My wife just purchased a 2011 ES350 w/20k mikes from a off lease dealership
on Monday. On Tuesday the check engine light came on. She quickly called the
dealer. He told her that the check engine light coming on is very common. I've never
heard of this before. She has an appointment Tuesday morning to check it out. Would
like to know if any other 2011 ES350 owners have had the check engine light frequently
come on.
Thanks

PS. We have a 2002 ES300 with 243K miles and have never had the check engine light come on.

 

The first thing to check, and a main culprit for CEL's is the gas cap. Make sure it's on properly. Remove it, put it back on securely and see if the light goes out after a day or so and repeated restarts.

If it's not that, it could be any number of things for the dealership to check.

 

Thanks for the quick response. I will check it out. I just never had a car where the check engine lift coming on was a common thing.

 

Welcome to Club Lexus!

It's not a common thing, especially not on a Lexus. I think what he meant was, don't panic the car won't blow up!

 

+1 loose gas cap, new gas caps can go for about $40+.

Another common cause could be faulty O2 (Oxygen) sensors. Your mechanic can get the codes to find out the exact cause.

 

It's not that I'm panicking, I just want to make sure that I'm not being BS'd. They offered practically nothing to trade in our older lexus. I wasn't physically at the dealer with my wife, but I spoke to the salesman. He pointed out to me that he noticed the back tires were bald, I had to laugh at him because I replaced one of the tires last month. They are not bald.

 

It is not normal. Go to a local Autozone or similar car parts outlet and let them read the code. They do it for free and then once you see what it is then tell the dealer to fix it without cost to you. The dealer should have seen a "pre-code" when they serviced the car for resale if there was a problem. This does not set the MIL but after 3 incidences it will. If this is a gas cap issue it should clear up with a code reset.

 

He is BS'ing you, unfortunately.

Not surprised they gave you nothing for an 02' ES with 245k miles. Selling it privately would have yielded you some dough.

 

I did put it up on CL thinking I may get some hits. Within 15 min two people were trying to come see it. I took the ad down because the car I drive is acting up. I'm going to drive it for now. It still runs better than my accord!

 

Went to Advanced today. It's code P0158. Oxygen sensor.

 

Take it back to the dealer.......the Emissions Warranty will cover the repair.

 

During my BMW ownership years, the O2 sensors caused the check engine light to flash more than anything else. Glad you found the issue.

 

Never trust a car salesman...they'll tell you anything to make/keep a sale!

I was in the business...I've seen it all.