KELVIN84

Dear Members
i have a 2000 es300 lexus and last night i got the check engine light and Trac lights come on.Went to Autozone and the following codes were givenPO440, PO441 and PO446.I am wondering whats the next step and how do you solve the problem.

and also was wondering how does one take the battery terminals out as well.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

yeldogt

You have to look up the codes as they pertain to you vehicle -- the codes will point you to what you need to do. Do some searching on your own - Don't use Autozone's description of what is wrong .... they are often not vehicle specific enough.


Also, if you are going to try and clear the codes by removing the battery -- do yourself a favor and get an inexpensive code reader -- Amazon has them on sale for $30.00 and it will save you a lot of problems. Also, the best way to figure out what is wrong is to clear the codes with a code reader and then read the codes again after a drive cycle. Many codes don't illuminate the CEL on one drive cycle -- this way you can see the pending codes. Often when you go to Autozone and get many codes it can make it more difficult to understand what is the real problem -- you need to know what the first code is.

mdbrown

There's more going on here. The three codes you have all relate to the evaporative emmissions system. That has no relationship whatsoever with the traction control system and should not cause it to go offline (which is why the trac light is on). Clear the codes and take it for a test drive or two, it may take more cycles for the trac light. Most of the time, those codes come on because of a leaking/disconnected vacuum line or possibly a failing purge valve (typically on the cannister). If the trac light comes on again and there are no corresponding codes at autozone (or with a generic code reader) then you'll likely have to go to the dealer and get the codes read by a Lexus code reader. Generic code readers only access the OBD-II codes, thehy cannot access the vast majority of manufacturer specific codes that relate to systems outside of the engine control system.

yeldogt

The track light is on because of the the engine codes. The computer turns off the traction because it is detecting a problem with the engine-- the light is telling you that the traction system is off.

This is a common occurrence -- once you fix the engine codes the traction will work again.

mdbrown

Learn something new every day. If that is the case then it's pretty poorly designed system. Will be interested to see if fixing the evap leak (or purge replacement) reactivates the traction control system.

yeldogt

Other cars do the same thing - this is not just Toyota.

The traction system uses the throttle to modulate the power output - whenever it gets a code indicating any engine control malfunction it shuts down the traction control because is is no longer sure all will work as designed.

mdbrown

I know why it does it. That's a rather unsophisticated program. Even Chrysler will distinguish between codes that are pertinent and those that aren't. It doesn't take much programming to do something that simple. I would've expected more even allowing for the model year.

Amadauss

Here you go. I seem to remember the same codes going off for me and all it took was to clean the gasket on the gas cap and make sure it was on tight. Hopefully that could be the issue but who knows. Hope this helps. If you narrow it down, can give you some more drawings as to what would need to be done.

.

KELVIN84

All i did was clean the fuel cap and reset the car by taking out the negative terminal of car battery and so far that seems ti have done the trick....will drive the next few days and see what happens

DonInBosto

I too had the P0441 P0446 codes about a month ago. I followed the suggestions and disconnected the battery, the lights went off. In the post I read, it said the lights should come back on in a few weeks or so if there was actually an issue with the evap system. They came on this morning after 3+ weeks and it looks like I'll have to find the issue and fix it.

Amadauss

Did you try the gas cap cleaning and making sure its on tight? That seemed yo work for me.

BlacBeaute

Hi Amadauss-

Thanks for posting the Trouble Codes list. Very helpful for me.

My 99 ES300 has 167k miles and want to get to where you are with 248k miles.

Can you tell me what code P1354 is, and "Enhanced DTC" (a code reading from Advanced Auto Parts-supposedly is a dealer code)?

Really appreciate it.

Thanks.

KELVIN84

THE CEL and TRAC lights came back on!!! now i do not know what else to do??? Any advice

mdbrown

The lights came back on because you have a problem with the evaporative emissions system. Could be as simple as a cracked or disconnected vacuum line or it could be a failing purge valve. Could also possibly be fuel in the cannister if you have a habit of topping off the tank. It sounds like you are not experienced enough to troubleshoot and repair this. Take it to a shop.

KELVIN84

I was wondering whether it could be that the fuel cap is not working properly...as it is the original fuel cap?? where would i look for the cracks??

update:Took it to a mechanic and they told me that it could be an electrical problem and wanted to charge me 140 dollars as it would take 3-4 hrs....