I have a 2001 LS430. 165,000 miles. It’s in great shape. (I inherited it from my grandfather). The check engine light, VSC, and Trac lights came on several years ago. The local Lexus dealer has advised me that those warning illuminations are due to a faulty “computer module,” and there is no underlying issue with those items. I was advised that replacing the “computer module” would cost in excess of $3,000 and that if I could tolerate the dash lights, all is otherwise well with the car. (My grandfather’s solution was to place smiley face stickers over each light, no joke).

I have grown weary of looking at these lights (smiley faces). I see that there are sellers (Flagship One) of modules that are reasonably priced and come “pre-programmed” to your VIN.

I have a number of questions for the seasoned Lexus DIYer.

- Are these preprogrammed modules as advertised? They advertise as being plug-and-play; is that true? That they are programmed to my vehicle’s specific VIN, allowing all internal modules to communicate with each other appropriately?

- Is swapping the module something I can do myself? I recognize that while I do not have the ability to program anything, I do have tools and can follow instructions.

Thoughts? Advice?

Thank you,
Mario

 

This it?

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...car-moves.html

 

I would have the car tested elsewhere first. It sounds to me like your local Lexus dealer simply doesn't want to investigate this.
It's an attitude I have seen a lot of lately and not just at Lexus dealers. Their attitude to troubleshooting stuff is to swap in new modules at YOUR expense until they get it fixed.
Essentially it shows a lack of understanding of the system and I REALLY wouldn't want that level of incompetence working on my car.

Have you plugged in a Scan tool or Techstream to see exactly what codes are being shown, if any?
If there are no codes but the lights are still showing then the fault is probably with the computer module that manages the dash lights.
I have no idea which computer that would be, but hopefully someone on here does.
If you do have codes, I would get those fixed first as they may fix the problem with the lights.

 

+1 to what BigBoomer said.

Case in point, my dad has a 2001 Toyota Sienna that he has had since new, with roughly 160k miles on it. It has had a check engine light issue for years, where the Toyota dealer stated that it needed a new engine computer, and also two new cats. Well, a couple thousand bucks later, and after new ECU and such, the check engine light is still on, and they just wanted him to keep throwing parts at it at his expense.

I advised him to take it somewhere else that actually had experienced mechanics, but he decided to just live with the light for over two years now.

I think a good problem with a lot of newer "mechanics" is around the time I was in high school, back in the early 2000s, there was a huge push by local colleges to recruit people into their automotive and diesel programs, and the big selling point was always "modern mechanics fix a car with their head, rather than with their hands, because of computers computers, blah blah blah"

Needless to say, we have an industry full of technicians who will just plug a computer in, see what it says, and then immediately jump to just throwing parts at it because they have absolutely no clue on how to properly fix a car.

Another good example was my wife's 2015 Cherokee, that had a new windshield put in that suddenly caused the automatic wipers to stop functioning. After three trips to the dealer on the insurance companies dime, I finally just pulled the trim around the rearview mirror down, and discovered that the rain sensor wasn't even snapped onto its place on the windshield. But it went to three difference techs whose computers told them that the sensor was detected and working fine...

 

Do a search for the “ paper clip fix “ for your light display. I’m fairly certain that will resolve the light issue. Those lights are known to come on whenever there r any issues regardless of severity. This will fix that issue if you own a 01-03 LS430. Good luck and let us know how u make out. PS. As an owner of my LS430 for 15 years, I have resorted to the paper clip fix for those lights numerous times.