9 Most Common Problems / Issues with Lexus SC300

[@DirtyHammmer]

Excellent information, short snd to the point, professional editing. I assumed you had 100k subscribers at least. Keep up this quality content and you’ll be there in no time, subbed

[@frankandfrankauto]

Wow, thanks! Appreciate the support. Just need to put out more content sheeesh.

[@shawniebeans8382]

Omg ! I went through all of these owning my SC300 for 17yrs!!! Well done. You forgot inside door handle coming undone/cracking and fuel relay failing , located in the rear driver side wall panel. Due to the duel low and high set up thr SC, there is a mod to get more life out of old relay. I saved a few SC300 from getting crushed due to this relay failure, the computer won't tell you about.

[@frankandfrankauto]

Going to pin this comment! Totally forgot the door handle, had mine break multiple times. Haven't had the fuel relay issue but im sure it is quite the pain. Thank you!

[@nostalgic_pokemon_memories]

what is the mod to get more life out of the relay?

[@edwardnguyen1651]

Legit bought my SC300 a year ago with 108k original miles, went through all this within a year lol

[@elibanderas5730]

I can vouch for tannin electronics. I sent them my climate control to replace the lcd screen and freshen up the bulbs. Cost me 80 bucks and from the moment I sent it out to when I got it back, was about a week and 5 days. Highly recommend

[@frankandfrankauto]

Thanks Eli!

[@bbracing3925]

Don't forget about ECU capacitor failure and FCM failure, MAF failure (do not try to clean them!!!) - trust me 😉. Over time and milage, the IAC gets lazy and the idle can get a little wacky randomly. Also the valve seals are notorious for going bad causing the engine to burn a little bit of oil, this over time will carbon up the catalytic converter. Luckily I found a new magnaflow (obd1rated fed spec) cat. Super cheap from a pep boys that was going out of business, and I fabbed it into my exhaust system. All in all my sc300 is still probably the most reliable and best car I've ever owned. And I've owned many different JDM cars, from many different manufacturers. No regrets at all buying it. 💯

[@spunky_dough]

Thanks for the video- I've had my sc300 for almost a year now and have run into half of these problems ( power steering, interior cracking, struts, headlamp fading) and with that I can better prepare for the rest of the common issues I may face. I know my window has been slowing down on the passenger side for some time and didn't think much of it, lol.

[@frankandfrankauto]

Glad it helped!

[@Conker999]

Bought my SC a year ago. Have never had these problems. But I've also has another 92 sc300 and 2 sc400 97 & 98 and can confirm these problems happened on those other 3 lol

[@frankandfrankauto]

What year is the new one??? I didnt have a single issue for my first 4 years either :)

[@Conker999]

@@frankandfrankauto nice its a 1999 SC300 with 116k miles previous owner maintained it pretty well👌🏼

[@williamday6637]

I have a 1998 sc300 (bought it from a little old lady from Pasadena.....true story). I have more to add: The tilt up/down steering wheel didn't work; it needed a garden hose washer next to the gear to work properly. CD player didn't work. Replaced it with an MP3 player head unit. Resoldered 4 contacts in the APPS (accelerator pedal position sensor) Replaced VVTI O-ring Put in oil pressure sender/gauge.... SC doesn't have one. Fixed middle cup holder to stay closed Replaced broken key case Replaced transmission mount Tore apart the interior to find the Lowjack tranmitter...threw it in the garbage Footwell bulb blew out, replaced with LED Lots of little stuff that the paint shop screwed up for the little old lady, but these can't be blamed on the SC The car is now PERFECT !!!!

[@frankandfrankauto]

Sounds like it will last you for a long time now!

[@ahdasick]

great video thanks man!! 👍🏽 keep up the content you got my sub

[@frankandfrankauto]

Thanks you! Means a lot :)

[@lukejonker4281]

Another great vid!!

[@frankandfrankauto]

Thank you!

[@TONELOWthaWRITER]

The ecu will go out as well, i used relentless motorsports to rebuild it, i was referred to him by a couple people that have sc's

[@frankandfrankauto]

Thanks for the tip!

[@itsricoswerve2325]

You can use the sc400 and Ls400 vsv actuator or any vsv actuator off of a 1uzfe. But you will half to use the old bracket from your sc300 and the old vsv back side meaning screw, lever, and backing you might half to bend the bracket a tiny bit but with a little finesse it might lean forward 1or 1.5in but it still wont affect anything will work, I gotten mine from the junkyard trust me I did it, I was not about to spend $200+ on a vsv actuator

[@frankandfrankauto]

Thats a good tip, didn't realize they cross referenced all 1uz. Thank you!

