VSC System indicator (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Apr 14, 2011
Threads
9
Messages
61
Location
Sugar Land, TX
Howdy guys. I have had this "check VSC system" issue come up twice now. Last December it came on with the 4LO light blinking and when I started it next morning it was gone. Last Friday it come on again and I tried to shut her off and restart a few times but it still had the warning lights on. I put her in gear to see if I was in some sort of crawl mode or something but it drove normally. So I drove it to work. After work I drove to Mr. Toyota's place and asked them to check it out and they didn't have any tech's available and they were going to close in a half hour so they asked me to come back later. I had plans to go back on Monday, so after driving it all weekend with the warning lights on when Monday came around they magically disappeared again and all is back to normal. Very odd.

I did search and noticed someone else had these lights come on a while back but they also had other symptoms. I had no other problems as best I could tell.

Any thoughts or concerns?

Dave in TX

IMG_0613.jpg
 
This happens to me once per month on my 2011 LC. The dealer has yet to discover the cause. Did you resolve it on your 08 LC?
 
Had same thing last week on a 2010. Lasted 5 days and went away. By the time I got it to a shop to have codes checked, all was back to normal. I was getting an inspection anyway and had asked the tech about it. I just told him that I had "warning lights on the dash" and he immediately asked whether the VSC warning message had appeared. Leads me to believe that this is a fairly common problem.
 
It has happened to me twice. The first time above I took it to the dealer and the morning when I took it the lights were gone. They had no explanation but during an inspection they said the water pump needed replacement...which I had them replace. No relation to the warning lights. Second time I took it into the dealership and the lights were still on. They asked me "if I spilled gas on a recent fillup." Which I had not. However the day before it happened I filled up at a station I normally don't use and the gas was going extremely slow. The attendant actually came out and apologized for how slow the gas was pumping, blamed in on the cold. I got weary of it pumping so slow that I just left after a few gallons. Next morning the lights were. Still very cold. I took it in and that's when they asked about the fuel. The gas cap was on and "clicked" like I always do. They mentioned something about "fuel in a charcoal canister" or something like that...not 100% sure. Figured it could have been vapors from the slow gas pump. They reset the codes and lights went off and off I went to work. They haven't come back on since.

Probably none of any of that had anything to do with why the dash lights came on.

Dave
 
It has happened to me twice. The first time above I took it to the dealer and the morning when I took it the lights were gone. They had no explanation but during an inspection they said the water pump needed replacement...which I had them replace. No relation to the warning lights. Second time I took it into the dealership and the lights were still on. They asked me "if I spilled gas on a recent fillup." Which I had not. However the day before it happened I filled up at a station I normally don't use and the gas was going extremely slow. The attendant actually came out and apologized for how slow the gas was pumping, blamed in on the cold. I got weary of it pumping so slow that I just left after a few gallons. Next morning the lights were. Still very cold. I took it in and that's when they asked about the fuel. The gas cap was on and "clicked" like I always do. They mentioned something about "fuel in a charcoal canister" or something like that...not 100% sure. Figured it could have been vapors from the slow gas pump. They reset the codes and lights went off and off I went to work. They haven't come back on since. Probably none of any of that had anything to do with why the dash lights came on. Dave
This just happened to my 2008 at 133,000 miles. I recently upgraded to Radflo 2.5 with Total Chaos Arms. My first time off road with the new setup and the suspension worked great, but when I returned the transfer case to "high" the dash lights errored. I lost all control of the 4x4 settings. Luckily I was back in high gear, so I was still able to drive home. I checked for broken wires in the suspension, but they all looked good. I also had an ABS indicator. I have noticed a brake issue on a freeway off ramp that feels like the ABS is activating. The TJM HD Raised rear springs put my tail about 2-inches higher than the front. We may have been too conservative with the front lift adjustment. This truck has been nearly flawless. I have only had issues with the rear drive line clunk and a bad fuel gage. I suspect something was damaged when my mechanic installed the lift, or I was on too steep of an incline. I got home watching the flashing lights the whole way. I decided to take a picture a few minutes later, restarted the engine and now the problem is gone. I may not have waited long enough in the field for this to reset.
 
Good to hear from a six figure mileage happy 200 owner.

I would hazard a guess like you that something got "touched" during the install. 2k miles post icon suspension lift zero issues. I have a long drive to LA coming up. Looking forward to trouble free hwy driving and that radar cruise plus v1 will be much appreciated.
 
I suggest there is a very strong likelihood that your VSC system needs to be recalibrated post your lift. I think more than 2 inches requires it. The manual describes this. Its a fairly simple procedure for the dealer or someone with the intelli tester tool. I the procedure has been descibed either here or on Lcool forum.

