Red warning triangle warning light comes on when cornering

[Stephen123]

Hi,

I have a lexus gs450h and when I drive the car fast in to a corner the red warning triangle comes on and will not go off until I restart the car. Anybody got any ideas why this happens please, its so annoying but doesnt affect performance at all

[LenT]

4 hours ago, Stephen123 said:

Hi,

I have a lexus gs450h and when I drive the car fast in to a corner the red warning triangle comes on and will not go off until I restart the car. Anybody got any ideas why this happens please, its so annoying but doesnt affect performance at all

Mine’s a different model, but the Manual doesn’t even show a Red warning triangle.  Have you checked your Manual?

Have you checked the oil level?   Hard cornering can produce a low level.  Alternatively, does it happen on every corner or just in one direction?  It might be related to the sensors on the wheels.

The other suggestion is….don’t do it then!  😊

[Bluemarlin]

No idea why it happens, but I believe that the red triangle is a master warning light that alerts to a number of things. These could be low washer fluid, tyre pressure,  brakes, I'm not sure of the full list. Either way, when the llight comes on there should be a message in the text display box that tells you why it's lit up.

 

[Stephen123]

13 hours ago, Bluemarlin said:

No idea why it happens, but I believe that the red triangle is a master warning light that alerts to a number of things. These could be low washer fluid, tyre pressure,  brakes, I'm not sure of the full list. Either way, when the llight comes on there should be a message in the text display box that tells you why it's lit up.

 

Thanks, thats the thing, no other message comes up, only the triangle, and I have checked all fluid levels, tyre pressure etc, only thing I can think of is the suspension, not sure if it would show a warning light or not

[Bluemarlin]

10 hours ago, Stephen123 said:

Thanks, thats the thing, no other message comes up, only the triangle, and I have checked all fluid levels, tyre pressure etc, only thing I can think of is the suspension, not sure if it would show a warning light or not

Without a message it's impossible to tell. Usually a message comes up in (I think) the mileage/odometer window to tell you what the specific issue is, but in the absence of that you'll need to get the codes read to see what's triggering it.

If it's happening when you're accelerating fast into a corner then all sorts of things could be triggered, like steering,  traction, stability etc, which could either be a faulty component or a faulty sensor, but only a message or codes will tell you which.

[Stephen123]

Thanks Bluemarlin, I am getting new front tyres fitted next week as apparently they are badly worn inside, cant see from just looking at the tyres as the car is lowereed, so hope this makes the difference, warning may be picking up imbalance and poor alignment. Cheers

[LenT]

4 hours ago, Stephen123 said:

I am getting new front tyres fitted next week as apparently they are badly worn inside, cant see from just looking at the tyres as the car is lowereed,

This new information may well be the clue to the problem - especially depending on exactly where the wear is occurring, and whether it’s equal on both tyres.

If the suspension’s been lowered are the tyres even the correct size?  Is the wear being caused by road friction - or something else?  And getting the tracking checked sounds like an especially good idea!

[ColinBarber]

On 6/29/2023 at 12:21 AM, Stephen123 said:

Thanks, thats the thing, no other message comes up, only the triangle, and I have checked all fluid levels, tyre pressure etc, only thing I can think of is the suspension, not sure if it would show a warning light or not

It could be be related to rear steering, transmission etc. but you would normally expect to see a message in the small display giving you more information and an additional warning light.

We can speculate all the different things it could be, but without another light or message to give us a clue the only way to know is to put a fault reader on and see what errors exist (and historical ones).

[Bluemarlin]

12 hours ago, Stephen123 said:

Thanks Bluemarlin, I am getting new front tyres fitted next week as apparently they are badly worn inside, cant see from just looking at the tyres as the car is lowereed, so hope this makes the difference, warning may be picking up imbalance and poor alignment. Cheers

Hopefully that resolves it. If not the master warning light covers a host of issues, like low tyre pressure (if you have pressure monitoring), service overdue, brakes, air bags, low washer fluid (which I guess could also be possibly triggered when cornering), plus several others.

If you have a manual then that will have a section which details all the things the master warning light covers. If not you can download a copy and have a read. That will at least give you an idea of things to look for if there's no additional message.

Ultimately though, without a message, it's all guesswork. Personally, if it's still there after the tyre change, I'd check the free things that the manual points to, like tyre pressure, service interval and washer fluid, and  if that doesn't resolve it I'd get the codes read before spending any money on speculative fixes.

[bigglesfllesundone]

It could be auto levelling headlight problem, with lowered suspension.
your car may be fitted with this.

See this thread:

 

[Steven Lockey]

Probably wrong but seems like a coincidence...

Worn inner tyres...
Alert while cornering
Lowered suspension

Maybe the alert is cos when you are cornering the wheel is hitting something and triggering a sensor somewhere.
Would explain why the inner types are worn while the outers are fine, cos if you tyre inflation is right, you shouldn't
get that unless they screwed your wheel angle when they lowered the suspension so the wheels aren't flat on the road.

In fact the wheel angle been wrong might explain it if the computer now can't detect if the wheel is slipping or not on
corners, so it flags an error. Probably not one that happens so the computer hasn't got an error for it to display.

[Stephen123]

Very helpful thanks Steve, new tyres are being fitted today along with an alignment so fingers crossed it resolves the problem, cheers

[scudney]

Make sure it's not just wheel alignment but 4 wheel geometry 

[Stephen123]

Hi,

now I have the new tyres fitted and a full wheel alignment I have the red triangle light on all the time, also under the odo reading I get a message VGRS sometimes, could it be that the service shop has not done the alignment correctly and I need to take the car back to them, if so, what advice should I give them regarding the VGRS system, given they may not have any experience with this, thanks!