[@jerry-st7rc]

Just got a 2000 SC300 angora beige metallic paint, fully loaded from dealer, it came from a retired Stanford professor. Super rare. My biggest complaint is the heavy doors, the arm rest becomes worn from pushing it and makes a squeek/crack noise when you push the door open.

[@frankandfrankauto]

Yes the arm rests take a beating. I want to fabricate my own. Congrats on the car!

[@nostalgic_pokemon_memories]

very nice car dont take it for granted it will last longer then anything made today

[@edwardm261]

I have a 1992 sc300 the ac just failed after 29 years. I've owned since 1997. It has been very reliable

[@harryarribard2695]

Hi ! I am harry, i leave in France and i have à probleme with my lexus ls400 96, many smoge ! Do you know this engine very well ? Thak you harry !

[@frankandfrankauto]

Hi Harry, many reasons for smoke. Color, does it appear while time, where is it coming from, etc? I recommend getting it looked at by a mechanic, don't want to damage your engine by being an armchair mechanic. best of luck

[@harryarribard2695]

Thank you for answer ! If i change all the parts on the engine , i find the bad parts !😁

[@jrich436]

Have a 300 and a 400 300 flooded and I loved the car so much that I decided that I was going to bring it back. Its been a lot of work but I am nearing the end I made the mistake of leaving my climate control in the back seat with the car parked with the nose elevated.... found my control in a puddle after a week out of town and it de-laminated on the inside of the screen :( Had to replace the ecm and while I already had racing seats its sad that the ecus on the oem seats were toasted. Would have been nice to offer them to someone for cheap who needed them. Lesson learned... always pull the battery when your house is going under water. PRIORITIES ;) When I'm done i'll be putting my 1jz in the 400, can hardly wait!!!! Was thinking about seeing if I could get away with just peeling the film off the inside of the climate control but someone else said it was only 80.00 to get Tannin to fix theirs. Its about 150.00 now. May go that route just so they can check other issues and I have some kind of warranty if available Although it looks like the the "film" may be part of the screen protector which is replaceable for cheap with DIY parts they sell.

[@jrich436]

Update.... Called and got no answer mid week Used the form mail and asked a very specific and straight forward question Called back today and talked to a tech asking the same question and got the answer... kinda... Asked about some leds for the climate control indicators in addition. One of mine corroded from the water and broke off completely. There is mention that you can have them changed when you get the service but do not see them on the DIY bulb pages Long story short it comes down to them not offering them for DIY AND....refusing to say what they are.... DID NOT LIKE THAT LAST PART AT ALL.... I'm a multiple biz owner and a ETHICAL capitalist. That crosses a line for me as lame... Guy pretty much slipped up and said and THEN verified that the "techs" AKA HIM trying to make it seem like there are engineers and workers in the back of the shop.... are keeping what bulbs Toyota use, as a trade secret Even gave the guy the benefit of the doubt that since it talked about being able to change these colors when you send it in that they somehow got left out of the DIY bulb kit that changes the backlight for LCD and the buttons Thats when he told me to hold on and looked it up to make sure and then confirmed they are not saying and not offering unless you send it it.... Got off the phone and then re-edited my shopping cart based on the tech answers he gave me and then got some messages from friends Almost all the stuff they offer is available for cheaper direct from China We have straight to manufacturer connections for our shop and some of our distributors are straight to manufacturer for our "no name" stuff Yes... no duh.... but the problem is the wording on the site SPECIFICALLY says that these are THEIR products and uses wording like they are engineering and producing this stuff in house for you the customer This is a lie Its all Chinese stuff that they are having branded for them and then taking credit for. And by THEY... I mean the one guy you see in the youtube video I know this game because we have for years been offered to put our company brand on WELL known big name companies if we bought in bulk. Even had photoshopped sample pics sent to our head sales so we would see what the knock offs would look like China does not enforce trademarks. But this is unethical, illegal and customers will confiscate your stuff and you will lose money and have legal issues so we never did it If it were not for the bs lies about how much they are doing I would have paid the extra to buy from them.... but the pretending like they are doing WAY more than reselling and doing simple soldering jobs and the purposefully keeping the "secret" that I am going to find out with a multi meter in a few min as to manipulate people to get the service makes me pass Make your own decisions, because at the end of the day you may not have the ability to do the work or get the parts, and I do believe they offer a service.... I just don't give money to people who do things like this Went back and looked at the email answer and they did not even answer the question.... just made sure to give me all the links to stuff to buy AND the order forms to have them do it EVEN THOUGH I specifically told them i was going to do it myself so that they could spend their time and energy helping people who could not He either barely read it and/or did not really care and wanted me to pay labor Nah... I'm out

