95 Lexus Es300 Abs Light Airbag Light

[igbeserk]

Hey I'm trying to see how can i get rid of my abs light in my car and my airbag light. they always come on and stay on. any help would be much appreciated. also i'm getting a knock sensor and o2 sensor check engine light, i replaced both but they still come on would changing the ECu resolve that? supposedly it can affect it i hear.

[BoaR]

there are a bunch of things that can set off the airbag light actually. removing the cluster guage back wires (when redoing the needles or whatever), the seat sensor wires, the seatbelt explosive patch sensor wiring (when replacing the belts completely) - all set off the light if someone did not disconnect the battery first.

thats just off the top of my head for example pretty sure there are more things that would set it off too. from what i hear, you cannot clear it yourself, dealer has to to the tune of 1.5k+ or something.

as for the other light hmm, you are talking about the light with the (!) right? might be the parking brake, wheel sensors, or check your brake fluid levels. it sets off the light if its a hair below the proper level.

o2 sensor is a busted/dirty/dead ... o2 sensor lol. 3 of them on the car if i recall correctly for the 95, and the one near the cat is usually the problem. the hot pipe fries it / soots it up . that was the issue with mine when i had that year of car.

I doubt changing the ecu would even do anything tbh. if there is a bad sensor, then it will send the code to the "new" ecu regardless of how many you put in there.

[igbeserk]

there are a bunch of things that can set off the airbag light actually. removing the cluster guage back wires (when redoing the needles or whatever), the seat sensor wires, the seatbelt explosive patch sensor wiring (when replacing the belts completely) - all set off the light if someone did not disconnect the battery first.

thats just off the top of my head for example pretty sure there are more things that would set it off too. from what i hear, you cannot clear it yourself, dealer has to to the tune of 1.5k+ or something.

as for the other light hmm, you are talking about the light with the (!) right? might be the parking brake, wheel sensors, or check your brake fluid levels. it sets off the light if its a hair below the proper level.

o2 sensor is a busted/dirty/dead ... o2 sensor lol. 3 of them on the car if i recall correctly for the 95, and the one near the cat is usually the problem. the hot pipe fries it / soots it up . that was the issue with mine when i had that year of car.

I doubt changing the ecu would even do anything tbh. if there is a bad sensor, then it will send the code to the "new" ecu regardless of how many you put in there.

thanks for responding. my car doesn't have a (!) light. just a light that says ABS. I'll look at the sensors around the wires and see if they need to be cleaned or something i do need new struts maybe that could be causing it also? for the airbag yea that seems to be a lot of things that can set it off :-/ i saw a tutorial for resetting it for an sc400 and they claimed the es300 could be done too but the placement for those connectors were on the other side of the car near the ECU area. Um i feel like i've tried all my other options for the O2 sensor because I had cleaned it first, then i had replaced it it was a splice job with a bosch one but followed it to the t... one mechanic told me i probably need one directly from toyota but i don't know. I also had replaced the knock sensor and the error code still appears. I was hoping changing the ECU would resolve the issue because one mechanic told me they can go bad and of course they're supposed to monitor the engine and replacing it would probably get rid of both those codes. I think the car only has two O2 sensors i've checked in the haynes manual and other places and only seems to be 2 before the cat and after.

Guess one of these days i'll have to take it to a lexus dealership and see if they can get rid of these problems for me. hopefully not too expensive :-/

[BoaR]

Ah sorry misread that abs thing.

been a while since i had a '95 there.. but i just looked in my 97+ hanes for fun, seems on the v6 there are 2x O2's and included in that are 2x h(eated)O2 sensors. the hO2's are found on the driver door floor moulding, and the one near the cat. just didnt know they prefixed it with 'heated". ya learn something every day lol. the 2 others are engine bay, in front and back of the manifold. It's not the same year of car which makes it difficult off the top of my head, but might be a good place to start looking for the "extra 2" in case the 95 has them too.

as for the abs light. there is literally 2 pages of error code tables in the book... ishh.. could literally be anthing. if you can pull the code then it would help greatly can read it off the list.. on a side note i see 2 entries for actual ecu abs error codes, so you were right. could be a slim chance of that too. but there are tons of other error codes that would probably happen first.

