chococat

Actually it could be 1) filter 2) oil control valves 3) wiring 4) ECM. My mechanic said ECM. I disagreed. Took my car home. I started with filter. (10 min job) They were clean. Replaced the OCVs. (I believe in doing things in pairs) (10 min job). Code went away. HOWEVER, bank 2 is tricky & my wire casing are brittle in areas, so my housing connecter pulled away from the wires a little, so while my P1354 (bank 1) went away, I sprung a new P1359 (bank 2). The P1354 for the OCV. The P1359 for ME was wiring. The P1354 caused my timing to advance wrong on one bank & the car lurched, smoked, etc. The P1359 causes no problems whatsoever except an engine light. I hope this helps. ^_^

Drove to Houston and back today (to pick up my "new" RX300), 9 hours total. And the ES ran *GREAT*. So the mechanic was wrong, it was not the ECM, it was just the valves. $120 for parts, 10 min of labor. *woot*.

Turns out the tranny & radiator were flushed a year or two ago, so I am going to drop the pan, change the gasket & filter on this, as well as the ES my 17 y/o daughter just bought from me. Picked up the RX today. A friend of mine drove it the 4+ hours home and though he usually pokes at me for my taste in "little foreign cars",he said it handled well & he was very positive about the drive. For a 12 year old car, it is in pretty good shape. A few more scratches then I expected, but overall, I was impressed. 2 actual Lexus chipped keys, one Lexus valet key, and then the original spare key blade, in case you lose all the keys & need one cut. The original books, tool kit, keychains, etc. Looking forward to getting to know my new baby.

Just bought off eBay, a "new" to me 2001 RX300 with 87K miles. Records look clean, 2 full owners. I have owned an ES300 since 2005, which I also bought on eBay with 99K miles & it has 212K miles on it now. I bought the RX because the engines are similiar if not the same. ES, the main known issue is engine sludge, which I have avoided. My engine is in really good shape. Most of the maintenance I have done myself....sensors, gaskets, etc... After doing some reading, I hear about the dreaded tranmission fail on the AWD RX. I am going to take it to get it flushed ASAP, however, I am 2 hours from any Lexus dealership, and an hour away from a Toyota dealership. Is there another oil besides the Toyota brand oil that is ok? Is there anything else that is exclusive to the RX that often fails & could be proactively maintenenced? I know it will need a timing belt soon. I bought this knowing it has one window issue and probably a servos issue. I am kinda scared...I have wanted an RX for a long time. I LOVE my ES, but with these Texas country roads an SUV will be much better. But after reading about the transmissions, I now wonder if I did a bad thing. Picking up car tomorrow in Houston (4 hours away). Any help would be appreciated. Looking forward to switching forums & learning all over.

2001 RX300 - Paid $7875 w/86711 miles 12/06/12 - I am 4th owner - Bought off eBay & picked up in Cypress,TX on 12/08/12 Had transmission & radiator flush in 2011? knock sensor (bank 2?) replaced summer 2012? 12/12 - fixed stuck rear passenger seatbelt, cleaned/replaced the #7470 servo DIY 12/12 - Chrome Trunk Emblems - $19 cabin filter $6 #7061 servo - $130 (all eBay) 12/12 - transmission filter/gasket @ ABC auto - $26 5qts Castrol IMV - $33 87,350 miles 12/12 - replaced windshield wiper blades #21 & #24 @Auto Parts Plus - $12 02/13 - P1130 (Bank 1, Sensor 1 O2 sensor) 91,241 miles 06/13 - P1135 (Bank 1, Sensor 1 A/F Sensor Malfunction) replaced O2 Sensor DIY @ ABC Auto $162 98,216 06/13 - front end alignment & left lower ball joint $156 08/13 - timing belt, water pump, a/c belt, power steering belt @Gaylands Auto $510 102,005 09/14 - P0440, P0441, P0446 (Evap System) - evap house disconnected behind air filter box 124,738

Going to talk to myself here, just in case some else finds it useful... Replaced both my oil control valves (VVT solenoids). Bought them at O'Reilly Auto Parts #917-211 & #917-214. $61.99/each. Drove just about 30 miles, over the river & through the woods & 70mph when I could. No check engine lights. Before I would pop a code w/i 4 miles. I'll test it out more tomorrow. But for now...I am optimistic & VERY thankful.

