97 300Es Ecu Repair

[DougHend]

My parents have a 97 300ES. It started running roughly and the Lexus dealer told thyem it needs a new computer -- only $2000. I talked to the service manager and was told the ECU has leaky capacitors. I see plenty of shops that advertise online to do it -- and plenty of poor reviews and tales of woe from dissatisfied customers. I will appreciate advice from forum members about a good place to send the ECU for repair. Thanks!

[lexis lexus]

Hi,

I have a 94 es 300 w/ no overdrive and had supportive opinions by both a transmission shop and an electrical shop that my computer "might be bad." I explored the options of new ($700+), refurbed ($200-$300)and used ($20-$200). I decided the used route was the most attractive in terms of price (pull-a-part price $20), especially for a "lets try it and see if this fixes it.." approach.

It took several months of hunting for the right one (have to read the part number off the side of the box) on ebay and in the local yards. I got quite good at extracting the computer from wrecked es300's and I finally landed one in the yard. 10 minutes later ..... overdrive!

I even found a $10 bill behind the glove box when I got it!

One of the easiest repairs I've made, but took a lot of patience.

LL