ml30306

I own a 2000 Lexus ES300, 127k miles, changed spark plugs, timing belt, tensioner, and water pump a few months ago, no problem.

Today I was driving, at an intersection the CHECK ENGINE and TRAC OFF buttons came on at the same time, I also felt the engine run a little rough for a minute. Turned the engine off, then on, ran smoothly, lights still on. I also tried to operate the TRAC OFF switch, nothing happened.

Went to the nearest Autozone, they checked the error codes. Read out as follows:

P1300, P1305, P1310, P1315, P1320, and P1325 - all Igniter circuit malfunction (bank 1 or no. 1). Probable cause: 1. Open or short circuit condition, 2. Failed ignition coil/igniter, 3. Ignition secondary fault.

I drove the car home with both lights still on, turned the engine off, then on again. I then pressed the TRAC OFF button, the light and check engine light both went off, TRAC OFF button behaved normal again, both lights are off.

QUESTION - Anyone know or have a good guess what is going on? I am pretty sure that the lights will come on again. Solutions I have researched range from dirty gas cap, failed ingition coils (highly unlikely in my opinion that all 6 would fail at once) to bad MAF sensor. Also read that people were not able to operate the Overdrive button.

ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED!

ml30306

UPDATE: I disconnected the neg. battery wire and decided to start with the easiest fix, cleaning the gas cap (more wishful thinking though). Sure enough, today on my way the lights cam back on, this time the check engine light flashing. I have researched this topic in the forum - there are plenty of cases with the lights on but none with these error codes. I doubt that my case would be the very first on this site - anyone?

LeX2K

Are you getting the same codes as before? Sorry I don't have an answer for you, the trouble codes are quite generic in nature. BTW, the TRAC light almost always comes on when the check engine light trips, it's because the system sees and engine problem and decides the traction control system won't work reliably because of this. Just ignore the TRAC light.

ml30306

I have yet to get a new error code read out. Will post when I do.

jasn

that would be great, i am having the same problems.

Steelfan

Flashing check engine light usually means something more serious and you should take it in to get it looked at if you can't work on it yourself. You may do more damage by continuing to drive it.

http://www.justanswer.com/uploads/sn...5255_p1300.pdf

Hopefully it is something simple but with all six cylinders getting codes, you may have something wrong with the ECM.

ml30306

Just heard back from the shop. I am not sure if disconnecting the battery truly clears all error codes or whether they are simply not visible as lights on the dashboard anymore.

Their reading gave them the same error codes - P1300 - P1325 plus P1201. Their primary suggestion would be to drive the car until it picks up any new codes. Their secondary recommendation would be to either replace all ignition coils or perhaps test every ignition coil since one of their machanics stated that one bad ignition coil can feed back to all others. In other words, they really don't know what is wrong. Any comments/suggestions?

yeldogt

The "Trac Off" warning lamp often illuminates with the "CEL" because the car can no longer trust the sensors to properly manage the engine power. Nothing wrong with the Traction control system -- it is just off - and the car wants you to know it is "off". That is why the switch for the "trac" has no effect -- it will not activate.

I did not search your codes -- but often you need to do a little research on the codes -- you can not trust the Autozone cross reference for the codes.

If the engine misfires -- the CEL will blink. A blinking CEL light is warning you that unburned gasoline may be flowing to the exhaust system. Unburned gas in the exhaust will burn in the catalytic converter -- overheating the converter -- possibly destroying it. Don't drive with a blinking light.

Having the light on and then go out a hour later is not a blinking CEL light.

You may have a failing coil or a bad contact someplace after the recent plug change -- was it wet out when the light came on?

