GS430SE

Thanks. I drove about 10 miles in city traffic, lots of stops and starts, and a few patches where I drove fast. The warning lights have remained off.

I am afraid I have to resurrect this thread, as the problem had reoccurred almost immediately (i.e., back in May 2014). I have ignored it until now. So, here's the summary: Fault: "VSC" (Vehicle Stability Control) and "VSC off" warning lights stay on Car: 2nd Gen Lexus GS430 (UK - right-hand drive vehicle) - 2004 model How did the fault arise? Car ran out of fuel a few yards short of a gas station. I put it in neutral and manually pushed it a bit. After filling up and switching on, the warning lights came on, and ever since then, these warning lights have stayed on. They were never there prior to this pushing - 100% certain. What had I tried to do since? In the central console (between the front seats) there is a button to switch VSC off. That has no effect at all. I have tried disconnecting the battery for 30 minutes. On reconnection, the warning lights come back on almost immediately. And then? I found the OBD-II connector, because I read that shorting out pins 4 and 14 of this connector might clear the fault. This connector is supposed to be near the boot-release (trunk-release) and eventually I found the discreet little panel. Then I shorted pins 4 and 14 for 30 seconds as follows: ignition off bridge pins 4 and 14 ignition on (did not start the engine) leave on for 30 seconds ignition off remove bridge And hey presto, VSC and VSC Off lights disappeared. However, I expect these warning lights will come back on. What next?

Hi again dcfish! Thanks, well done, left it disconnected for half an hour and the warning lights disappeared. (BTW, the amp you sold me is going strong)

I'm in the UK. But the experts are in the USA, mostly, so I'm posting here. :-) A few days ago the wife returned the 2004 GS430 to the driveway with hardly any fuel in the tank (for her "reasons", one should ask a shrink, not a mechanic). I thought I could make it to the nearest petrol station, but I was wrong - ran out of petrol half way. It glided to a halt slightly further from the curb than I'd have liked. Attempts to start the engine again sputtered into nothingness - it had probably been running on vapour for the last few seconds. So I put it into neutral and gently (was going to be gently, as I was alone and the car is heavy) pushed it for a couple of yards. Nothing eventful at all. Having bought some fuel and brought it back, restarted the car. As usual when switching on the ignition, a lot of warning lights are illuminated, and in a second or two they all go off. This is what happened... ... but then 3-4 seconds later the amber "VSC (Vehicle Stability Control) and VSC OFF warning lights came on on the dashboard display, and stayed on. Now it does this every time I start the car. Pressing the VSC OFF button (near the ECT/Snow controls) changes nothing; switching the engine on and off does nothing. The "VSC" light means a problem with the VSC; "VSC OFF" means you have switched it off. As I understand from Googling, I understand this combination is nothing much to worry about (as long as the "OFF" light is also there) but I'd still like to get rid of them. It is obviously caused by my manually pushing the car. Wasn't there a few seconds before, is there from the first time I switched on after doing it. I may try disconnecting the battery, waiting for a while and then reconnecting the battery - yes? Or could it be some fuse blown (why triggered by me trying to start the engine without petrol in it, I can't guess)? (I know the masterplan is for me to visit a Lexus dealer who will charge me £100 for "resetting" the indicator - no thanks!) Help!

Thanks 1990LS400! I'd already emailed VAIS TECH for info and am waiting for a reply from them, I'm not into tech as much as you are; I don't have an Android though it is possible I may get one. I have lots of music recorded on mp3, and have an "old" 60Gb ipod.

I have a 2004 GS430 (2nd generation; Mark Levinson audio system with integrated Gen01 Satnav). I am in the UK. What is the best way to play MP3 music through my system, without appreciable loss of quality (which I'd suffer if I used a cassette adapter, even a Sony one)? Connecting to the FM aerial in the rear of the car? Or dismount the head unit from the dash (I've managed it once and guess I could manage it again) and make a more permanent connection? I'd prefer a controller/adapter which will allow me to directly plug in a USB stick (pen drive) containing MP3 files, rather than have to use an ipod or similar. This said, the added ability to plug in an ipod, Android or iphone would be a plus. Recommendations needed, please!

In case anyone else is interested, I bought the Beatsonic kit, fitted it and all works perfectly. It does what it says. There are electronics shrinkwrapped inside one of the connectors. Only drawback, while the override is switched "on" to allow the satnav controls to be operated while the car is in motion, the car position is not updated by GPS. So when the override is "off" the position is shown wrongly on the display for a while, till the car figures out its position is wrong and it automatically updates. You don't need to do anything. How long this correcting takes seems to depend on the GPS satellite signals and/or location; anything from 20 seconds to 5 minutes.

