Check VSC Error

[SCOOTA44]

mine still pops up once or twice a week, not worried it goes away, it seems to appear not when you are doing anything out of the ordinary, but when just cruising casually, but like I said it goes off after a few starts. just annoying to press the readout button while its on.

[DJKOR]

mine still pops up once or twice a week, not worried it goes away, it seems to appear not when you are doing anything out of the ordinary, but when just cruising casually, but like I said it goes off after a few starts. just annoying to press the readout button while its on.

I'd still prefer to find what the cause of mine is. Twice in two months is enough to make me question what it causing it. As harmless as it could possibly be, it's better to know than not to know.

Another theory I have is that it is to do with my rear ABS speed sensors. My reasoning for this is that the warning popped up a little longer than a month since all the codes were cleared. Now the first time this error popped up was 37 days ago on the 7th of January. So lets say it takes about that time for the warning to show. Now lets say there were no codes set in the ECU 37 days before the warning first popped up. That many days before the 7th of January was the 1st of December. What happened around that time? Well on the 2nd of December, I changed my left rear hub bearing. Hmmm. What if...

If this was to be the cause, what I would imagine is happening is that the older hub bearing/sensor, due to wear and tear, or reading the rotation of the wheel with a slightly greater inaccuracy when compared to a new bearing/sensor. Because one side is new and one side is old, these figures don't really match up as expected with the given turn angle etc and over time it probably sees it as an error.

This is just a thought based on my crazy mind.

[SCOOTA44]

I thought the same when I had different type of tyres on, slightly different rotating speeds, but even though I have same tyres now, not so sure. maybe the fact with the Y pipe mod and O2 sensors close together on the same pipe and a cat missing off the rear bank might set it off occasionally, could be anything. going to get trans serviced soon I might get them to put scan tool on it if its on that day.

[DJKOR]

It's easier for the ABS sensor to miss an entire revolution which on the greater scale of things, will be MUCH greater than the inaccuracies caused by slightly different tires. The difference is, I've actually had my codes read prior to find that it is narrowed down to the ABS/VSC system and not the emissions control.

This is why I always say to everyone that you should get the codes read when it appears. Otherwise you are making rather broad assumptions.

[SCOOTA44]

the last 2 times it has come on Ive been in a straight line on either of our bridges, could wheel alignment come into play?

[DJKOR]

... could wheel alignment come into play?

It is a possibility, but you would have to perform tests on it and monitor everything to determine if that is a cause. Without seeing what yours is throwing though, one can't jump to any conclusions. I would personally say it would be your O2 sensors not reading something correctly or your intake coming into play (MAF placement I've heard can be pretty critical), but like I said, you can't tell without seeing where the error is coming from firstly.

I can't even narrow my issue down that much. With the way my car is driven, I'm actually surprised it doesn't stay on 24/7. The only thing that provides some pattern is the time between errors and the time that I changed my bearing. I guess I will get it read again and if it says the same as last time, I will get it cleared and see it comes back in approximately 37 days.

[SecaBoy]

so just thought i'd add my issue to this thread to incase people come searching for similar problems: (i'll update with the resolution once i know)

driving home last night i stopped and filled up fuel.

got back into the car and it kinda choked on start up but started fine.

it idled at 1000rpm and then sounded quite 'lumpy'. i didnt really think much of it, so i just got back on the highway and drove home.

i got off the highway at my exit and stopped at a red light.

the idle became REALLY lumpy and the revs jumped quite abruptly from about 500rpm to 1000rpm.

the light went green and i started to drive off. about half way through the intersection the CEL, "!" symbol and "Check VSC System" lit up and it felt like it was choking as i was accelerating.

i drove a couple hundred meters and then pulled over.

the idle was like before.

turned the car off and waited a couple of minutes.

turned the car on and it was just as bad as before with the lights coming back after about 10m of driving.