[@spunky_dough]

I did have a slight concern about the gas on my sc though, if anyone has any thoughts- when I open my gas cap to refuel, it sounds like I'm emptying a balloon. There a loud, big escape of air, should I have that looked at?

[@siah_6008]

I have a problem on my 93 sc300 but it does have an engine swap to a 1994 sc 400 but while the car idles it sounds like it’s about to stall out then if I go past 100mph it cuts out and struggles to climb the 3rd issue is when I’m going 50 mph it used to downshift to 2nd when I would full throttle but know it only downshifts one gear any advice for the fix thanks in advance

[@1988howie]

Thank you

[@frankandfrankauto]

Welcome!

[@trashbinboi5072]

I have a ‘95 sc300, I’m having a issue where my Ac will turn off if I take the car out of park, as in I put in drive or reverse. I would appreciate it if you or anyone has advice to fix this.

[@frankandfrankauto]

Not familiar with this sorry!

[@Josue-cv3zk]

Can a faulty VSV actuator cause the heater core system to fail?

[@frankandfrankauto]

The vsv actuator does not cause a heater core to fail as far as I know, but is commonly the reason you won't get cabin heat.

[@getowmattemcee9583]

I recently bought a Toyota soarer 1j and its stuck on limp mode and needs a harmonic balancer could anyone possibly tell if it's a big job or worth fixing or did I buy a lemon???

[@spunky_dough]

The harmonic bal. on my sc 300 broke first month of owning it, but the repair wasn't anything too big/ costly. Had it taken care of locally.

[@unknownshark9630]

I have Lexus sc300 1997 can I use 1998 gas tank for lexus 1997??

[@frankandfrankauto]

Not sure, hope you figured this out!

[@bluesky-ud9wg]

The Hood/Trunk Struts aren't an issue as the rest of you're list. They are a Maintenance Item such as Brakes, Tires, etc.

[@rj.pluto_9340]

In other words is this a good car for a highschool senior👀👀

[@frankandfrankauto]

I got mine in HS :) just be ready to pay for gas

[@michaelmiranda3524]

No issues that are super expensive tbh besides the control arms

[@_N4VE_]

i’m running out of motivation. One day car just died on road and started running super rich. Maf code threw, changed maf, no code, car still runs rich and slowly dies off, black smoke, fuel smell. ECU had leaking capacitors, send to tanin, they claimed it’s fixed and tested fine. car STILL rich and dies. Changed IAC, TPS, Injectors, Fuel Regulator, ALL manifold gaskets, o2 sensors, no downstreams so i deleted cats, redid all old vac lines, throttle body cleaned, air filter, egr cleaned, coolant temp sensor, plugs/wires/cap/rotor…Car starts, idles for a second then idle just drops to like 400< and runs super rich till it dies. it can hold rpm if i give it gas and doesn’t have any misfires just smells rich and black smoke? no check engine light, but my cruise control light flashes a few times on start up.

[@Klassyladyk]

I wish I could tell you. I'm having problems with my sc300. I just don't wanna get rid of it.

[@_N4VE_]

@@Klassyladyk if it’s pre-OBD2 i would check the ecu. notorious for going bad even after attempts to repair. I found out that these “drivers” on the ecu that control the firing of the injectors can go bad over time and they don’t leak acid so you’d never know if they went bad by eye. I changed my “repaired” ecu out completely and the car ran finally.

[@2jzgenat]

Most common is the torn driver leather seat😂

[@turbogears900]

Make more lexus videos

[@frankandfrankauto]

I will! Been studying for the MCAT lately, have been so busy. 1 BMW video in the works then 2 more lexus vids. Thanks for the support!

[@skyu777ayala2]

1993 to 1995 supra lca are cheaper then 1996 to 1998 supra lca.

[@pattystephens8129]

Number one problem; You want a nice one and can’t find any.