Hood & Engine Troubles

[GNG-PLCS]

Hey,

I just recently purchased my uncle's 1999 Lexus GS300, have only had it 4 days and I absolutely love it, but have noticed these issues in the last 3 days. One of the front o2 sensors is causing the check engine light to come on (CODE # PO135), so I went to investigate under the hood and realized the hood latch inside the car is missing the cable to pop the hood... Is there anyway I can uplock the hood other than that? how can I fix this without going to a shop? anyone know where I can get a sensor and how long do I have before it needs to be fixed, the dealership wants 110 plus labor, the shop wants 99 plus labor... Also I have been looking for a mechanics service manual without any luck, if you have any insight on these issues it would be much appreciated.

thanks

[steve2006]

Hi and welcome to the LOC.

The cable is unlikely to be completely missing it's probably the inner cable that has broken.There is no easy way of releasing the hood it is a case of either trying to activate the latch thru the front grille or from under the car with a bar or screwdriver,that is assuming the latch hasn't seized which caused the cable to break in the 1st place.

It does make me wonder how long it has been broken and therefore how long it's been since the levels were checked or the car serviced?

Lexus engine are a bit sensitive to O2 sensors and OEM ones are the best to go for some aftermarket ones will not work correctly causing another error code or you will have to splice the wiring to fit them, get it done as soon as possible as a rich fuel mixture can damage the catalytic convertor adding more expense.

If you look on ebay.com you will sometimes see original copies of the workshop manuals,not cheap but they are the real thing.A cheaper option is to buy a copy (quality varies so chose carefully) on CD ROM for a few $$$,all you have to do is either print the whole lot or just the sections you need.

Even cheaper click on the link below and use the search facility.

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=25931

Also have a good read thru this lot

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=60901

[GNG-PLCS]

Hi and welcome to the LOC.

The cable is unlikely to be completely missing it's probably the inner cable that has broken.There is no easy way of releasing the hood it is a case of either trying to activate the latch thru the front grille or from under the car with a bar or screwdriver,that is assuming the latch hasn't seized which caused the cable to break in the 1st place.

It does make me wonder how long it has been broken and therefore how long it's been since the levels were checked or the car serviced?

Lexus engine are a bit sensitive to O2 sensors and OEM ones are the best to go for some aftermarket ones will not work correctly causing another error code or you will have to splice the wiring to fit them, get it done as soon as possible as a rich fuel mixture can damage the catalytic convertor adding more expense.

If you look on ebay.com you will sometimes see original copies of the workshop manuals,not cheap but they are the real thing.A cheaper option is to buy a copy (quality varies so chose carefully) on CD ROM for a few $$$,all you have to do is either print the whole lot or just the sections you need.

Even cheaper click on the link below and use the search facility.

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=25931

Also have a good read thru this lot

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=60901

Thanks, this helps alot, the vehicle was just recently serviced Dec. 22nd (water pump, timing belt, transmission flush, oil change etc.) found the reciepts in the car, also called my uncle and he said trunk latch worked just fine before they dropped it off, im thinking the actual latch may have been frozen up during the winter storm I drove home in the first day I got it, and when I tried popping the hood, it could have caused the wire to snap,either way im going to get both of them fixed shorty. Thanks again

GTM