i limped it home (like 20-30km/h) and as i parked it, it was REALLY struggling trying to idle.

turned it off and pulled all the fuses for the ecu and waited a couple of minutes.

started it up and the lights were lit up straight away.

turned her off and went inside and cried myself to sleep.

got no fuqn idea of what the issue is... getting the scan gauge off jason tomorrow hopefully, so i should know more tomorrow night once i get the codes off the ecu.

fuqn spewing though... it just HAD to happen before the long weekend and it just HAD to happen the night before a really busy day at work... :(

so i couldnt even take today off to get her looked at... :(

anyway, stay tuned... i'll update with the resolution for future reference. :)

[SCOOTA44]

so just thought i'd add my issue to this thread to incase people come searching for similar problems: (i'll update with the resolution once i know)

driving home last night i stopped and filled up fuel.

got back into the car and it kinda choked on start up but started fine.

it idled at 1000rpm and then sounded quite 'lumpy'. i didnt really think much of it, so i just got back on the highway and drove home.

i got off the highway at my exit and stopped at a red light.

the idle became REALLY lumpy and the revs jumped quite abruptly from about 500rpm to 1000rpm.

the light went green and i started to drive off. about half way through the intersection the CEL, "!" symbol and "Check VSC System" lit up and it felt like it was choking as i was accelerating.

i drove a couple hundred meters and then pulled over.

the idle was like before.

turned the car off and waited a couple of minutes.

turned the car on and it was just as bad as before with the lights coming back after about 10m of driving.

i limped it home (like 20-30km/h) and as i parked it, it was REALLY struggling trying to idle.

turned it off and pulled all the fuses for the ecu and waited a couple of minutes.

started it up and the lights were lit up straight away.

turned her off and went inside and cried myself to sleep.

got no fuqn idea of what the issue is... getting the scan gauge off jason tomorrow hopefully, so i should know more tomorrow night once i get the codes off the ecu.

fuqn spewing though... it just HAD to happen before the long weekend and it just HAD to happen the night before a really busy day at work... :(

so i couldnt even take today off to get her looked at... :(

anyway, stay tuned... i'll update with the resolution for future reference. :)

that sounds really scary,probably the best idea to remove ecu fuses for half an hour, place them back and see if that resets the ecu. I have been running 91 fuel for 2 months and no lights, last week put in a tank of 95 and 10mins later on came the lights, which reset themselves after a few starts,continuing to run 95 and had no problem since.

[DJKOR]

... probably the best idea to remove ecu fuses for half an hour, place them back and see if that resets the ecu.

Personally I don't think that is the greatest idea. I would have them read first before resetting it.... which is what Ash has already planned to do.

If you reset it to clear the code, go for a drive and it comes back on, the code that comes up may be different to what came up in the first place which can make diagnosis of the issue harder.

[SecaBoy]

well due to me not having access to a car for most of the weekend, i couldnt get out to jason's place to get the scan thingy... :(

so dropped it off to toyota this morning and had a phone call from them 2hrs later...

diagnosis:

the hose that connects the supercharger and the wastegate actuator is COMPLETELY MISSING... its not just disconnected from one end.. its completely gone...

i asked the guy how this could have happened, and he said that he's never seen something like this happen before...

so anyway, the result of this happening is that on idle, its running really lean hence the rough idle... and then while driving, the ecu is freaking out and dumping fuel in... apparently up to 20% on each injector! hence the feeling of choking... :(

the hose is ex sydney, so is apparently going to take a couple of days to come in.. :(

they're looking for another option to tie me over until then though.

so anyway, thats the cause of my errors... god knows how the fuq this pipe came off BOTH ends, but it did...

