we loaded some stuff into the rear space and closed the rear hatch. when i started it up, the "rear lights" indicator [#27 on the instrument cluster] lit up. we checked alll of the rear lights, and they all work. however, the warning light stays on. any thoughts????

 

false alarm. it went away on its own. spooky!

 

All's well that ends well!

 

Weird thing just happened last week, rear light indicator went on on my 2002 RX300. I replaced
the burned-out bulb (replaced both of them since I had two new bulbs). Now my light indicator won't go away, anybody knows how to re-set it and make it go away. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Make sure no other lights are out. My top brake light was out and the bulb appeared to be toast and when I replaced it, the rear light indicator was still illuminated. It turned out that the bulb harness connector was just loose (possibly over time, she is 13 yrs old), so I jerry-rigged the connector so it was taught and there were no problems after that.

Does your rear light indicator come on as soon as you turn the car on? In my case, it only came on when I pressed the brake, which at first can be a little tricky to diagnose, since you won't notice a burnt out brake light unless someone is depressing the brake pedal while you are behind the car observing.

 

Well, if these are anything like the ES300 - oh they are. They're a Pain to deal with.

Basically, mine's been on for years, would go away in warmer months. I just ignore it. Now i added an OE LED 3rd brake light. I'm just going to pull the bulb eventually.

From what has been discussed [extensively] on the ES boards, is that these cars are so finicky that OEM bulbs are 'best' or a 'complete' set [not guaranteed] of another brand.

Once you mix sylvania with koito [oem], the brake light module detects a minor difference in voltage levels and triggers the light immediately.

 

Probably something to that.
I twice replaced my third brake light with an aftermarket bulb (probably Sylvania) and still got intermitent 'Brake warning light' on the dash.

It happened to be on when my wife took it Lexus for another issue and they installed an OEM bulb.
No issues in a couple of years now.

 

Thanks for all the input, the light indicator goes on as soon as I start the car. I've already checked the brake lights which are ok. I will replace the license plate lights with OEM bulb if that what it takes to make the warning lights go away, fingers crossed. Thanks again!

 

So is there a final concensus solution to this? I have the same issue for many months now. Rear indicator lights come on after I step on the breaks. I've replaced the bulbs with generics from Autozone. Connector harness don't seem loose. Is the final thought to go get OEM bulbs for the back? Order from dealership? It doesn't effect the drive, but real annoying to look at

 

It shouldn't matter where you buy the bulb...only if you buy it a Lexus it will be more expensive than is necessary. I bought my new bulb (turned out I didn't need it) at O'Reilly AP and it works fine. My bulb harness was loose...that is to say where the bulb plugs into the harness. Kind of like when you have to bend the two prongs in an electrical plug to get it to stay in the wall...that's what I did.

 

Aftermarket bulbs can have different resistance and trip the warning light. I hate that stupid light.