good to know. thank you very much!
2006 Lexus LX470 VGRS issues
- Thread starter Jaredwyckoff
- Start date
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Well... Made some progress today. Had both VCS lights on and the VGRS light on. Bought a DLC extender cable and performed step 8 from the VGRS system calibration procedure posted in this thread somewhere. No change and I felt kinda silly doing sub steps 1-6 15 times. After driving it again and making sure that the wheel is still centered, I came back inside my garage and did step 3, actuator angle initialization and my VCS lights are OFF! Still have my VGRS light on but, like I said, progress!.
2001LC
SILVER Star
Make sure to clear flags (REC) and drive in straight line up to ~27 MPH. Also make sure no DTC. You may also need to zero point calibrate.
How did you disconnect it specifically? I am not mechanical per se but want to do this as well. Suffering from similar issues to others on this thread - in 2024! P
You don’t need to be mechanical to disable it. Search this forum for how to disconnect VGRS. It’s one plug in the VGRS ECU under the dash / in front of your left shin. But, before you disable, you may want to try getting an OBD2 extension cable and follow service manual steps to reset VGRS- easy and worked for me.
Will try the reset. When you reset your was the ECU throwing a code?
Dealer says it was throwing code C1531
Dealer says it was throwing code C1531
I definitely recommended trying to do the zero point calibration with techstream before disconnecting the plug.
I had to go in and clear the roads and only after that was I able to complete the calibration and the light went off. Worth a try.
Of course if none else fails disconnect the plug and move on with life.
I had to go in and clear the roads and only after that was I able to complete the calibration and the light went off. Worth a try.
Of course if none else fails disconnect the plug and move on with life.
When we tried to use Techstream we kept getting code C1531 - ECU malfunction. I don't think we can do a zero point calibration with this code present, and we did not seem able to clear this code. Disconnecting it would simply let me center the wheel and drive as normal.
Oh ok. I've read through this thread pretty thoroughly before but sorry I didn't remember where you were at with it. That is disappointing.
Yes, I bought the truck about 5 months ago knowing it had VSC and VGRS trouble lights illuminated. I don’t have the VGRS code in front of me but the previous owner drove it like this (VGRS / VSC lights on and VGRS locked at about 45 degrees off center) for several years and about 100K miles. Lexus dealer told him it needed new VGRS actuator. I repaired it by replacing spiral cable, releasing VGRS lock by applying 12 volts to VGRS ECU with a power probe, and resetting the VGRS system with basic wires / pins into the OBD port. VGRS is actually great when it’s working. I fixed in January of this year and have put about 6000 trouble free miles on it.
I’ve read that techstream sometimes won’t work to reset / recalibrate VSC/VGRS. But, the manual OBD pinning works. Just don’t short the wrong pins!
cruiserpatch
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Plus one for this method.
Symptoms:
Had a customer bring his truck me after his battery was replaced on his 2003 LX470. The steering wheel was cocked to the right about 15-20 degrees with VGRS, VSC/VSC OFF lights steadily illuminated.
Tech stream revealed codes C1289 VGRS system malfunction and C1531 ECU malfunction.
Solution:
- STEP 3 Actuator Angle Initiation as found on SR-56
- Made an SST 09843-18040 out of two old 98-99 LX470 OEM locker connector blank grounding wires. Nerdy, I know...
- Used tech stream to unlock and adjust the VGRS steering angle
My local Lexus dealership charged him $200 to bring him a $4,000+ quote "to replace the VSRG ECU." I've seen multiple dealers suggest replacing the VGRS computer which would actually fix the problem if they followed the book after swapping it out- the sad part is that all they have to do is read the book...but no one reads anymore- especially not me.
Would anyone buy 09843-18040 if I imported them? Would cost between $20-$30
Patch is amazing! The technician who worked on the car for $200 seemed to have never heard of VGRS and in fact got the letters who multiple times. When I spoke to the "shop foreman" he had heard of it but was equally confused and backed up the quote of $3,000 to fix the ECU with no guarantee of a fix.Plus one for this method.
Symptoms:
Had a customer bring his truck me after his battery was replaced on his 2003 LX470. The steering wheel was cocked to the right about 15-20 degrees with VGRS, VSC/VSC OFF lights steadily illuminated.
Tech stream revealed codes C1289 VGRS system malfunction and C1531 ECU malfunction.
Solution:
While I was in there I also checked the infamous recall snap ring and found that it had been replaced. Good for my customer
- STEP 3 Actuator Angle Initiation as found on SR-56
- Made an SST 09843-18040 out of two old 98-99 LX470 OEM locker connector blank grounding wires. Nerdy, I know...
- Used tech stream to unlock and adjust the VGRS steering angle
My local Lexus dealership charged him $200 to bring him a $4,000+ quote "to replace the VSRG ECU." I've seen multiple dealers suggest replacing the VGRS computer which would actually fix the problem if they followed the book after swapping it out- the sad part is that all they have to do is read the book...but no one reads anymore- especially not me.
Would anyone buy 09843-18040 if I imported them? Would cost between $20-$30
View attachment 3638784View attachment 3638785View attachment 3638786
If you are in the Atlanta area, or not, and need a trusted hand on your truck call Patch!
cruiserpatch
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I now stock the three-pin SST for this job in case anyone is looking for one: OEM three-pin check wire SST 09843-18040 - https://www.cruiserpatch.com/products/oem-three-pin-check-wire-sst-09843-18040?_pos=9&_sid=7c0b1afc6&_ss=r
do you have a thread on how you replaced the spiral cable of your actuator? My actuator has probably a lose or cut cable connection. It works until after I turn my steering to a certain degree and VGRS then malfunctions and steering goes 180 off center. Switching the car off and on again takes care of it until I have to turn my steering again.
Sorry to report- I did not have to repair my actuator spiral cable. I only had to replace my airbag spiral cable. I suspect that years ago under a prior owner, an independent shop disconnected the battery with steering wheel turned and triggered all the MILs. In my case, I just had to reset / recalibrate everything- after 2 dealers told previous owner that it needed a new actuator. Your case sounds different. Have you done a zero point calibration / steering angle sensor calibration?
yes, I did that with Techstream. But I have also read some people were not able to get it right with Techstream and had to do manual SST which then worked.
But I don't think it's applicable in my case ( I can be wrong). But I say this because I have a long history now with VGRS. Initially, it worked with intermittent issue, got my steering rack changed to a brand new and it stopped working completely. Then a year later it randomly started to work again but would trigger the VGRS light just before the limits with a small jerk to the steering. It works as intended until it VGRS light was triggered. Even now it works as intended until I turn the steering past a certain limit, which isn't a lot now.
I honestly gave up for now. I re-centered my steering with Techstream and then disconnected the power to VGRS and use it as dumb steering. But I do intend to look into it sometime at a later date, like manual SST resetting etc.
I had to manually reset mine with SST. Took a few tries, but was ultimately successful. Been working fine for several months now and it’s my daily driver
