Check Engine light & VSC trac and VSC Off - ALL ON

[mdpurplecat1]

I have a 2004 Toyota 4 runner with a Check Engine light & VSC trac and VSC Off - ALL ON. As an average driver my first response is what is going on get out the manual and check to see if it says any thing about it. That answer is take to your nearest dealer.

Took it to first dealer dove in to service and they are tell you we are scheduling one week out can't do any thing with it. Second dealer will you leave it and will look at tomorrow. Dealer one lost my business. Not a good thing.

Second Dealer called the next day said it was a vacuum leak and they had checked all over to find the leak and finally checked the Gas cap. They did a pressure check and the gas cap had failed. This was a simply fix but would not have know it was the gas cap that failed even if I had tried to tighten it.

It sounds to me like this is an issue with the older 4 runners and should be recalled. It would have saved me time and money if it had been recalled

First what does this have to do with the vsc lights?
Two how were you to know the cap failed.
Three even if i would have checked the cap to see if it was tight I would not have known.
Four Cost to just look at it one hundred and twenty dollars IE(Shop charge and diagnostics) Total cost of gas cap twenty five dollars for a grand total of one hundred and forty five dollar plus tax.

Cost of gas cap from a dealer $145.00 Ouch.

 

[Texas8668]

Ok, some of you may think I'm crazy but I had this happened to me last night and was able to fix it relatively easily.

Let me preface with my 1st go around with this - last winter I had this same exact problem.

It was cold so when I turned the car off, I left key in ACC/On position so the residual heat from core would keep cabin warm. Here is the sequence of how I believe I caused the problem:
1) With engine running, turned key towards off but stopped at "On' position, then push forward to "ACC"
2) Proceeded to fill tank with car still in ACC position
3) Replaced gas cap, closed fuel door
4) Started engine from ACC position
5) BOOM - error codes

Here is the sequence of how i fixed the problem:
1) Turned over engine - verified codes still present
2) Shut engine down
3) Turn key to ACC
4) Remove gas cap
5) replace gas cap
6) Turn to OFF position
7) Start Car - codes cleared

*Note before I tried this, I restarted the engine two separate times, each time verifying the gas cap was tight.

Could this have been all a coincidence? Who knows but my check engine and vsc/trac lights are off :bounce:

Hope this helps someone out there and maybe someone can shed some light on how this fixed my issue?

This is gold! This was my exact issue. I filled gas tank, in cold winter, with key in ignition in ACC position. No lights after filling up and cranking, but the next time I started the truck - BAAM! VSS TRAC, VSC OFF, Swerving Car Icon, Check Engine Light all on.

I followed the steps above twice in one day - before going to work - didn't work - still throwing P0456 and all lights still present. I repeated the steps once I arrived back home at the end of the day and poof, lights gone at next start-up. As always, love this community.

 

[4Running335i]

I had my battery die on me. When I jumped the car to get it started I had the CEL, and VSC lights on. I feel like these lights are fairly inaccurate in determining the exact issue on anything after reading numerous threads all revolving around different fixes. When I replaced my battery, the lights went out.

 

[ncfireman702]

I'm having the same problem... VSC TRAC, VSC OFF and check engine light came on. Just bought it 2002 with 250k. Runs like new, had the codes read C1201 and P0420. I've checked gas cap, not sure what to do... any input would be awesome!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[chris in ky]

Same issue here with my 'new to me' 2006. It had the
original loose gas cap and a new one turned the lights off...for a day. It fixed my 420 code.

Mine is different though, has c1223 and c1253 codes, hydro motor relay. For the life of me I cannot find this mythical relay anywhere. Interestingly the ABS light isn't on.

Personally I could care less about traction and stability control as Torsen with ABS is plenty, but still annoying with the Christmas tree lighting up my gauges.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

This is gold! This was my exact issue. I filled gas tank, in cold winter, with key in ignition in ACC position. No lights after filling up and cranking, but the next time I started the truck - BAAM! VSS TRAC, VSC OFF, Swerving Car Icon, Check Engine Light all on.

I followed the steps above twice in one day - before going to work - didn't work - still throwing P0456 and all lights still present. I repeated the steps once I arrived back home at the end of the day and poof, lights gone at next start-up. As always, love this community.

The reason the above quoted post didn't work is because it doesn't do much of anything, it's just speculative nonsense and it worked for the poster out of pure coincidence.

