My check engine and VSC lights are on. It was fine this morning but on my way to work at about 3pm I noticed it was on. What does this mean? I have a 99 es 300.

 

It means that you have to determine what the code is.

Autozone will check it for free.

 

Hi All,

Same thing happened to my 2008 RX 350- VSC,traction and check engine lights all came on at the same time. If I disconnect the battery it will re-boot and all lights go out. About 50 miles later they all will come back on.

I'm new at this so don't understand what the "code" is and how to use it to take care of these warning light problems.

All help is appreciated as I'm a new owner without big $$$ All of this just happened after new plugs and oil change at the Lexus dealership in ABQ-

Thanks- Pete, Silvertown, Colorado

 

My post No 2 above also applies to your situation. you won't get anywhere without first knowing what the codes are..

Take it to Autozone, or Advanced Auto Parts. They will read your check engine codes for free. Only than will you have an idea as to what the problem might potentially be.

If you can afford to buy your own code reader, (Very easy to use, and less than $100.00) that's even better.

Phil

 

with out the code it could be many things, mine was just an 02 sensor when it came on.

 

Thanks Phil,

I saw your post and will see if there is an Autozone in Durango, Co. I am feeling it is a glitch and want to continue driving my 350 for fun until I get the problem revolved. Is this a generally good move or am I making a mistake in not taking it in immediately?

Pete

 

It's never a good idea to continue to drive with a check engine light on when you don't know what the code is.

Only once you retrieve and know the code(s), will you be able to make the determination if it's safe to continue driving until the problem is corrected.

So please don't postpone it for long.

Phil

 

Anyone with an older car should invest in an inexpensive code reader -- Amazon has them "on sale" for around $35.00 all the time - you do not need anything fancy. That way you can tell what is going on and reset the codes when you fix it.

The "Check Engine Light" -- can go off for many items. What you do not want to do is to drive the vehicle if it is flashing -- this is showing you that the engine is misfiring and can be sending unburned gas into the exhaust. This unburned gas will then burn in the hot converter and overheat it -- eventually destroying the converter.

Get the codes and fix it -- if one of the idle/O2 sensors is going --- the cost in extra $3.50 gas will pay for the code reader. Some fixes are very easy to do.

 

Thanks everyone,

I'll check Autozone for the codes and find out exactly what they are. I'll go to Amazon once I understand and see about a code set purchase.

The check engine light was on but not blinking.

I opened and closed the gas cap and disconnected the battery for another reboot and the hope that it is this quick fix ( I got 50 miles on that last disconnect before the 3 lights- chech engine, traction icon and VSC all came back on at the same time). I'll finish off this tank of gas and when I refill hope that I might have gotten a bad batch.

It was 0 this morning @ 9,000+ ' in the Rockies when I started up my RX so a bit rough on the engine in the winter............

Again thanks for your comments and keepem coming if you have ideas-

Pete
Silvertown, Co.

 

well i notice that the rx uses coil pack, but dont take my word for it
i have a similiar symptom with a diffrent car 2000 ifinity i30 traction control and vsc light along with check engine came one. did a whole bunch of research and somone suggested on changing the coil pack. long story short i replaced all 6 coil pack along with spark plugs and the problems went away.
ps. the owner said that the car wasnt running like it was lacking of power
i hope this help

 

It is very unlikely that all six coils would fail at once - that is why you need the reader -- it can tell you what cylinder is causing the problem and you replace one coil for $75.00. But you can normally feel the misfire when you have a bad coil.

 

the reason you are getting about 50 miles till the light goes back on when you reset it, is because there are a certain set of pre-requisites that the computer looks for. For every code set, there are a certain set of circumstances that are required, including but not limited to:

miles
ignition cycles
speed
average speed
engine temperature

and so on. so every time you reset it without fixing it, the computer is just waiting for those paramaters to turn "true" or "on" to throw the CEL or MIL light on.

Just FYI