Help with troubleshooting OBD2 - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Russell97 · 05-12-2008, 06:12 PM

I am a new visiter here on the forum. I'm not sure if I'm in the right place, but I am looking for some assistance in troubleshooting a DTC of P0500 on my 1997 Camry LE 4 cyl. The car runs great, but repeatedly generates trouble codes of P0500. Sometimes it will reset by itself, other times I must use a scanner. The speedometer works fine. In my Hayes manual it says if the speedometer works, the VSS Vehicle speed sensor is good. The data I get on the scanner indicates the engine RPM was 4297 when the code was generated, with a vehicle speed of Zero. How should I proceed? Any help is greatly appreciated.

elton123 · 05-19-2008, 05:41 PM

I got that code too on an 04 solara, car runs good though

Russell97 · 05-19-2008, 06:54 PM

I have been chasing this one for a month. Comes and goes all by itself. The car runs great, and the speedo works normally. I went for a drive and watched the live data from the sensor on a scanner and everything looked fine. Drives me nuts .. Fortunately I had it smoged just prior to the code showing up, so at least I'm good for two years before smog check becomes an issue. I have heard that the problem may be coming from the speedo connections to the computer, but have not been able to confirm this.

frenum49 · 05-19-2008, 08:07 PM

Is your ABS light on? Does the data display on your scanner show wheel speed for each individual tire? You should be able to see this data in the ABS section of the scanner. If you have four wheel ABS there should be a speed sensor for each wheel. If one of theses sensors goes the computer may throw a code and you would still have speedo if your ride has a VSS on the trans. I am unfamiliar with the Toyota set-up. Some domestics will have a VSS on the trans for the speedo but still use individual wheel sensors for ABS. Others will not. If the VSS is throwing codes intermittently I would pull the sensor and wipe clean any ferrous metals or build-up from the sensor and put it back in. Also check wiring and connector for damage.

elton123 · 05-19-2008, 08:10 PM

I hear in addition to controlling the speedometer it helps the transmission shift accordingly. I may jsut have to replace it to see if it does anything the the CEL. Although I do have the toyota pdf instructions to test it with a voltmeter.