[igbeserk]

Hey, yea i'm hoping the slim chance is correct because then if it's not that's more work into resolving the knock sensor and O2 sensor check engine light. what would i need to read off the abs/airbag light error code? obd2 doesn't work for it unless i need one of those fancy onces you hook up to the computer? My ECU came in today but was raining so i'll do it Saturday. This car only has two. i tried looking for more before. :-/

[BoaR]

pretty sure obd2 is for 96+ only.

obd1 ???

or just local garage it and pay the guy a few bucks to read the codes... lol

or you can do the classic rental and return. canadiantire or something. buy a scanner. use it. return it etc etc... gotta love 14 day no questions asked guarantee lol ;)

really before swapping ecu's or anything i'de always try to get the codes off the car. regardless of the problem. on the off chance its 1/5th the price of the ecu or something to fix.

on a side note any good scanner worth it's weight will read all the codes. airbag included. only the cheap ones skimp on that.

[igbeserk]

well my car does have an OBDII port. supposedly ES300's later 95 models had those implemented. I've used my friends scanner on it and reset the codes also. I only get two error codes now initially i got 4 one was O2 sensor 0135 Knock sensor 0325 i believe, and the speed sensors in the tranny. but once i reset it only those 2 codes come back the knock and o2. I have already replaced the knock sensor, and the O2 sensor. cleared the codes and they come back within 24 hours. So that's why i'm trying the ECU since i've replaced both sensors already and used the OBDII scanner to check the codes. I don't get any codes for the ABS nor the airbag light. I guess I would need something else for that or a better OBDII scanner. that would reall help though. i'll look into buying another. at least with the ECU i can return it if the codes come back :-/

[lexis lexus]

Have you replaced the wiring harness to the knock sensors?

I've read bad harness is what's usually the cause of the knock sensor codes. I'm struggling w/ this right now w/ my '94 (getting both knock sensor codes and 02 sensor code -- they seem to go together). The engineering is bad in that the knock sensors are placed in the valley beneath the (lower) intake manifold, and this mini blast furnace roasts the wiring to a crisp. I've been into a few at the junk yard and all the wiring/connectors just break when you touch them, not to mention trying to disconnect. I took several of the yard knock sensors and made a flange to mount one to the intake manifold, and connected it up to the harness below cylinder 5, but still got both ks codes. I just bought a harness ($35 at Toyota), and used that for the add on knocksensor connection, but that didn't work either. I traced the wiring back to the computer from the below cyl 5 connector and it was good. So now not sure where to go. May just have to bite the bullet and tear down the intake side, replace the knock sensors (new), plugs while I'm there, and what ever wiring crumbles. In the '94, there's even a radiator hose that runs through that valley and I'm sure it would be good to replace that as well as the thermostat (having episodic overheating). Of course it could be the computer, but that doesn't seem right, I mean the car would not run at all if the computer was down? Everything else is working well.

BTW, my '94 has a obd II port.

Lexis

[BoaR]

Hmm good to know LL, thanks for the info. as for the obd2 ports... i didnt know if the 2nd gen's had them or not. really thought it was pretty much 96+ for almost all the cars. again good to know for the future!

your 2 codes are :

0135 - Heated O2 sensor (hO2)circuit malfunction, bank 1 sensor 1 ~ open/short in hO2 curcuit / hO2 malfunction / PCM malfunction

0325 - Knock sensor 1 circuit malfunction, bank 1 ~ open/short in knock sensor 1 circuit / loose sensor / PCM malfunction

the PCM is the Powertrain Control Module. If i recall correctly it was driver side fusebox area on 4cylinder models, but on the v6's they moved it to the glovebox side, left side. so like if you are staring straight at the glovebox "hole" it will be behind it on the left, stuck where the radio headunit is. (( side note i know sometimes they refer to this as the "ECM" in older models. not sure in your case)

-------

lol knew you had regular and heated O2 sensors

seeing as you already have a new ECU might as well pop it in. but imma side with LL on this one, the code have circuit malfunctions written first... and he is having the exact same problems. regardless, it's all narrowed down for you haha!

as for the airbag codes not being read, the scanner needs to be "very good" to grab those codes, mentioned that. the cheap ones just flat out cant/dont. i'de just cozy up to someone at the dealership or pay them a few bucks to pull every code on the car. jot them down while you are talking to him about the "estimate" for reference. and say you are going to book an appointment for next week hehe.

