7000 And 8000 Rpm ?

[Ernie]

My daughter was heading into Ventura and the speedometer quit. Then (and I'm not sure how soon after) she said the RPM's were at 7000 and 8000. She parked it, and I went and got it and brought it home (about 350 miles), the speedo did wobble a couple of times on the way back, but nothing like what happened to her. I drove it the 150 mile round trip to work on Monday, and the speedo only slightly bounced once when I first started out in the morning.

I stopped in at a Tranny shop and the guy there said that when the speedo shows zero, the tranny goes to first gear! Ssccaarryy! huh?

So it looks like I have an intermittent problem- the most fun kind!

I'm leaning toward changing the Vehicle Speed Sensor. I realize it could also be a poor contact in a wire connection or a problem with the ECM.

I also notice that the cruise works, but with my foot gently on the gas pedal, I can feel the cruise hunting very slightly back and forth. It's not enough to see any fluctuation in the speedometer.

O.K. guys.....let's see you out do the MB forum!

[steviej]

when the tach went to 7-8k did your daughter say whether or not the engine sound like it was going to explode? What I'm saying is was the engine actually reving that high?

Did she just go through a puddle or was it raining?

Your thought process on the VSS is same as mine as well as the connections. Being almost 10 years old, I would clean all the ground connections that I could find and reconnect with a little dielectric compound.

Just a thought, any codes in memory. The CEL may have been canceled when she the car off and you went back and turned it on. Did she mention a CEL. Have it scanned to see if any are in memory.

steviej

[Ernie]

I trust her when it comes to numbers. There was no rain, so I believe that puddles can be ruled out. She didn't say anything about any abnormal lights coming on. How long will a code stay in there? Any way that I can retrieve a code?

Sorry that I forgot to mention that it is a 95 ES300 (even though it's on the profile)

[SKperformance]

It is definatly a wire or the vss gear it will hunt if the ecu sees a change which is much faster than the speedo shows it as it is slow to move compared to the fast fluctuation of the volatage on the vss.

[Ernie]

so here's the latest scoop!

After I took out two other sensors on the tranny, I found the right one. I knew what it was supposed to look like because there is a picture in the Haynes manual. So now that it's out, I couldn' resist taking the three screws out that hold the top on. There is a small steel ball in the center that was being pushed into the top by a small spring. I'm always gun shy when it comes to taking these trinkets apart, too many times that parts went BBoing!!! And you don't get a chance to see how things were.

The only thing that happened was the little ball was attracted to the magnetic ring that was around the outside of the center portion. That ring is black and actually looked like a carbon ring. It had a split in it, and at first I thought that was a gap that was part of the process. But after further inspection, I found that the ring was cracked in two places. I removed the cir clip from the shaft and removed the shaft. It has a split in the end that the head at the top fits into. That head has two flats that coincide with two flats in that black ring.

With it all put together as it should be, I could turn the drive gear at the bottom, and with my finger on the black ring, hold the ring to keep it from turning. When I didn't hold the black ring, it would turn along with the shaft.

Therefore my intermittent speedo problem.

There may have been a particle of dirt that worked it's way to the black ring and stopped it, and the speedo went to zero.

I talked to my daughter again today to find out for sure how far she drove when the speedo went to zero. She thought it may have been a half an hour. I think that what happens is; if it goes to zero while in some higher gears, it's O.K. until you stop. Then when you take off it never knew that you left the station, and it stays in first gear. And that fits her scenario to a tee. You can also do a search for 8318112040 and see that Nigel had a first gear problem, and after 12 months and a few bucks, he came to the same conclusion. (by the way that ten digit number I told you to search for is the VSS part nmber)

I shopped around and found it at Pleasanton Lexus for $206. The Toyota dealer in Modesto (same part # for Toyota) was $237......go figure...Pleasanton is super Ritzy and it was a Lexus dealer to boot..?? Hey! and then I asked for a Senior discount, and he said O.K., that he would make a note and they give me 10% off. Can't beat that!

Sorry I rang on so long, but I thought it may help, and do take a look at Nigels thread, it's worth your time.

[chuckb]

Glad you found prob. Just curious-did your daughter drive it at 7000-8000RPM because it was stuck in first gear or did the tach just say that. If so, yikes-Looks like you won't have any carbon build up. :D

[Ernie]

knowing my daughter, "Hey dad, those numbers must be there for a reason,LETS USE THEM!"

[SKperformance]

LMAO

THAT IS SO FUNNY