ES350- Check VSC, Check Engine - Engine Stalled!
11-10-15, 11:56 AM
#31
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Sorry but I can't buy this statement. If the water pump had a catastrophic failure you would have a lot of smoke and smell before you had a total engine failure. I suspect you had a leak whether it was the WP or a hose that finally ended up with loss of coolant and cooked the engine. There is a device to tell you about your coolant and that is the temperature gauge. The safest way to stem this problem off is a weekly check of the fluids. If the tank is low then you need to see what has caused it. As automotive technology has evolved it has had a tendency to make people less likely to check for normal maintenance items. When you buy a car the 1st thing to do is sit down and read the maintenance checklist . The last thing to do is read how to pair your cell phone. The owners manual is your friend. Maybe there should be a poll taken here with the question of "when was the last time you checked your automotive fluids" , last week , last month , 6 months , 12 months , never.
The thing is that I keep the car in the garage. I have never seen any leaks under. The day this happened, when I got back home after I towed the car, I found a 5 inch stain, and this was my first sign of a leak. I can say that I heard from time to time a squealing noise, early in the morning, for like two weeks. Now I know where that was coming from, but at that moment I thought that was coming from the steering wheel when it returns to its memorized position, when you turn on the engine.
At that moment my son was driving the car, until he told me that he doesn't fill the car right. We pulled out on the side of the highway, and I checked the manual to see what VSC means. I didn't notice anything else from the coolant gauge. Checking the manual I saw that VSC it's about traction system, so I said that we should be OK to drive it home. I also took few more minutes to check on my tablet, what others were saying about this VSC error, and I saw that I have to check the fuel cap. And to tight it more. Then I started driving the car, and in two miles I got it fried, the smoke, the noise under the hood, and everything else. I could see the smoke after I stopped the car, and after I opened up the hood.
As I mentioned before, it's impossible, but I still like to see the Toyota DFMEA of this failure mode.
This is a design failure. Having a DFMEA they know, for each component of the car:
Potential Failure Mode, Potential Effect of Failure, Severity, Potential Causes of Failure, Occurrence, how can be Detected, Recommended Action, etc. They also have a PFMEA on each part so they know what can go wrong when they manufacture a component, or in this case, the water pump.
With this new engine, Toyota did something else, at least in this case: this 2012 engine doesn't have the connection on the bottom for oil low level. So we had to trick this cable to show always the oil level on high.
I agree that we should do these checks more often, but I still want count on a very reliable car, based on a very reliable design. Removing these type of connections (see the oil level), or not having a sensor on the water pump, is just because there is somebody who wants to make profit by not installing a connector, a sensor, or by bringing the people more often to the dealerships.
11-10-15, 06:01 PM
#32
You are perfectly right! After he started working he told me that he saw some coolant marks on the pump. The bearing was loose/wobbling.
The thing is that I keep the car in the garage. I have never seen any leaks under. The day this happened, when I got back home after I towed the car, I found a 5 inch stain, and this was my first sign of a leak. I can say that I heard from time to time a squealing noise, early in the morning, for like two weeks. Now I know where that was coming from, but at that moment I thought that was coming from the steering wheel when it returns to its memorized position, when you turn on the engine.
At that moment my son was driving the car, until he told me that he doesn't fill the car right. We pulled out on the side of the highway, and I checked the manual to see what VSC means. I didn't notice anything else from the coolant gauge. Checking the manual I saw that VSC it's about traction system, so I said that we should be OK to drive it home. I also took few more minutes to check on my tablet, what others were saying about this VSC error, and I saw that I have to check the fuel cap. And to tight it more. Then I started driving the car, and in two miles I got it fried, the smoke, the noise under the hood, and everything else. I could see the smoke after I stopped the car, and after I opened up the hood.
As I mentioned before, it's impossible, but I still like to see the Toyota DFMEA of this failure mode.
This is a design failure. Having a DFMEA they know, for each component of the car:
Potential Failure Mode, Potential Effect of Failure, Severity, Potential Causes of Failure, Occurrence, how can be Detected, Recommended Action, etc. They also have a PFMEA on each part so they know what can go wrong when they manufacture a component, or in this case, the water pump.
With this new engine, Toyota did something else, at least in this case: this 2012 engine doesn't have the connection on the bottom for oil low level. So we had to trick this cable to show always the oil level on high.
I agree that we should do these checks more often, but I still want count on a very reliable car, based on a very reliable design. Removing these type of connections (see the oil level), or not having a sensor on the water pump, is just because there is somebody who wants to make profit by not installing a connector, a sensor, or by bringing the people more often to the dealerships.
