Overheating

[MainelyLexus]

Hi! I'm the newest member of the Lexus Owners' Club, although I've owned my car for many, many years. It's a '94 and I'm proud to say that it has 169K miles on it and still is in almost great shape.... I have a couple of problems and I'm hoping someone will be able to help me out.

My car overheats when the a/c is on and the car is in traffic. I've had the steering pump replaced. I use my own mechanic, but on his recommendation, I took the car into the Lexus dealer for their diagnostic testing. Spent the $87 bunks and came back with no answer. In fact, I'm sorry to say that my experience with the Lexus dealership was less then ideal. However, that aside, I came away with no answers other than a demonstration that the fan does not increase in speed as it should and as a result, the car overheats... The 1994 Lexus has a hydraulic cooling fan system -- it is not electric. Any ideas on how to test the cooling fan?

Secondly, my check engine light is constantly on. I already had the gas gauge float replaced by the Lexus dealer. Any ideas as to what else might be the problem? I have had the radiator replaced and the themostate, belts, etc. The car is and always has been very well maintained. I look forward to anyone's suggestions. Thanks.

[lexusk8]

Welcome to the LOC forum Mainely :) Nice to hear you've been keeping your '94 ES for a long time and still in terrific operating condition. Now let's get down to your issues:

- I imagine overheating would be the result of a problem with the coolant (or antifreeze) in your car. However, you've observed that the "cooling" fan is not up to speed, thus possibly causing the overheating. I would start checking the coolant fluid if you haven't already and make sure it has been changed recently and filled up to or near the 'FULL' level. I'm not exactly sure if the fan could be directly linked to the coolant fluid

- How long have you had your check engine light on? Do you notice any differences with the engine noise, feel, etc.? You may have already tried going to the dealership and getting the error codes scanned for your check engine light. If the dealership has been no help at all, then you could get rid of the warning light by disconnecting the battery for a couple minutes and then reconnecting it. Hopefully the warning light is just a fluke and will go away for good.

BTW I notice that you're from Maine. My family and I used to live in Maine (Augusta, to be exact) for many years. Definitely enjoyed the lobster up there :D Whereabouts are you from, may I ask? ;)

[vtechbrain]

I'm not knocking lexus, toyota makes great cars. Unfortunately, toyota has been quite content to make industrial appliances which in Lexus guise are just refrigerators with alcantara leather. I just come over from the TL forum to clear up misconceptions, since we heard that you guys were knocking the TL. BTW Honda makes V8 engines aplenty they just dont for passenger vehicles (all racing engines are 8 cyl) Honda's basic philosophy has been not to use V8 since they have always produced 4's with the output of 6's and 6's with the output of 8's and for honda value and ecological responsability have always been a trademark. All honda 6's are certified ULEV even the 270HP in my TL. Honda is not and has never been a truck maker, in fact they dont build ANY trucks, all honda SUV's are cross over vehicles. Essentially they are adapting to market pressures in a very succesfull manner MDX's, CRV's and Pilots are selling like hotcakes. Well, time for the educational session to end. Hope that its been useful and that it will help you make a more educated automotive buying decision in the future, HONDAS RULE! :whistles:

[SKperformance]

mr vtec welcome but try and atleast be on topic and not make stupid propaganda posts for no reason.

Your observations are noted but useless as this is not a race forum.

Toyota makes race cars as well but ferrari still wins.

Getting back to the issue sine mr vtec couldn't find a single thread worth mentiong his crap in.

There is another thread talking about the same issue from a day or so ago ,check there for ideas as it is the same problem.

[MainelyLexus]

Thanks for your welcome and response Lexusk8. I've been having the overheating problem for a year. The coolant is not the issue. I have the car winterized and summerized -- all fluides are drained and cleaned twice a year. I think the problem lies with the cooling fan solenoid. Any ideas about how to test the fan?

The Lexus dealer was useless on both issues -- overheating and the check engine light. The car runs fine. I've been running it with the check engine light on now for over a year. I'd just like to know why it's on and fix it.

I live in southern Maine, York County - Biddeford Pool.

[blake918]

My '94 had a similar overheating saga a few months ago-the car would get hot, and the fan would not cut on at the right time, and when it did, it seemed slow. It turned out to be a fried cooling fan relay and bad radiator; all is well now! The relay is under the hood in a covered compartment right in front of the battery. Make sure the p/s resivoir is full too.

For the check engine light, take your car to AutoZone because they can read the codes for free. Tell them your car is a '97 because that's when all cars because OBDII, but Lexus was ahead of the game and switched over in '94 on the ES300. After you get the code, post it up on here, and I or someone else with a repair manual witll tell you what it means along with it's probable causes. 167k...that's awesome! Keep up the good work! Does anyone have more than ~170k on their ES?? Mine has 122, 3xx. B)

[SKperformance]

i have 200 000 km on my ES so not equal after the conversion.

[mnm]

i have 200 000 km on my ES so not equal after the conversion.

124274.2 miles !