Gulp... GS450h - Check VSC, Check ECB, Check PCS

MrShades · July 10, 2016

My 450h has provided great service to me in the 4 or 5 years that I've owned it so far - with hardly a problem at all. I bought it at 6000 miles and it's rapidly approaching 100,000 now.

All has been well - and my last trip on Friday was a good longish journey from Surrey back to Wiltshire - with no problems at all.

This afternoon my wife has borrowed it (she never drives it, and only did today as her car was v low on fuel) and within 5 minutes of pulling off the drive she called me:

"Is it OK to drive with this flashing triangle, and these warning messages"..... errrr... what flashing triangle and warning messages? Bring it home again.

So - now it starts OK (and runs and drives OK) but the display shows "Check VSC Check ECB" and then "Check PCS System" - and cycles round them. I've got yellow warning triangle flashing, Brake warning light, PCS warning light and ABS warning light on as well.

Any ideas what may have caused this very sudden and seemingly multiple system effecting error?

As I said, it apparently (I've not driven it again yet) drives OK with no loss of power or anything. My OBDII box doesn't seem to pick up any real errors, though has some "system readiness checks" that are marked as failed.

I can see a trip to the local (Swindon) dealer coming on, and an unexpectedly high bill to go with it.

Any help or advice or even suggestions or sympathy will be very gratefully received.

MrShades · July 10, 2016

...and as I've just driven it, I can report that it seems to drive perfectly fine. Hybrid system working as it should, hybrid Battery being used and charging etc.

As the VSC, EBC and PCS (and ABS) all have something to do with braking - I'm assuming that it's an ABS wheel sensor or similar. I guess that's a hope that it's something relatively cheap, rather than a complete ECU failure (which sounds more expensive).

As the PCS was reporting an error I thought I'd try the Radar Cruise. This came on OK (Radar Ready) to start with, but when I attempted to set it I got "Check cruise system" error as well.

Oh, and the "traction control" light is on permanently as well.

So - not working.... ABS (stamped on the brakes, ABS didn't kick in), Traction control (booted it on a wet road), PCS and cruise. All sounds like brakes or brake sensor somewhere along the line (he hopes).

My wife was in a big hurry, there are "speed tables" at the bottom of our road, and she's not known for being "mechanically sympathetic" when it comes to crossing them - so I'm thinking that something in the wheel department may have taken a bit more of a jolt than it's normally used to. (ABS / wheel speed sensor)....

I guess Lexus Swindon will tell me soon enough... :-(

Zotto · July 11, 2016

Give a look to 12V Battery voltage, and make your wife confess what she did :-). If car works fine I would write all err codes and then try a reset with OBD reader, hoping they don' t come back.

Spacewagon52 · July 11, 2016

Keep us updated please.

MrShades · July 11, 2016

It's going in to Lexus this morning... Starting with £79 for full diags

Sent from my Iphone using Tapatalk

Mike Hartland · July 11, 2016

If I remember correctly, these symptoms can also be associated with issues on the O2 sensor, possibly because of a small hole in the exhaust. Others have reported the same set of lights when the fuel cap is not connecting properly.

I had the same when I added some Red X to a tank of SuperUnleaded petrol. Once the tank was emptied and refilled the lights cleared.

Good luck luck, whatever the cause turns out to be.

MrShades · July 11, 2016

Well, the plot thickens...

I've just taken it out again, only to the shops to buy bread (so a short journey) - all warning lights on, behaving as it was - and I also confirmed that the regenerative braking wasn't working (needle didn't dip into the blue under braking).

On the way back from the shops all was the same... and then the dash gave two or three beeps (just like the ones that occur when a warning message pops up on the display). However, this time I couldn't see any difference - messages all the same and all still there. Thought nothing of it. Parked up at another shop and came back and started the car again.

This time all messages went, no warning lights at all.... VERY odd. Everything normal (which looked odd, after the christmas-tree dash that I was becoming used to)... took it out for a quick drive and everything normal. Regenerative braking working OK again, everything fine.

Parked at another set of shops (only doing short 5 min journeys here) and came back to start it - all warnings back on again. Drive home, parked on the drive - turned off and on again to find all warning messages have gone (again).

Turned ignition off and on again a few times, still no warnings present. So - currently it's sat on the drive and behaving itself. Whatever it is, it's an odd one.

So - right now I've cancelled my Lexus diags appointment and we'll see how it goes. Meanwhile I have ordered a mini-VCI lead and I'll see what the OBD has to say about it tomorrow.

Could still be dodgy/intermittent ABS sensor, could be main 12V Battery (and some driving has put a few more Vs in there), could be O2 sensor somewhere.... but whatever it is, it's intermittent now (which in some ways is a bigger pain!)

MrShades · July 11, 2016

3 hours ago, Mike Hartland said:

If I remember correctly, these symptoms can also be associated with issues on the O2 sensor, possibly because of a small hole in the exhaust. Others have reported the same set of lights when the fuel cap is not connecting properly.

