2003 Rx300 Check Engine Light And Vsc Light

[ianb4310]

hi all yesterday after work the check engine light and vsc light came on ! went straight to my local garage and plugged it into code reader came back with p0346 camshaft position sensor bank 2.

he cleared the codes and as of yet they havent returned. but over the last couple of weeks i had a couple of other minor symptoms.

when im idling at junctions with the heater fan on fresh air intake there is a faint smell of petrol which stops if i turn heater off or use the recirculate button? i had this checked and did my own research which LED to the charcoal canister underneath the heater intake.

has anyone had a similar problem or any ideas

should i change the camshaft position sensor bank 2 ? does anyone know its location?

any help would be gratefully received

thanks

ian

[sendz]

Camshaft bank 2 sensor is pretty easy to change and is on the front cylinder head on the right hand side as you look under the bonnet and is fixed in by a 10mm bolt and a multiplug. These are quite common faults.

[ianb4310]

The eml light hasn't come back on ! Should I still change the sensor anyway ?

[sendz]

I wouldn't bother until it does.

[ianb4310]

It's running fine now will the eml light come on if the code is triggered again

[sendz]

Yes for sure.

[ianb4310]

Cheers

[Ken Sampson]

Yesterday the outside temp indicated was 5 deg, on attempting to start the Battery was flat (1year old), I used my portable jump start and all was ok.

Today, after driving 30 miles first the engine light blinked for several minutes before staying on, the engine sounds ok and not misfiring or lacking a cyl or power; minute later the vsc light came on and now both stay on!

But there is no difference in the running of the car,

The car was 1 year old when bought in 05 with 15k on the clock, now has 68k and has always run well.

I've checked the petrol filler cap, it's ok and gives a 'swoosh' when loosened admitting air.

I've topped up the coolant with Toyota Long Life Coolant, checked the oil level that was ok too but I have no diagnostic tools,

I've run out of ideas...

Ken

[Ken Sampson]

I omitted to say that after buying my RX300 I had an LPG conversion done by a VERY PROFICIENT AND CERTIFIED COMPANY - K Mugglestone of Boston, Lincs, that was 54000 miles ago and no problems have ever occurred.

After writing my problem I took the car round to my local excellent garage to have it checked by diagnostic meter, the fault showed as No 1 cylinder defective combustion, the fault shown was cleared and fuel changed to petrol, the car ran perfectly and even after a road test the engine check & vsc faults did not reappear.

I phoned Mugglestones and mentioned the problem and got the following information that would clarify where the fault lay, 'Start the engine on petrol, check that it runs ok, then switch to gas, still at tick over without load, if the engine runs normally there is unlikely to be a fault in the gas system at any speed or load BUT because gas is dry any fault in the ignition system will always show up on gas before it does so on petrol' , as the car has covered 69000 miles with original iridium plugs (they should be renewed at 60000 miles) the plug gaps will have widened considerably and likely to be the problem so change them,

'If the problem still exists it would most likely be down to a defective on-plug coil needing replacement.'

The car has been given to the garage today for plug change tomorrow - which entails removing the inlet manifold to gain access... ££££

Will let you know the result anon.

Ken

[Boxbrownie]

It's tight, but you do not have to remove the inlet manifold.

[Ken Sampson]

Well, the car was at the workshops for 24 hours, the fault was found to be No 1 spark plug, not surprising as the plugs had gone several thousand miles beyond recommended change time (60,000) with all plugs renewed the fault lights no longer show, just in case the problem turned out to be a faulty coil the No.1 coil was swapped with one at the front - to be easier to get at if needs be, but it wasn't necessary as the plugs were to blame.

Total cost was £340, not bad considering what it would have been at a Toyota dealer (circa £700).

Ken

[Boxbrownie]

Good to hear its all back and running again.

[Ken Sampson]

Now having 80,000 miles on the clock the eng light and VSC light have come on again, thought I noticed a very slight kind of judder through the steering wheel ??? But the car runs ok, took the car to my local garage (same as before) he put the diagnostic lead on which showed 'engine' or similar wording but nothing else showed up, he cancelled the display - but within 5 minutes it was back... What now if anyone knows?

thanks

Ken

[ChrisKaye]

Hi Ken,

If you could ask the garage for the code numbers, that would be more useful than the "Engrish" descriptions the code readers sometimes give you!

The problem could be many things at this stage with those lights on, but if you suspect a slight judder in the steering wheel feel, I'd take each wheel off in turn to visually inspect the brakes, paying attention to the part that the ABS wires go into each wheel sensor.

One other easy to check thing for this light combination is to ensure the rubber seal isn't perished/cracked around your fuel cap and you have a whoosh noise upon opening it.

The only other thing from the top of my head is a Catalytic converter/O2 sensor issue, but start with simpler things first!

[Ken Sampson]

Went back to the garage today and asked my man to kill the fault readout and check the fault code. He checked VSC found no faults, then checked engine... found no faults... Checked brakes... no faults, gearbox....no faults! Only thing found was a Historic Note (from months ago) PO172 Too rich on bank one. But that was sorted with 6 new plugs and 2 new coil-on-plug units.

Strange thing is that this time when fault readout was cancelled - IT DIDN'T COME BACK in the mile journey home. Now I have to wait and see what happens, I asked if the fault indication would affect the MOT, it would not UNLESS THE ABS LIGHT WAS ON.

Ken

[ChrisKaye]

Do you know what parts were fitted when the plugs and coil packs were changed? There is a high failure rate for non-OEM packs.

Also some cheaper code scanners won't show all of the error codes from the many different modules around the vehicle, for example, each wing mirror has it's own ECU! Generic readers will only pull codes common to all major manufacturers.

Fingers crossed the issue is resolved for you though!

[Ken Sampson]

Hi Chris,

The short answer to your Q is NO, I don't know the origin of parts but my garage man knows that I require the best regardless of cost so I don't think he would have tried short cuts.

All's well at the moment so fingers crossed - and Thank you very much for your responses.

 

Ken