Need advise about buying a 'Tezza

[sn1tzr]

Hey guys, current MR2 owner looking for something more practical. Been offered a 2001 Altezza reasonably cheap but only issue is its showing several warning lights on the dash.

Car drives fine auto box shifts smooth and good power from the beams engine. However the dash is reading the check engine light the TRC light (which i assume is traction control) and ECT light (which i think has something to do with the trans).

Does anyone have any knowledge or experience with dealing with these issues? Car is being sold as is and i am keen to know if its worth the risk that it could be a cheap repair????? I know its one of those subjective things, but id be interested to know your thoughts.

One thing i did note is the supplied key did not have a transponder chip... could this be causing the ecu to throw lights? From experience with BMWs TC light and check engine light means catastrophic transmission failure imminent, but they are a different ball game (i hope) to toyota simplicity.

[sergei]

Get the codes read out first, it most likely will point towards the Fly-by-Wire the circuit, Unless the "Beams" Altezza is 1GFE and not 3SGE (they are both beams )...

You can do paper clip code read out on them via ODB connector.

Check out this post: viewtopic.php?t=85699&p=867317

I try to check my tyres monthly (maybe a little obsessive). A couple times a year is on the other end of that scale so you should definately keep an eye on it more frequently. You can also look at less grippy tyres if you've got something fancy on it.

An annual service is a poor effort too - every six months or 10,000kms at least. More often if you drive it in traffic regularly.

To run diagnostics just locate the check connector, which should be close to the drivers door, by the little compartment thingy where your knees are. Bridge TC & CG and turn on the ignition. Count the engine flashes then google them to see if there are any issues.

[sn1tzr]

Sweet cheers!!!! Is the fly-by-wire system a known fault? Had problem like that in my BMW and it was like $1k to fix

Will give that code scanning a go, thanks for that.

Also yes sorry, rs200 3sge