rayservist

hello, i drive an 02 es300 and we just had the starter replaced and the shop said that the car starts up fine but after a few minutes the rpms drop down to around 250 and it'll stall almost every time. i got the car back and took it to lexus dealership, stepdad works there, they haven't looked at it yet. i did drive it to the dealership, had to hold gas and brake to keep it from stalling. the shop diagnosed it and could not find anything wrong. they checked all the sensor signals, tried replacing the air/fuel regulator, but nothing. one of the mechanics said that if there is some kind of idle air control valve, that may be the problem, but doesn't think there is since it is electronic throttle. if someone finds a fix, please let us know. thanks.

steviej

iTrader: (1)

this happens to me anytime the battery is disconnected. It usually takes a couple of hours and several key starts and shut offs for the ECU to relearn and correct itself by processing the associated signals form all the needed sensors.

I am guessing that the battery was disconnected when the starter was replaced. Just let it sit in the driveway, start it and let it run. I remember having to give it gas and pump the peda, etc. On mine, it always straightens itself out.

I hope this helps.
steviej

wishihad1

try cleaning the throttle body. seen it lots of times, there is even a service bulletin for this.

2000ES300

Can you clean all throttle bodies in the ES 300's with no problems?

mbud

I had that IDENTICAL problem with my 2002 es when i first purchased it used... It got to the point where it was in the shop for almost 3 weeks and no one could figure out what was wrong with it. I had like 5 mechanics look at it. and afterwards finally Lexus had it fixed. $1100 later. But that was a year ago and now it's running smooth!

carenthus

This problem just hit me. This weekend I disconnected my battery to reset the ECU. Next day I decided to change the oil and oil filter for the 5k mile maintenance interval. Didn't start the car once for the entire weekend. I was also off yesterday. Didn't need to use the car either. Today I go to work. Drive for a mile, noticed the car kinda shakes when at a stop. Then it stalls. I try restarting, but the idle is not maintained. If I keep my foot on the accelerator to keep the rpm from dropping too low, the car runs fine. I continue on my way to work. To keep the car from stalling whenever I am at a complete stop, I would keep my right foot on the accelerator and my left foot on the brake.

Does anybody knows how I can cure this problem? Thanks.

carenthus

Update! Problem solved.

I told the problem to my brother. He suggest that we use the Carb, Choke, & Throttle Body Cleaner spray. We pull out one of the rubber tubing that connects to the air intake. My brother spray the bottle into the air intake while I rev the engine. We spray about 1/4th of the bottle. So far after 80 miles of driving no problem with the low rpm idle.

http://www.valvoline.com/pages/produ...asp?product=52

MoreMGD32

iTrader: (1)

be careful with that stuff. To me, it sounds alot like another variation of seafoam. Alot of the times your supposed to run about 300-500miles with it in your engine then change the oil. Another byproduct of doing this maintenace is, it sometimes fowls sparkplugs so that might be needed in the near future if you incuring any sluggishness or misfiring.

This is what ive read and seen in my experience....my 2 cents!

peace mang!

MoreMGD32

iTrader: (1)

however, this maintenace is supposed to be really good for the engine once completed thoroughly!!!

rayservist

i forgot i had posted this, i didn't subscribe, . anyways, it was said a few posts up that disconnecting the battery causes this, and it seems true. starter was replaced successfully but reputable luxury repair shop, and then they couldn't figure out why it would idle low and stall. ended up having to drive it to dealer, only two short lights away, keeping it from stalling, and they cleaned the throttle body/butterfly and that supposedly fixed it. not sure what exactly fixed it. it may have fixed itself if given enough time. they also updated the ecu/transmission software. and now it shifts high unless accelerating very conservatively. i hope it comes down. anyone have this problem after the ecu update? thanks for the posts, even though i forgot about them
steviej, i notice you're in mass. i'm in nc and recently took a trip up there in my es and had no problems with it. very pleased with my lex.

djmcslick

I'm having the same problem after changing out the battery this morning. It's about 2 degrees outside and the engine stalls at every light/stop sign. I also did the foot on brake while keeping the idle at ~800 and that worked, but when I got it home and parked, it stalled again. I did notice several times that when I was pulling to a stop sign the idle would dip to about 250, then jump up to about 800 to 1k, which I believe is where it should be. I'm gonna let it sit a few days and try driving it again, and/or leave it parked while it runs. If that doesn't work I'll clean the suggested parts and see if that helps.

rlx101

YES. i had the same issue and cleaning the TB solved the problem right away. They do get dirty over time, then what happens is the car does not read air supply properly hence the stalling.

Gustavo87

Edwin54cru

In Step 3: you said put the car in drive but in step 5 it says to put in drive? Could you please clarify.
I have not tried cleaning TB yet.

Careover

Once the car has turned on the procedure calls for the parking brake to be on so when you put your vehicle in Drive the Parking Brake should "hold" the vehicle in place and your vehicle should eventually adjust the idle so the RPMs are back to normal. Hope this helps.
Done this when I replaced my starter in the past before.