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Ailing RX??

I'm not mechanically inclined, so I'm hoping someone here might be able to shed some light on a very odd occurrence...

Driving home today on the highway, my 1999 RX300 started shimmying badly -- there was a vibration that was clearly not a wheel alignment problem (it started suddenly), which was followed a few moments later by the engine light flickering on and off on the dash. There was no place to get off or pull over (I was nearly home anyway), and so I drove the last little bit to the house. In so doing, I discovered that at the stop light, the engine would idle at a very low 300-500 rpm, and it felt as though the car might stall out at any moment (though it did not). I then discovered that the transmission wouldn't shift higher than third gear (maybe this is an "engine creep home" mode?).

I've had zero problems until now; in fact I had the 120,000 km service done less than a week ago, and they gave the car a clean bill of health. Anyone have any clues (or has experienced something similar) as to what's going on?

Any info would be appreciated,

Mike

Reply to
Mike
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Sounds like it could be a firing problem. Try checking all your spark plug wires to ensure they're tight. Check the wires going to the distributor as well.

Where did you have the service done? Are all the parts OEM parts?

Reply to
Viperkiller
99 RX300 doesn't have a distributor.

Reply to
Rog

This might be the right track. One of the ignition coils which you do have might have gone out.

Reply to
Rog

Thanks. I wasn't aware.

Reply to
Viperkiller

On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 21:49:13 -0400, Viperkiller graced this newsgroup with:

..actually it sounds like a dirty mass airflow (MAF) sensor. Not a serious issue and not enormously expensive to repair. In most instances, it can be cleaned. If the MAF is bad or dirty, it can't regulate the air flow to the engine, causing all kinds of problems just like the OP experienced. It's possible the filament could be dirty. It can be cleaned by a backyard mechanic but it's a delicate procedure. Also it could be a dirty thottle body.

Also check to make sure that a wire didn't come loose from the MAF, that's semi-common.

For the OP, here's a link to a brief explanation of what MAF does:

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bounce

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