murphysf

2000 RX300 CEL P0300 P0302 P0304 P0306 P1354

Hello

Just drove up to Lake Tahoe (elevation 7000 feet) for a few days from the San Francisco Bay area, while at Lake Tahoe I drove up to Mt Rose which has an elevation of 8.911 feet.

I was driving slow around 35 mph in the slow lane up the grade, when I put my foot into the gas pedal to speed up the car didn't respond much, I floored it and it kicked down a gear and the car sped up and I got it up to around 50 mph.

Not sure if it is related but later that day when comping a stop light I could sense the car had a slight miss but would then go away. This happened a few times in the last two days. Up until now no CEL.

Today while driving home the car started to miss again this time a bit worse and then the CEL came on and then at one time it started to flash. I drove a mile or two to a auto store and got a scanner and read the codes. P0300 misfire P0302 misfire cylinder 2 P0304 misfire cylinder 4 P0306 misfire cylinder 6 P1354 variable valve timing system.

The car seemed to start and run fine but would miss under a load.

I stopped the car and called a AAA tow truck and had them tow it to a Lexus Dealership, its New Years day so the service center is close but will be calling them in the morning. The Dealership is approximately half way between Lake Tahoe and my home and was witing my AAA mileage range.

I did a bit of research and it seems that the culprit for this is the OCV Oil Control Valve.

I hope I don't get the run around from the dealer and am thinking to just ask them to replace the OCV.

I got a ride home and am now 2 hours away from the dealership otherwise I would change the part out myself.

My plan is to go back up there once it is fixed and bring it home.

Looking for advice on how to approach this situation and if I should just have them go ahead and change the OCV without doing any troubleshooting to avoid additional labor charges?

Ideas?

salimshah

Best thing to do would be call in and leave a message for the service department and let your wishes be known. You can tell them to do nothing and pick the vehicle.

Depending what you instructed the dealership, they should call you for authorization of work with estimate of charges. Once you give them a go ahead they will diagnose and come back with the new estimate for repair. On your OK they will do the repair. Keep in mind if you gave them prior approval [some times understood as prior approval when you have the vehicle towed to a garage]. So call ASAP.

Placing myself in your shoes, I would let Lexus do the diagnosis and decide who does the repair. If the vehicle was in town, I might pick it up.

If the vehicle has not been serviced, expect dealership to recommend the needed service items.
Salim

murphysf

Thanks for the reply.
I heard from the tow truck driver that someone was at the Lexus dealership, perhaps the sales department and accepted the vehicle. I have not talked to them yet nor given them any instructions nor approval to do the work. I called but no one answered and there wasn't an option to leave a voice mail.

I will try again, if not call first thing in the morning when they open.

The dealership is 120 miles 2 hours drive from my house so there really isn't an option to pick it up.

Not sure what AAA policy is on a tow, if they would tow it again to my house from the dealership? I doubt it. If they do change the OCV should I ask them to clean / change the filter?

Lastly would a dealer allow to skip the diagnosis and just do what I request?

Thanks and Happy New Year

salimshah

The vehicle is your personal property. Any business will do what you ask them to do as long as you pay them. In your case it could be the storage [very uglily but the dealership can charge you for it]. Keep in mind as a business they can refuse to do any work, specially if it compromises the safety or adds to their liability.

Generally, I recommend that the shop does the diagnosis. In your case, say you insist on cleaning the OCV. Dealership charges you for parts, labor, material and disposal, but the problem is not fixed .. or worst still it is fixed but on your way back home it comes back. It will be fair that you be charged for it irrespective of the outcome. If you are DIY type then you can play with these options, but the dealership will most likely replace the OCV.

Once again I would suggest is talk to the service writer ,, enquire about diagnosis fee and check if they would discount the diagnosis fee if they do the repairs.

For AAA, it depends upon your policy .. cheap one only covers towing less than 10 miles.

Salim

murphysf

I am fine with the dealer replacing the valve, I figure if they are going to have to remove it to clean it that they might as well just replace the part as the cost of the part isn't alot. I just am hoping I don't get the dealer run around and a $500 bill.

