Whats up everybody,

my vsa light and ! (tcs) come on every time i drive my car now. After the I start up, they are not present but after driving for a short while they illuminate... I've read other posts, however most are about reading abs codes, my abs light is not on... how should i go about troubleshooting ?? what does this mean ?? thanks ??

It's a 2003 A-spec TL S btw.

 

you need to get the codes read and give us those. iirc Canadian Tire is your parts and service place? Plug is behind plastic panel- just in front of shifter,
move shifter to D1 to give room for hand to remove cover

The lights can mean 1000 things, doesn't matter which ones on or not, they come on to get your attention- which they have!

Does the cruise control work? Do ABS Brakes work?
Been thru a bad storm with driving thru high water lately?
Work done on brakes or suspension?

 

Thanks , Which pannel/port are you referring too ?? isn't the obd2 scan port under the dash to the right of the steering wheel by the peddles ??

The check engine light has been on for sometime now, due to a evap canister leak code, I scanned myself with a bluetooth obd2 port scanner ... however i haven't scanned recently, I will try a few shops and see what i can pull..

Some history about work done...

About 6 months ago, the check light came on, It was a EVAP canister leak detected, however upon further inspection... i found my gastank was rusted and leaking, I had it replaced... The mechanic wouldve had to take the lower subframe off to do this... When i got the car back, the check light was still present however this vsa/! light problem only started happening recently, I was hoping the rusted punctured tank was the cause of the said check light ... So now im stuck with a check light and vsa, ! coming on periodically ... I will see what Canadian tire says about scanning and get back to you, thanks for the reply ...

will test cruise control right now ...

 

So i went to part source... in addition to the Check for faulty gas cap/EVAP canister leak detected ... a "P0325 Knock sensor 1 No signal 2. Knock sensor Malfunction 3. Right " came up... i did a quick google and noticed someone saying that it will come up when you go above 3k rpm's ... and this is the case ,,,. Before thought it was sporadically coming on, but now i know it will come up after hitting 3krpm ... Because of the CEL being on for the evap canister, is this the car's way of telling me something else urgent is up ?? Please advise on how i can go about troubleshooting.. Thanks in advance ...

 

the obdi2 port is not under the dash by the pedals, its in that space hidden in front of the shifter- that 2x3 inch plastic piece comes out- the port is inside there
Place trans shifter in the furthest back-rear-D1 position to make access possible

Someone with that same type code will stop by soon

Who Knows about KNOCK SENSOR?

 

did you replace the gas cap along with the tank?

Are you clearing the ECU so you see what are fresh current codes?
use CLOCK fuse on passenger end of dash or footwell side panel (depends on year)
remove that fuse for 1 minute and reinsert- ECU has been reset!

When all the work was done, a knock sensor wire could have gotten damaged, pulled loose etc.
Go back and start with that before buying any parts based solely on codes
Always suspect the last work done when a new problem appears~

 

try a search on here in the gen2 CL and TL sections for Knock Sensor
our search is your friend, google is not always the way to find things!

 

Thanks man, really appreciate the responses ...

I'm confused about the obd2 port.. both Myself and the Partsource guy used the serial port under the dash by the peddles... is there another port by the shifter, or are you mistaken ? do they do the same things if both exist ??? its a 2003 Aspec TL- S, anyway ...

Everytime I have pulled the codes myself with the portscanner .. I have sent reset commands for the codes, clearing them temporarily so yes I have been clearing them. I will use clock fuse reset now, also replace gas cap ?? ... I guess it must be ruled out. Thanks ... will get on that.. I've done some research, the knock sensor looks like it's in a tricky area, not sure im comfortable taking off intake manifold etc... but then again i always say things like that and end up going at it anyway. Thanks again, will keep you posted. Oh lastly, am i doing damage driving like this ?? I have to drive into the city for work on Monday, not sure i can rectify in time ?? Is it in limp mode ??

 

limp mode limits rpm to 3000

Canada spec cars may differ- usa models have the obdi port where I said- ckd mine more than once, every 2 years for smog test!
See if you have a removable piece back by the seat heater switches
Canada cars may have moved it

I thought A-spec was just a body kit?

 

Didn't you say the fuel tank had been replaced or removed and cleaned?
that would make a new cap seem reasonable and make sure the code on evap is not from cap
Codes are CLUES not a diagnosis

removing the intake manifold is easy, and you need to for egr system cleaning that's needed by now - so lets see if its a wire off or actual knock sensor fail
Did you search on here yet?
Its long holiday weekend in the States so many ziners are not at home to help

 

you are using 91 octane fuel- correct?

 

Yes 91 gas, So it turned out to be a completely severed wire... I Don't wanna discourage anyone from DIY'ing anything, but this wasn't a walk in the park at all... The entire manifold and everything connected, throttle boddy, upper plenum, fuel rail, a plethora of hoses and sensors had to come off... If you're a mechanic I suppose it's nothing at all.. but to someone who doesn't work on cars everyday... i don't know if i'd recommend taking this lightly... And even after taking all that off, my buddy who works on car's STRUGGLED to get at the knock sensor, it's very in accessible ... we had to use the harness on it as leverage to thread the new one in, then remove the harness repair it and reinstall the new soldered/heatshrinked sensor and harness ... Thanks for all your responses 04tl. The car runs like it should now, VTECH is back... the car's got it's pep back. Still no removable square by the shifter though... and my car says made in USA, not sure what up with that, but oh well... Next code to clear is this damn evap leak detected... I will get a new gas cap. After replacing gas tank that was rusted, still getting gas cap code as well as evap cannister leak detected.

 

cleaned all the EGR ports and lubed the throttle body/cable, thanks to your posts i was mindful of this stuff... a lot of built of carbon in there !

 

removable square by shifter- are you talking about the obdi port cover in front of shifter- near seat heat switches?
or the shift lockout release on right side of shifter panel?

USA car in Canada, not the first TL to migrate North, do cars get free health care too?

 

you cleaned all the way thru the inside of manifold egr passage, from the big opening to the 2 ports under the actual egr valve?
Not just the cylinder ports- right? everything! a wire coat hanger is good to poke the long passage clear

Throttle Body- did you do the IACV cleaning too? access thru bottom of TB

 

ck the torque on those main manifold hold down bolts under the top cover in 500 miles
A few will be 1/4 turn loose- not good! its normal for that to occur with heat and cooing cycles, retorque once = then its good to go another 75kmiles until next cleaning of egr system is due
14 foot pounds spec iirc