Well due to the blizzard here this weekend I took out my mothers rx330 and apparantly I was stuck on the driveway because of a huge snow pile. So I kept going back and forth , well I finally got out but then the check engine light and vsc light came on, weird thing is after it hit about 55mph it would go up very slowly even while pedal is 90% down. Can this be something serious?

 

Sounds like the VSC system might have gotten confused and de-activated itself. It's probably no big deal one time - the manual says you can keep driving if the VSC light comes on. However, if the lights stay on after the next time you start the car, you shoud call the dealer.

The slow acceleration at 55 mph without the pedal 100% down could be normal, depending on how hot or cold the engine and trans were at the time. The transmission has a mind of its own, so if you want quick acceleration while in overdrive, you usually need to floor the pedal to get it to downshift.

 

I am guessing you got snow into the tailpipe when you backed up the RX. Clear the snow and you should be fine.

Always park your vehicle facing the road if you know a snow storm is about to hit. Same idea in parking lot at work.

 

Your right! I went out and checked my tailpipe and I see snow stacked inside. I took it out and the cel and vsc went off. Thanks a bunch !

 

Nice catch, Harrier!

JsN's problem reminded me of my Dad's story of his brand new '32 Plymouth Coupe . . .



It was a company car when he worked for Kansas Gas and Electric, back during the winter of 1932. He'd been driving his nice new car for several days, through ice, snow and slush, parking in the street at night - as performance steadily decreased. Finally the thing wouldn't go over 25 mph without a considerable running start, and couldn't get much over walking speed in a city block. As a young engineer, he was baffled. This car wasn’t over a week old. What could be wrong with it?

As typical in western Kansas, he was the "district engineer" for a large territory, in charge of line maintenance, new service, hooking up new electrical appliances in rural homes, even collecting the monthly bills. This required a lot of driving. Around noon he dropped into a small town gas station where he knew a good mechanic, and the guy took the new car inside and parked it, telling Dad to go across the street to the diner and he'd join him for lunch in a few minutes. About 20 minutes later the mechanic appeared and over lunch told dad he'd fix the car at no charge, but it wouldn't be ready 'til the next day. When he asked what was wrong with the car, the old fellow just grinned and said he thought he had solved the problem, but the fix would take several hours. Mystified, Dad thanked him, paid for lunch, and made arrangements for the mechanic to pick him up at the hotel the next morning.

When they walked into the station at daybreak, despite the subfreezing night, the air was hot and it looked as though the service bay was experiencing high tide - there was water all over the floor. Dad started the car, backed into the street and drove around the block. The problem had disappeared and the car was running perfectly. He went back to the mechanic and asked what he had done.

The mechanic laughed and explained that he’d sent dad to lunch while he arranged several ceramic-electric heaters around the car and let them run all night. It seems that in all that driving in near and sub freezing weather had packed several hundred pounds of snow and ice into the frame and undercarriage of the Plymouth, leaving only the moving suspension and driveline parts clear in what appeared to be a solid ice belly pan. The car was so far over its rated load capacity, they couldn't even guess what the actual weight might be. The warm air of the service bay overnight had melted the ice and it fell out of the fenders and undercarriage, flooding the floor. The fact that the vehicle hadn't broken a spring or snapped an axle was testament to the toughness of those old cars. Dad felt more than a little foolish, and told that story on himself for nearly fifty years. Naturally, that month the service station didn't get an electric bill . . .

 

Find out what that check engine light actually was. It should be stored in the computer now. The reason I say that is because after 34K miles my 04 finially threw a check engine and VSC light only my car never saw any snow at all. The dealer said they have had others with this same problem when talking with them on the phone. I did not take my car in yet as we had to reschedule for this Tuesday. They did not tell me what the problem is only they have seen it before and will fix it. Hopefully your case was just the snow unlike mine where snow can't be the problem since it doesn't snow.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=147098