Toyota RAV4 Check Engine - VSC - 4WD lights On? Screwy warning but simple fix! :-)

Hello

Our 2008 Toyota RAV4 has been very reliable but sometimes these dash warning lights make it tricky to know what to fix?

In this case I blew out the engine air filter and filter box and bingo it went right away as soon as I started the car. When it happened again I replaced the air filter but the lights were still on because the hose attached to the air intake fell off! After reattaching the hose, I had to drive the car around town a bit and then the lights went off!!

Pic 1 - The 3 warning lights Check Eng VSC ( Vehicle Stabilization Control ) and 4WD

Pic 2 & 3 Air filter box & Air cleaner

Pic 4 - New air cleaner VS old air cleaner

Pic 5 & 6 - Hose that fell of air intake ( With this hose off, the car idled rough! )

Pic 6 - new air filter from Car Quest $14.49 for the fix. Which maybe just for 2006 - 2008 RAV4s?


Toyota Forum Post on resetting maintenance VSC warning lights

[URL unfurl="true"]How to reset Check engine and VSC warning lights.[/URL]

According to this post on a 2011 RAV it was a low battery so it could be different for newer years?

[URL unfurl="true"]VSC, 4WD, Check Engine Light All On?[/URL]

 

Likely could due with a mass air flow sensor cleaning as well

 

Thanks for your suggestion.
I just found a good video on it here.

 

Hello
I finally got a chance to clean the MAF sensor. That is the Mass Air Flow sensor with the special cleaner. Those wires in there that sense the air are very thin but after I was don they did look clean and shinny so that should help?
Pic 1 - MAF removed from the car air cleaner intake hose.
Pic 2 - Before cleaning
Pic 3 - After cleaning
I also did the side wires as shown in the video link above. They looked good to begin with so I did not post those pics.

 

Got these errors again

Check Engine VSC 4WD !!! :-(

This time the gas cap just barely made one click when I tightened it down. So I removed the black O Ring seal and cleaned it with Acetone then put it back.

It made atleast 3 clicks and a better seal.

Turned the car on and lights went right away!!! Can u believe it?

 

We have a car that every few years I need to put a light coat, very light coat, of Parker O-ring lube on the cap O-ring. The check emissions light goes out after.

 

We had a 2009 IS250 that always had gas cap issues. You’d think it was sealed because it would click….nope! CEL comes on. I think I ended up buying a new cap and that solved the issue. Irony: The Honda Ridgeline I now drive has not cap to speak of.

 

Great Idea! I have O Ring lube for the pool pump O Rings that will work good!!
Thank-You

 

Sure thing.

 

I have a 2007 GX470 and I would get those lights on every once in a while. I changed out my O2 sensors and they havent been on since. I also put a new gas cap on.

 

Wish I had seen this thread last summer. I dropped $6000.00 for a dealer to chase codes and replace parts on my wife's 2008 RAV4. None of their efforts did anything and I issued a stop work order. It turned out to be a bad secondary ground which I fixed with a brass wire brush and 15 minutes. Yey.

 

Throwing parts at an issue because you dont have troubleshooting skills should not cost the customer ANYTHING !

If you have youtube, watch South Main Auto channel. You will pick up some good pointers and he explains all of his troubleshooting methods.

Heres one I watched just last night. Its an older video but its one where the dealer didnt fix it, but he did. Dont completely trust the computers is usually the jist of the electronic repairs and many turn out to be wire issues. He is in New York so really understands the salt belt issues we deal with and how corrosion wreaks havoc on our vehicles.

Kia Optima - Check Engine Light P0560

I recently watched one where the dealer diagnosed the problem to be the computer being bad. Cust wanted a 2nd opinion and he traced the issue to several bad wires that had to be repaired. Computer was fine. Garbage in, Garbage out for computers.

A good tech is hard to find these days and worth their weight in gold.

 

1000% agree!!!
The sad part is that there are so veery few places willing to employee people like that (at a rate they deserve, and would keep them there) because they can't crank out 15 works orders/day...troubleshooting an elusive/intermittent problem usually takes some time!

 

Very true, but they didnt have any issue charging golf66 $6,000 dollars and didnt fix the problem.

 

I dont trust any of the local shops around here. The one I did told me over the phone that my wife needed new plate bulbs and that it would be a PITA job to do because of corrosion. We just took the car in for an oil change and they found $700+ worth of work to do (including a new battery). I said just change the oil and reseat the tire bead and ill take care of everything else myself. Well I ordered the bulbs from Amazon for like $6 and when I took off the cover to remove the old one the only thing that had any type of corrosion on it was the screw head (it wasnt bad either) and the bulb wires and housing looked brand new . I decided to invest in diagnostic tools and figure things out on my own rather than deal with these bs artist.

The $700+ quote was for an oil change, tire bead, air filter, new battery, plate bulbs and a rear wiper blade . IIRC I think the bill was $80 for the oil and tire fix and I went to Walmart for a $110 battery and $30 for new bulbs, air filter and rear wiper blade.

 

But if you can do it and are willing to deal with dealership BS you can pretty much name your pay rate. My buddy that is still at the dealership says it’s a revolving door of guys that couldn’t fix a ham sandwich.

 

Fify.

 

I always said I can only control my work and I made sure that I could sleep at night. Refused to sell unnecessary services. The writer would alway tack on extra stuff to my estimates then wonder why people would decline all of it.

 

That and if you'd ever listen to the service writer sell something to the customer over the phone. What a mess of lies that usually turns into. Or if something isn't done on time. I swear it was impossible for them to tell the truth.

 

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