Help - Rx400 Stereo - Error 3 (And Error 4).

[PCthug]

Got a 2005 RX400h and the standard 6cd changer.

It give me an error a few weeks ago, saying Error 4.

I unplugged the Battery and reconnected it several hours and it worked for a few weeks before giving the same error.

I disconnected the Battery again and now its saying error 3.

Not sure if these numbers refer to the CD that was being used at the time, but I cant do ANYTHING with it now.

If I go onto the CD it gives this error, if I try to eject the CD it just goes to the radio, if I try and change the CD it just goes to the radio, if I disconnect the Battery it just keeps the message on when I reconnect it.

Anyone had this problem before and find a solution?

[raymundo]

My CD player comes up with the same fault code and with the same symptoms mentioned here (niggling fault as mentioned in my 'Hello' post), so like the OP any help would be most welcome. The manual says to visit the nearest dealer but it would wouldn't it?

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Two very different cars and two very different stereos.

Error 3 on an IS200 means its kaput, dead, game over.

Hope it's not the same on an RX400h

[GWS]

On 5/17/2013 at 6:07 AM, PCthug said:

Got a 2005 RX400h and the standard 6cd changer.

It give me an error a few weeks ago, saying Error 4.

I unplugged the battery and reconnected it several hours and it worked for a few weeks before giving the same error.

I disconnected the battery again and now its saying error 3.

Not sure if these numbers refer to the CD that was being used at the time, but I cant do ANYTHING with it now.

If I go onto the CD it gives this error, if I try to eject the CD it just goes to the radio, if I try and change the CD it just goes to the radio, if I disconnect the battery it just keeps the message on when I reconnect it.

Anyone had this problem before and find a solution?

Well better late than never. "Error code 4"

 Yes, we have had CDs stuck for a long time till I went to an independent site to find some solutions. The Lexus dealer here in Van Nuys, CA(USA) "Keyes" who the car was bought from by my sister and came highly recommend and we have all our work done at, said they could do nothing and it would cost $1,120 to replace with a rebuilt one. Why so much? So as i said I went and research online and tried the" jiggle with a credit card" and repeatedly hit the eject button. Had to keep pushing the Disk selection as it kept trying to go to radio. 5 minutes later fiddling and I got them all out. I plan on experimenting with playing one CD at a time in the loader. If that fails there are many after market versions that are easy for a person who has replaced many car stereos in his cars over the years. there are a number of trim packages to refit to your dash available. Short of that go to an installer. I bet you don't come near $1,120 for just a unit without speakers. Shop around. Don't get taken. Now I can't wait to listen to something besides the radio.

[PCthug]

Well as it happens, I still have this car (and still has the error too).

I keep meaning to take it into a independent repairers myself, or even fit a USB/MP3 adaptor to the rear (doing away with the CD player altogether), both of which I have never got round to doing.

I just listen to the radio, or my cassette MPS adaptor.

[NickJ]

Hi PCthug, (apologies in advance for the length of this post reply...!)

I had (note 'had') the Error 3 and 4 messages on my CD multi-changer in my Lexus RX and it now works perfectly. I had done about a year's research from when I first noticed the error codes and associated issues. I actually fixed this in July last year, but didn't want to confirm it had worked till a few months of usage (I since forgot to post as it was no longer an issue... apologies for the delay if this is the solution for you...!)

My issues started as occasional problems with CD selection, then progressing to stopping playing any CDs after it failed to select. It would only select 'up' through the CDs (i.e. 1-6) and not 'down' (i.e. 6-1). Eventually, CDs began to get stuck until this point last year when nothing would eject.

I had the odd success with turning off/on ignition to 'reboot' and get some traction from the CD player (to eject or allow me to play something), then when that wasn't working I I resorted to Battery dis/re-connection to the same end, then fuse removal/plugging back in, etc.

Now, there are lots of theories out there about MP3 recordings, labels, etc, etc, which should be checked out first and if that was the issue, it should have resolved it. However, if the problem has not resolved itself and is gradually deteriorating over a period of time or suddenly more chronic then I am convinced that it can 'can' be fixed in 98% of cases and do not believe anyone who just writes it off as 'dead' if you're getting these errors.

