rsr2216

I had the same problems with hard brakes and not wanting to shift correctly, multi misfires on bank 2. Lexus wanted $97 +tax for OCV, $105/hr labor (said around 2 hrs to do), plus they said that they had to do a diagnostics for $105 that didn't count against the 1st hr of labor. The reason was the brakes and the misfires are totally different issues according to the service tech. Needless to say, I did it my self for $48 from amazon. 40 minutes total time. (took 10minutes to find a 14mm socket). Runs like a scalded dog now. Plus all that $$ in MY POCKET. Great DIY thread.

mech986

Just completed an OCV replacement for my son's 1999 ES300. The P1351 and P1354 codes popped up and Lexus of Glendale wanted $750 to do the job with parts! I ordered the two Dorman parts from Amazon at $95 total and was able to get it done in about 2 hours today.

I worked slowly and methodically - was able to get the bank 2 (towards front of car) done quickly because its much more accessible - easily compared the old with new and cleaning the filter screen of oil - a little gunk where it sits in the access bolt though. The bank 1 (towards the back of the car) was a bit harder as its buried under a criss-cross maze of hoses and the throttle cables.

I eventually was able to get the old OCV out and the oil screen cleaned and replaced. Hard to pull the old OCV but it eventually came with some rotation and wiggling. The one thing I don't think was mentioned completely was to lubricate the entire OCV shaft besides the O-ring with oil to allow a nice slip in fit to the control channel. Other than a little pressure and reseating the new OCV's, and working through the hose maze by unattaching and re-attaching hoses, it was very straightforward. Will have to get some new vacuum hoses and Throttle body runner hoses though, they're splitting a bit (at age 14) so not surprising. Cleared the codes and running well now.

Total cost was under $100 for both being replaced as insurance as I was pretty sure Bank 2 was the only one needed, but since it was so easy, doing both just made sense. At >160K, restored the motor to a nice purr.

Thanks so much for the thread!

BearsLexus

Great to hear, Mech! I am quite glad that I have been able to help you and so many others here with this DIY!
For all the help I have been given here from the many great people, I am thrilled to have given something so useful back.

Keep wrenching, and together we can make it happen!

- Bear

Barceloj

BearsLexus you ROCK!! This was so helpful. Would anyone happen to know the part number of the bolt that holds the VVT Solenoids in place? The head of one of mine came off and I am now holding the solenoid in place with a 1/4" cube neodymium magnet. It works for now but don't know how long it will last.

Barceloj

I found the part number for the bolts - 91631-60612 - in case anyone else may need the info.

Jus1der

AWESOME POST guys!!!!! My wife’s ’01 Rx300 pulled P1354 CEL followed by P0302, P0304 and P0306. The SUV had all the symptoms as described by BearLexus. Also the VSC error light was on too. I don’t remember seeing anyone else with this error. So I really thought something was screwed up with all those error codes. I found this post and was able to fix all CEL codes in about 30 minutes by replacing the front/left OCV with a Dorman replacement. It took a little longer because I dropped the OCV bolt in the engine bay when installing the new OCV. LOL!
Thanks again for a well documented fix!!! You should see the smile on my face; the fix only cost me $60!!

2KHarrier

I just went through this as well. Was not difficult at all. I did pull both screens and cleaned them, so hopefully I'm good to go for a while.

BearsLexus

Really great to hear, guys! Keep up the great work!

Bear

MellonC00

for those who performed this on one or both banks of the cylinders, did your mpg (mileage) improve at all?

ATLs460

When your OCV(s) go its usually catastrophic. So obviously you'll get better mpg.

Wen mine went, it was slow to come. A week of small studders when pulling away from a stop. Then one day everything went haywire and I had extremely stiff brakes, engine couldn't figure out what rpm to run at and overdrive was gone.

On the days coming up to the failure I was getting horrid mpg. Something like 12mpg IIRC

ashman

I just had the oil control valve on the front (left) bank #2 (code P1354) replaced on my 2001 RX300 with 134,000 miles and thought that it would be interesting to post the price quotes that I received from various sources for the part itself:

Part No. 15340-0A010

Toyota Dealer in Greenwich, CT: $83.52 (not in stock, needed to be ordered)

Lexus Dealer in Greenwich, CT: $95.40

Lexus Dealer in Westport, CT: $104.44

Toyota Dealer in Stamford, CT: $100.22

AutoHausAZ: $79.15

PartsGeek.com: $45.35

ToyotaOEM.com: $61.76

Because I needed to have the OCV replaced on short notice so my wife could take her RX to return our daughters to college in NH after break and then down to Boston to visit her elderly mother, and my regular independent mechanic wasn't available in time, I had the Lexus dealer in Greenwich replace the part that Friday. They charged 1.5 hours labor for it (at $135/hr!) and so the total bill came to $297.90 before sales tax.

I did get to have unlimited coffee and wifi while I waited for the 2 hours I was there and got a "free" car wash so I was happy knowing that my wife could leave as scheduled.

JAB

www.toyotaoem.com doesn't work.

ashman

Sorry, my notes were abbreviated and not clear, here is the link to OEMAutopartz.com:

http://www.oemautopartz.com/toyota/o...r=15340-0a010-

Roberto1

I know this is a silly question but, Do I have to unplug the battery before changing the solenoid?

salimshah

Always disconnect the battery before working on a car.

A few thing I do are:

Remove the key from ignition [or make sure it is removed]
Wait about a minute after the key is removed [or since the key is removed]
Remove the ground post. [- terminal].
Then work on the RX.

Circuit is formed by providing a loop for the electrons to travel under electromotive (voltage) force. The body (chassis) is like a bare wire that is there to provide the return path. So always disconnect the gnd terminal.

[What are the odds of an accident/short when you do not disconnect? There are fuses etc. Probably low, but why would you like to take the risk].

Salim