Lexus SC430 :: 2002 - Fog Light Bulb Burning Out Occasionally?
Feb 11, 2012
I have a 2002 SC430 which I purchased recently. My driver side foglight bulb burned out six weeks ago, at which point I had a shop replace both foglight bulbs with brand new Sylvania standard "long life" bulbs from Auto Zone (not the ones with "blueish tint" or anything, absolute standard bulbs because I assumed they last longer than any "cool color" bulbs).
Now, six weeks later, the same driver side foglight burned out again. I cannot understand why a brand new bulb burned out so quickly again. The foglights do get turned on every time I drive the car (with the headlights), but still it seems too quick to burn out in six weeks of daily use.
Is there anything that could be causing the same foglight bulb to burn out so quickly? The car has no modifications, electrical, or otherwise. Interesting enough, the reason I did not decide to upgrade to aftermarket xenon/HID foglights is to avoid issues precisely like this one
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Was replacing 168 bulbs tonight with led bulbs. Trunk went fine. I got a warm color that's a little whiter than stock and about twice as bright but 1/5th the power. I measured 49 ma vs 247 ma for the stock bulb. Then I went to replace the passenger door bulb. Put the led one in and it flickered on and off a few times and then went out. Figured it was a flaky loose connection. Check the contact and put the old bulb back in. Nothing. Checked the voltage at the connector. Nothing there either.
The fuse that controls that bulb has a bunch of other stuff on the same fuse which all still works, so unless there's a hidden fuse inside the door, then there's a wiring problem that just magically appeared now. I don't think there's a fancy controller. This light doesn't fade up or down and is not on a timer. It's directly controlled by the door switch and is instant on or off.
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I am changing most of the bulbs to leds. The type of bulb thats in the Door light (puddle light?) Glove bo Dome light Trunk bul Small bulb in the headlight Tag light.
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Lately my right fog light bulb is burning out, and I notice water on bulb and lens fogged. Dealer is telling me they have to take picture, send to ford for approval to replace under warranty. Really?
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I have noticed an oil burning smell when i come to a stop. Its been getting worse. I just replaced my valve cover gaskets. With new spark plugs also. Any way after I completed the job, I let the car run for a few minutes and seemed like i could still smell the burning smell. May be its just because it all needs to burn off the heat shields, but I thought I saw some oil accumulating on the bottom side of the v.v.t solenoid on the front of the valve cover. Is that a separate cover? Doesn't seem to be a gasket there. Do these v.v.t covers leak a lot?
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I just installed a new set of OEM LED taillights on my 02' sc430 bought the kit etc but I cannot get the dash rear taillight sensor to turn off. I called the local lexus dealer thinking they might have to reset it and spoke to the lead mechanic and he said i would need to rewire the lights.
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In my 2002 SC430: The interior rear view mirror has an indicator which does not light up when I press the auto button. It does not auto dim at night either. My headlights auto on/off so that daylight sensor works. Ive checked the mirror fuse but not sure if there's anything else causing this. Do these mirrors go bad, or has mine been broken ? What items do I check and or test to diagnose and repair the mirror?
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My mechanic cannot figure out what's wrong with my car My car is a manual trans 1996 Toyota Corolla with almost 154K miles. I had the oil changed two weeks ago (about 1000 miles with my commute), and at that time, I let my mechanic know that it's been losing oil and so check it over. At that time, he changed the oil, cleaned the engine, and added a dye to the oil to show up any leaks.
I took it in this past Thursday for him to locate the leaking, and the mechanic let me know that 1) It came in mostly dry (no oil), 2) there was no visible leaking except for a seepage around the oil pan, which he says could not account for the loss of 4 quarts of oil in two weeks, and 3) it's not burning it out in the exhaust system.
A bit of the history of the car. I got it when it was at 59K, used, and there were a number of things wrong with it that I didn't discover until later, such as that no maintenance had been done to it at all in the 60K someone else had owned it. It came to me needing a timing belt, brakes, and an engine and radiator flush (the radiator fluid was brown instead of green).
At one point at around 70K, as a stupid teenager, I did let it run dry. The oil light came on, I panicked, shut it off, dumped in two quarts (which brought it to full on the dipstick, which I thought was weird), and took it straight for an oil change, where they told me it was dry, which was odd, because I'd just put 2 quarts in it.
After that, there were no issues until it hit about 120K. At that point, I started smelling burning oil and there was smoke coming from under my hood, so I towed it to my mechanic at the time. He replaced the valve cover gasket, the rear main seal, and the head gasket (with engine block machining and all). That more or less cleared the problem up, but then I took it across the country on a 3K road trip, and it ended up accidentally running dry again. Oil light came on, I shut it off, dumped in oil, took it for a lube job.
Since that time, it's been occasionally throwing me an oil light when I go downhill (I figure that this is because it's low but not out, and the change in pitch reduces the pressure?). Each time it does this, I've shut it off, coasted to a stop, dumped in 2 quarts (which brings it to full on the stick), and gone on, berating myself. These times have become more frequent, however, even though I now check the oil regularly.
So before I endure the deserved lectures about being dumb, yes, I blame myself, but regardless of my lazy maintenance, it's becoming ridiculous. My car is now finding a way to lose a gallon of oil over the course of 1000 miles, with no discernible leak or consumption.
