1mangoo

Hi i have an 07 es 350 and I'm here to ask for some help. We just got the car last month and it has 32,000km on it. The CEL and VSC light is on. The car shakes at idle and running. My sister said she put in 5$ extra of gas after the tank was full (stupid mistake i know). The car sit and she started it up the next morning with the two lights on. She's already driven it so I wouldn't be surprised if that gas was burned off and it would be just a simple reset from there.

I tried disconnecting the negative battery cable and letting it sit for a bit perhaps to reset the light. The light stays off for about 10 seconds then comes back (from startup the car is still running rough).

My question to you guys is about the gas cap. I'm wondering if its normal for the gas cap to click once, and then turn out counter clockwise slightly. My sister says this is not normal but I don't know for sure. I am guessing the car is running on limp mode because of improper pressure to the tank, and the lights need to be reset with a scanner. However I am wondering about if the gas cap needs to be replaced or not.

Thanks!

LexusChuck

I have an 09 and the gas cap does the same thing you describe. Clicks once and turns counter clockwise just slightly. I understand that is normal for this model. Never had a problem in 45,000 miles. I have put as much as 2 gallons in after the pump clicks off without problems. Obviously something in the management system is not happy for the lights to be on. Hopefully others with more knowledge than me will chime in with some helpful replies about that.

jagtoes

You are guessing until you get the CEL reading. Either buy a scanner or go get it read. Once you find out what the codes are then you can get suggestions on how to fix it. Also the gas cap issues is normal. As to filling the tank I have always filled the tank until there is gas in the fill neck. This does not cause a problem.

1mangoo

I work at a Honda dealership and I will get the code read tomorrow. Now that I tihnk of it, I did do the oil change on the vehicle a week prior to this issue. I put 5w20 into the vehicle as I read it would have no ill affect (easier to attain for me). Have any of you guys had issues with that? Anyway, good to know nothing is wrong with the gas cap, I will let you guys know whats up tomorrow.

oldgrump

What appears to be a possible misfire issue (and the illuminated CEL) has not been caused by the 5W-20 oil. But.......before the heat of the spring/summer I would revert back to the originally specified 5W-30 oil. There is a Lexus oil usage "Tech Tip" that does update the oil usage for various Lexus cars that does specify (or allow as an option) synthetic 0W-20 or 5W-20 oil but the last issue that I saw did not mention any cars earlier than 2010 model years. I'm in Vancouver and I'm sticking with 5W-30 even though the dealer used 0W-20 at the 8000 km service.
Engine performance issues (which you have) can and do cause the ECM to disable the stability control system (and very often the traction control and cruise control systems as well).
I have owned three cars now (one which we still own) that in the Owner's Manual warned about not adding more fuel after the gas pump auto shutoff activates when fuelling up. This was because of the possible threat of filling the vapour control system with fuel. On our 2011 ES the Owner's Manual does not seem to mention this.......but I would not (and do not) add fuel after the initial pump auto cutoff.......just to be safe.
Do you have the Owner's Manual?

1mangoo

Update!

I fixed the issue. Monday morning brought my car in and hooked it up to a scanner. found a misfire code in cylinder four. cleared it and of course, the car still shaking. My initial guess was the coil pack or spark plug, so i decided to switch that around. No luck of the misfire code switching to other cylinders. This is where things got a little hairy.

right in the centre of the engine, there's a pile of mouse crap clumped around. several wires are chewed up, and one is actually cut in half. I solder and tape up all the connections, clear the code, and all is good. Midst of cleaning all that **** out of there, and currently am parking in a different area. Hopefully this will be my first and last rodent issue.

I guess it was just coincidence about my sister over filling up gas and the next day having the CEL pop on. I know for a fact improper fuel pressure will set the CEL but i was wrong to assume lexus would put the car in limp mode-- it was just a completely different issue and was misfiring..

PS, I am in Vancouver too and never thought our climate would have any adverse affects on our oil. But as always, factory spec is better and I will switch to 5w30 for my next oil change.

jcat_350

yeah that'll do it. Also be aware the VSC and such will pop on for a simple CEL as well, so it a lot of times makes things seem worse than they are.