Best of luck tho, i remember how cramped the friggin engine bay was on the 95... total pain in the !Removed! lol.

NINJA EDIT: was wondering if you had the hanes manual for the abs codes by any chance. in mine here it says you can get the code without the OBD machine by jumpering the ports and turning the key to on and watching the abs light flash you "sos" type numbers. before trying this just wanted you to be sure it's the same for both years of the car... dont want you blowing anything up lol.

(page 9-3) Here it says : turn car completely off (engine not running, no electrical on). on the nippondenso systems you need to first remove the short pin out of the DLC1 before continuing (DLC1 port is engine bay usually left side with a snap cover.). Then for either of the nippo or bosch systems you do the following:

use a jumper wire or a paper clip on the terminals E1 + Tc on the DLC1 or DLC2 port (not both), or jumper the Tc + CG terminals of the DLC3 port. turn the key to ON position (engine not running) and watch the ABS light.

it is supposed to flash the first digit(s) of the code, pause for 1.5seconds, flash the second digit(s). abs codes only have 2 code numbers btw. so for instance code 37 is (3 flashes, pause, 7 flashes).

If there is more than one code, it will wait 2.5 seconds before moving on to flash the next code so forth and so on. if there are no error codes, the abs light will flash non stop ever 0.5 seconds.

(oh and if the light turns solid ON, it's one of the ECU busted codes not an error!)

if you try this post up the codes for fun. would be interesting to know what the error was

[igbeserk]

I do have a Hanes manual sometimes i forget i have it even though i use it all the time. yea i've teared Down my manifold LL with a friend to replace the knock sensor with a new one. but i didn't replace the wiring harness. took us 5 hours to take it out and put it back together. the angle the knock sensor was in was a pain to remove had to go buy an extra tool for it. But yea still got the code, might be my wiring harness but i'm too lazy to tear it down again and do that part :-/ but if i must i guess i'll try. so i have 4 O2 sensors? and the code i got for the one thats right in front of the engine and i've replaced that. so i don't know. seems like these error codes aren't going away no matter what I and LL have done :-/ but i'll try reading the abs code today. thanks BoAr your help is really appreciated and thanks for the info also LL.

[lexis lexus]

I haven't tackled the tear down yet to replace the knock sensors (I've got both codes showing), waiting for cooler weather... and reasonably priced new knock sensors on ebay. But my experience in the yanker yard on two of these jobs isn't too bad. The problems I'm concerned about have to do w/ brittle wiring and connectors to the plugs breaking w/ even soft touch, and I haven't been able to get the fuel injector rails off w/out bending them, despite the injectors themselves coming out easily.

Trying to get the sensors out of the first ES 300 (at the yanker yard)was hard as I didnt' bring a big enough socket w/ me and had to use water pump pliers and a whole lot of leverage (I think I cracked a rib doing that!) Next one I was prepared w/ an big 1/2 inch drive and 1" socket which worked fine.

I can't believe I have 6 bad knock sensors (two original, 4 from the yard), and am mostly convinced it's a wiring problem, but for the life of me I can't figure out why external mounted knock sensor and a new wiring harness doesn't work.

Think I may try to chase the wires back to the computer -- again -- and may try to replace the computer as I think I can get one for about $15 if it's still in the yard (not worth $90 though just on a low probability guess).

I'm wondering if the knock sensor lines go thru the DLC1.

The pdf factory service manual I have (real pita to use as it has NO index) indicates only 2 o2 sensors one each for the front and back exhaust manifolds. Haven't crawled up under to see if there's one on the CAT. And I don't really understand why an 02 sensor would be in the rocker panel??? The heated circuit issue I thought has to do with the fact that these o2 sensors have a 2nd wire which heats up the sensor initially during warm up to get good readings right away (as it was once explained to me....). I know from my experience in the pick and pull, the 93 or 92 02 sensors have only 1 wire and no heater "circuit."

