Hi all, I have a Lexus IS200 xe10, and recently my car started shutting itself mid-drive. The car is driving just fine but a couple of weeks ago, my traction control light on the dash started flashing repeatedly, and my traction control is not working. Then a couple of days later, my car shut down mid-drive out of nowhere. I tried starting it, and it didn't work, but after a few tries, it started just normally, and it was driving just fine. This whole situation happened one more time. So now I am not driving my car, but when I start it it's working fine the idle is good, and the engine works fine. I ran diagnostics and 6 issues came up from the ABS systems as follows: generic communication issue in the ECU, Increasing Pressure Solenoid (front right), abnormal change in output signal of left front / right rear / right front speed sensor, fault absence of communication with combined calculator. I ran couple diagnostics and I only got these errors once. One time I got brake boost sensor circuit range / performance / engine control system / EV control system malfunction. I hope someone can help me with this because I don't know where to start.

 

Hello,

What happens in particular when car shuts off mid-flight? Does the dash shut off along with the engine, any lights that pop up, does it take a while to die or as if someone turned the engine off? It could a tough one, but a video of the engine shutting off would be very helpful.

Depending on the way the car dies, there could be multiple reasons. If the car dies immediately, especially if the cluster and other systems shut off along with the engine, I would really look into the wiring, check for any damage, maybe signs of rodents living in the car, etc.

Check all the fuses as well, there were cases of people tying the terminals together with some copper wire such that they won't have to replace a blown fuse, here is a link to what I mean. If that's good, wiggle all the wiring you see, all the relays, anything that can cause loss of power, and anything ECU related, otherwise it would've stored the code for something missing power supply, if there are no codes that can explain the engine cutting out, chances are the whole ECU loses power.

Also keep the OBD2 scan tool plugged in at all times, maybe record the live data if the tool has that capability, in case if the car dies, you will see if it loses communication to the ECU, that will be a clear sign of where to look next.

Those kinds of issues are the toughest ones to diagnose, especially over the wire, so if you are not confident about car repairs, it may be beneficial to ask an advice from a local shop, it's always best to get multiple opinions, especially before replacing anything.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

Just the engine shuts off it's like you shuted off with the key.
But also that is very helpful so thanks