I was pumping some premium into my 98' TL 2.5 one evening.
Usually, after a refill, I reset my trip meter so I can calculate my gas mileage.
After driving around a while, I realize my trip meter/odometer stop working.

It seemed as though it were trying very hard to turn. No dice. Poor guy. =/
The next day, while driving to the beach, I get a CEL while on the freeway.

After shitting a brick sideways, I arrive at Autozone the next day to make use of their code reader... a code 500 for VSS malfunction was given.

Question:

Will malfunction of a gauge's trip/odometer cause a VSS CEL?

Or... can this malfunction only be tripped by the VSS itself, meaning the gauge cluster is intact?

TL is either getting a new gauge cluster, or a new VSS...

Any help with diagnosis?

 

Is your D4 light flashing and is the speedometer erratic? Those are the other signs of a bad VSS.

~Cheers~

 

Speedometer isn't erratic.
Fill me in on this D4 light please.
Got burnt a while ago = D

Nothing on my gauge cluster seems strange except the trip/odometer not working.

 

Bump.... any ideas?

 

The tooth of the trip meter broke off.
Happened to me to.
I ended up buying a used one and just moved the miles forward to match the exact reading.
All you do is remove the clear plastic cover, held by 2 screws and some tabs.
Than, I used a tooth pick to forcefully turn the mileage.

 

Did CEL trigger though?
Because of the tooth breaking?

 

Bump... any ideas?

 

it is possible that both your VSS and the tooth on your trip meter has gone... if your speedo is going wild, then most likely your VSS is okay... did they reset the light and has it come back since??? if so maybe your VSS may be on its way out...

 

Code 0500 is set because of a detected electrical fault or missing signal. I suspect that sometimes the VSS grease interferes w/ signal generation and code appears, then issue resolves itself and code is cleared by ECU w/o intervention. I've seen this happen, but it's speculation about the cause.

I don't see how the ECU could infer a broken tooth on the odometer movement. There is no feedback system.

As Kamlung speculates, both VSS and odometer movement could have failed.

Odometer can be repaired by some specialty shops. Check online.

good luck