My obdII reader is an interface w/ my notebook computer. The freeware that came with it doesn't give me more than the basics and no abs read. Is there some software out there that would do it, or is the interface the limiting factor? I've heard that w/ sophisticated factory readers, all sorts of things can be read/done to adjust car computer settings, and why not? Be real neat to be able to direct the computer to get out of default mode even if the knock sensor circuits are throwing codes. Between losing overdrive as a result of ks codes, and the fuel enrichment due to the o2 sensor code, my MPGs suck right now (about 20, mixed).

Is there a Haynes for the '94? I can only find one for 97 and up...

LL

[igbeserk]

LL do you actually have a lexus hanes manual? the one i have is a toyota camry hanes manual for models 92-96 i believe. and since those models for those years use the same engine as the 95 ES300 and so do the Toyota Avalons. so i go off of that manual everything i've looked into that manual for has matched up with my car. and you said you can't seem to take the rail off without bending? i'm not so savvy in the mechanic terms but me and my friend didn't have much problems taking apart the manifold the rail and it's injectors i believe we left alone and shifted it to the side. unless our engines are different or i'm thinking about something else. you should be able to just move it out of the way.

I didn't take the best pictures sorry but basically when we got to a certain point not everything needed to be taken apart just needed to be shifted out of the way.

man i really don't feel like doing the wiring harness :-/ i should've done it at the time but i'm learning as i go along.

[BoaR]

nice info guys. thanks. :)

LL the haynes manual (and the isbn # ) is this for your year of car -> http://www.amazon.com/dp/1563923513/?tag=rbookshop-20

as for your computer version of the scanner software...iver never used PC based, only handheld... from what I hear the Eqqus software does it all (abs, airbag, etc). to the tune of 500 bucks. google and a torrent might help *cough* lol. ;)

Igb ~ go jumper up the port and get those codes, haha. im curious!

[igbeserk]

replaced the ECM and chek engine light still came on dammit :-/ guess i'll return it and go back to the drawing board blah.

BoAr i tried the diagnostics thing you said. couldn't find it in my manual but i just followed what you posted. i got two error codes 31 and 36. i don't know what they mean though LOL.

[BoaR]

lol the ABS codes should be in the book also, but here is what it says:

31 - sensor signal problem - right front wheel

36 - open circuit - left front speed sensor or circuit

for both it says : check the speed sensor, sensor rotors, wire harness, connectors and the speed sensor.

usually they bust when chaning the brakes and the wire gets ripped out/damaged by accident (shock replacement damages them too btw if they are not disconnected first). happens a lot actually.

might be the clip was knocked loose while doing the brakes. i'de check that first, now that you know exactly where to look!

the front sensors should be mounted on the front steering knuckle.

shame about the ecu, it's probably the harness or wiring like LL stated. :(

[igbeserk]

i saw this link http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=58055

if i follow that under abs my two codes are.

31 - Front right wheel speed sensor signal malfunction

36 - Open circuit in front right or rear left speed sensor circuit

also i'm seeing these tutorials on resetting the airbag light on LS400's do you know if this could work for me since i should have the TC and AB under the diagnostics port. but i don't know. don't want to risk it.

http://www.lextreme.com/airbaglight.html

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/lighting/airbaglight.html

[BoaR]

hehe i posted at the same time as you. page 1 last post for the info. ;)

I would not attempt the reset steps from the LS on the car. my friend just bought a 95 LS in excellent condition. we were oggling over everything the other day. changing a few things here and there. fixing this and that. its a very different beast than other lexus' in the family.

there isnt even a haynes manual for the LS until something like 2000. plain beast of a car to get info about. there is no base for the car... like the camry is the the ES base. making it very hard and very annoying to fix problems.

this is the main reason im very very hesitant to even attempt some of the things from my car on his, or vice versa.... it might work fine - but it might turn into a catastrophy.

not worth blowing out the entire circuit when jumpering "testing". now, if my car was dying and it was a last ditch - i'de be the first one in line making that wiring to jumper it. cuz there would be nothing to lose if it fried something. not the case for you bud! haha.

maybe someone else can shed some light on the subject. but I advise agasint it. i would try to find some way to get the airbag codes to see what's up first. even if that means paying 50 bucks to the garage guy to read them. for all you know it could mean your airbag is dead or yourseatbelt device has failed ~ not fun in an accident when you die.... =/

[igbeserk]

yea true guess i'll definitely have to take it somewhere. see if my mechanic can get me the codes. i think both of the ABS codes are pointing to my right front tire area. since 36 claims it could be left rear or front right. and the front right already has the 31 code. be nice to get rid of that. abs and check engine ah a dream it would be lol.