I'm the OP. I changed the Mark Levinson amp for a refurbished 86280-0W030 (got from dabaysidejill01@att.net - thanks, David!) and all works perfectly. As said above, the only difference between the amp for R.H.drive and L.H.drive vehicles is, as David indicated, that they are wired so that the "navigation assistance" voice is directed to a different door speaker. As I don't use voice-assist Satnav, irrelevant to me - and even if it was relevant, it is a minor difference. All's well that ends well! :-) To help others: Changing amps was easy using a socket set (with extension) to un-bolt things. So, I have a spare ML amp (as discussed above, part 86280-0W210 equivalent to 86280-0W030, 86280-0W031 & 86280-0W032 except that the navigation voice is routed to a different speaker). I've opened the amp up; looks pristine inside. From a sticker inside, it was upgraded by Lexus in 2007 (when owned by the previous owner, who had all the car's servicing done by Lexus themselves), probably to fix the switching-on bug that plagued earlier versions of the amp. If anyone has an idea how to repair it (as in, what is the likely faulty component) I'd be grateful. Or, if anyone wants to make me an offer on it, I'm willing to part with it for a song. All worked perfectly until I used a portable battery to boost-charge the car's battery.

Any progress on this one? I have the same (probably blown) ML amplifier (part number 86280-0W0210) as RICKMARTIN3949, and I'm also in the UK (as I'm sure he is)...

A further complication. The part number on my ML amp is 86280-0W210 (I physically checked it, where it sits under the Navigation ECU in right side of the trunk), while the one that seems to be referred to all over the internet is 86280-0W032 (and which I am probably able to source). From Google Images, the two appear identical, including the sockets. There are also -0W031's and -0W030's, which I guess may be earlier versions of the -0W032. But my (presumed failed) amp's part number isn't in that sequence. Lexus Parts Department tell me the two have exactly the same price and description in their system, and that they may well be identical - but they can't confirm it. One's fitted on LHD vehicles and the other on RHD vehicles, that's all that can be found out from them. Others more knowledgeable than Lexus (!), on forums, have indicated that the difference is simply as to whether the navigation guidance voice is directed to the LH door speaker or the RH door speaker. If so, unimportant which it is. Any suggestions, please?

I have a 2004 GS430 (2nd generation) fitted, as is usual, with the Generation 01 satnav system - the one that starts up with this screen: and which "features" (sic) the Motion Lock on the satnav (where I can't set/change destination and much else while the car is moving) drives me nuts. Lexus is not my Mother. I know. I tried all the cheats I could find online, tapping various parts of the screen in sequence. One did get me to an information/diagnostics screen, but there was definitely no override capability there I also tried cutting one of the wires into the centre console (forget which, now) as per forum suggestions, but that too made no difference so I spliced it back. I then gave up. Now, years later, I've checked to see what's available, and found this: This "Beatsonic nt0202" looks suspiciously like a button switch which simply cuts one of the wires in the loom at the back of the centre console. If so, it is unlikely to fix the motion lock. Is it likely to work on my GS?

Fair question. Of course there are. Because the car is now over 8 years old, and the Levinson unit is so specialised, their solution (I've asked several) involves changing both head unit and power amplifier, which is very costly (almost as bad as using Lexus dealers) and means I'd lose the (precious) satnav as well, as the stereo & satnav system are integrated on the ML-equipped GS300/GS430... Even the guys at the weblink you kindly provided don't appear to deal with the Mark Levinson version...

The car's a 2004 GS430 (as in my avatar), with the usual Mark Levinson stereo & satnav system. One morning the battery had gone flat (cause: wholly unrelated to the stereo, and later solved) and I used a portable battery to jump-start the car. From that time on, there's been no sound from the hifi (irrespective of source - radio, CD, tape). Sound had been working perfectly, right up to the point I switched off the engine the previous night, so it is hard to escape the cause->effect linkage. The CD apparently plays, as does the tape, and the radio apparently tunes just like before. But, there's no sound at all from the speakers. When I press the Audio button on the head unit, all controls like "Bass", "Treble" and "Front/Rear--Left/Right Balance" appear grayed out on the display. These three pics show what I see: Note the grayed-out controls in the bottom photo. So, the computer knows that something is wrong. I've checked and double-checked all the fuses, including those on the passenger/glovebox side footwell, and had a friend who is in to car repairs double-check. All the fuses are fine. The CD changer is in the back of the glovebox. The satnav DVD unit is in the boot, and the power amplifier is below it. Everything was original/factory-installed, not after-market. The closest I've found to this problem is this discussion: http://www.justanswe...navigation.html where the poster seems to be describing the same fault. The advice he's given is that it is probably a blown amplifier, he didn't come back to the thread so I don't know if it was resolved. Almost the same thing is found here: http://www.clublexus...with-radio.html where the reference is to the "infamous ML amp" striking again.. :( A Lexus dealer indicated the price for a new amplifier from Lexus is probably half of what my car itself is worth. They said they thought it was a faulty amp (but - stress - couldn't be certain). I can get an amplifier via ebay for about a quarter of its "new" price, salvage from a scrapped 2001-4 GS300/GS430 fitted with the Mark Levinson stereo. I would make sure that the part number matched up. But what if the problem wasn't the amplifier but instead something in the head unit/console? The ebay sale would have been final (i.e., no returns), of course. Should I take the chance and order a replacement amp? Some clear advice would be very gratefully accepted - thanks in advance!