kevster96k

Hi my name is kevin I recently bought a 1995 lexus es300 and im wondering why my overdrive little keeps flashing

mmarshall

Hi. Welcome to CL as a new poster.

We have a forum here for maintenance/repair-related questions, but can also discuss them here in Car Chat. We also have specific forums for both new and old ES models.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/maintenance-11/

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es300-and-es330-179/


Your car, being a 1995, was the last year that the older, less-spohisticated OBD-I (On-Board-Diagnostic) computer was used, as all new cars, by Federal law, had the more sophisticated OBD-II system starting in 1996. In general, if the overdrive light was flashing, it probably meant that overdrive gear (which is electrically-controlled and shift-regulated like the other gears) is inoperative or that the transmission cannot shift into it. Depending on how extensive the malfunction is with the transmission's circuit, you may (?) be able to use all of the lower gears without the overdrive, or the transmission may (?) be locked into second-gear only (the default mode), which allows you to start/stop and only drive at a low speed to the nearest repair shop. Either way, it probably needs some attention by a qualified technician.

hlee12

because it's made in 1995

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

^^ Not funny. Not helpful.

kevster96k

There is a code saying the speed sensor is at fault

mmarshall

That doesn't necessarily mean, however, that it is the only problem in the system, or that the proper solution is to just knee-jerk replace the sensor. Some rushed or poorly-trained technicians do just that, but the proper way to diagnose is to get the official factory repair manual for the vehicle, hunt up the specific code, and THEN do a series of steps and tests, which are outlined in the manual, to specifically isolate and deal with the problem.

You probably weren't following our forum or CL when we had this thread here in Car Chat, but here is a thread I did myself, not long ago, on this subject.

The OBD-I computer may be a little less-complex in your 1995 car vs. the newer 1996 and later OBD-II, but the diagnostic procedure is still roughly the same.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...some-tips.html

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

welcome kevster. thread moved to the right forum. good luck.

repairmatt

Just to make a correction on this, 94 and up ES300s have OBD2 ports, they started including them before they were standard. The port is located inside of the fuse panel to the left of the steering wheel, above the hood release.