Trac Light Came On. Will It Be 'remembered'?

CanadaCraig · September 30, 2005

Hi Guys!! :)

I hope everyone is OK.

My TRAC light came on and stayed on all day yesterday. But now it's off. I have an appointment to bring my car in on Monday. Does it matter if the TRAC light does not come on for the service guys to see? Does the engine computer [or whatever] 'remember' that the light came on? [and WHY it came on]

My car is still not performing as it should - but I'm slightly hopeful. The dealer finally noticed what I've been noticing all along. [that my car is not performing as well as it ought to] So MAYBE they'll be able to fix it - finally. [sheesh - it's been almost 2 years]

Also my front tires are [so I've been told] 'cupping'. I've rotated the tires as I should and have checked the air pressure on a regular basis. Any reason a tire should 'cup'? [and what exactly IS a 'cupping' tire? lol]

Thanks,

Craig!! :)

Lexusfreak · September 30, 2005

Hi Guys!! :)
I hope everyone is OK.

My TRAC light came on and stayed on all day yesterday. But now it's off. I have an appointment to bring my car in on Monday. Does it matter if the TRAC light does not come on for the service guys to see? Does the engine computer [or whatever] 'remember' that the light came on? [and WHY it came on]

My car is still not performing as it should - but I'm slightly hopeful. The dealer finally noticed what I've been noticing all along. [that my car is not performing as well as it ought to] So MAYBE they'll be able to fix it - finally. [sheesh - it's been almost 2 years]

Also my front tires are [so I've been told] 'cupping'. I've rotated the tires as I should and have checked the air pressure on a regular basis. Any reason a tire should 'cup'? [and what exactly IS a 'cupping' tire? lol]

Thanks,

Craig!! :)

←

Hi Craig! :)

The code for the track light should be stored in the cars computer yes, so the dealer will be able to get the code & diagnose the problem.

What tires are your currently running on your LS & are all 4 the same & what size? Last time you had them balanced & a 4 wheel alignment? How many kilometers on them? B)

:cheers:

CanadaCraig · September 30, 2005

Hi Lexusfreak!! :)

Thank you for responding. I really appreciate it.

It's good to know that the engine computer will most likely 'remember' that the TRAC light came on.

As for the tires - they are the same ones that I put on the car in January of 2004. [or was it February?] That was the last time they were balanced. A day or two after that - the car had its one and only [since I have owned it] 4-wheel alignment. They have been rotated once at or near 20,000 km's of the just under 40,000 km's that they have been on the car. The tires are Bridgestone Turanza LS-V's. My Lexus service manager has always thought that the Turanza's had a far too aggressive tread pattern for my LS. He believes the vibration in the car is caused by the tires. He might be right after all.

I'm suddenly struck by the overwhelming desire to go 'oops'. Should wheel alignments and tire balancing have been done more frequently?

Thanks for your help.

Craig!! :)

blake918 · September 30, 2005

I'm suddenly struck by the overwhelming desire to go 'oops'. Should wheel alignments and tire balancing have been done more frequently?

←

I only balance and rotate as needed, and since I'm running on quality tires (Michie MXV4+), "as needed" for me has been 1 balance/rotate in almost 70,000 KMs. I've never had an alignment done either. I've never had a balance, alignment, or wear problem, so I don't even bother with that stuff!

It's good to see you back on here Craig! ;)

wwest · October 1, 2005

First, I only run the summer only version of the turanzas, very quiet.

Second, assuming your 93 is like my 92 the trac system, unlike later models, is completely separate from the ABS system.

Each time you apply the brakes the TRAC ECU checks the available brake fluid pressure at the TRAC accumulator (nitrgen charged, 3000PSI) and if it's not high enough it restarts the TRAC pumpmotor.

If it has to restart the pumpmotor ten times in a row then the presumption is that something has failed and it illuminates the diagnostic indication.

If the system passes selfcheck the next time you start the engine the indication will be off, but remembered.

The dealer will most typicially recommend a full flush of the brake system, of which I agree. The problem is that with a car this old most techies don't know about the extra bleed valves at the ABS pump and another at the TRAC accumulator.

Lexusfreak · October 1, 2005

As for the tires - they are the same ones that I put on the car in January of 2004. [or was it February?] That was the last time they were balanced. A day or two after that - the car had its one and only [since I have owned it] 4-wheel alignment. They have been rotated once at or near 20,000 km's of the just under 40,000 km's that they have been on the car. The tires are Bridgestone Turanza LS-V's. My Lexus service manager has always thought that the Turanza's had a far too aggressive tread pattern for my LS. He believes the vibration in the car is caused by the tires. He might be right after all.
I'm suddenly struck by the overwhelming desire to go 'oops'. Should wheel alignments and tire balancing have been done more frequently?

Thanks for your help.

Craig!! :)

←

Well if the original 4 wheel alignment was done properly, correnct air pressure maintained & no curb hits or really nasty potholes were struk, I don't see the alignment or balancing being the problem. (Are those LS-V tires 'directional' or uni-directional?) :unsure:

Also I think the rotations should be done every 10,000 kms, not 20,000 to be honest. B)

:cheers:

RCRFAN3 · October 2, 2005

As for the tires - they are the same ones that I put on the car in January of 2004. [or was it February?] That was the last time they were balanced. A day or two after that - the car had its one and only [since I have owned it] 4-wheel alignment. They have been rotated once at or near 20,000 km's of the just under 40,000 km's that they have been on the car. The tires are Bridgestone Turanza LS-V's. My Lexus service manager has always thought that the Turanza's had a far too aggressive tread pattern for my LS. He believes the vibration in the car is caused by the tires. He might be right after all.
I'm suddenly struck by the overwhelming desire to go 'oops'. Should wheel alignments and tire balancing have been done more frequently?

Thanks for your help.

Craig!! :)

←

Well if the original 4 wheel alignment was done properly, correnct air pressure maintained & no curb hits or really nasty potholes were struk, I don't see the alignment or balancing being the problem. (Are those LS-V tires 'directional' or uni-directional?)

Also I think the rotations should be done every 10,000 kms, not 20,000 to be honest. B)

←

RCRFAN3 · October 2, 2005

Hey Blake, I have the Turanza LSV ON MY 98 LS and they have 35k on them now and they are making more and more road noise than ever. How do you like the mxv+ tires?

blake918 · October 2, 2005

RC, love doesn't even begin to describe my feelings towards the MXV4+ tires that are on my LS! :lol: This is just my $.02, but I firmly believe that every car "wears" tires differently from each other. The LS is just meant for these tires. I've got about 50k miles on these tires, and they perform like new ones. Most impressive is that I've balanced them once in 40k miles, and they still have half tread left at 50k miles (I live on the interstate though! lol). They're smooth, quiet, and I've never had a problem with them in the rain. I can't recommend them highly enough for the LS series! When these are bald in 40k-50k, I'll buy the exact same tires again if they are still in production!