ABS/BRAKE/ALL 3 VSC lights on. (1 Viewer)

[drowzyGX]

good advice about the o2 sensors. Went ahead and ordered bank 2 sensor 2 (Denso from Rock Auto). They get here Wednesday.

I cleared the codes using my OBD II reader.

Got a weird one today: driving home on a straight flat road and went to brake for a stoplight. Weird metallic screech noise, but no lights this time. No braking issues either.

Worried the sound is a sign of impending death for the master cylinder. If master cylinder is failing, would I expect softer brake feel? I’ve had no braking issues at all, just the noise and, until today, brake and vsc lights.

 

[Rednexus]

Metallic screech could be something as simple as a backing plate contacting the rotor. I've bent mine multiple times working on the front suspension and usually have to push them away from the rotor with a screwdriver to get the screech to stop. However, I'm not familiar with the death siren the master cylinder/booster units on these make when they die.

 

[drowzyGX]

Turns out it’s my ABS pump. The o2 sensor is bad, but I’m gonna replace that.

Popped by the Lexus dealer this am to diagnose the brake issues. $2600 all in. Very steep, but I need the car ready for a road trip this Saturday. Figured this would go eventually - 130K miles and tons of stop and go city driving.

 

[drowzyGX]

Update: same issue persists after dropping $2600 at the dealer to get this fixed.

No lights at all on the 4-hour drive to the beach. No lights while driving around. The minute we get on the road to drive home, and the car is screaming at us with the beep and screech light, brake light on, and VSC lights on.

Now I have to delay a work trip to get this to the dealer tomorrow morning.

 

[drowzyGX]

Saga continues…this car is not safe to drive at all.

Dropped it off at the dealer yesterday afternoon. 1 hour round trip (thanks ATL traffic).

Get a text today saying it’s good to go. They stated, “My shop foreman stated the error code was not erased after repairs. I had my Tech and Master Tech overlook the repairs and also perform a road test to make sure the vehicle is safe to drive.”

Coming to a stop on the way home, dash lights up like a Christmas tree, brutal screeching noise from the pump, brakes went soft. Pulled the e brake. Braking came back right away. Dealer initially asked me to drive it back to them.

This is really souring my views on owning a Lexus. This is the most critical safety system on a vehicle, and it feels like the dealer isn’t even looking at the car since getting my $$.

 

[MrTorgue]

This is really souring my views on owning a Lexus.

Why? There are tens of thousands without this problem. You won't get anything better than a Lexus GX for reliability. Don't take your sample size of one as any indication of the entire product line's reliability.

 

[aztoytec]

Absolutely horrible…
Time for a new dealer/shop

 

[Rednexus]

Agreed, this is a dealer/shop issue. Contact Lexus corporate if needed. Perhaps they messed it up on the install. Lexus Corporate should take care of you - it is not a Kia.

 

[drowzyGX]

Agree it’s a dealership issue, but the dealer is an agent of the brand. Having my brakes go out after 2 trips to the service department and $2600 is a pretty bad experience.

Having to fight to get my money back and go to another dealer, that doesn’t make me want to engage with the brand more.

 

[Rednexus]

Call Corporate Lexus, they should be able to help. They are usually very conscious of their image and dealers not doing good work. Corporate Subaru gave me a $500 parts/accessories credit when one of their dealers screwed me out of $500 on a 60,000-mile service. Lexus is a premium brand so I hope they would treat you even better. Lexus should full well know how a bad experience can cause people to leave a brand for good.

 

[drowzyGX]

Call Corporate Lexus, they should be able to help. They are usually very conscious of their image and dealers not doing good work. Corporate Subaru gave me a $500 parts/accessories credit when one of their dealers screwed me out of $500 on a 60,000-mile service. Lexus is a premium brand so I hope they would treat you even better. Lexus should full well know how a bad experience can cause people to leave a brand for good.

That’s good advice. I’m not even sure what options I have at this point. My service rep at the dealer has been great. I’m just hesitant to even get in the car again after the work on it, ya know? But at the same time, they already have my cash. If I didn’t love this car as much as I do…

Edit:
Called corporate. They pulled the info. They want me to pay to tow it to another dealer, get an inspection, and then follow up with corporate to be reviewed for compensation.

 

[drowzyGX]

Lexus corporate has been useless. Said I need to pay to tow it to another dealer, pay for diagnostics, pay for all the repairs, and then I can reach back out to them, and they’ll explore any financial assistance.

Thinking I’m just going to sell this thing rather than dump another $3K.

 

[Rednexus]

Sorry to hear that man - very unfortunate. Might want to take a breather and move forward - selling it now with the ABS/VSC issues would be at a big loss, (loss of $3K you put into it plus the loss in value with it needing work done to di) for something that should be fixable. It's easy to get frustrated with these rigs when they don't go well, in a situation like this you might just have to berate and/or fight with the dealer until they fix it.

