4lo, CEL,traction, misfire cylinder 7, engine stumbling random

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David Rodgers

David Rodgers

Joined
Sep 10, 2018
Threads
24
Messages
291
Location
West Viginia
2013 GX460 145000, all oil changes on time, good maintenance

8 months ago, got lights. Mechanic said misfire on number 7 coil. Replaced it. Running fine.
It happened again a month later. Found that if I disconnect battery it worked fine for a few weeks.

Happened again, mechanic thought itcwas the coil again. replaced, ran fine.

Fast forward after 5 coils…

The last mechanic spent some time checking it out and he thinks that it's the ECM. He replaced spark plugs (with correct), used all factory coils, coil plug connector, diagnosed/checked the fuel injector) He's not a Toyota mechanic (but a really good, honest mechanic).

I'm taking it to Lexus, but wanted to see if anyone is/has had these same symptoms. I've seen a bunch of threads about cylinder 7.
 
Last edited:
Man I know it would be rare, but at 145000 miles and not being the coil it might be head gasket even if it is a MLS one.
 
David Rodgers said:
I had the oil analyzed and no antifreeze.
Click to expand...
That's like a pregnancy test. If there was antifreeze in it you'd know for sure, but just cause the test said no anti-freeze doesn't mean it's not a head gasket. Could be leaking between cylinders without leaking antifreeze.
 
Yea. Could be. I’m not sure about the trucks. We’ve had all kinds of issues and then it throws you up into Lexus dealerships money for the hard things (when they’re basically Toyotas) Then on top of it all Lexus gave me crap and almost wasn’t going to work on it because I mentioned that a guy had replaced the coils.
 
I thought about head gasket, but the battery reset thing perplexes me. Pull the negative battery terminal and it runs perfectly…for a week or so.
 
I’m just going to put a giant, red cutoff switch on the dash to disconnect the battery. Then, I’ve got no problem. :)
 
Head gasket. $10000 at Lexus dealership. Gave us a courtesy car for a month. Lost on this car in the car casino game of life.

145000 miles or so. Had record of regular maintenance the entire time of the vehicle. Never overheated while we had it. We had it a year and a half before this.
 
Wonder if it's a wire going out? Is it always the same coil?
 
David Rodgers said:
Head gasket. $10000 at Lexus dealership. Gave us a courtesy car for a month. Lost on this car in the car casino game of life.

145000 miles or so. Had record of regular maintenance the entire time of the vehicle. Never overheated while we had it. We had it a year and a half before this.
Click to expand...
It may have overheated before you got it if you didn't buy it new. Seems if the overeat is bad enough it'll cook the head gasket in one specific place.
 
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Not so fast. It gets worse. I picked up the car. It was less that the rep thought. $8100 was the final cost.

Picked it up, 2 days later lights are back and engine is stumbling. Towing it tomorrow morning back to the dealership.

Replaced head gaskets, got heads machined. Same exact problem that we took it in for. The local mechanic that we took it to initially said he didn’t think it was a head gasket. He thought it was the computer.

I’ll bet money that cylinder 7 is misfiring.

I’ll post more info after we get info from the Lexus dealer.
 
Ok, weeks later. I’ll bet that no one can guess.

And the winner is…bad EGR.

4-5 mechanics down the line, like 6 coils, new head gaskets, new wire harness on cylinder 7 and about $10000 (and almost a year later of recurring symptoms).

After the lights came back on the day after we got it back from the Lexus dealer, we had it towed back in (lights and misfire/bucking).

They had the car for another month and must have really dug in…or a mechanic’s hunch and figured it out.

We’ve had it back for a few weeks now and no lights (please lights don’t come back).

I initially got pissed and thought…they changed my head gaskets for no reason.

I had the oil analyzed, checked the antifreeze for gasses, scoped the cylinders (for steam cleaning) with no indication. My original old school (very honest) mechanic agreed and didn’t think it was head gaskets.

Lexus sounded so convinced that I thought…well they’re the best, maybe they know something that I don’t and I had no clue.

I don’t know exactly how to test EGR’s (I’m sure that some of you guys know) without replacing.

So, summary. Lights started flashing more frequently, misfire cylinder 7. Disconnect battery, fine for awhile, got more frequent, replaced coil, was ok for a month or so, more frequent, happening every day or two (bucking/lights), mechanic tested for head gasket (no indication), tested coil wire..thought it was computer (couldn’t test computer), sent us to Lexus, Lexus changed head gaskets and machined heads, picked up the vehicle, same issue the day after, took back to Lexus, Lexus had for another month, Lexus replaced EGR issues went away, had it back for 3 weeks/month. No lights. BAD EGR
 
I guess the EGR got a little more clogged each day, misfiring probably got it worse and worse (causing lights and misfires more frequently).
 
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