I called AAA my coverage is 100 miles, the tow from by breakdown to the dealer was 83 miles. I called AAA last night and asked me what my options were if the dealer wanted to charge me an outrageous price and was told that they would provide another short distance tow to another shop but not a 100 mile tow as the policy is per breakdown.

I will be happy to pay for them to replace the OCV just want to keep the bill as low as possible.

Should I ask them to remove and clean the filter?

Thinking once I get the car back I will replace the rear one myself as well as clean or replace both filters.

salimshah

If the vehicle is drivable .. just drive it as far ay you can and then call in a tow truck.

Min diagnosis fee will be about 100. Labor about 120/hr. But dont take my word .. hear it from the dealership. Again you will decide what needs to be done. Just make sure they perform what you authorize.

Salim

murphysf

thanks again, right now I am at least a 2 hour drive from the car / dealer. they open in 30 minutes so will call them.

I thought I could limp home a 4 hour drive but the engine miss firing started to get worse so I pulled over tot he side of the freeway and I didn't want to create any additional problems or damage.

murphysf

dealer called me and confirmed that the OCV is the issue. They said the price would be $268. $168 for an hour labor, 30 min to diagnose and 30 minutes to repair and $100 for the part. I find this acceptable as I am not sure they would charge less than an hour for this job. He said he would give me a 10% or a bit more of a discount. I told him to go ahead and do the work. He said if I wanted to come and pick the car up I could and he wouldn't charge me anything but I told him to go ahead and do it.

salimshah

Not bad at all ... considering if you had the vehicle in your garage the least you would have spent would be around 100. Since the vehicle is couple of hours away,

Salim

murphysf

agree!

was thinking do you think it makes sense to switch synthetic oil? vehicle has around 280k miles. perhaps it would help with cleaning as this engine is prone to sludge. I have owned the vehicle for about 3 years so not sure of the history.

Lexmus

Some folks do not recommend changing oil types on such an old engine with so many miles. I switched to full synthetic oil in my 2000 RX around 140k miles when I started doing all of my own car maintenance. I also had a major oil burning issue due to the well documented rear valve cover issue, but no sludge was visible when I swapped the valve cover, and my OCV screens were clean when checked about a year ago.

salimshah

Folks who have oil consumption have reported success by replacing the rear valve cover. At the same time with the original cover, the oil consumption was never noted when the vehicles were new and not EVERY vehicles with original valve cover exhibited burning oil. This leads me to speculate that there is something else going on (like worn rings with blow-bye which increases the pressure in the engine, making the oil level rise up the rear valve cover .. there may be more).

I bring this up, so that a myth is not created.

There may be other reasons too ... such as frustration inside the valve cover etc.

Salim

murphysf

I can easily stick with conventional oil, or is a blend a good option?

I don't think the spark plugs were ever changed. I might have them changed, if so I was thinking of having the valve cover gaskets changed at the same time. If I change the valve cover gaskets should I change the valve covers? rear only? both? I seem to lose about a quart every 4 months and it doesn't seem to be leaking.

I know of a very affordable mechanic, he recently worked on my moms 2001 Camry which has the same engine, he replaced both knock sensors, knock sensor harness, coolant hose, valve cover gaskets, spark plugs, intake gaskets, plenum gasket and injector o-rings for only $300 labor and let me supply the parts.

murphysf

picked up my car, and drove home 120 miles, all is well.

Reading the technician's notes he performed a function test on the valve, and it took a couple of times before it worked. I asked them to save the part, it looked pretty clean, no sludge or gunk, perhaps the solenoid was starting to fail?

Total price with tax was $244.68, shop labor rate is $165/hr and the service advisor gave me 10% off parts and labor.

I guess it would be wise to replace the rear bank OCV

Lexmus

I think regular oil changes are the most important thing compared to synthetic vs conventional.

If you are going to change the rear valve cover gasket, I would swap out the old cover with the 3rd gen version. the part number is 11201-0A060. You can find used ones on ebay for less or buy a new one from an online Lexus dealer. You will also need the metal PCV valve 12204-20040. There are no issues with the front cover.

That price for the work on the Camry is amazing.