kevin3344

Was driving my '99 GS400 (218k) back from the beach yesterday with the cruise set on 72 mph and the car lurched and stalled. The CEL illuminated and I was able to get to an exit and about that time everything shut off. I had about 1/4 tank of gas and although I was pressing the pedal nothing was happening. I coasted to a gas station and filled up to 3/4 tank. I restarted the car without a problem and immediately went across the street to an Autozone and scanned these two codes:

P0715 - Turbine/Input shaft speed sensor circuit
P0430 - Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 2)

The car drove fine home with no problems but the CEL was on the entire way. Eventually the light went out after a trip to the grocery store. Today I start the car, no CEL, drives fine no issues. I have about 1/2 tank of gas left. I made an appointment with the dealer for first thing tomorrow. Will post what they find.

tiguy99

Please keep us posted.
Would love to know it turns out

mexikan

Transmission input shaft speed sensor .sounds like your problem.. for p0715.
p0430 your o2 sensors on bank 2 ...

kevin3344

Dropped the car off at the dealer this morning. Diagnosis is it's possible the fuel pump is going. They are not sure but it's leaning that way. Cost is $800 to fix. They are going to keep the car overnight and check one more thing.

One item I left out of my original post was that I was at 1/4 tank when the car stalled and was able to make it to a gas station. Filled up to about 3/4 tank. The last couple of days it's been driving fine, no codes, and when I took it to the dealer this morning I was about at 1/2 tank.

kevin3344

Just gave the dealer the go-ahead to make the repair. Looks like these are indeed the symptoms I was having:

1. Engine sputters at high speed
2. Vehicle loses power while accelerating
3. Sudden loss of power when the vehicle is under stress
4. Surging
5. Engine will not start

http://www.ebay.com/gds/5-Common-Sym...7634796/g.html

They have to order the part so will keep the loaner for a couple of days. Will update when I get the car back.

tiguy99

Sounds like they're replacing your fuel pump.
Did they mention anything else?

kevin3344

That was it. Funny thing is, just before it stalled it bucked as if it was getting fuel, then wasn't, then was. I had the cruise on 72mph for a good hour before all this happened, hadn't touched the pedal. Then it just quit. So it definitely feels like a fuel issue.

After restart the CEL was on and I could move it into "M" mode but the "M" would just flash, wouldn't show any gear selection. I think this is because the transmission code got triggered. The next day, all was back to normal. Once in "M" mode I could move from 5,4,3,2 and back up. Transmission shifts are normal.

The dealer says this is the "beginning" of the signs that appear when a fuel pump is starting to fail. It may go on for a while, but I don't want to take any chances because I want to make a return trip to the beach next month.

The only real difference is this is the first time I let my tank get this low in a while...it was just about 1/4 tank...and I usually fill up at around 1/2 tank. On a good note the Lexus dealer here treats you pretty well and I never have to worry about a loaner.

kevin3344

Ok, got the car back from the dealer and took it for a long ride on the freeway, no problems. In case others have this problem when the car stalled I was about an hour into the trip with about 1/4 tank of gas. Keep in mind the car rode fine the next two days, however, dealer said they performed a fuel pressure test and the pressure was low. Total cost was $844.53.

On a side note, I told the service rep I had over 200,000 miles (218,370 to be exact) and she said a GS came in with 350,000 miles on it. As we all know these cars run pretty much as long as they are taken care of.

lextout

is this bill for the fuel
pump replacement including the diagnostic charge?

MattyG

I wouldn't be surprised if that's what it is. Lexus dealerships turn on the meter the minute you step into the dealership.

So the long extended test drive, diagnosis etc. It all adds up. The Lexus tech is going for a drive in your car at $120+/hr labor rate. Big time parts mark-up.

The good thing about these cars is that they do give you a lot of advanced warning about systems issues. All Japanese cars to that.

kevin3344

The markup at the dealership is unbelievable for sure! I have an indy that works on lexus/mercedes/bmw that I normally go to (and is actually 5 min from my house instead of 20 min) but he was a couple weeks out from fitting me in. I usually go there.

To put in perspective the dealer quoted me $500 for brakes/turn rotors once and my indy does them for $250...so I bet I would have paid about half.

kevin3344

Exactly, can't say enough about the reliability of this car. The only other time I had an issue was when the throttle body assembly was going bad way back in 2004 - 12 years ago!!! The car went into limp mode, but after restart I was still able to drive it. That and this past weekend was the only time I've had a problem. In 17 years it has never left me stranded.

tiguy99

Amazing cars man!
Love it

MattyG

Yeah you have to be careful with problems like this. Luckily when I ran into a fuel pump issue, the car was giving me signs and I changed it out myself, thanks to the great tech info here at CL.

But before that, when I went to my local Toyota dealership to get the timing belt and water pump done, along with a complete fluid change - they ripped me off with full Lexus markup.

And even that they screwed up. Brake failure on the freeway due to a rear brake bleeder not tightened properly and after that, a transmission issue - it was acting funny. Turns out they didn't top it up properly.

So yeah, no more Toyota dealerships for me and definitely no Lexus dealerships. Don't need the fancy coffees or croissants. And to boot: the slicky slick service advisor took the car out for a nice personal jolly joyride... telling me how nice it rode.

Benny701

Thanks for the heads up! Much appreciated.