Also, why my oil light comes on when it's only 2 quarts down on the stick sometimes, and then sometimes goes almost dry without throwing the oil light? I just got it back with the oil topped up, more dye in the engine, and instead of going for 2 weeks, I'm going for 1 week to see if maybe he can catch it in the act of learning this magic trick of vanishing oil.
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From both the key remote and inside the car the power locks only occasionally respond. Currently most of the time just the driver side os working. Acts the same when the car is running and when it is off. Seems like the first time i hit lock or unlock it works but repeatedly doing it it stips moving the lock. Bad relay?
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I have a 2002 Camry LE V6 (Made in Japan) and wanted to replace the glove box bulb. The manual does not mention how to change it and the local dealership was not sure on how to do it. What is involved in it and what size bulb is needed?
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just bought a 2002 lexus sc430 the car is nice but i have been reading in regards to the throttle lag. Any resolution for this. I've read that the apexi or blitz trottle control is an option to work with the lag.
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I have 2002 SC430 with an annoying vibration through the seat/chassis at 60mph but she's smooth at 55 and slower and at 65+ mph ? Things I have tried so far ...
wheel balance
wheel alignment
2 rims rerolled that were out of round
bushes and suspension all checked
moved wheel positions front to back etc
Thinking now maybe driveshaft or uni joints ? or new tires but that's an expensive exercise !!
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My brake light and ABS lights appeared today on my '02 SC430. What this might mean and the solution?
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Noticed the antenna did not go all the way down. It will also not go up. When I turn the radio off the motor grinds for few seconds but the antenna does not go all the way down. Mast problems? Any links how to fix it?
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On my 2002 SC with 51K miles, the front end is squeaking. BTW, shocks are good...
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My check engine light came on.. so I took it to express tires.. And they said that they need to replace my vacuum hoses cause it busted ... well when I saw the guy used the obd checker thing.. after checking the codes.. i saw that when u turned on the engine.. the vsc on and vcs off lights came on..
So I figured after he fixed the problem.. it will go off.. well after he got done.. fixing the problem.. I drove away.. after bout like 2min.. i had to turn around cause the vsc on and vsc off came on.. and I told the guy to check.. And he used his checker.. and there was no problem.. and the "check engine" light is not on anymore.. just the vsc on and vsc off!!
Could the checker.. messed it up??? the vsc off button.. only works when the key is turned on.. " not when the engine started but right before it.. when the power comes on" so the button is working correctly.. it just comes on.. when i start driving the car...
And no they did not check my tire pressure or do anything to the tires or the wheels.. it just turned on.. when he inserted the obd thing to check..
And yes I read the [URL] .....
Is it dangerous to be driving with the vsc and vsc off light on??
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I recently got into my 2002 SC430 and could not shift the car out of park. In addition, another symptom was that when I pressed the brake pedal, my rear brake lights would either come on momentarily and then turn off (looked like a strobe-light effect), OR the rear brake lights would not come on at all (the taillights, however, continued to function).
The only way to get around this issue was to use the manual override (by taking out the little plastic tab on the shifter and using a screw driver to press the hidden button, which would momentarily override and let me shift).
After much research, I found out that my Brake Switch/Sensor was failing (this is what tells the car's computer that you're pressing the brake pedal, and thus allowing you to shift out of Park). Unfortunately, I don't have the model number handy.
My non-Lexus mechanic charged me $100 (parts and labor) to replace the Brake Switch/Sensor. I'm not sure how much the actual part cost, but it couldn't have been much. It's a very scary feeling when you need to drive somewhere quick and you cannot shift out of Park.
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I had to replace the ECU on my 2002 sc430. Although the original ECU was malfunctioningthe car started and was drivable (but the speedometer and odometer did not work, nor did the power steering). Following installing a used ECU, the car will now not start. I reset the ECU following the directions posted by others in this forum (both the gas pedal method and removing the fuses), but that has not fixed the problem. Do I need to have the dealer sync the key to the new ECU?
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I have a 2002 SC 430 with 68,000 miles on it. Having problems with the transmission? Today, I could not go forward in any gear...could go in reverse. I turned off the ignition and re-started the engine, then the car worked fine.
Tonight I went out and the car was fine. However, later had the same problem.
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I just purchased a 2002 sc430 and the steering was nice and solid. It needed new tires, so I purchased them at tire kingdom. they told me I needed a steering flush (lexus did as well at my oil change) so I to0ld them to do the flush. When I got my car back, the steering was so flaty, I have to keep my hand on the wheel all the time, they gave me an upgraded tire, to the falken, felt a little smoother but still floaty. brought it to lexus, they said it was the tires. the rear needed 255 and front 245. they upgraded the tires again and I still have the floating steering wheel.
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I just replaced a burnt out tail/brake lightbulb and found that I had sockets for 5 lights yet only 3 were filled....two were empty. How could this have happened and shouldnt they all be filled? I replaced the blown one but I feel like I should get 2 more per side to make it a full housing. I also am not certain what kind I need . The turn signal bulbs are fine....it's just the tail/brake light bulbs. Why were they not filled? 2002 V6 Passat.
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