Heres what the manual says: http://www.moranbahweather.com/toyota/repair2/html/contents/rm000001dwz00kx.html
 
Last edited:
I suggest there is a very strong likelihood that your VSC system needs to be recalibrated post your lift. I think more than 2 inches requires it. The manual describes this. Its a fairly simple procedure for the dealer or someone with the intelli tester tool. I the procedure has been descibed either here or on Lcool forum.

Heres what the manual says: http://www.moranbahweather.com/toyota/repair2/html/contents/rm000001dwz00kx.html

You can easily do this with a paperclip. Done it several times.
 
I have had this issue about 5-6 times over the past 2 years.
2010 Sahara - 35's and icon lift
Every time Toyota has failed to identify an issue with the car or any fault in the system.

When it comes up now I just disconnect all power for an hour and hey presto it's gone.

This car has a number of computer glitches that Toyota have no idea how to fix
 
Saharabeast,

Are you just disconnecting the battery for an hour or so? My warning lights came on again yesterday and both dealerships I went to this morning asked me if I had an appointment. Me: No, I just had warning lights come on the dash and drive in. Dealership(s): Well we can make an appointment for you next week if that will work. I just left both. First dealership did look pretty busy. Second one must have had about a dozen guys just standing around.

I just love LC's and have had a few and still have a 100, a 200 and a 4Runner but the dealerships are making me think about other options.

Dave in TX.
 
Saharabeast,

Are you just disconnecting the battery for an hour or so? My warning lights came on again yesterday and both dealerships I went to this morning asked me if I had an appointment. Me: No, I just had warning lights come on the dash and drove in. Dealership(s): Well we can make an appointment for you next week if that will work. I just left both. First dealership did look pretty busy. Second one must have had about a dozen guys just standing around.

I just love LC's and have had a few and still have a 100, a 200 and a 4Runner but the dealerships are making me think about other options.

Dave in TX.
 
Last edited:
This happened to me last week and found that the culprit to be a loose gas cap. I checked on the OB2 reader and the codes that came out were related to emission so I knew that it had to be the gas cap. My cruiser did not go into limp mode but the "Check vsc system", flashing 4lo light and other lights stayed on despite tightening the gas cap. My dealer helped me reset the code and it hasn't showed up in the last few days.
 
I have this issue. I've replaced the charcoal canister and gas cap, both with OEM parts. I still have the lights. My buddy who is a Toyota mechanic put it up on the rack at the dealership, but no specific diagnosis can be made other than charcoal canister and gas cap. I'm about $800 in unsuccessful repairs. He spoke about using a smoke machine to identify the vapor leak, but they don't have a smoke machine. It has been an issue since February and I'm getting a bit frustrated.
 
I've had this issue since 2008. Happens about once/month. The 4LO, VSC, and I believe one other light comes on. Simply turning off the vehicle and back on it goes away. Last year I drove the vehicle into the dealership with this issue actively occurring and they couldn't determine the cause. No codes. We thing it has something do with the system performing a 4LO check. I don't use 4LO very often and the same thing occurs when I do for the first time. I'm trying to get in the habit of turning 4LO on once a month as it's possibly the solenoid sticking. Doing this a few times seems to get it into 4LO, I just haven't wanted to dump money into trying to permanently fix this.
 
This happened to me twice and I reset it with my scanner. So far it hasn't come back. It happened both times when I overfilled the gas tank.
 
I have reset the codes about 4 times. I get:
  1. P2401: evaporative emission system leak detection pump control circuit low.
  2. P043E: catalyst temperature sensor circuit low (bank 2 sensor 2).
  3. P043F: catalyst temperature sensor circuit high (bank 2 sensor 2).
  4. P2402: evaporative emission system leak detection pump control circuit high.
  5. P2419: evaporative emission system switching valve control circuit low.
  6. P043E: catalyst temperature sensor circuit low (bank 2 sensor 2).
  7. P043F: catalyst temperature sensor circuit high (bank 2 sensor 2).
  8. P2401: evaporative emission system leak detection pump control circuit low.
  9. P2402: evaporative emission system leak detection pump control circuit high.
  10. P2419: evaporative emission system switching valve control circuit low.
Not sure why the codes are showing twice. Each time my code reader shows 10 codes.

My Toyota technician friend is wondering if some of the hoses leading into and out of the tank are bad. This would require a tank drop... The filler neck and hoses to the charcoal canister look OK.
 
Chance are you only have one issue. Most of those are companion codes, if one pops off it'll pop off a few other in the chain of systems. For example, my seatbelt sensor issue popped a code for occupant classification ecu since it's in the chain of systems. Any dealer with TIS should be able to tell you this and run diagnostics.
 
The codes that I got when I left the gas cap off was

P0441 - Evaporative Emission System Incorrect Purge Flow
P0455 - Evaporative Emission System Leak Detected (large leak)

but as TonyP mentioned, these codes are probably all related. There has been other threads on this forum that discusses the same issues that you are experiencing. Are your systems just simply the lights going up on the dashboard? or are you experiencing other mechanical failures?
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom