After driving my 1995 LS400 for a long distance (over 40 mils) on the freeway when I get off and stop the car the engine stalls. The dealer tells me that this problem has been identified before (whatever it means) and the solution is to change the computer engine and the sparkplugs. Just the computer engine alone is over $1100. Any ideas what might cause the problem?
The car has 75k miles. The problem doesn't occur in city driving.

 

my car has this problem every day....even in city driving!

it's becoming to where i'm treating it like a manual, putting it into neutral (if not on a hill) and starting it up, revving up to 2k, and shifting back into D (1st) (only on startup from it stalling out on a streetlight/stop sign, it will usually pull through from there for the rest of the day)

it seems to be the mass airflow sensor according to the code i pulled from the CEL.

 

What is the CEL?

 

check engine light.

mine doesnt come on, but i was still able to check the code.

 

its a rare problem that had a TSB issued in the late 90's.

when the car was under warranty you could have gotten the ECU replaced free of charge but now ur best bet is to find a new ECU from a junkyard and put some sparkplugs in it

 

I had the exact same problem and it is dangerous as hell......you don't need any plugs or any other garbage...........you need a new computer and the TSB which the Lexus dealers will tell you they no nothing about is very real....search my posts (if possible) and you should find it.....someone on this forum about 3-4 years ago gave it to me and after my local Lexus dealer jerked me around I took it in and Lexus replaced it for free......if necessary threaten them......it is a life or death situation........my engine would turn off at around 50 coming off the highway after driving for about 20 minutes.....all systems turn off including the power brakes......if you can't find it e-mail me at jojosmithson@gmail.com and I'll see if I can find the infor for you on a receipt.

 

Is this pdf the TSB you're referring to?

 

the TSB I'm speaking about is in a couple of very short paragraphs and specifically speaks to stalling of the car on late 95 and early 96 models.............I have not seen it in awhile but I remember it is very specific about the problem....actually kind of shocking.....I'm sure I have the receipt somewhere.....it is also definitely posted somewhere here!

 

I called the Lexus dealer where the work was done -- I had it done in 2005 -- the bulletin no they gave me is eg00297 -- can anyone post a copy of it? I googled it but no luck.

best I can do

 

It is deffinetaly a computer issue on 95-96 models. But you have to be careful when changing ECM. I changed mine just recently and it did solve idling issues but now I have a lot bigger problem....just the other day I lost power copmletely doing 80mph for a few seconds. I'm thinking because of a new computer. It didn't stall, but all the gages went down and car was stalling but it went back to normal. So far it happened 3 times already. I don't know about you, but I much rather have my car stall at the stop light then at 80pmh on a freeway. Besides, stalling after a long trip is real easy to fix if you keep your ac running when you pulling to a stop - solves the problem of stalling. Also changing TPS helps sometimes. I'm thinking of swithing my old ECM back and live with it happy. If anyone wants a ECM for 96 - I have one, I think it just don't work right for california models. PM me if you want

 

Do you mean that if I keep the AC on when I get off the freeway the problem will go away?

 

they will fix it if you make enough noise..........key word here.........FREE!!!!!

 

not necessarily.

so i toyed around with the MAF today, and oddly enough it seems to be doing it's job, still stalling randomly at stoplights..

 

I checked with the dealer. The TSB that was posted earlier by dfkd is the correct one. Number: EG003-96, dated October 7, 1996. It calls for replacing the ECM, Cruise control computer and spark plugs.

 

I'm looking at my receipt AND I remember exactly what it said................you are barking up the wrong tree.................just trying to help you............the actual TSB specifically discusses stalling after highway driving -- it was very short and to the point.