I had the same when I added some Red X to a tank of SuperUnleaded petrol. Once the tank was emptied and refilled the lights cleared.

Good luck luck, whatever the cause turns out to be.

Thanks Mike... and actually that could make some sense. Yesterday, when my wife had the issue, the fuel tank was very low (20 miles range). When I took it for a drive last night I refilled the tank (lots of air sucked in when I released the cap, as expected) and so it's now running on fresh fuel rather than the dregs from the bottom of the last tank - amd the filler cap has been off/on again.

These things, especially with such random cause/effects are never easy!

Goldberg · July 11, 2016

I had the excact same problem turned out to be damaged wiring next to the ABS warning plug on the front hub hope this helps

MrShades · July 11, 2016

Many thanks... As I've said all along, that was also my initial diagnosis. How easy is it to get to and remove / change / fix?

Sent from my Iphone using Tapatalk

Goldberg · July 11, 2016

I removed the plug and repaired it myself the wire had broken right next to the plug. To be honest it could to with a new wire at some point but for now all ok

MrShades · July 11, 2016

Ok thanks... Just been reading up on it. Doesn't sound too tricky.

Sent from my Iphone using Tapatalk

MrShades · July 12, 2016

OK, so update from today....

Warnings have been coming and going whenever I drive it - so pretty intermittent.

But my mini-VCI lead arrived earlier (good old amazon Prime) and I've loaded up Techstream to see what it says. Check fault-codes: Right Rear ABS Sensor

So - much as I suspected, though I'd assumed it'd be a front one rather than rear.

This evening I've taken the wheel off and looked at everything.... the wiring all looks fine and I can't see any obvious problems with it, so I disconnected the ABS wire from the ABS sensor to see if a "reseat" made any difference.... it didn't.

I then looked at how to remove the ABS wiring... and got about 10 mins into it, before realising that the wires went up behind the wheel arch liner and heaven only knows where thereafter - so tried a different tack.

With the sensor unplugged from the wiring, I'm pretty sure that I read somewhere that the ABS sensors themselves should present about 1.5K-1.6K ohms of resistance (and you can use this fact to trace breaks in the sensor wiring if it's connected). Well - I put a multimeter directly onto the copper pins inside the ABS sensor plug and got an open circuit.

I wanted to be certain that this was the case, and thought it'd be easier with the sensor out rather than in - and briefly looked at removing it from the hub there and then. 10mm bolt came off easily, but sensor itself seemed pretty firm in the hub - so just lying on the floor I carefully and visually confirmed that I had my multimeter prongs directly on the two pins of the ABS sensor connector - and still infinite resistance.

To add to that, either with the sensor plugged in to the loom or not, Techstream still resolutely confirmed that the sensor was faulty - so it was seeing an open circuit when plugged in or not. Some gentle "wiggling" of the cable made no difference to Techstream readings or the Blackpool illuminations on my dashboard.

So - right now I have an eBay special Lexus "OEM quality" ABS right rear sensor on order - and it should be here on Thursday. £29.99

I then have the challenge of how to remove the old one, and replace it with then new one. Any hints or tips on removing the current one would be very much appreciated.

Will report back on Thursday or Friday, or when I next get chance to fiddle with it. Meanwhile the car is on the drive supported by a jack! (Good job I work from home often).

MrShades · July 13, 2016

...and if anyone would like a laugh - then I'd also completely forgotten that my car has a dashcam fitted. I've now reviewed the journey that my wife took on Sunday afternoon...

She was in a hurry...

Sets off from home, and within 50 yards passes over a speed-table at normal speed, without any braking or consideration for it at all. 50 yards later there's a slightly raised mini roundabout - and she also goes directly over the top of it (you can hear the suspension "thunks" as she takes it).

Almost simultaneously with taking the mini roundabout at speed you can hear the "ping ping" noise, that the dash makes when it displays a warning message. She doesn't seem to notice this, or just ignores it.

Around 20s later the dash again pings twice, and obviously continues to flash up messages.

At this point she is heard to mutter "What's going on here?" and stops the car for about 10s - only to then just continue driving. At this point she's less than 300 yards from home.

A short while later, when around a mile away from home she calls me for a "Is your car OK to drive with these messages popping up?" conversation.

We've now had a discussion about the true course of events and the subject of "mechanical sympathy" where road surfaces are concerned.

Zotto · July 13, 2016

Women...

Goldberg · July 13, 2016

Man your brave talking to a woman about her driving. Good news about finding the problem and the cause of the prolem lol . Cant wait to see your progress all you have to do then is BAN the wife from driving the car lol

MrShades · July 13, 2016

Well, faced with the video evidence we just had a laugh about it really.... case of having to!

I'm not going to try and remove the current sensor until the new one arrives, so that I can plug the new one in (and then the old one again, etc.) and confirm that the new sensor does resolve the issue.... before I probably destroy the old sensor in removing it.

