Vsc Warning Light Stuck On & I Know What Did It! (2004 Gs)

[GS430SE]

I'm in the UK. But the experts are in the USA, mostly, so I'm posting here. :-)

A few days ago the wife returned the 2004 GS430 to the driveway with hardly any fuel in the tank (for her "reasons", one should ask a shrink, not a mechanic).

I thought I could make it to the nearest petrol station, but I was wrong - ran out of petrol half way.

It glided to a halt slightly further from the curb than I'd have liked. Attempts to start the engine again sputtered into nothingness - it had probably been running on vapour for the last few seconds.

So I put it into neutral and gently (was going to be gently, as I was alone and the car is heavy) pushed it for a couple of yards. Nothing eventful at all.

Having bought some fuel and brought it back, restarted the car.

As usual when switching on the ignition, a lot of warning lights are illuminated, and in a second or two they all go off. This is what happened...

... but then 3-4 seconds later the amber "VSC (Vehicle Stability Control) and VSC OFF warning lights came on on the dashboard display, and stayed on.

Now it does this every time I start the car.

Pressing the VSC OFF button (near the ECT/Snow controls) changes nothing; switching the engine on and off does nothing.

The "VSC" light means a problem with the VSC; "VSC OFF" means you have switched it off. As I understand from Googling, I understand this combination is nothing much to worry about (as long as the "OFF" light is also there) but I'd still like to get rid of them.

It is obviously caused by my manually pushing the car. Wasn't there a few seconds before, is there from the first time I switched on after doing it.

I may try disconnecting the battery, waiting for a while and then reconnecting the battery - yes?

Or could it be some fuse blown (why triggered by me trying to start the engine without petrol in it, I can't guess)?

(I know the masterplan is for me to visit a Lexus dealer who will charge me £100 for "resetting" the indicator - no thanks!)

Help!

[dcfish]

Disconnect the battery for a few minutes ;)

[GS430SE]

Hi again dcfish!

Thanks, well done, left it disconnected for half an hour and the warning lights disappeared.

(BTW, the amp you sold me is going strong)

[Columbia Mke]

Had the same issue (same wife ???, maybe twin sisters!) on my 2000 GS. Checked fuses and everything else, including removing and testing the switch, alas to no avail. Last resort, disconnected the battery, waited 30ish seconds, reconnected, and the problem has never re-occured.

[GS430SE]

I am afraid I have to resurrect this thread, as the problem had reoccurred almost immediately (i.e., back in May 2014). I have ignored it until now. So, here's the summary:

Fault: "VSC" (Vehicle Stability Control) and "VSC off" warning lights stay on

Car: 2nd Gen Lexus GS430 (UK - right-hand drive vehicle) - 2004 model

How did the fault arise?
Car ran out of fuel a few yards short of a gas station. I put it in neutral and manually pushed it a bit. After filling up and switching on, the warning lights came on, and ever since then, these warning lights have stayed on. They were never there prior to this pushing - 100% certain.

What had I tried to do since?
In the central console (between the front seats) there is a button to switch VSC off. That has no effect at all.
I have tried disconnecting the battery for 30 minutes. On reconnection, the warning lights come back on almost immediately.

And then?
I found the OBD-II connector, because I read that shorting out pins 4 and 14 of this connector might clear the fault. This connector is supposed to be near the boot-release (trunk-release) and eventually I found the discreet little panel.

Then I shorted pins 4 and 14 for 30 seconds as follows:
ignition off
bridge pins 4 and 14
ignition on (did not start the engine)
leave on for 30 seconds
ignition off
remove bridge

And hey presto, VSC and VSC Off lights disappeared.

However, I expect these warning lights will come back on. What next?

[VBdenny]

Seems the VSC is a regular problem with Lexus vehicles. My neighbors have a 2001 RX300 which has had those light on for over 10 years. Pretty good bulbs in there I guess.

[GS430SE]

Thanks. I drove about 10 miles in city traffic, lots of stops and starts, and a few patches where I drove fast. The warning lights have remained off.

[VBdenny]

Rapid acceleration cures many issues. Blows the carbon out and is quite a bit of fun.