Shutter grille inoperable

[Lexus4Me?]

I'd been away for six weeks and returned to find the Lexus wouldn't quite start. 12V Battery flat engine wouldn't fire up alarm started sounding weakly with lights flashing. I've been told that I may have damaged the traction Battery - some cells would have discharged more than others and then been damaged by the rapid charging once I'd got a jump start. 

About a week later I jumped into the car and on startup was greeted by the yellow exclamation mark and the message "Shutter grille inoperable". I googled it and found out what the shutter grille does (shuts to restrict airflow through the lower vents at the front of the car - to reduce over cooling and possibly improve aerodynamics) but only one report (of a Prius owner) having a fault - which was diagnosed as being caused by poor routing of wiring in the engine bay through the shutters.

I worried about it for a day or so. Did some more fruitless Googling and checked out pricing for the online manual but put off getting out the spanners because of a visit from friends. Next time I got into the car to take these friends for a ride to the North Norfolk Coast (not fretting too much about the grille because it was open rather than closed) to find the warning triangle and the message had disappeared.

Is it usual for faults to disappear like this?

 

[Farqui]

If a fault is intermittent or caused by unusual circumstance (like a flat battery) then 3-4 cold starts where the fault doesn't re-occur can often clear the dash board warning.  The code will still be stored in the ECU for later analysis, if need be.

[Vlady]

Found this thread, similar to mine the issue above.

Well, I hope it will go away soon, it could be that I washed the car yesterday and it was a bit chilly during the night, who knows! I drove car for about 40 miles this morning and message wasn't there but later in afternoon it appeared, strange. 

I will wait a week or so and if the message doesn't go sway I will call Lexus garage.

[Vlady]

Called Lexus Glasgow, they were very surprised to hear that grille shutter is causing issues, Gary (service department) said he only dealt twice with this problem is a last few years! 

The bad news is that new Grille shutter actuator cost £500! I will wait for now, thank you! 🙂

 

[Boosh.]

Hi, 

The Toyota Prius 4th gen. (2016 onwards) all have 'active grille shuttering', so there might be some of their mechanisms in the breaker's yards, perhaps with some commonality with regards to motor drive mechanism. I've never heard of a problem with theirs, so the used spare parts might be cheap. 

If your grille follows this Toyota convention in the video below, then it seems it could be checked for functionality fairly easily. 

 

[Vlady]

18 minutes ago, Boosh. said:

Hi, 

The Toyota Prius 4th gen. (2016 onwards) all have 'active grille shuttering', so there might be some of their mechanisms in the breaker's yards, perhaps with some commonality with regards to motor drive mechanism. I've never heard of a problem with theirs, so the used spare parts might be cheap. 

If your grille follows this Toyota convention in the video below, then it seems it could be checked for functionality fairly easily. 

 

That's one clever system, isn't it? I will go outside and check in what position are  mine shutters, I expect them to be in open position or half open!

I still have a hope that this happened after car wash and some water droplets just got frozen and once the ambient temperature raises the issue will go away! 

[Boosh.]

Yes, the designers seem to have thought of every eventuality.

Whilst I'm sure that there is no maintenance required for the system, what would happen if some road debris got caught in it (straw, vegetation etc.)?

The 'dealer' way, with no disrespect meant to them, is to replace a mechanism with new, so as to minimise the likelihood of the fault reoccurring, but I suspect that a thorough clean of the pivots and levers may well be enough to revive the existing one.  This forum is not the place to emphasize how reliable Japanese mechanisms of this type normally are - I can't help thinking a 'foreign body' has hindered its movement somehow. 

 

[Vlady]

9 minutes ago, Boosh. said:

Yes, the designers seem to have thought of every eventuality.

Whilst I'm sure that there is no maintenance required for the system, what would happen if some road debris got caught in it (straw, vegetation etc.)?

The 'dealer' way, with no disrespect meant to them, is to replace a mechanism with new, so as to minimise the likelihood of the fault reoccurring, but I suspect that a thorough clean of the pivots and levers may well be enough to revive the existing one.  This forum is not the place to emphasize how reliable Japanese mechanisms of this type normally are - I can't help thinking a 'foreign body' has hindered its movement somehow. 

 

I will check later if anything got stacked in there, I doubt that as I was driving on M77 and nothing hit my car underneath but still will require checking.

I agree with you, it just should be a standard simple cleaning as a maintenance procedure, as I said before I didn't even know I have these shutters other wise I would be much more gently with the pressure washer as well! 

At the moment it is a bit cold outside and I do not need to use the car as we have my wifes car if we need to go anywhere but these shutters need to be looked at definitely! 

I still can't believe that an actuator can cost £500! Unless it comes as a full assembly with the shutters!

[Vlady]

Went to the garage yesterday to check the grille shutters, I was hoping it would be an obvious mechanical failure but we checked all the linkages and they are fine, all the wiring seems fine and nothing stuck in shutters so everything points to motor/actuator.

Last time I spoke to Lexus Garage they wanted £500! Now I need to try to find it cheaper. 😞

 

[ColinBarber]

The actuator is an assembly that houses the motor, gears, sensor and some electronics. Unfortunately the price of non-service items aren't related to the cost of manufacturer. Part code is 88940-30100, same part is used on the series III IS but I'm not sure the UK ones have it, certainly my 2013 F-Sport didn't. The module on the Prius is different.

[ColinBarber]

There appears to be at least 4 different error codes that can be generated by the system. You need a code reader to identify which one.

There is also an initialisation procedure that needs to be performed if the module is replaced, otherwise it sits in a failsafe maintenance mode and produces a B1333 code. I imagine you need Techstream to correctly initialise it.