The thing is that I keep the car in the garage. I have never seen any leaks under. The day this happened, when I got back home after I towed the car, I found a 5 inch stain, and this was my first sign of a leak. I can say that I heard from time to time a squealing noise, early in the morning, for like two weeks. Now I know where that was coming from, but at that moment I thought that was coming from the steering wheel when it returns to its memorized position, when you turn on the engine.
At that moment my son was driving the car, until he told me that he doesn't fill the car right. We pulled out on the side of the highway, and I checked the manual to see what VSC means. I didn't notice anything else from the coolant gauge. Checking the manual I saw that VSC it's about traction system, so I said that we should be OK to drive it home. I also took few more minutes to check on my tablet, what others were saying about this VSC error, and I saw that I have to check the fuel cap. And to tight it more. Then I started driving the car, and in two miles I got it fried, the smoke, the noise under the hood, and everything else. I could see the smoke after I stopped the car, and after I opened up the hood.
As I mentioned before, it's impossible, but I still like to see the Toyota DFMEA of this failure mode.
This is a design failure. Having a DFMEA they know, for each component of the car:
Potential Failure Mode, Potential Effect of Failure, Severity, Potential Causes of Failure, Occurrence, how can be Detected, Recommended Action, etc. They also have a PFMEA on each part so they know what can go wrong when they manufacture a component, or in this case, the water pump.
With this new engine, Toyota did something else, at least in this case: this 2012 engine doesn't have the connection on the bottom for oil low level. So we had to trick this cable to show always the oil level on high.
I agree that we should do these checks more often, but I still want count on a very reliable car, based on a very reliable design. Removing these type of connections (see the oil level), or not having a sensor on the water pump, is just because there is somebody who wants to make profit by not installing a connector, a sensor, or by bringing the people more often to the dealerships.
11-10-15, 06:15 PM
#33
Will Lexus present a Darwin award
I just read a new article regarding a law suit against Lexus. The basis of the suit is the engine is to quiet. It appears that a couple came home at night and parked their car in the garage . They went inside and later went to bed . The husband died and the wife survived with carbon monoxide permanent injuries. The driver of the car left it running because they forgot to turn it off. The wife said she did not hear the engine and Lexus should have had an automatic shut off if the car was idling to long. Other cars with a key make you remove it so you know you shut the car off. They want Lexus to install a system to shut down the car in case you forget to turn off the button. It seems todays tech. advancements are creating non-thinking drivers. It's like the un-intended acceleration claim of a few years ago. Some people didn't know that if you wanted to shut off the engine while the car is moving you just press and hold the start button. Darwin wins again.
11-11-15, 09:30 AM
#34
Instructor
I wont tell you how many times Ive walked away from the car and left it running. Thank god u get a weird buzzer when u try to lock it that tells u something is amiss. 
12-29-16, 04:41 PM
#35
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2007 es350
Christmas day i was on interstate going to my daughters when the engine light,track light and vsc check light came on. The car was running fine and all of a sudden just went dead.
Temp gauge showed okay and no sounds. Couldn't crank the car and had to have it towed back to my hometown. MECHANIC CHECK AND SAID THE MOTOR WAS GONE. 100 K MILES. .sHOULDN'T THE TEMP Light come on to warn me. ? Very upset about this. please shouldn't lexus do something.
Temp gauge showed okay and no sounds. Couldn't crank the car and had to have it towed back to my hometown. MECHANIC CHECK AND SAID THE MOTOR WAS GONE. 100 K MILES. .sHOULDN'T THE TEMP Light come on to warn me. ? Very upset about this. please shouldn't lexus do something.
01-02-17, 11:19 AM
#36
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Join Date: Jul 2014
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Christmas day i was on interstate going to my daughters when the engine light,track light and vsc check light came on. The car was running fine and all of a sudden just went dead.
Temp gauge showed okay and no sounds. Couldn't crank the car and had to have it towed back to my hometown. MECHANIC CHECK AND SAID THE MOTOR WAS GONE. 100 K MILES. .sHOULDN'T THE TEMP Light come on to warn me. ? Very upset about this. please shouldn't lexus do something.
Temp gauge showed okay and no sounds. Couldn't crank the car and had to have it towed back to my hometown. MECHANIC CHECK AND SAID THE MOTOR WAS GONE. 100 K MILES. .sHOULDN'T THE TEMP Light come on to warn me. ? Very upset about this. please shouldn't lexus do something.
And don't think that buying a Lexus you are buying a different car then a Toyota. I made bearings for a German luxury car on a Japanese assembly line that was making bearings for Toyota and so on... Just a change/over for some parameters, yes, indeed tighter...
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