Engine Management Light On

Mars · March 15, 2017

So due to go to the airport in the morning and my car is displaying the warning light on the dash and there is a little hesitation and sounds as if it may be misfiring. This happened today but as well about a week ago so rang Lexus and they said it will cost £180 to diagnose the fault. I got a local garage to check it last week to see if there was any faults showing but there was none and has been driving fine until today.

Any ideas?

true blue · March 16, 2017

^{Hi if the light is showing there will be a code stored . The cheapest answer is to buy a cheap reader off E bay and plug that in .The Lexus price is crazy for diagnosis ,try another independent garage ,do not reset the code or disconnect the Battery ;post the code up here and you will getyour answer .Don,t leave it too long if the car is misfiring as unburnt fuel will damage the cat}

^Dave

Mars · March 18, 2017

Hi Dave

Well I am abroad so unable to do anything until I return in 3 weeks time. Any recommendations on a good/cheap reader I can purchase on eBay?

Dinho · March 19, 2017

Simple OBD II scanner, I've got the red unit, was around £12 when I bought it

sorcerer · March 19, 2017

On 18/03/2017 at 0:52 PM, Mars said:

Hi Dave

Well I am abroad so unable to do anything until I return in 3 weeks time. Any recommendations on a good/cheap reader I can purchase on EBay?

I got this one on Ebay a while ago and it's been excellent.

Mars · March 19, 2017

Thanks guys I will definitely buy an OBDII scanner and check it when I return. I have been researching and it appears it can be anything from a defective coil or even my Battery (it is 10yrs+ old).

Dinho · March 19, 2017

Coil packs are quite a common issue from what i've seen, have you had your Battery tested on a voltmeter at all?
If in doubt Varta E44 Battery is a very very good Battery if you decide to buy a new one!

Mars · March 19, 2017

No I have not had the Battery tested but I know I have had good use considering. I have never had a Battery last that long.

I did in anticipation buy a Battery in January but did not fit it as the old Battery appeared to be doing its job. My existing Battery and the new one are both Toyota 65Ah batteries and it was on offer in January.

I will let you know how I get on.

Britprius · March 21, 2017

On 3/19/2017 at 11:26 PM, Mars said:

No I have not had the battery tested but I know I have had good use considering. I have never had a battery last that long.

I did in anticipation buy a battery in January but did not fit it as the old battery appeared to be doing its job. My existing battery and the new one are both Toyota 65Ah batteries and it was on offer in January.

I will let you know how I get on.

Charge the new battery before fitting. If you do not fit it charge it anyway as lead acid batteries do not like standing in a semi charged state, and loose charge just standing.

John.

Mars · March 21, 2017

Ha, John I have done that already but when I return I will make sure it is fully charged.

Mars · April 8, 2017

Alright I returned yesterday and while abroad ordered one of these

and downloaded an OBDII Fusion app for the Iphone

It threw up 2 codes as follow-:

P0302 - Cylinder 2 misfire detected

P0171 - System too lean

I cleared the faults and started the car which ran for a while without the EML coming on but the exhaust note was still sounding as if there was a misfire. Eventually the EML came back on. So I assume that I will have to change the coil and get the "engine too lean" bit sorted out.

Anyone have any coils available?

Mars · April 18, 2017

So I called out roadside assistance to transport my car to the dealer and the mechanic checked with his OBDII reader and it came back with no misfire but the system was still running too lean. He said I could drive the car to the dealer which I did. Lexus has checked it and said the cause is the fuel injector/injectors.

tinsnips · April 19, 2017

thats the same as my is 200 number one injector knackered. only available from stealership at a whopping £190+vat. i'm getting second hand as loads cheaper the running lean is due to no fuel going into the cylinder. loads of injectors on eBay and some new ones quite cheap as well

Mars · April 19, 2017

That is cheap. Costing me £233 incl of vat plus labour. I apparently had a misfire as well plus the car was running lean. Unfortunately I could not hang around. I really have to find a good independent.

There are a couple of injectors on eBay for £69 and £75 respectively.

tinsnips · April 19, 2017

omg whats the brake down of your bill. as soon as you read stored fault codes and get misfire and lean running that means in laymans terms no fuel getting to that cylinder so you test for trigger signal at the injector if u have a pulsing signal the injector is faulty takes no longer than half hour at my work place that £30+vat. shame you are so far from me i would have repaired your car for £30 with you getting the parts needed

Mars · April 19, 2017

Tell me. In London labour charges are horrendous and I do know someone who could have done it but can never get hold of him when I want to. Plus you get advice not to drive it so I called out roadside assistance and they said I could drive it to the dealer 6 miles away where I had a booking anyway. So I just took the hit I am afraid.

I next have to change the auto transmission strainer and oil and remedy a slight oil weeping at the rear of the car (can't remember what the part is called) but have a company who will do that at half the price the dealer will charge.

Differential.

tinsnips · April 20, 2017

we use a specialist for those jobs rule of thumb dont do anything to an auto box unless you are having problems with it some times it can cause issues

Mars · April 20, 2017

The company who will be doing it has quoted £180 to drain the transmission oil and change the strainer, gasket and refill. Gearboxes are their only business and they have been recommended by a mechanic I know. Lexus after discounts will be around £400.

Mars · April 20, 2017

19 hours ago, tinsnips said:

omg whats the brake down of your bill. as soon as you read stored fault codes and get misfire and lean running that means in laymans terms no fuel getting to that cylinder so you test for trigger signal at the injector if u have a pulsing signal the injector is faulty takes no longer than half hour at my work place that £30+vat. shame you are so far from me i would have repaired your car for £30 with you getting the parts needed

Stuart,

Well I have a big hole in my pocket. Got my car back today and it is running quite sweet. They said the defective injector was causing the misfire and that it is not just a matter of changing the said injector, but you have to code/program the new injector so that the ECU recognises it. Sort of makes sense to me but perhaps you can confirm that.

mojay · March 27, 2023

Hey, I have a 66 plate IS300h. I felt my car misfire yesterday. The feeling was simila to a stalling engine feeling. However my car survived the night no problems. The next day I started my car and the engine management light is on. The car seems to be performing as normal and no change to the hybrid behaviour either. However Im thinking after reading this post, I too may have to pay for some injectors soon ?