Anyway - will update once the new sensor arrives (hopefully tomorrow)

MrShades · July 14, 2016

New sensor from eBay is open circuit - so seems to be dead on arrival - another is arriving tomorrow.

Sent from my Iphone using Tapatalk

Goldberg · July 15, 2016

did you manage to get the old one ot yet ?

MrShades · July 15, 2016

Hmmmm.... plot thickens again.

Second eBay sensor also open circuit with no continuity between sensor pins.

So - starting to think that the Lexus rear sensors can't be diagnosed with a simple resistance test. They always seem to be open circuit, infinite resistance and no continuity between pins.

So - I started investigating further.

Wiring.

I removed the rear seat base and unbolted the rear seat back, and pulled it forward. This then allows you to get behind the damping material and to the other end of the speed sensor cable.

I unplugged the one in question and tested the continuity of the two wires (from connector behind the seat to connector on the sensor). Both wires were solid, and jiggling the sensor end of it made no difference, so I was happy that the wiring was OK.

To double check I disconnected the sensor cable from behind the seat on the opposite side. It also tested as open circuit - so I was starting to think that perhaps the sensor was actually ok.

Figuring that it could now be abs ecu or wiring elsewhere I decided to put the rear wheel back on, reconnect the sensor and visit a auto-electrician.

Just out of interest I reconnected Techstream and thought I'd monitor the speed readout from all 4 sensors in realtime on the journey.

I connected the PC and whilst is done it a few times before I also hit the "clear fault codes" button - as usual it reported that it had cleared them - but previously the lights remained on. This time all fault lights went off...

I went for a drive - lights all off and sensors all reporting values perfectly.

Still on original abs sensor and original wiring and everything here...

Replaced back seat and everything else - and currently the lights are remaining off. Everything's looking good.

So - I'm currently thinking that it was probably a dodgy connection either behind the rear seat or at the wheel, and reseating the connections has resolved it.

Time will tell... and I'll update this thread with any more news.

Sent from my Iphone using Tapatalk

MrShades · July 15, 2016

Just a quick post to show photo of rear speed sensor with connector disconnected.

Spacewagon52 · July 15, 2016

Well done! Patience has paid off! Good result! So far..........

Goldberg · July 16, 2016

1 bad connection and you get all those lights on the dash amazing . Well done sir lets hope you fixed it for good

MrShades · July 16, 2016

Yes - seems that way. Have driven it last night and for some time this morning and it seems fine.

I'm just imagining the Lexus dealership story - we've tested it Sir (£79) and its reporting a faulty ABS sensor so we've changed it (£150, I checked) and reset the warning messages - so it's just the parts and a couple of hours labour... Here's an invoice for £600 - and look how clean it is!

Errr... Thanks!

Sent from my Iphone using Tapatalk

bmwjavier · December 18, 2019

On 7/10/2016 at 10:34 PM, MrShades said:

My 450h has provided great service to me in the 4 or 5 years that I've owned it so far - with hardly a problem at all. I bought it at 6000 miles and it's rapidly approaching 100,000 now.

All has been well - and my last trip on Friday was a good longish journey from Surrey back to Wiltshire - with no problems at all.

This afternoon my wife has borrowed it (she never drives it, and only did today as her car was v low on fuel) and within 5 minutes of pulling off the drive she called me:

"Is it OK to drive with this flashing triangle, and these warning messages"..... errrr... what flashing triangle and warning messages? Bring it home again.

So - now it starts OK (and runs and drives OK) but the display shows "Check VSC Check ECB" and then "Check PCS System" - and cycles round them. I've got yellow warning triangle flashing, Brake warning light, PCS warning light and ABS warning light on as well.

Any ideas what may have caused this very sudden and seemingly multiple system effecting error?

As I said, it apparently (I've not driven it again yet) drives OK with no loss of power or anything. My OBDII box doesn't seem to pick up any real errors, though has some "system readiness checks" that are marked as failed.

I can see a trip to the local (Swindon) dealer coming on, and an unexpectedly high bill to go with it.

Any help or advice or even suggestions or sympathy will be very gratefully received.

Hi. I have a 2007 GS450h. Yeterday, suddenly the car loses power, it did not exceed 60 km/h. The display shows ·"Check PCM", "Check Hibird System", "Check VSC Check ECB" and then "Check PCS System" - and cycles round them. I've got yellow warning triangle flashing, Brake warning light, PCS warning light and ABS warning light on as well.

teachstrem show ERRORS;

-ECM/PCM: U0100 U0101

-EMPS: U0073, U0129

-VGRS: U0122,U0126,U0131

-ABS/VSC/TRAC: C1304,U0073,U0123,U0124,U0126,U0130,U0293,

-PCS: B2057,B2058,B2059,U0122

-GATEWAY HV: U0122,U0123,U0126

I cleared fault codes with techstream. Everything OK, All the errors have disappeared and since then I have traveled 400 Kms, today without any problem.
What could have happened? How did you solve the problem?