[byw]

well due to me not having access to a car for most of the weekend, i couldnt get out to jason's place to get the scan thingy... :(

so dropped it off to toyota this morning and had a phone call from them 2hrs later...

diagnosis:

the hose that connects the supercharger and the wastegate actuator is COMPLETELY MISSING... its not just disconnected from one end.. its completely gone...

i asked the guy how this could have happened, and he said that he's never seen something like this happen before...

so anyway, the result of this happening is that on idle, its running really lean hence the rough idle... and then while driving, the ecu is freaking out and dumping fuel in... apparently up to 20% on each injector! hence the feeling of choking... :(

the hose is ex sydney, so is apparently going to take a couple of days to come in.. :(

they're looking for another option to tie me over until then though.

so anyway, thats the cause of my errors... god knows how the fuq this pipe came off BOTH ends, but it did...

Glad to hear that the root cause of the problem has been identified and hopefully there is no permanent damage. :)

Due to your bad luck, this incident has highlighted a potential issue that the rest of us TRD owners have to be aware of... ;)

[DJKOR]

That sure puzzles me as well. Vacuum hoses don't usually come off that easily... from both ends especially. I really wonder how it happened.

What makes it even more puzzling was the coincidence (?) that it was running fine up until the point that you refuelled.

I guess some things may never be answered.

But then again, this isn't the first case I've heard of a hose coming loose on the TRD. Elgin was giving his a bootfull (from what I remember) and while cruising along, his engine light came on. Turned out to be the PCV hose that had come loose.

[SecaBoy]

Glad to hear that the root cause of the problem has been identified and hopefully there is no permanent damage. :)

Due to your bad luck, this incident has highlighted a potential issue that the rest of us TRD owners have to be aware of... ;)

nah, i asked the guy if he thinks it could have done any damage to any components, but he said that it wouldn't have.

i guess just keep an eye on the hose. i doubt it would be a common problem... i'm guessing that mine may have just been a freak issue... maybe it developed a split and then under load its just popped... who knows...

That sure puzzles me as well. Vacuum hoses don't usually come off that easily... from both ends especially. I really wonder how it happened.

What makes it even more puzzling was the coincidence (?) that it was running fine up until the point that you refuelled.

I guess some things may never be answered.

But then again, this isn't the first case I've heard of a hose coming loose on the TRD. Elgin was giving his a bootfull (from what I remember) and while cruising along, his engine light came on. Turned out to be the PCV hose that had come loose.

tell me about it.. you usually have to tug pretty hard at them for them to come off... let alone popping off from both ends.

to be honest, i think it was purely a coincidence about the refuelling... cause the car seemed to cruise along fine on the freeway... but under acceleration, it felt like it was choking...

i wouldnt have thought that there was that much pressure from the s/c to wastegate in that hose...

they're replaced the hose with a non genuine piece of normal vaccum hose... the guy said "if you want to get the genuine item, its ex sydney and it'll cost $60... my exact response was "errrr, the genuine hose came off, so why would i pay $60 to replace the non genuine item with something thats not guaranteed to come off again"...

oh and then he goes "so do you race your car?"... i just laughed and told him no... i have no intention on putting such an expensive nice car on the race track...

anyway, all i know is that at the first possible chance i get, i'll be putting tip ties on any hose that doesnt have a clamp on it... HAHAHA

speaking of which, daryl, next time youre out on a thursday, i'd love to have a look at the "genuine" pipe on your s/c to see the differences... :)

[GSV40R]

of late i have noticed a few brake switches showing up faulty. Brake lights still work ok but the vsc and maybe eng lights go off. Brake light switch open circuit , replace switch and clear codes and all is ok

[DJKOR]

While cleaning my engine bay earlier, I thought I would check out the vacuum hose for the bypass valve.

Wow... I'm surprised the thing actually stays attached to the supercharger side. I thought I would test how 'tight' the fitment is, and to my surprise, I could easily pull the hose off the supercharger side with little force from my little finger. It pretty much just slid off. And as well, the inside wall of the hose was coated in all the PCV oils etc which gives it even less grip.

The bypass valve side was a different story. It's held on there pretty damn tight, so much so, I didn't want to try and pull harder to see if I could take it off.