 

[drowzyGX]

no guarantee that another $3K fixes it. The new dealer is saying it could be master cylinder, could be the computer that controls the ABS. That’s multiple $3K repair jobs. Because of the case with corporate it feels like any dealer is going to push everything so that they can CYA.

 

[Rednexus]

ABS computers aren't too bad:

2003-2009 Lexus GX470 ABS TRC VSC Anti Lock Brake Control Module 89540-60300 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2003-2009 Lexus GX470 ABS TRC VSC Anti Lock Brake Control Module 89540-60300 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

It's certainly easy to give up on a rig and I totally understand the feeling.

Story from my end....my last off-roader was a Subaru Forester I had for over a decade. I spent weeks pulling the motor, getting the heads rebuilt as it had a burnt valve, re-ringing it (Subarus are notorious oil burners), and putting it back together. I used an eBay timing belt kit - branded as Genuine Subaru but was a knockoff. 6 months later the timing belt broke on a forest service road and bent all 16 valves, had to get it towed home (on my B-day of all days). I almost junked the car but realized I couldn't really replace it for the $1K it would cost to fix it. So most of my time had been wasted, plus the money I had sunk into it.

After sleeping on it for a couple of days, I pulled the motor back out, put in 16 new valves, lapped them, and put in a genuine Subaru timing belt kit. This took 2-3 days of my time. I later sold it to my neighbor when I got my GX and she still drives it - over 3 years later. I still work on it for her. Having an older rig can be an emotional roller coaster for sure, but short of totaling it, things can get fixed.

If you do want to sell it - I am sure it will go fast. GX's are in short supply, especially if yours is a low-rust Southern example. Someone will snatch it up as a mechanic's special. These share a lot of the brake system with a 5th gen 4Runner so the parts aren't too hard to find either.

 

[drowzyGX]

ABS computers aren't too bad:

2003-2009 Lexus GX470 ABS TRC VSC Anti Lock Brake Control Module 89540-60300 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2003-2009 Lexus GX470 ABS TRC VSC Anti Lock Brake Control Module 89540-60300 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

It's certainly easy to give up on a rig and I totally understand the feeling.

Story from my end....my last off-roader was a Subaru Forester I had for over a decade. I spent weeks pulling the motor, getting the heads rebuilt as it had a burnt valve, re-ringing it (Subarus are notorious oil burners), and putting it back together. I used an eBay timing belt kit - branded as Genuine Subaru but was a knockoff. 6 months later the timing belt broke on a forest service road and bent all 16 valves, had to get it towed home (on my B-day of all days). I almost junked the car but realized I couldn't really replace it for the $1K it would cost to fix it. So most of my time had been wasted, plus the money I had sunk into it.

After sleeping on it for a couple of days, I pulled the motor back out, put in 16 new valves, lapped them, and put in a genuine Subaru timing belt kit. This took 2-3 days of my time. I later sold it to my neighbor when I got my GX and she still drives it - over 3 years later. I still work on it for her. Having an older rig can be an emotional roller coaster for sure, but short of totaling it, things can get fixed.

If you do want to sell it - I am sure it will go fast. GX's are in short supply, especially if yours is a low-rust Southern example. Someone will snatch it up as a mechanic's special. These share a lot of the brake system with a 5th gen 4Runner so the parts aren't too hard to find either.

That’s a s*** situation. Sorry you had to deal with all that.

I’m not nearly as capable with a wrench as you and others on the forum. I can do pads and rotors, but all the rest of that system leaves me at the mercy of a shop. If I want any chance at financial compensation from Lexus, I’m stuck going through a dealer for everything and paying dealership rates.

Financing a new car right now seems like a terrible option because of rates starting around 7%. Used car loans are even worse.

I could drain my savings account and buy a 4Runner or something, but that seems unwise because I wouldn’t have an emergency fund.

A car payment + insurance means cash savings or 401k contributions take a big hit.

I’m whining and venting, but this sucks. This car has been my thing since I got it. My main hobby. I’ve spent countless hours working on it, learning how to do as much maintenance as I can. Dropping all this money on repairs is, financially, the smallest hit. It’s probably the right move, but I just never thought I’d deal with this crap from a Toyota / Lexus. That’s why I kind of went all-in on this car the last few years. I figured I’d easily get another 80K-100K miles out of it.

 

[drowzyGX]

Well, saga is mostly to a close, and a somewhat unsurprising one.

First shop misdiagnosed the issue. Master cylinder was bad, too, which caused the old pump to fail.

All in $3400 to replace it at the new dealership. They said if it had been diagnosed right the first time, it would have been $5K to do both. Now I’m out $6K.

New dealer is going to push the old one to cover the difference and cost of the tow.

If they don’t cover it, I’ll keep working with corporate. New dealer said they’ll document everything for me to share with corporate.

Sucks, but that master cylinder was what I’d thought I’d be replacing when I first took the car to the shop.

Not thrilled to be out this kind of cash, but it’s better than shopping for a new car.

@Rednexus thank you for talking me off the ledge so to speak