1999 Es 300 Problems

[scientist99]

My check engine light and trac off light came on simultaneously today. At the same time, the engine was stalling when i attempted to go up hills. I was pressing the gas; however, the car was not accelerating at the indicator speedometer reading. Also, the tachometer was "irractic" and never measured zero when the car was completely idle (at a traffic light).

Two weeks ago, I took the car to Good Year (my trusted mechanics) to get it "fixed". The mechanics said that they could not fix the traction control system but they could fix the check engine problem. After a "thorough" diagnostic check, the mechanic came back and told me that sensors needed to be replaced. Total repairs amounted to $1200. They told me to drive for 100 miles to reset the computer, or something like that. Anyway, the lights were off.

But today, the lights came back on. Two days ago, the car was stalling as if it didn't want to accelerate; but after a few miles, it was "normal". It was worse today. I feel like it is the fuel injection; but i was wondering why the check engine light came on and the tachometer never measured zero when i made a complete stop for a few "minutes".

I am taking the car back to the shop tomorrow (March 15), but I was wondering what info i could get from this group.

Thanks so very much

[amf1932]

Also, the tachometer was "irractic" and never measured zero when the car was completely idle (at a traffic light).

The tachometer will always give you a reading when the engine is idling. It'll probably read between 500 and 600 RPM after the engine is up to the normal operating temperature.

[blake918]

Turning off a check engine light does nothing! I fought with this over the summer, and the only way to turn it off is to get the codes and fix the problem. ;) 99, I'd bet the mechanic either unpluged your battery or turned it off with a code reader. Both are pointless because the computer is finding a problem, and it won't go away until it's fixed! What sensors are broken??

[lexusk8]

scientist99,

I've seen this kind of problem show up on a lot of 2nd-gen ES ('97-'01), and most of the time, the source of this problem is a bad charcoal canister. I ran into the exact same situation as you did with my 2001 ES300 last year. CEL and TRAC OFF lights went on at the same time, I took the car to a Lexus dealership ASAP (the next day I believe), the service advisor scanned the codes and found out that the problem was with the charcoal canister. This affects the fuel and exhaust emissions, and could prove to be catastrophic should you keep running your car with a bad CC, which sounds almost surely like your situation when driving up hills :o

Anyway, I got that replaced for roughly half of the original quote (my extended warranty doesn't cover emissions-related repairs). Many months later, no problems with the CC and haven't gotten any warning lights. I still retain my Lexus work receipt (good for 1 year) should the same problem occur again.

Hope this info helps out :)

[rmalghan]

lexusk8:

would you mind sharing how much you paid for your CC replacement?

Thanks

[lexusk8]

lexusk8:

would you mind sharing how much you paid for your CC replacement?

Thanks

Not a problem :D Originally the price tag was going to be around $575 for parts and labor, but after some persuasion, I got the service dept to charge me just for labor, which ended being about $240, plus tax. They gave me a free loaner for 2 days (it was a '97 ES unfortunately, no '02 or '03 ES loaners at that time)

[HMac]

My 2001 ES had the same problem (check engine & track off). I brought it in 3 or 4 times (initially under warranty) , they changed the gas cap the first or second time (and charged me!) and then about the 4th time realized it was the charcoal cannister. I can't remember all the details about the pricing (b/c I had service done and a slight upholstery fix done also), but I'm pretty sure they didn't charge me for the charcoal cannister b/c the first time I brought it in it was under warranty.

Why engineers think it's a good idea to have the engine light go on when the gas cap is loose (also happens on my Honda Odyssey) is beyond me. How about a "loose gas cap" Light?!