Talking out loud here... Now while I am waiting for my OCVs to come Tuesday, wouldn't it be great if someone had an actual snapshot of where the Oil Control Valve FILTERS were? I have an idea, going to try tomorrow, clean them out, drive the car. Read that someone w/a 99 RX had the code for Bank 1, replaced the OCVs, no change. Replaced the filters. CEL gone for good.. My new mission is to find the filters, clean them. Drive. Code? Replace OCVs. Code? Replace w/new filters. Code? Then it will mean wiring or ECM and I will have ruled everything else out.em <edited to add: I found and checked my oil control valve filters today and they looked CLEAN. Now I am sad that THAT wasn't the problem, but I AM happy that as far as that whole "sludge" issue. I have yet to see traces of it.>

I was always under the assumption that bearings, as well as boots, and such, were not parts to sit on and wait to replace. I am surprised you have made it a year and hope more damage wasn't done. And I agree with others... I would take it to a trusted mechanic and replace what they tell you to replace and do it ASAP. Had a friend who neglacted replacing boots, bearings got road garbage in them, she kept dirivng it, and bam, one day the wheel just fell off. Thankfully she was going 5 mph. But imagine that at 70mph!

Timing belts every 95K miles? Mine was done at 98k and when my car hit 200K miles I knew it was time to change. By the time I finally took the car into the mechanic at 211K miles the belt was loose and tensioner crumbling. So...95K isn't a suggestion...be smart and be proactive. I paid someone to do it, because I don't have a bunch of special tools.(I am just a regular "girl" not some trained mechanic or enthusiast) I paid someone $649 to replace timing belt, tensioner, crank & cam seals, water pump, & thermostat. If you are going to pull your car apart, you mind as well replace ALL those items (except thermostat, mine just went bad). Valve covers...mine started leaking in 2010 (I have a 2000). I bandaided it untl I got the courage to rip my car apart myself to do the job. (mechanics wanted $600-$800 to do job) I did the top 8 mo ago, the back, 2 mo ago. Cheap parts ($20) but fairly easy job. No more leaks. Brakes on mine pop in and out, super, unbelievably easy. Never had problems with calipers. Other items that might fail: Oxygen sensors. pricey part, SUPER easy to put in. Firewall side a little harder, but small hands & patience help. Knock sensors. Expensive part, can be done DIY, long job. If you have to replace one, just do both. Mine is currently out of commision. It runs, but Im afraid to run it for fear of ruining it. I either have a bad oil control valve, bad wiring to the OCV, or my computer is bad. So rather then pay a mechanic to throw parts at it. *I* am throwing parts at it. Waiting for OCVs to come in. Enjoy your car, hope I helped in some small way. ^_^

The OVCs are not swappable, bolts are in different places. My worry about used ECMs is my keys working & being compatible. I heard that was an issue. Is that an issue with used computers? Oh and I am not misfiring as I see some people who get P1354 do. Mine just appears to be advancing timing to one camshaft & not the other. Timing belt/tensioner is all new, so it is not that and I was getting this code prior to replacing those. And I doubt my accident hurt the OCM, wasn't that hard of hit. Also...it is not the cam position sensors, 1) that is a different code, 2) I swapped them for sport, no change AND it is NOT the acuator because if I unplug both OCVs, the car runs smooth (albiet at a high RPM), plug them back in, the engine shakes and runs bad.

Sorry...it's under my picture & username: 2000 ES300 :)

So...last Wednesday I pop a P1354 VVT malfunction (bank 2 / radiator side) My mechanic tested BOTH OCVs (oil control valves). Both were ok (9 Ohms). Voltage tested them, both work. Bank 2 (radiator side) - current/signal runs fine Bank 1 (firewall side) - No signal/signal intermittant Which leads the mechanic and me to believe the ECM, because he said the wiring seemed fine too. Odd thing is...a bank one issue should have popped a P1349. I didn't get that. Just P1354. Why a bank 2 code when the issue is with bank 1? So...my timing is off. One side of engine the timing is advancing at a different rate as the other side which causes the engine to lurch and car to stutter along at times, plus smell bad. First instinct was to replace the OCV, but the mechanic says he can apply voltage to both and they both activate and they are both fine. I am going to pull the ECM tomorrow. Plug/unplug connections, blow them out, etc. Probably replace ECM with a used one off eBay ($80). New they are $525. Also, interesting to note, my car was hit, in about the exact location 2 months ago. I replaced that entire side of the car. Beam was fine. A friend said to look at the camshaft position sensor, but that's P0345 (not the code I got), And NO it's not knock sensors, also a different code, and I replaced both of those years ago. I am going to research the forums more, but if someone here had a word of wisdom, I would appreciate it.

No (again city of 1800) but I will see what I can find online or locally. I think what happened was, when I took the car apart to replace the valve cover gasket, I slid this piece off, but the "repair" was old and so the tape didn't hold anymore. After I re-taped it today, the gas smell went away. I will look for the pipe now. Thank you for your help!