CEL blinking with strange behavior

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C

CaseyH

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Jun 23, 2009
Threads
1
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11
Location
Tacoma, WA
My Lexus CEL started blinking going over the pass into Eastern Washington on a road trip. I could definitely feel a vibration when pressing on the gas. I can also hear a ticking sound that speeds up and slows down with the engine. Also at very low speeds the car pulses forward in line with the engine speed. I know the first thing I should do is pull the codes but my scan tool is at home in Western Washington.

Does anyone have any idea what might be wrong? Do you think it's smart to drive the car back home 100 miles??

If not, does anyone know a trusted mechanic in Cle Elum, WA?

Thanks.
 
Autozone and many other DIY auto parts places will either "rent"* you a reader or read the codes for you.

*Rent is usually a %100 refundable deposit.

Once you have the codes post up here if you don't have a FSM to decode them.
 
I wouldn't drive any further than getting to a safe spot. When the CEL is blinking your vehicle is in limp mode and has an active failure. It is common for the trac/Vsc lights to come on with the CEL.
 
I was able to pull the codes. First time there was a lot of codes. I figured it would be best to clear them all and start from scratch. After the lights came back on I scanned again. Here is what popped up:

P0301
P1300

I replaced the coil pack and the spark plug in the #1 cylinder and unfortunately nothing has changed. I cleared the codes and the same two came up. What's next in line? Thanks.
 
Update to the update.

I bought an inline spark tester and it lights up when testing with the old and the new coil pack. I have test multiple spark plugs that I can confirm work. I can smell fresh gas on the spark plug if I pull it right after running the engine. WTF is wrong? I'm stumped. Please give me your 2¢.
 
I took the car into a mechanic. Apparently there is something majorly wrong. The #1 cylinder is not getting any compression and they need to dig into the bottom of the engine to get to the problem. He suggested a full engine rebuild from Jasper Engines. Total installed cost… $5,200. Getting an engine from Toyota is between $9-12k. I about choked.

My dilemma now is either to get the Jasper engine or to sell the car as is and cut my losses. It is a 2002 with 115k miles. No problems with any thing else except the navigation doesn’t work.

It would be nice to have a new engine and put another 200k miles on it.
 
it could be a valve issue, meaning it would need head work only. you want the vehicle at an engine specialist.

good to know the v8 runs on seven cylinders.
 
semlin said:
it could be a valve issue, meaning it would need head work only. you want the vehicle at an engine specialist.

good to know the v8 runs on seven cylinders.
Click to expand...

^This, they shouldn't have to get into the bottom end to diagnose low compression.
 
Something isn't right here. How many miles? And what is the maintenance history? Not saying you don't have something going on, you'd just be the first with a bad jug. Ever.

Does the oil smell like fuel?
 
I changed the oil out of desperation right before I took it into the shop. Yes it does smell like oil.

A compression test on the cylinder was only at 70 psi. They also did another test where they applied pressure to the cylinder. That resulted in oil coming out of the dipstick. The valves and springs were checked out as well. All signs point to a cracked piston or bad piston rings. The mechanic is someone a have worked with for many years and I would consider very trustworthy.

I bought the LX with 60k miles on it. I can't be sure of the history before then but I had it checked out and every passed. There is 115k on it now. Since I've owned it I've changed the oil about every 7k miles with only synthetic oil.

There has been about a half dozen times since I've owned it where I have gone up a steep hill or an on ramp where I felt the vibration and the check engine light started blinking. At the top of the hill or after I let off everything went back to normal. This time going up and over the pass, it did not return to normal.

I have decided to get the new Jasper engine. Even though I am spending $5,200 it's cheap for a rebuilt engine on a vehicle like this. Apparently I am getting the last of this engine that Jasper makes and they are selling it at half price. The only catch is that there is no warranty. They are discontinuing because they don't sell many. The engine is too reliable to make money selling rebuilt ones. I guess I'm the only one having these kind of problems. Lucky me!!!

At least I get a new engine out of the deal.
 
Interesting. Would love to learn what the cause was. Broken plug?

Keep in mind the Tundra engine is not the same as a LC engine.
 
sounds like either there was oil starvation to that cylinder or an ignition problem that led to the cylinder being hosed down with gasoline. did you at any time ignore a check engine code for an extended period? maybe a bad coil?

the fact they were able to pressurize the crank case suggests a ventilation issue unless the sump was overfull from blowby.
 
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