i live in the UAE and car is Gulf specs. But your right any problems the SC430 has in the US would prob be the same here. The problem here is that there is only one Lexus Dealer in the UAE (by law)

They dont seem at all familiar with the VSC issue (which if the TSB were applied here they should be atleast aware that lots of SC's and LS w the 430 engines were comin in for fixes)

And anyway the TSB were for the 04's and not the 05. Which has me worried.
I understand that driving w/ out VSC (esp in a country were well get very little rain and no snow) needed all the time, but for that 0.00001% of when you do need, that could make all the difference. The other worry i have is that its my sisters car, and although she doesnt drive fast or recklace and is a very calm driver, i cant help but feel responsible if anything should happen

Id really like to try the jumper fix on it, im very curious to whether or not that will correct it.


If the sensors were in deed faulty, wouldnt the VSC light come on immediately? im very surprised b this issue, and it seems ti be quite prelevant with 2002-2005 cars

talwang

iTrader: (4)

so which part are they going to replace for $3000 if they don't know what causes it in the first place?
the vsc light is known to be triggered by some non oem handheld devices with different protocols that will erase the zero point calibration setting stored in the ecu.

the jumper wire method is the authentic method stated in the oem repair manual if you don't have an oem compatible handheld device.
the aftermarket handheld device i have can reset the zero point calibration to get rid of the vsc light, but it says car needs to be parked on a level ground in order to set it properly.

it shouldn't take more than a minute to reset it using the jump wire method.
you should try to reset it durning another test drive if you could find a chance.

ndk83

So I made the dealership drive the car until the VSC lights went off, and when they plugged in their device i dont think thy knew what was wrong because they told me they want to

1. replace the front right lhs speed sensor
and then if that didnt fix the problem then
2. replace the brake actuator (cylinder) assembly

the brake actuator from the dealer costs 8950dhs (~ 2500 dollars) alone
add to that all the labor and replacing the speed sensor etc itll prob hit $3k

Anyway this led me to beleive that the 05's also suffer from the VSC prob the 02-04's did. Im hoping its the case cause that simple fix would save us alot of money

scdroptop

iTrader: (1)

ndk83-did you try resetting your ECU? I can't remember if you did or not. I still stand by my original answer that there is not a known problem with the 05's specifically for the VDC light problem. I would certainly get a second opinion on this! Do you have a Toyota dealer you can go to?

ndk83

No, never got the chance, I dont own the car yet. But apparanlty the old owner took it to them the dealership and they didnt figure out what was wrong with it. Im pretty sure they would have tried resetting the ecu.

I took it to the lexus dealership myself for a full car checkup and I made sure to tell them to drive the car till the VSC light came on (they mentioned something about if the light doesnt go off they cant find out whats wrong w their scan tool). Yet even though the light came on, they didnt know what was wrong and their reply was as stated my above post. It was a " we dont know whats causeing it, but try step 1 and if that doesnt work try step 2.

Not ready to drop $3K on something that may or may not correct the VSC problem.

scdroptop

iTrader: (1)

Again...I go back to what someone else said...why spend all this time and research on a car that you DON'T OWN? Doesn't make sense to me. Are SC430's extremely rare to find for you? Find another if you are uncertain about it.

Or...ask them to reset the ECU. Unplug the battery terminals for 30 minutes. See if that fixes it. Otherwise, look for another SC my friend.

Sometimes the best advice you can take is to listen to advice .

ndk83

hmm, i will do the vehicle ecu reset, but i dont think that will correct it.
well this SC is within budget and has extremly low milage (2005, w only 14k miles on it )and in very very good condition (except the VSC)

Every other SC is either above 100,000 miles or too expensive. And with that its still quite rare here in the UAE

talwang

iTrader: (4)

it seems they have already retrived the error codes because those steps were exactly what my code reader suggested what else to check next when my car had vsc vsc off abs lights.
my guess is the jumper wire method won't fix the light since they have told you which wheel sensor goes wrong.

it is not uncommon that front speed/abs sensor fails on the sc430.
if it also gets the abs light, i can almost guarantee the wheel speed/abs sensor needs replacing.
That sensor would cost you around $200 plus your own labor to replace it.

ndk83

I dont remember the ABS light going off just the "VSC off" lights
Will double check

ndk83

Interesting, the rims are original

i dont think the tires are cause i remember seein them as dunlops. I didnt check the width and if they were staggered or not. All good points to look out for