Do some research on the codes -- so you can narrow down the cause

You can get a cheap code reader on Amazon for $35.00 - great thing to have- you can reset your own light -- removing the battery will not do it.

yeskay

check/test cylinder 5 ignition coil.

ml30306

Thanks for all your suggestions, here the latest update:

A certified Toyota Shop in Decatur, GA that had my car called me and suggested to drive the car until the codes came back and to immediately have the codes checked hoping it would give a more specific code output. Sure enough, after about 2 miles driving around 40 mph the codes reappeared, rough idling and running of the engine. I returned, their Mastertech reader showed me the same codes, P1300-P1325 plus P1201. They also tried to clear them, but that did not work (any input here?). I am not sure if they ever physically checked the cylinders coils, I would hope so since in the end a code only indicates a problem and is not the source, though my charge for the checking was $0. You get what you pay for.

They suggested changing all 6 ignition coils since there may be "feedback" into the other coils (not sure what that really means). Their quote to do the work was around $870.00. I told them that my concern was that I do not want to end up throwing money at a problem in the hope that it will solve it. They offered to credit me for the coils in case it would not solve the problem - a nice gesture but that leaves me asking if they are really confident in the diagnosis.

I understand that these codes are unfortunatly pretty generic, here my questions:

- Is there really no way to test the ingition coils individually? My amateur idea would be to take each one out individually while connected, attach a spark plug, and with the help of a friend test them by turning the engine on, see if it sparks, then quickly turn off. I don't know if one could read a misfire that way, any suggestions? How would be the best way to test an ignition coil?

- "Feedback into other coils" - valid statement or are they too lazy to test each one individually?

- The codes could not be cleared - does that reveal any problem with e.g. the ECM?

- Ignition coils - I will most likely have to replace at least one coil. They retail at around $101, any sugegstions on OEM vs. Aftermarket? I found a seller on EBay, 6 new Denso coils for $220 (with VVTi) plus $20 shipping. Other aftermarket coils start around $30.00. Any suggestions?

- @yeskay - why cylinder No. 5? Which one would that be facing the front of the engine? What is this suggestion based on?

Thansk again. Looks like some other people may have the same problem, I have done a good amount of research but have yet to find a solution online with these specific codes.

CSSM

I kinda have the same problem. The check engine light and trac off light are on for me, but they never turn off. When I start the car they are there and never go away. Im just ignoring it, but should I do something?

yeldogt

The light is telling you that something is not correct - also you have no traction control. You can and should get the codes -- go to a parts place that does it for free or buy a cheap reader for $35.00. With the cost of gasoline any performance problem is costing you $$


The lexus coils don't have any widespread failure problem -- maybe they are recommending replacing them all because of the age and miles. If this was a VW/Porsche/Audi I would replace them all because when one goes they are all going - they crack.

The coils are very difficult to check off the car and you do not want to test one connected to the car with the coil and spark plug out of the car.

Replace the coil that the codes are pointing to as see if that solves the problem. The six coils for $220.00 sounds questionable cheap - confirm what you are getting. I got a replacement from my local parts store and it was about $60 w/lifetime warranty.

ml30306

@yeldogt: It si questionable whether you have traction control or not. Some people have stated that the traction control comes on as a "by-product" of the check engine light.

Unfortunately, the codes I am getting (P1300-P1325) are very generic and for all six cylinders. The coils on EBay are made by Denso and new.

yeldogt

I was responding to CSSM and if he should do something -- Obviously he should do something. As I stated in a previous post -- the Traction control is disabled because of the "CEL". Normally nothing is wrong with the traction control -- but it is definitely disabled -- so it will not operate when you need it to. That is why you need to check it out.




ML30306 -- I would do some looking around to see if you have a vacuum leak or anything that looks loose with any of the injectors on that bank -- it looks like everything is pointing to the whole bank. So it has to be upstream of the cylinders. Are you using the stock air filter - some of the aftermarket filters have oil on them and the MAF sensors can be affected.

I'm not familiar with "feedback" affecting other coils - but I would spend a few minutes switching then around before I replaced them all.

ml30306

@yeldogt: I will check and see if there is anyhting loose. I did use an aftermarket air filter, but I have also cleaned my MAF sensor just a few weeks ago. Will also check out the coils again.