2009 rx350. Both vsc and check engine light flashing. Engine vibration on gas.

Asked by Salah Aug 03, 2017 at 02:47 AM about the 2009 Lexus RX 350 FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

All 3 lights came on. Traction, vsc and CEL.  First it was VSC flashing only. Took the
car to my indy shop, was told Cylinder 4 misfire. I changed the ignition coil.  After a
couple of weeks, vsc flashed again. This time it was cylinder 3. So I just went ahead
and changed all remaining 5 coils, and changed all 6 plugs since we were taking the
back off anyways.

Couple weeks go by, then vsc started flashing again. Its said cylinder 3 again.
Mechanic checked cylinder 3, and indicated that it was not receiving any power and
that is the reason for the code. He advised to changed the computer. I did. 2 days
later VSC flashes again. Now code says cylinder 4 misfire. This happened
yesterday.

But occasionally VSC and CEL both flashed today. When this happens, car loses
power and starts to vibrate whenever I give gas. This can happen while I am on the
freeway or a side street.   So I had to stop. Turn car off and restart. When I did that,
the Engline light stopped flashing, and only VSC did. But I was able to drive the car
and bring it home.

Can anyone  give me any idea as to what the problem might be? (I have not been to
the dealer yet)

9 Answers

100

This happens in our 2005 Honda EX-L whenever the oil is low. If the oil is low, the computer will shut down ignition on various cylinders to help avoid engine damage. If it happens while you're driving, it can be scary at first. With ours, the engine started knocking, the car began vibrating, and horsepower was greatly diminished. After I added oil, everything was normal. I usually happens between oil changes, when it's getting close to time for another oil change.

6 people found this helpful.
140

M - What ended up being the solution in the end? I am literally in the exact same situation with my 2009 RX 350. Current diagnostic is Cylinder 4 misfire...

14 people found this helpful.
100

Gleasonbill, I am having the exact same problem he described with my 2008 RX 350. misfires and a clogged fuel injector in cylinder 1. What did you guys find out?

7 people found this helpful.
20

I had the same issue so I checked the oil like Tomme73, oil was fine but found antifreeze was low took care of the problem after I topped it off.

2 people found this helpful.
140

I have same three lights on did check gas cap but still on. Any suggestions please

10 people found this helpful.
70

Low on antifreeze was the problem. Thanks for a poster here. Top it off, drive few miles, and all three lights went out.

2 people found this helpful.

I have a 2009 RX350 and I experienced the exact same problem with seeing steady Engine Light, flashing VSC, and steady Traction light on the dashboard. After seeing this post I opened the hood and found out the engine coolant reservoir cap was open and it was all dry inside. I topped it off with engine coolant, all three lights disappeared after a while. I drove about 4 miles just to see if the lights show up again but they didn't. Many thanks to all the contributors in this post that saved me some money.

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