denis5000 Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 My ls400 has a problem. it hesitates when accelerating, has an erratic idle, stalls and shuts down. Dealer said i need new ECU ECM unit... said it was gonna be like $1100... can't afford that... I think i would be able to fix it with proper guide lines... Can anyone help me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banshee365 Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 The ECU is not a rebuildable item as it is solid state. It is only programable/flashable with the right equipment. I'm afraid, if that diagnosis is correct, that you have to replace the part. The good news is that it is generally easy to replace compared to many other jobs that the LS requires during it's life. Toyota estimates the job to take .8 hours or 48 minutes. We need more info on your car. Shall we guess that it is either a '95 or '96? Does the car start back up after it dies from a stop and idles fine after that or does it still idle bad after the shutdown? Does it alway's shut down at a stop or only after highway driving? Give us some more details. But to answer your questions directly. No, you cannot "Rebuild" your ECU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bali26 Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 ...and no you cannot trust the dealer either! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKperformance Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 You could probably not rebuilt your ecm but a search should provide some results of others who have sent theirs away to get fixed which resolved the idle issues as well as others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denis5000 Posted June 13, 2009 Author Share Posted June 13, 2009 The ECU is not a rebuildable item as it is solid state. It is only programable/flashable with the right equipment. I'm afraid, if that diagnosis is correct, that you have to replace the part. The good news is that it is generally easy to replace compared to many other jobs that the LS requires during it's life. Toyota estimates the job to take .8 hours or 48 minutes. We need more info on your car. Shall we guess that it is either a '95 or '96? Does the car start back up after it dies from a stop and idles fine after that or does it still idle bad after the shutdown? Does it alway's shut down at a stop or only after highway driving? Give us some more details.But to answer your questions directly. No, you cannot "Rebuild" your ECU. Do you know what the "right equipment" would be? I think you are correct about "flashing" the thing... i found the same type of comments on other forums. Do you think it's strictly soft issue? I have a friend who sent his ECU out with the same issue, and it came back totally fixed, his problems is totally gone, that's why i assumed that there is a fix. it is 95, the car always starts back and idles fine, no problem. It usually happens after hard braking, only after frankly long operation (if you just start it up, take off, and brake hard it doesn't happen). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banshee365 Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 On page 1 there is a thread linking to another great thread on this issue. You'll either need a new ECM with the correct updated part number or send yours off to be re-flashed. All of the info you'll need is in this link on page 1: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=55844 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglesgreen Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 On page 1 there is a thread linking to another great thread on this issue. You'll either need a new ECM with the correct updated part number or send yours off to be re-flashed. All of the info you'll need is in this link on page 1:http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=55844 Okay, maybe I'm just mechanically declined, but the posts in the link you gave suggest a NEW ECM versus re-flashing. Was told by Toyota dealer mechs (no Lexus dealer locally) that ECM is dead. They wanted $1500 for parts and labor. Suggestions as to where I can get a new ECM for a decent price? I'm trying not to give up completely on my beloved 94 LS400, even though it's currently needs more than $4k worth of repairs (as estimated by aforementioned mechanics). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Von Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 One more time, take it out and send it to ATE/ASI in Tenn. $99.00 and they pay for return shipping. 1-866-983-6688. My 93 hasn't missed a beat for 2000 miles since their work. Sure beats the dealer. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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