[NemesisUK]

You really need to get the codes read using Techstream. Otherwise it's just guessing 

[LenT]

4 hours ago, Stephen123 said:

now I have the new tyres fitted and a full wheel alignment I have the red triangle light on all the time, also under the odo reading I get a message VGRS sometimes, could it be that the service shop has not done the alignment correctly and I need to take the car back to them

Well, what was originally an intermittent problem has now apparently become a permanent condition after their work.

Clearly, there could be a causal relationship here and you should certainly take the car back to them to resolve it.

Delay may simply work against you if more damage results.  It is - after all - a red warning!

[Bluemarlin]

5 hours ago, Stephen123 said:

Hi,

now I have the new tyres fitted and a full wheel alignment I have the red triangle light on all the time, also under the odo reading I get a message VGRS sometimes, could it be that the service shop has not done the alignment correctly and I need to take the car back to them, if so, what advice should I give them regarding the VGRS system, given they may not have any experience with this, thanks!

First off, any warning light could be triggered by something as simple as a low Battery, so check that just in case, although it's only a remote possibility given what you've said so far.

The VGRS system controls/varies the degree of steering input based on speed, and relies on sensors to do this. As such, it's quite possible that something may have been amiss with the alignment, which has now been made worse since the wheels were realigned.

As a matter of interest, is your steering wheel centred when the wheels are straight, or is it offset to any degree?  From a quick search on VGRS faults, it seems it might be anything from simply needing the steering to be recalibrated to a faulty steering rack. I even read that it could be be triggered by faulty parking assist software, which just needs to be reset.

As you can see, any diagnosis is merely guesswork, based on possibilties, which might solve it, or could be costly and time consuming red herrings. The only definitive way is get it to a dealer to read the codes with Techstream.

Be warned though, as sometimes it appears that Techstream will advise a steering rack replacement by default, when the actual issue may be simpler/cheaper. I would suggest searching the issue so that you're armed with a bit of advance knowledge, and then getting it to a Lexus/Toyota dealer to read the codes. Search for VGRS fault message, but these threads should give you a starting point:

 

[Steven Lockey]

15 hours ago, Stephen123 said:

Hi,

now I have the new tyres fitted and a full wheel alignment I have the red triangle light on all the time, also under the odo reading I get a message VGRS sometimes, could it be that the service shop has not done the alignment correctly and I need to take the car back to them, if so, what advice should I give them regarding the VGRS system, given they may not have any experience with this, thanks!

I think its more likely caused by the original lowering and the alignment just made it show up more easily. 

[Stephen123]

12 hours ago, Bluemarlin said:

First off, any warning light could be triggered by something as simple as a low battery, so check that just in case, although it's only a remote possibility given what you've said so far.

The VGRS system controls/varies the degree of steering input based on speed, and relies on sensors to do this. As such, it's quite possible that something may have been amiss with the alignment, which has now been made worse since the wheels were realigned.

As a matter of interest, is your steering wheel centred when the wheels are straight, or is it offset to any degree?  From a quick search on VGRS faults, it seems it might be anything from simply needing the steering to be recalibrated to a faulty steering rack. I even read that it could be be triggered by faulty parking assist software, which just needs to be reset.

As you can see, any diagnosis is merely guesswork, based on possibilties, which might solve it, or could be costly and time consuming red herrings. The only definitive way is get it to a dealer to read the codes with Techstream.

Be warned though, as sometimes it appears that Techstream will advise a steering rack replacement by default, when the actual issue may be simpler/cheaper. I would suggest searching the issue so that you're armed with a bit of advance knowledge, and then getting it to a Lexus/Toyota dealer to read the codes. Search for VGRS fault message, but these threads should give you a starting point:

 

12 hours ago, Bluemarlin said:

First off, any warning light could be triggered by something as simple as a low battery, so check that just in case, although it's only a remote possibility given what you've said so far.

The VGRS system controls/varies the degree of steering input based on speed, and relies on sensors to do this. As such, it's quite possible that something may have been amiss with the alignment, which has now been made worse since the wheels were realigned.

As a matter of interest, is your steering wheel centred when the wheels are straight, or is it offset to any degree?  From a quick search on VGRS faults, it seems it might be anything from simply needing the steering to be recalibrated to a faulty steering rack. I even read that it could be be triggered by faulty parking assist software, which just needs to be reset.

As you can see, any diagnosis is merely guesswork, based on possibilties, which might solve it, or could be costly and time consuming red herrings. The only definitive way is get it to a dealer to read the codes with Techstream.

Be warned though, as sometimes it appears that Techstream will advise a steering rack replacement by default, when the actual issue may be simpler/cheaper. I would suggest searching the issue so that you're armed with a bit of advance knowledge, and then getting it to a Lexus/Toyota dealer to read the codes. Search for VGRS fault message, but these threads should give you a starting point:

 

 

[Stephen123]

Thanks very much, appreciate your comments, cheers

[Bluemarlin]

6 minutes ago, Stephen123 said:

Thanks very much, appreciate your comments, cheers

No problem.

Additionally, I missed the comment about your car being lowered, that Steven picked up on. I believe that if a car is lowered then the VGRS needs to be recalibrated, so it might be worth going back to the garage who did the lowering to see if they were aware of that and did it.

As an aside, unless the lowering was equal, front and back, then the headlights will possibly need recalibrating too.