TuscaniLuv

My wife took her 250AWD for her emissions test. She's had her VSC light on for a few weeks plus her exhaust cel.
*EDIT*
She went to O'Reillys and had them read and it pulled up two. The first is:

P0301 - Cylinder 1 misfire

The second is:

P0300 - Random multiple misfires.

The car is an 06' with 95k miles on it. Although I said it's driving fine, I've thought to myself that her car seems awfully slow. I had been telling myself it was the difference between her 250 and my 350. I'm assuming the plug/wires just need to be swapped out. If so is it worth taking to the dealership or am I better off having my "small town" mechanic work on it?

Everyones thoughts?

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

You're right, the 01 might be a code the emissions testing facilities use but it has no relevance to what might be wrong with your car.

Just posted this on another similar thread:

Your VSC is disabled every time a Check Engine Light (CEL) is thrown. It says "Check VSC" only because VSC is off (which the car did automatically in response to the CEL). So the real problem is the CEL. The problem is likely NOT involved with VSC.

Your first step with a CEL is to go tighten the gas cap. I'd unscrew it fully then screw it back on tightly. Turn the car off and on, and drive around for a bit to see if it clears. Issues with the gas cap throw a majority of CELs.

If it does not go away, your next step is to read the code. For that, you either need your own OBDII scanner (which I highly recommend obtaining, it's only about $40) or you can take it to an Autozone or similar for them to read it for free. This is the only way to actually get an indication of what's going on. A CEL could be caused by hundreds of different things. The code tells you what's actually going on, or at least where the problem likely is.

You can then post those codes on here and people can chime in, as well as research on Google what they could mean. If it's something minor, maybe people can help you determine what it is and you can avoid anything costly. If it's not something you can do yourself, you can either take it to a dealer or to an independent shop. I would recommend the dealer for any warranty work. If you're under warranty, go to a dealer first, because it's likely something that will be covered.

sqa4life

I just had the same problem this morning and just dropped of my car at the dealer for diagnostic ($175 initially). But I ask them to check everything (engine) to make sure things are still in good working order.

TuscaniLuv

Bump

Changes made to the original post.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

If it's at 95k miles with original plugs it's long past due- plugs should be changed every 60k on the 2IS.

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

The 250 IS slow...whether it's abnormally slow or not is hard to tell. Ditto Kurtz above - have the plugs been changed?

Plugs are $13 each at Sewell and a local shop could probably do it in 2-3 hours of labor. There's also a good DIY thread if interested.

TuscaniLuv

I knowing 250s are slow, but it has seemed slower usual if that's possible, lol. Plugs haven't been changed to y knowledge. Was planning on doing that with her 100k maintenance. So I guess I can cancel her appt at the dealership and have my local guy do it? Will the VSC light need to be reset or will that happen automatically after a few miles of driving?
Speaking of her car being close to 100k miles, what significant maintenance needs to be done? I'm at wok and don't has the time to search. If anyone could help me out I'd greatly appreciate it as in trying to cancel and schedule appts while at work

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

Check the Scheduled Maintenance Guide that came with the car. It's also available from Lexus' website in PDF form.

100k is actually a minor service interval (oil change, filters, rotate tires). The big service intervals are every 60k miles, when you have to do spark plugs. You also are recommended to do brake fluid flushes every 30k. So you're way overdue for spark plugs and they should be done immediately - they could be causing your misfire. If, as it seems, you haven't exactly been keeping to Lexus' maintenance recommendations, I'd recommend getting spark plugs done ASAP, an oil change, engine and cabin air filter change, and brake fluid flush (which should have been done at 90k).

It's up to you what to do about this current issue. Spark plugs are a likely cause of misfire CELs, however it might not be that. My recommendation would be to cancel the appointment, have your local guy (or DIY) change your spark plugs and clear the CEL codes (he can do this with his scanner), then drive the car for a while and see if it throws another misfire code. If not, you're probably good. If it does, then it's something other than the plugs. If it is something other than the plugs, you're not out anything, because you'd have needed to do plugs anyway.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

100k is coolant and an oil change... that's it.