[BoaR]

36 is front left. the left rear would be 34 on the ES.

the difference between the codes ranging from 31 to 34 is that it says to check: speed sensor, sensor rotors, harness, connector. the 35/36 are the two that omit the sensor rotor verification, but keep the other 3 verifications.

By all means fix the right first, then re-check. good luck !

[lexis lexus]

LL do you actually have a lexus hanes manual? the one i have is a toyota camry hanes manual for models 92-96 i believe. and since those models for those years use the same engine as the 95 ES300 and so do the Toyota Avalons. so i go off of that manual everything i've looked into that manual for has matched up with my car. and you said you can't seem to take the rail off without bending? i'm not so savvy in the mechanic terms but me and my friend didn't have much problems taking apart the manifold the rail and it's injectors i believe we left alone and shifted it to the side. unless our engines are different or i'm thinking about something else. you should be able to just move it out of the way.

I didn't take the best pictures sorry but basically when we got to a certain point not everything needed to be taken apart just needed to be shifted out of the way.

man i really don't feel like doing the wiring harness :-/ i should've done it at the time but i'm learning as i go along.

IGB,

Great pix. I now understand why you may have had trouble getting the knock sensors out, if you didn't actually take the manifold off -- but that does reduce the number of steps and reduces stress on electrics. I'm gonna try that when I get down in it.

I've seen the camry manual, but am concerned that it covers at least 2 engines (3mz and 1mz), and many year by year mods. I see in your pix you have the same set up w/ the thermostat on the driver's side and that micky ficky water hose going through the valley over to the water fill housing, just as on my '94. But my 92-96 pdf "factory" service manual doesn't even hint that this might be the way it's set up, showing tstat on pass side, just next to the water pump. Just an example of what could be missed.

LL

[lexis lexus]

nice info guys. thanks. :)

LL the haynes manual (and the isbn # ) is this for your year of car -> http://www.amazon.com/dp/1563923513/?tag=rbookshop-20

as for your computer version of the scanner software...iver never used PC based, only handheld... from what I hear the Eqqus software does it all (abs, airbag, etc). to the tune of 500 bucks. google and a torrent might help *cough* lol. ;)

Igb ~ go jumper up the port and get those codes, haha. im curious!

B, link didn't work, but went on amazon and they do have a 94 FSM for about $80 which is a lot less than the typical 130-150 range I've seen. Still a bit pricy. No lexus es 300 haynes. But I did just snag a used 92-96 camry haynes for cheap, thanks to IGB. I'm gonna go "look" at/for Eqqus...

LL

[igbeserk]

well LL me and my friend forgot to take a bunch of pictures but the railing and manifold were out of the way had plenty of space to access both knock sensors, the only thing we didn't do was remove the hose that was going across the manifold in between both knock sensors if we did it probably would have helped. but the knock sensors are at an awkward angle that you should easily be able to use pliers on but we couldn't get that to work so had to go buy a big wrench or something if i recall correctly. but i'm sure if we had removed everything it would've been slightly easier but in turn take us longer.

[BoaR]

B, link didn't work, but went on amazon and they do have a 94 FSM for about $80 which is a lot less than the typical 130-150 range I've seen. Still a bit pricy. No lexus es 300 haynes. But I did just snag a used 92-96 camry haynes for cheap, thanks to IGB. I'm gonna go "look" at/for Eqqus...

LL

EWWWW gross. dude lol. the haynes manuals are like 20 bucks at any auto store. (canadian tire here for instance) and nowhere near 80+ bucks

the name you should look for is

_{Haynes Haynes Toyota Camry Automotive Repair Manual: All Toyota Camry and Avalon Models 1992 thru 1996}

_{ISBN-10: 1563923513 or ISBN-13: 978-1563923517}

there is none for "lexus" specifically as it is a camry base for the ES.

another side note... kijiji search usually pops up haynes for 10 bucks or less. thats where i grabbed mine

but im glad you finally found one. just hope you didnt get shammed for it in the process

[igbeserk]

you can get those books at autozone. i don't know if you have one or not.