"check Vsc" Error

[splacke]

I am a new poster to this board and a new Lexus owner (less than 1 year). Yesterday, while driving, my '99 LS 400 would not accelerate and the check engine light came on as well as a message "Check VSC". The engine was idling fine, but would not speed up when I pressed the accellerator unless I pushed it into passing gear (that's the way I got it home). Any ideas would be helpful.

[VMF]

get an error code. might be a lot of reasons why it happend. i'm sure ur car is not accelerating because ECU is not letting it. and its not letting it accelerate because it got some data from the sensors and it has some error codes for you.

[imatigerfan]

I have a 98 LS 400, 120K miles, with the VSC sensor (located at the CG of the car roughly under the front dashboard) that has started to go bad.

It's seems to be most prone to taking itself offline in stop-n-go traffic.

Turning the car on and off resets the problem until the next time it is tripped.

I have been in icy conditions since the problem started and can confirm that VSC is still working (when it's not offline).

The Lexus dealer says the sensor needs to be replaced. Don't know the cost.

-d

[bartkat]

Not sure about the VSC, but a bad Mass Airflow Sensor in the intake will cause a car to either only idle, or run at wide open throttle. Sometimes the sensor is just dirty or has oil on it and can be cleaned with some electronic parts cleaner. It's worth a try as it's easy to find and easy to clean.

[Lextreme]

How does your car idle? If it idle fine, most likely its not IVC. I had IVC problem and my car idle at 1600 rpm. It got stuck closed.

[santiagol]

In my 99 LS400, any time the battery is disconnected the VSC must be recalibrated. Connect the battery and turn the ignition key to ON while keeping the car perfectly still and level until the VSC check light goes off. This takes about 15 seconds, no longer than a minute. If this does not work after a few attempts, your VSC is defective.