german129

This is the first year that hybrid vehicles are required to have emission testing done in CA and my RX400h is saying that the I/M is not ready because the o2 sensor monitor self test is incomplete. It has been 5k miles since our 60k mile service and that was the last time that the ECU/OBD system was reset. How can this be possible?

I have spoken with a lexus service department at my nearby dealer and they said they had the same problem with a RX400h recently. The solution they found was to run some calibration update (i think its an update to the ecu software) that has nothing to do with the o2 sensor test and that for some reason fixed it. This update was for RX400h rocking feeling at freeway speeds of 70+ mph. IThe lexus tsb is found here http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums...ttach_id=12948

They said this would cost $140 to do at the dealer. I feel like this is a ridiculous to expect me to pay for a software update that never worked properly in the first place...

Has anyone else had similar issues?

thomas1

Your emissions control is covered for ten years and 100k in California, so they should eat the cost. That is on our hybrids. Go remind them that is emissions related....

thomas1

thank you for that feedback, it may help some of us when ours is due for smog....

german129

Do you have any documentation on this? After speaking with the dealer they are still saying the only warranty that would cover it is 8 year / 100k miles which has already passed.

I found that there should be a california pzev warranty that covers 15 year / 150k miles but there is literally no information on what this covers. The dealer said that if the car was covered under this warranty it would state that exception when they look it up but it doesnt.

UPDATE: looks like the 2007 rx400h is actually SULEV and not PZEV which means it does not have an extended warranty...Looks like I might be shelling out $140 which really isnt too bad assuming it actually fixes the issue.

thomas1

My mistake it is 7 years 70k miles for emissions and 8 years 100k for hybrid system....in California. by the way if you go to my Lexus.com and register your vin number the books and maintenance info are located on that site. It will also list maintenance done by the dealership for your vehicle.

german129

That is good to know, thanks.

I will probably be bringing the car in to get the calibration update done sometime this week so I will post here if it does fix the issue.

thomas1

Please do, I haven't been required to do smog yet on my 2008....Make sure to question them when they fix it so you understand what they did, so you can help the rest of us....Good luck

german129

You should be ok. The calibration update that they are applying came out in may of 2007 so your car should already have it applied. Non the less I will update for everyone with a 2006 - 2007 rx hybrids.

If your vin is before (i guess lower number) JTJGW31U#72003519 for 2wd and JTJHW31U#72020196 for 4wd you could be affected if you have not had this update.

german129

I got the calibration update and the o2 sensor passed the self test by the next day. Unfortunately I was stupid and filled the car with gas before it passed the evap self test so that is the only test that hasnt passed yet.

I also opened a case with lexus because I think this should be a warranty extension/recall. This car never complied with emission standards as required so they should take care of that free of charge (in my opinion).

smassey321

How does the test work now? I thought they just scanned for codes and if there were non you passed. If you have no codes you are 50 state compliant for emissions. Is CA getting stricter than the standard set when the car was built?

Just curious as I am moving to FL next week and won't need to deal with this. You have a good chance Lexus will pay for this as there is a chance one of the previous firmware updates broke something.

german129

I think this is how the test has always worked. OBDII runs self tests on the car. To keep people from cheating the test (by resetting the ecu), all of the self tests have to be completed before you can pass an emission test. If any of the tests are incomplete they will fail you without ever running the actual emission test. If any of these tests fail your car will throw a code and you will also fail. But when tests are incomplete it is a gray area where your car isnt throwing codes but you still fail.

smassey321

Thanks for the info. I think I have seen the option to run all self tests in my TIS software. Next time I am in there I will check.

german129

For those who run into this same problem...I opened a case with lexus headquarters after getting it fixed and they got back to me within 2 days saying they were going to reimburse me the cost for the calibration update. So, if you run into this problem call lexus headquarters and they will reimburse you.


The cost turned out to be $140 which was the minimum at my local lexus dealer for 1 hour of labor. Not terribly bad so I wouldn't have been upset if they had denied me but I do think it is their responsibility.

GSRX

I wonder if this software update had anything to do with why the vehicle failed. The update specifically states that it is to cure a customer complaint of a rocking motion when the vehicle is being driven at highway speeds. Lexus Corporate stepped in to refund the money paid by the OP. The vehicle passed the next day.

Would the vehicle passed the next day if the smog technician allowed the self test to complete or is there indeed an issue with the vehicle's firmware.

Did Lexus Corporate refund the money because the update had nothing to do with the issue? Are there any other hybrid owners that have passed the California Smog Certification program out there? What did they do? Did they run the car and leave it on prior to the check?