Originally Posted by dicer

The newer cars ECU's have to be programmed to the system and keys etc. You WILL NOT BE LOOKING FOR A CODE, WHEN USING A SCAN TOOL.
Your looking for data and looking to control things that can be controlled with the tool, ie testing them, and signals.
If all that is being done is looking for codes, then you do not have a proper scan tool, nor the proper person using it. A true high end scan tool does way more than just read codes. Reading codes can be done with a $30. code reader, a good scan tool starts at about $1000. and goes up to $20,000 or more. So which one does he or you have?

Originally Posted by Oldschl400

Newb here hoping to get some thoughts and opinions. I have a 2000 LS 400 with about 167k on the clock. The car has pretty much been trouble free until recently. I just took it to my mechanic and had the timing belt, motor mounts and all seals replaced in the motor. Once I got it back, the car was running smooth as glass. About a week after all the maintenance was done, I was driving in some rain and gassed it to pass another car and the back wheels spun and engine revved up pretty high. Nothing out of the ordinary, just lost traction. No CEL came on or anything at that specific point and time. However, later that day I started the car and all of the sudden the CEL and VSC off lights came on. I tried turning the car on and off several times and disconnecting the battery but the lights would return. Car still ran smooth and really showed no signs of any issue. No weird sounds or smells or driveability issues, just the lights. I took it to get it checked out and it was an OCV sensor code on bank 1. I took it to the mechanic who did the work hoping maybe the sensor was loose or there was something else he could find. He replaced the sensor with a used one he had laying around but this did not correct the issue. He asked me to drive the car for a week or so and see if it cleared or got worse. Well, things got worse. After driving the car around for a while, it would begin to run rough in spots and at red lights it would idle rough and the CEL and VSC lights would begin to flash. So we decided to get a brand new OCV for that bank to see if that would correct the issue. Doing that brought on even more issues. We began getting the same OCV code and now a misfire on cylinder 6. All of these issues were all on the passenger side of the motor. Running through the diagnostic manual, he ruled out pretty much everything except for the ECU or the Cam actuator. We decided to have the ECU repaired. I shipped it off to lscowboyls and got it back in a couple of days. After reinstalling the ECU, the car began misfiring on several cylinders on bank 1 and continued to throw the OCV code. So the last part to throw at this was the Cam actuator. Sourced a new one from a Lexus dealer and installed it. The car started up and ran fine for a few minutes and then began to,surge and the mechanic shut it off to check the codes. Now he cannot pull any codes and the car will not crank at all. He said it just turns over but that's it. I am pretty much at wits end with what to do. This seems to be electrical or ECU related to me. I am hoping someone has possibly gone through something of this nature and can give me some good advice. I wonder if I need to try and locate a mechanic who knows these cars really,well. The mechanic I am using is a Toyota Master mechanic so I'm not sure changing mechanics will benefit me. But sometimes a second opinion is what you need. He is pretty sure the ECU is the culprit and it's hard for me to disagree. But the car never had any weird ECU issues in the past. I've owned the car for 8 years and my dad had it before me. The car is really in excellent shape motor wise, except for the gremlins that have now crept in Even the mechanic is saying it is very well taken care of. All the internals look brand new. Anyway, if anyone has thoughts or opinions on what else I can do, I would very much appreciate it. I love this car, but I am having a hell of a time trying to get it back running good.

Originally Posted by YODAONE

A possible rain related issue that I experienced worth investigating...
Over time the sunroof rubber weather seal loses pliability and sealing ability allowing more water to pass that the 4 roof drains have to compensate...or not.
If drains are clogged or overwhelmed, then water overflows the sunroof drain tray onto and into the interior roof panel and travels down the right window pillar, dumping onto a main (several) connector panel near the passenger side lower right footwell shorting out sensitive wiring and rendering body ECU (multiplexed) inoperative..all sorts of malfunctions...
(Also noticed puddle of water in my right footwell)
The solution?
If evidence of water ingress, disconnect and dry connectors.(first disconnect negative battery cable terminal and wait 10 minutes) (and lift carpet to dry)
If necessary, use plastic friendly contact cleaner...
Clean the sunroof drain area, and drains of blockage, use (Honda brand) Shin Etsu rubber conditioner/grease on all rubber seals.
This resolved the issue for me.

Originally Posted by Oldschl400

Is there a place in the engine bay on the 2000 LS where you can get/pull CEL codes?

Originally Posted by Oldschl400

Is there a place in the engine bay on the 2000 LS where you can get/pull CEL codes?

Originally Posted by Oldschl400