antlese

Hey everyone,
My wife started up my 2005 GX470 this morning to go to work and drove maybe a half mile before she noticed a problem. So she turned around and drove it back home in limp mode. She put it in park and got out.

Most of the Warning Lights are on ( VSC OFF, VSC TRAC, Anti Skid, Check Engine etc). I tried moving the shift lever but there was some resistance and some grinding noises. And it now seems to be stuck in neutral.

Any suggestions on how to diagnose this myself? We only drive this vehicle in the winter, and it was fine the last time we used it.

Thanks.

antlese

update: Got home from work and took another look. Started it up and had the same issues. Could shift from P to N and D but the vehicle did not want to move. And shifting back to P caused some grinding noises.

I checked that the brake lights were working and I also tightened the gas cap which was not on tight.

Tried moving the 4 wheel drive control lever from N to H and now the vehicle moves. Wife must have accidentally moved this lever when she got in.

The VSC OFF, VSC TRAC, Anti Skid, Check Engine lights are still on. Took it for a short drive around the neighbourhood. all seemed ok, but it slipped out of gear at one point and the engine revved up. Pulled to the side of the road and started off again and went home no problem.

Any suggestions? Am I looking at a messed up transmission.?

mann777

Are the warning lites still on the cluster.

antlese

Yup, VSC OFF, VSC TRAC, Anti Skid, Check Engine lights are still on.

i'm debating weather to buy a OBD II Code Reader and see if that helps me. Or just try to drive it to the local Lexus dealer and see what they say.

danmm7

Get the OBD2 reader. A local auto-parts store should have it for $50 or so. Worth it, especially when you own an older vehicle. It will pay for itself, trust me.

Another thing you can try before even buying the code reader....disconnect your battery for 10mins or so. This should reset some old codes that were generated. Connect the battery and see if lights are still on.

oardila99

Hey man. It seems like your center differential locker may be on. If this is the case you may feel the steering unusually stiff.

1. Shift the transmission (P, R, N, 4, 3...) to neutral
2. Ensure the the 4WD mode selector lever is firmly and completely shifted to H.
3. Ensure the center differential locker is disengaged. If you see it on the dash ( an icon that looks like 4 wheels with the front wheels turned to the right). If this light is on, it means that the center diff lock is engaged, and it will automatically cause the VSC OFF, VSC TRAC, and Anti-skid lights to come on and remain on. If that is the case, depress the center diff lock button (button to the left of the seat heater buttons), to cAuse that system to disengage. The center diff lock icon should start blinking on the dash.
4. At this point shift the transmission to D, and just drive the car a little bit (try not to steer if on pavement) and in a short drive the center diff lock will disengage And all the lights in the dash will turn off. Note that, unlike most of the times, one time it took a good distance for my center diff lock to disengage.

If the diff lock is the problem, that should do it.
The limp mode that you describe is as if you were driving the truck in L instead of H (4WD selector lever; instructions to shift on sun visor), and if the center diff lock was also engaged, then someone may have been messing with your truck.

Option number two:
Has the car been washed with the driver's door not fully closed? Or has the car been driven in deep water? I had all my lights come on once that I got stuck in deep water (kind of an incident, not deliberate) and water came in through the door seal to the driver's compartment and soaked the carpet etc. The problem was that there are wires that go under the floor trim that says Lexus on the driver's side, and this harnesses got soaking wet. I dried them with paper towels and blow drier and problem was fixed. I think my check engine light came on that day as well.

Hope this helps.



OA

antlese

So I disconnected the battery for 10 minutes. All the warning lights are gone. Took the truck or a short drive and everything seems fine. Thanks for your help man.

antlese

Great info there man! Thanks for the detailed post. Much appreciated.
I believe the issue was the 4wheel mode lever was in L ( wife probably hi it with her massive purse).
I shifted it to H and then disconnected the battery for a few minutes. Everything seems fine now.

I guess 2 things have come out of this lesson for me
1) I need to get more familiar with the 4 wheel drive functions on the truck;
2) have to stop letting m wife drive m Lexus.