Margate330

Car was approaching 150K so I freshened it up replacing almost all sensors and selenoids whether it needed it or not and kept old ones for spares.
Looked for deals on ebay and got burned a few times lol so had to go to oem, but should've checked out Rockauto since the OEM is not gentle when they grab your wallet $$$. lol

rx330March

Dealer diagnosed code P0012 and told me they could change oil control solenoid bank 1 for $785. Just saw this thread, and although I'm shaking at the thought of screwing this straighforward fix I am going to try it. I have changed many parts when I was younger-thermostat, radiator, brakes, all on my old 97 civic with no problem. For some reason touching a lexus gives me the shakes and have attempted no repairs. Wish me luck and I may be posting in case I get stuck. Thanks ofr all the detailed instructions. Worst that could happen is have it towed to mechanic, right?

salimshah

This may not be as easy as it appears. I pulled one with ease while the other gave me a good fight. Patience and perseverance paid off. Then I goofed on putting back the filters. Had to purchase them. Fortunately I bench tested and they both worked fine. Remember to purchase the O rings.

Stay focused and your actions need to be deliberate. Quality tools help. Do not mess with any other thing and remember the vehicle is aged and all rubber hoses and pipes are brittle.

Wish you luck.

Salim

trhs75

Salim is right, as usual. I can't believe it is so expensive at the dealer!! I found changing both bank 1 and bank 2 to be quite easy. Enjoy all that money you'll save!

bordenj66

I’ve pulled the VVT solenoids from all my RX’s without issue. Yes sometime they are sticky getting out, but $700 plus for the dealer to do it is nuts.

I have been running on RockAuto VVT solenoids on my current RX for probably 60K without issue.

Margate330

Highway robbery in my opinion.

Mine were sticky too but turning the VVT's clockwise and counter-clockwise a few times to loosen it up and then pulling perfectly straight out worked for me.

salimshah

Yes $700 is steep. Wondering how much was parts [I bet they would replace them if they have an OK .. which they do if the customer agrees to $700 charge].

Salim

Margate330

Can afford a nice tool haul with money saved DIY...

JBell1

I ended up breaking my oil valve off when trying to pull it out. A solution I haven't seen here without tapping a screw. If you drop a paint can opener down the hole of the solenoid at just the right angle it will grip the solenoid in its wall opening. Then use a long screwdriver as a lever to pull the paint can opener out with the solenoid. Did this last night after not having the right size screw to tap the solenoid and didn't feel like waiting for morning to buy one.

LastQuark

Just want to drop by and say thanks for this DIY. I got codes P1349, P0300, P0301, P303, P0305, and P1346 codes all Bank 1. Vehicle is a 1999 RX300 with 140,830 miles. Original owner.

Replaced both OCV's and filters all from Dorman. The screen mesh filter from Dorman appears to be larger than OEM. Anyway, the old filters still looks clean so I will save them if needed in the future.

The bad original OCV measures 7.5 ohms at room temp. The new Dorman measure 7.2 ohms. The original must have been failing at hot.

I didn't have a hard time taking out the OCV's probably because I change oil every 5k miles.

I went slow so it took me about 2 hrs including an oil change.