In my case it was 'swtiches'. I watched a great YouTube clip (I say clip... it's 40mins long!!! but I'll tell you the key section to go to to better illustrate what I am prattling on about...). Essentially in any CD multichanger, you have roughly 6-8 switches. These sit waiting for contact from a piece of machinery in the multi-changer and once contact is made, allows another piece of machinery to move, which in turn may touch another switch which makes another piece move. This allows parts to move in a given sequence to allow something to happen. So, for example, you press the eject button, this moves the CD laser arm out of the CD stack. When the laser arm has finished moving back it hits a switch which triggers the CD stack to move the disc up through the rack and into position to eject. When the CD has stopped another switch is hit which moves the CD out through the slot.
After a period of time (in my case the car was 10-11 years old) the switches can either seize up or lose their electrical connectivity. The YouTube clip explains all of this and how to take you CD player apart to locate any switches you may have. In my case, I had had enough of the lack of CD functionality and had decided to plug a GROM audio USB connector in the back of it to play tracks from my iPod or Android phone (incidentally this is very simple to fit if you wanted to do that... it has also been fantastic!). With that in mind I thought I'd have a stab at lubricating all the switches as the worst thing that could happen would be for the multi-changer to 'still' not work and have a convenient iPod function instead.
So, if you want to do this yourself, below are two links. One is for the CD player extraction and the other is for the dismantling and reassembly of the CD multi-changer. It took 10-15 mins to take out the CD/audio equipment. It took approximately 1.5-2 hours to dismantle the multi-changer, locate switches, lubricate (with WD40) and re-assemble. I won't deny that it's fiddly and dexterous work, but it can be done. The YouTube clip isn't for the same model, but the principles are the same and you'll find all the equivalent parts.

I really hope this helps you or anyone who finds this  :-)

My tips are:
DO set aside plenty of time and be patient - it'll save 100's of pounds in getting it fixed elsewhere and the result for me is it was instantly better with no repeat problems a year later (not even a sniff...!)
DO use the tools recommended for taking out the CD player from the car (particularly the 'magnetic' socket tip, so you don't drop any nuts while unscrewing as angles are tight...)
DO put the muti-changer on large sheets of clean white (light coloured) paper so as to see little screws, etc, that you take out
DO do this away from kids/animals as you don't want any 'fiddling about' that may occur when your back is turned
DO believe this can be done by you and that it will help
DO consider fitting something like the GROM while you have it all out, as you may need the back-up and you may never wish to take this out again in the future!

Now, here are the clips:
  -  How to take the multichanger out of your Lexus
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEx20dQnhIc

  -  What is going on in a multi-changer and how to  dismantle and lubricate switches (if you want to fast forward to his discovery of the 'switch' issue, then jump to the 17 minute mark)
N.B. watch the whole thing to understand how to dismantle and reassemble and don't go into this like a bull in a china shop... I can't accept responsibility for anyone 'having a go' or getting a negative outcome for this or any other part of this post...
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z50nF4Li55I

  -  Fitting a GROM device if you're interested:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk2ri78crOM

 

 

[PCthug]

Nick, thanks very much for this.

I still have the car and still have the issues.

I was thinking about a GROM but didn't know which to buy as I heard some have issues with distortion.

I will certainly give this a go and will post back with my results.

Thanks again for you very informative post.

[NickJ]

No problem.

My GROM has given me no issues by the way. It's best paired up with an apple device as this is what they were originally made for (I use an iPod Nano), but are perfectly fine with an Android phone which I use as well (don't know about others...). It's kind of down to how good your phone is rather than the device itself - my Moto G4 is better at connection than my old S4 Mini... Make sure you order the correct fixing cable with the device. Also, if you don't have Bluetooth phone or device connection functionality already then you can get a GROM with that too for a few extra pounds.

If you just did the GROM, the whole thing would take half an hour to an hour. If you tried to lube all the switches in your CD player, then add a couple of hours to that too (and be patient). If you can find the time it's worth doing both...

:-)