So it's understandable how one side could have come off, but as for the other, that would be a mystery.

[SecaBoy]

Yeah daryl. As I said tonight to ya. I'm putting it down to those "magical" issues that just pop up.

I've stopped thinking about it, cause otherwise i'll get a headache trying to think of ways it happened.

[fookah]

OK, here goes...

Thought id get a TRD steering wheel on my car so a DIY job at home, pulled it all apart and put the new one back on.

While tearing it apart the clockspring came out with it and now assembled again it is throwing the 'Check VSC System' at me with the traction control light lit also.

Have i screwed the clock spring or is it misaligned?

Can i realign this or will i need a new clockspring assembly for the car? Ahhh CRAP!

[DJKOR]

Tsk, tsk. How could you not be careful

Anyways, comfortable steering wheel aren't they? Wish I took mine off my old Aurion.

[legend_of_lazz]

Not really to do with the original topic, but I wouldn't mind knowing roughly how much the TRD steering wheel cost? It looks like a really nice addition to the car and my wheel is looking a little tired.

[DJKOR]

Not really to do with the original topic, but I wouldn't mind knowing roughly how much the TRD steering wheel cost? It looks like a really nice addition to the car and my wheel is looking a little tired.

Well if a piece of mesh for the front of my TRD costs $674, I would be guessing the steering wheel is going to be at least a few hundred dollars. I wouldn't be surprised if it is at least double that. I guess we'll see what fookah got his for. It's a comfortable steering wheel however.

I bet nothing beats $50 though

Alternatively though, you can get your current steering wheel re-trimmed for a good price and it would probably end up even more comfortable.

[legend_of_lazz]

Hey guys,

I've recently added the K&N SRI to my Sportivo and has this error appear along with the check engine light. Has anyone else had this issue with this intake? It's starting to concern me because the traction control light is on and I've tested tonight and the traction control is not working at all. I have reset the ecu twice and the problem goes away for usually 15 minutes or so and comes back on. When I turn the car off and back on the check engine light is on from the moment I start the car. Does anyone have any ideas? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[DJKOR]

I and quite a few others here have used the K&N SRI with absolutely no troubles. Personally, it would be a good idea to get the error code read by Toyota to make sure what error you are getting. Otherwise. just to be on the safe side, maybe remove the MAF and give it a clean with some electronic contact cleaner. Then reset your ECU and see how it goes.

Remember when you reset your ECU, to start the car with all accessories off, then let it idle for a good 5-10 minutes. Then afterwards, turn the engine off, wait a moment or two, start her back up and give her a floggin'.

If the error comes back, then I'd really suggest you get Toyota to read the code, just in case the problem is with something else just out of coincidence.

[SCOOTA44]

Hey guys,

I've recently added the K&N SRI to my Sportivo and has this error appear along with the check engine light. Has anyone else had this issue with this intake? It's starting to concern me because the traction control light is on and I've tested tonight and the traction control is not working at all. I have reset the ecu twice and the problem goes away for usually 15 minutes or so and comes back on. When I turn the car off and back on the check engine light is on from the moment I start the car. Does anyone have any ideas? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

After all my experimenting with my homebuilt SRI and now CAI, in different configureations would set the warning off. Now I have it the way I want, and haven't had the warning for many weeks. As Daryl says get it checked, as an aftermarket part like this should not give you any troubles.

[legend_of_lazz]

Ok thanks for the advice. Regarding the Traction Control, should it be disabled when this warning light comes on because mine isn't functioning at all?

[DJKOR]

Ok thanks for the advice. Regarding the Traction Control, should it be disabled when this warning light comes on because mine isn't functioning at all?

Yes. Whenever that warning light with the car and squiggly lines comes on permanently, your TC and VSC will be deactivated. Toyota in their wisdom though that it would be a good idea to disable these when the check engine light comes on.