gabbar

Dear All,

Thanks a lot in advance for your help.

Four days ago while driving, I felt a hiccup in my 1999 ES300 (109K miles) and then the CEL (check engine light) started blinking along with a constant TRC (TRAC off) light. At slower speeds/idling, there are significant vibrations in the car. In addition, the car exhibits significantly higher RPM even at speeds such as 50MPH and generally feels more rough.

I immediately took it to my mechanic who detected the codes P0300 (random misfire), P0301 and P0302 (cylinder misfires). The mechanic said that it is definitely a sludge issue and before he dismantles the engine (and charges 1000's of dollars according to him), he suggested that I consult directly with Lexus. Considering that my car is out of the sludge/oil gel settlement, Lexus is not going to pay for my repairs if the engine turns out to be bad.

This is my first car ever and I am still learning when it comes to cars. However, I decided to do some research and while searching for these codes came to find stuff about them being caused by bad coils and/or plugs as well as several other causes.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...301-p0302.html

Come to think of it, my car takes at least 10 minutes to warm up to a "drivable" temperature and I do not know if this is related to the current issue.

I have exclusively relied on this mechanic since buying this car at 90K miles and am beginning to feel that he may not be the best one. I discovered a few days back that he has been charging me about 140$ for an oil change while one can get the oil change done at other good places for 65$!!

In any case, I have appts with a different mechanic as well as Lexus dealer tomorrow. I am therefore writing to seek some advice from the experienced folks here so as to avoid being duped by another dealer/mechanic. By the way, please also advise if it is OK for me to drive this car abt 15 miles to the mechanic.

I would really appreciate if you could kindly provide some input. By the way, I am based in Austin, Texas.

Thanks a million
GS

VVT-i

Wow, that's kinda quick diagnostic from your mechanic. You have misfire codes so he recommend you an engine right the way.He doesn't need to tear down the engine at all, just need to do some basic check like, check spark plug,check coil pack and do the compression check.
It's may be just bad coil pack and the coil pack on your ES is interchangeable from one to another. You can remove the easiest one( the front side, bank 2) and swap it. If the misfire move to another cylinder with the coil then you need new coil pack.
Get another mechanic.

Delson

I have a RX300 that has 180k, and had similar issues.
After replacing sensors, plugs etc.
I found that my problem was in fact sludge related, and that the sludge had actually caused several oil control valves that control camshaft advance to malfunction.
Purchased several screens first but the valves were too far along with buildup to function properly and eventually had to replace them.
Found the Toyota equivalent, installed, and corrected my codes..
Something to think about..