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Old 07-19-2005, 04:59 PM #1
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VSC, TRAC, and Check engine lights on

On my way home from work, all three of these lights came on and will not go out. Any ideas before I take this in for warranty service? This is an '04 SR5 V6.
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Old 07-19-2005, 05:07 PM #2
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Is your gas cap on tight? Seriously...

I remember reading a post where a member drove off with the gas cap off and the idiot lights came on...
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Old 07-19-2005, 05:23 PM #3
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Quote:
Originally posted by sharp4runr
Is your gas cap on tight? Seriously...

I remember reading a post where a member drove off with the gas cap off and the idiot lights came on...
Good point. My sales guy at the dealer kept stressing this point when I bought the Runner and stated that there are numerous people coming to the dealer each week with this simple problem.
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Old 07-19-2005, 06:43 PM #4
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Yep. Gas cap is tight (2 clicks). I removed and replaced it so we will see if this goes away tomorrow morning.

Interestingly enough, I can't get the VSC to kick in (in 2WD mode) even in sand, seems like the rear is locked... Maybe it's just my imagination... 4WD works fine (not enough sand to try kicking in VSC in 4WD or locking the diff).
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Old 07-19-2005, 07:39 PM #5
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Dummy Lights

I had the same type problem happen on my Lexus and it turned out to be the mass air flow butterfly that got dirty and damaged (big $$$). This could easily happen if your using one of the oil based air cleaners elements and oil builds up on the mass flow components.
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Old 07-19-2005, 09:15 PM #6
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Gas cap would just cause a 'check engine' light. Is anything flashing? Sounds like a sensor went bad somewhere.
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Old 07-19-2005, 09:42 PM #7
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I noticed tonight that the check engine light comes on and stays on after I start the engine. About 15 seconds after the engine is running, the VSC/TRAC and VSC OFF lights come on and all three remain steady. I never see the VSC indicator (slippery road indicator) appear, even on wet, sandy streets while driving now... Maybe the VSC sensor went bad?

I'll contact the dealer tomorrow and update everyone as soon as I know...
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Old 07-19-2005, 09:50 PM #8
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Kevin,

I had a similar problem with mine. It started the day after I picked it up. Same lights went on. I ended up bringing it to the dealer THREE times before they figured it out (so you may want to suggest this to them), but it was actually a loose connection somehwere on the exhaust system.
WHY these lights would go on for THAT problem, I don't know. But in order to fix it, they literally blew fog or smoke or something down the line, until they found a small leak. They blamed it on the manufacturing process, b/c all they did was tighten the connection, and 17,000 miles later, no problems.

Hope that helps.
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Old 07-21-2005, 09:04 AM #9
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I have an appointment to bring it in on Monday. All the service manager said was once that check engine light is on and stays on, all other lights really don't give any indication. I will post back on Monday afternoon/Tuesday if they can find the problem. Thanks everyone!
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Old 07-21-2005, 06:41 PM #10
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Let us know what they tell you.
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Old 07-23-2005, 12:46 AM #11
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Question

Man, what is up with these 4runners??? I have a 2004 4runner Sport and lastnight I had the same exact problem. I find it very ironic that we are all experiencing the same problem at the same time.

A few weeks back, my sunroof busted and I looked on this forum and it seems I wasn't alone with the sunroof problem. Sure enough other people had the same problem withing weeks apart.
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Old 07-23-2005, 02:13 PM #12
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Boston_Kevin. Have them look at the exhaust fittings like ksneubec mentioned. When I had my Sulfur TSB done, my VSC TRAC, VSC OFF, CEL lights went on. It took them about a day to figure it out and on the invoice it mentioned that a sensor had to be replaced. It seems too similar to what ksneubec mentioned and during the Sulfur TSB, the CATS are replaced.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

July
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Old 07-25-2005, 11:52 AM #13
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And the Verdict is:

Oxygen sensor in back of one of the cats. Tech showed me the code on their computer when he plugged it into my 4Runner.

This is how the tech explained (and showed me) how this works. 4Runner has 4 Oxygen sensors (1 on either side of each Cat). Engine side sensor monitors "dirty air", muffler side sensor monitors "clean air". If either sensor (or either side) fails, it throws the CEL. Makes sense to this point, right? On 2004+ models (and if you had the Sulfur TSB), if the CEL is lit, it also DISABLES the VSC/TRAC systems.



So I asked the question, why disable these systems if the CEL is lit? He said he did not have a direct answer but basically Toyota thought if the CEL light was on, any system that directly put a load on the engine that wasn't necessary should be disabled (which also means that the DAC might also not work) to prevent further damage to the engine. Since the VSC/TRAC works in conjunction with the brakes which can add a load to the engine, this system is disabled.

I asked one more question (for all you modification happy people who don't like VSC). Can I purposefully disable the VSC? No (officially). (unofficially you could throw a switch on the wire from one of the sensors to spoof the computer to think the sensor failed - since this would force a CEL condition, VSC would be disabled).
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Old 07-26-2005, 10:21 AM #14
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I had exactly same problem two weeks ago with
my '04 4runner. They replaced the sensor but
ONE week later another sensor went off. It is going
to be replaced today.
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Old 12-23-2007, 08:17 PM #15
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Thanks for the update

Thanks for updating us with the diagnosis - just experienced the exact same issue on my '02 Runner this evening.

Quote:
Originally posted by boston_kevin
And the Verdict is:

Oxygen sensor in back of one of the cats. Tech showed me the code on their computer when he plugged it into my 4Runner.

This is how the tech explained (and showed me) how this works. 4Runner has 4 Oxygen sensors (1 on either side of each Cat). Engine side sensor monitors "dirty air", muffler side sensor monitors "clean air". If either sensor (or either side) fails, it throws the CEL. Makes sense to this point, right? On 2004+ models (and if you had the Sulfur TSB), if the CEL is lit, it also DISABLES the VSC/TRAC systems.



So I asked the question, why disable these systems if the CEL is lit? He said he did not have a direct answer but basically Toyota thought if the CEL light was on, any system that directly put a load on the engine that wasn't necessary should be disabled (which also means that the DAC might also not work) to prevent further damage to the engine. Since the VSC/TRAC works in conjunction with the brakes which can add a load to the engine, this system is disabled.

I asked one more question (for all you modification happy people who don't like VSC). Can I purposefully disable the VSC? No (officially). (unofficially you could throw a switch on the wire from one of the sensors to spoof the computer to think the sensor failed - since this would force a CEL condition, VSC would be disabled).
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