[Vlady]

@ColinBarber many thanks for the information, I was looking for item 88940C to buy, I thought it is a motor/actuator only. 

I can't say if the garage I took the car to has a Techstream to read codes so I need to find someone who has it.

Also, I was not aware about Initialisation Procedure, can I perform it just to check it and without replacing the whole assembly? Where can i get this procedure from?

I disconnected the Battery this morning hoping it would do something but no magic happened and the light is still on! 😞

In America this item ic cheaper:

[ColinBarber]

3 hours ago, Vlady said:

Where can i get this procedure from?

I've looked into this. It is nothing more than driving the vehicle at which point the errors will clear:

If the swing grille actuator assembly is replaced with a new one, perform the following procedure.
Drive the vehicle at a speed of 5 km/h (3 mph) or more.

[Vlady]

2 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

I've looked into this. It is nothing more than driving the vehicle at which point the errors will clear:

If the swing grille actuator assembly is replaced with a new one, perform the following procedure.
Drive the vehicle at a speed of 5 km/h (3 mph) or more.

Colin thank you. At this moment I am trying to find someone I know who might have a Techstream and knows how to use it, if I can't find it I will buy the cable and will download the software so I can finsd or read the errors if there is any.

Might give Lexus another call and see if they can come down on price, like 50% or so or try to order it from States or Japan, even in Russia I can get it for about £250., this is what online says, the story might be different when time will come to order it, it will be either out of stock or not able to deliver it or etc!

[ColinBarber]

51 minutes ago, Vlady said:

Colin thank you. At this moment I am trying to find someone I know who might have a Techstream and knows how to use it, if I can't find it I will buy the cable and will download the software so I can finsd or read the errors if there is any.

You shouldn't need Techstream to get the error code, just a code reader that will read manufacturer specific codes and not just standard engine codes. Something like Carista claim the following for the series IV GS:

Dealer-level electronic diagnostics (fault code checking and resetting) of all modules in the vehicle, incl. ABS, airbag, and other manufacturer-specific systems.

[Vlady]

16 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

You shouldn't need Techstream to get the error code, just a code reader that will read manufacturer specific codes and not just standard engine codes. Something like Carista claim the following for the series IV GS:

Dealer-level electronic diagnostics (fault code checking and resetting) of all modules in the vehicle, incl. ABS, airbag, and other manufacturer-specific systems.

Colin, is somehting like that?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00YVHGTBM/?coliid=I3KCNIIHRTXBC3&colid=3VV1PSAY0BS5R&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

[Vlady]

Can it be something as simple as a faulty fuse? I checked Manual and have no idea hw this fuse would be called to check it. 

Does GS IV has three location for fuses? Under the bonnet, on driver side and the passenger side?! I will go and check it but at the moment it is so horrible outside with strong winds and rain that I can wait for now! 🙂

[ColinBarber]

2 hours ago, Vlady said:

Colin, is somehting like that?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00YVHGTBM/?coliid=I3KCNIIHRTXBC3&colid=3VV1PSAY0BS5R&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

Yes, that dongle works with the Carista app on a mobile phone/tablet and can work with other apps too. It gives you 1 month free access to the Carista app, afterwards you can pay for a month's access as and when needed.

[ColinBarber]

1 hour ago, Vlady said:

Can it be something as simple as a faulty fuse? I checked Manual and have no idea hw this fuse would be called to check it. 

Does GS IV has three location for fuses? Under the bonnet, on driver side and the passenger side?! I will go and check it but at the moment it is so horrible outside with strong winds and rain that I can wait for now! 🙂

The fuse will be in the engine bay. Should be labelled ECU-B NO.2  7.5 Amps.

[Vlady]

Colin thank you,I will check the fuse later and will order Carista today too.

Have a good day!

[Vlady]

Just got a quote from Lexus online Parts, they want £360 plus delivery for the actuator, it is better than Lexus Glasgow but still not cheap!

Now I need to make sure this is the motor/actuator that is faulty. 

I also ordered Carista today, should be with me tomorrow. 

[Vlady]

Nope, the fuse is fine! 😞

 

[Vlady]

On 2/13/2021 at 12:01 PM, ColinBarber said:

There appears to be at least 4 different error codes that can be generated by the system. You need a code reader to identify which one.

There is also an initialisation procedure that needs to be performed if the module is replaced, otherwise it sits in a failsafe maintenance mode and produces a B1333 code. I imagine you need Techstream to correctly initialise it.

Colin I got my Carista today and after scanning I got the following code (you were right, see below):

This just confirms that the grille shutters do not work  but I am not 100% sure it is an actuators fault and do not want to order it just yet. 

Does anyone know if I can check the cabling by disconnecting it from actuator, turn on the ignition and using a tester to see if there is a signal being sent to it or this is a stupid idea?

 

[Vlady]

It also asks me if I want to reset it, I guess I will need to do that once the actuator is swapped to a new one?

Also to do that I need to pay for it, I also thought 1st month is free, no?

 

Anyway, more to study! 🙂

[ColinBarber]

Try resetting it to clear the error and see if it comes back again. I suspect it will unfortunately.

The error suggests it is trying to move the shutters but it doesn't detect they open or close within the time expected. It isn't a wiring issue to the actuator as that would give a different code. It could still be something external to the actuator stopping it open/close properly. You probably won't be able to tell unless you remove it all from the vehicle.

 

Yes you should get 30 days free access. Looks like you have to select the 12-month option and cancel it before your trial expires so you don't get charged.