The reason the codes clear for you at the end of the day is probably because you turned the vehicle on, drove the vehicle a certain amount (enabling EVAP conditions) and it performed an EVAP test and saw that the issue was cleared and stored the DTC as a History code (turning off the lights, but retaining the DTC).

IF the issue is a gas cap, just replacing the cap and driving the vehicle like normally will clear it eventually as the EVAP test will run and it will see it's not longer leaking.

I had my battery die on me. When I jumped the car to get it started I had the CEL, and VSC lights on. I feel like these lights are fairly inaccurate in determining the exact issue on anything after reading numerous threads all revolving around different fixes. When I replaced my battery, the lights went out.

You need to pull the DTCs to find out what the issue is, why people insist on this replacing crap before checking the DTCs is beyond me... I made a thread to help explain this for people:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/151487-check-engine-trac-vsc-read-me.html

But not many people seem to look for it.

I'm having the same problem... VSC TRAC, VSC OFF and check engine light came on. Just bought it 2002 with 250k. Runs like new, had the codes read C1201 and P0420. I've checked gas cap, not sure what to do... any input would be awesome!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

C1201 is a generic DTC set in the Skid Control ECU stating that the MIL was turned on. P0420 is a Catalyst Inefficiency Failure and could indicate a failing catalyst, O2 Sensors, or other issues.

Same issue here with my 'new to me' 2006. It had the
original loose gas cap and a new one turned the lights off...for a day. It fixed my 420 code.

Mine is different though, has c1223 and c1253 codes, hydro motor relay. For the life of me I cannot find this mythical relay anywhere. Interestingly the ABS light isn't on.

Personally I could care less about traction and stability control as Torsen with ABS is plenty, but still annoying with the Christmas tree lighting up my gauges.

Loose gas cap has nothing to do with the P0420, most likely the second time it ran the test the vehicle passed which could indicate a catalyst that is "borderline" and may fail again in the future.

C1223 & C1253 indicate potentional failure in the Hydraulic Brake Master Assembly, it might be the relay; but further testing will need to be done. It should be labeled "ABS Pump Motor Relay" or something similar in the underhood fuse block. The Hydraulic Brake Master Assembly is what provides braking assistance, ABS, and VSC functions; if it's having issues you won't have ABS or VSC, possibly in the worst case scenario brake assistance either.

 

[ncfireman702]

Thanks for the info BlackWorks, the lights actually didn't come on this evening... I was running around shopping and drove 30 miles home and nothing. I was thinking of trying seafoam to maybe clean the system??? Then go from there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Thanks for the info BlackWorks, the lights actually didn't come on this evening... I was running around shopping and drove 30 miles home and nothing. I was thinking of trying seafoam to maybe clean the system??? Then go from there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Worth a shot.

 

[chris in ky]

I looked everywhere and still can't find anything labeled TRAC relay or similar. There is a clear, square fuse labeled as such but is this also considered a relay?

 

[BlackWorksInc]

I looked everywhere and still can't find anything labeled TRAC relay or similar. There is a clear, square fuse labeled as such but is this also considered a relay?

Three Big Relays in the middle are as follows:

Blue- ABS Motor Relay
Pink- TRAC Motor Relay
Green- ABS Solenoid Relay

If you have an Ohm Meter, you can check the resistance of the coils in the relays.

For the Blue ABS Motor Relay when not powered Pins 1 & 2 should be open (no continuity)and Pins 3 & 4 should read about 62ohms. When Pins 3 & 4 are powered, there should be continuity between Pins 1 & 2.

For the Pink TRAC Motor Relay when not powered Pins 1 & 2 should be open (no continuity) and pins 3 & 4 should read about 54ohms. When Pins 3 & 4 are powered, there should be continuity between Pins 1 & 2.

That will help out with testing the relays if they are still good. Unfortunately if they are still good the issue may be an internal fault in the motor circuit.

 

[jason400]

Same thing with my 2007. All of the lights were on but today things went south. The radio quit, all of the lights (dash and exterior) starting flickering and then the engine started to cut out just before it died. Im guessing its the ECU.

 

[A70BoosTFienD]

Hi everyone, new to this community. Following this thread I had a P0430 and the C1201 as well. The P0430 popped up shortly after I noticed my gas cap wasn't holding like it should. A short while after it cleared itself but 7 or 8 months later. New gas cap and cleared the code Saturday and havent seen it since and back to getting 20+mpg. The C1201 seems to be consequent off the P0430 code

2008 V6 4x4