I have a 2007 Ls460L with 193K. It has never gave me any issue at all. It was my daily since i have own it. Yesterday my VSC light came on and it wont shift pass 5th gear. I scanned it today and it gave me the P0985 code.
I see there are a few solenoids down there, so which one do I buy to replace?

Thank you in advance.

 

Is your transmission fluid level correct?

 

yes. that was the first thing i checked to make sure that was good.

 

Well, it could be the entire TCM or any one of the solenoids. I'm sure there's a way to test each one but I'm at the end of the road on where to go after that. Good luck.

 

 

i can still drive it just fine. when put it in the shifting mode, i see that it stuck at 5 and wont go up any higher. For low speed, im still good. at 60, im at rougly 4k rpm

 

4k rpm at 60? Something must be wrong with your car. This car can cruise at 80 and is roughly at 2k rpm.

 

 

I would guess that Techstream can probably determine exactly which one it is. If you want to go the DIY route I'd spend the $30 and get the cable and software from eBay.

 

Sounds like it is in "Limp Mode" Did you try resetting the computer first by disconnecting the battery? I don't think you should be driving over 60 with high RPMs like that The car is clearly telling you something is wrong. My GS400 used to do something similar to this and it was the Throttle unit that needed to be replaced

 

forgot to update. i fixed it
if anyone get p0985/p0986 code, this is the solenoid you'll have to replace.
ill be the #1 solenoid with the green plug. all you'll have to do is remove the pan. unplug it and itll slip right out.

 

Great news for all of us. Question, how did you find out which one was the culprit.

 

i went to my buddys shop to use a program he have. Entered in the code with the year make and model. It showed me whats wrong with it along with the parts number to buy. I believe most shops should have the same program especially dealership.

 

kolor, did you mean remove the transmission pan? If you do that, does all of the transmission oil drain out? Is it still easy to see the green plug with all of the oil in the transmission? Thank you for the walkthrough and sharing the fix.

 

yes, removing the tranmission oil pan. to empty it, in the back theres a nut just like a regular oil pan.
next youll have to remove an exhaust bracket right by the pan. you'll see what im talking about when you're under neath.
remove the screws around the pan and drop it. The solenoids are very easy to see. the green plug is however is a little darker due to the age but you can't miss it.
Before putting the pan back, i cleaned the gasket and used the gasket sealer, then put it back. To refill the oil, remove the 24mm nut. It is located on the side of the pan on the driver side. there's not a lot of room and the only way i was able to remove it was to use the Deep offset socket wrench. if you dont have a 24mm, a 15/16 will work. Run to an auto part store and buy an oil pump and pump the oil back in there.

overall, this whole fix took me a little under 2 hours with most of the time spent cleaning. i made sure to let the car sit over night to make sure the gasket sealer healed up completely before I added oil and started the car.