The Sinister Moose

It is the best of cars, it is the worst of cars. It is the simplest of cars, wait.... no it isn't.

Six years ago,  I purchased my wife a 1996 SC300, it was a flood car from hurricane Katrina. It was not a salt water damaged car, but instead it was flooded by water from a freshwater lake.

I have replaced the following:

Seats, door panels, Engine/Transmission ECU, Alternator, Battery, Stereo System, Climate Control, instrument Cluster, Distributor Cap Rotor and Plugs, Wheels and Tires, Exhaust System all except the front cats.

It has been quite an adventure, so far. However, a few days ago, the car developed a new problem.

To put it simply, the car is overly complicated. Multiple ECUs control various aspects of the car's electronics and mechanical systems. Since my wife has been driving the car, she has mentioned that from time to time, the Over Drive Off Light would randomly blink in the instrument cluster. Quite annoying, but it didn't affect the car's operation. About a week ago, the car decided it no longer wanted to shift out of first gear. It would reverse fine, and it would launch fine, however when it came time to shift to second, the automatic transmission decided that it wasn't ready to make that commitment. Also the speedometer had quit working.

After a great deal of research, I discovered that the automatic transmission in this car has two speed sensors mounted on the back of it near the output shaft. Two? For what possible reason would this car need two speed sensors.

I searched for the sensors, on ebay, and found sensor "A", for a grand total of $69.00 so I bought it, hoping that would cure the problem. After installing it, (a total of 15 minutes), the car would now shift, however the speedometer still didn't work, and the OD Off light started blinking. So, I did a little more research.

As it turns out, sensor "A" is strictly for the Engine/Transmission ECU, to tell the ECU how fast the transmission is turning, so it'll know when to shift. The car will work without sensor "A", but will cause the OD Off light to blink randomly. Ah Ha! If sensor "A" is dead, the car can function on sensor "B", but will give you a warning. However, if sensor "B" fails, the speedometer stops working, and the OD Off light blinks.

Apparently, Sensor "A" had failed a long time ago, and the car was still working fine, even though the OD Off light would blink. So, now Sensor "B" has failed, and the car wouldn't shift. Oh Goody.

The sensor "B" in question is a "Standard Motor Products SC174 Speed Sensor" speedometer speed sender, which was used for only a few years, and only on a couple of different vehicles, and the average price for this unit is a whopping $200 from most vendors online.

So, back to ebay I go, where I find one for $168.00. I clicked buy it now, and in less than 24 hours I got a response from the seller, claiming the part on their shelf was broken, and the could not source a replacement, so my money was refunded.

Damnit.

Back to ebay, where I find another one for $170.00, and in less than 24 hours I had a response that they were out of stock on the item, and refunded my money.

Sons-of-bitches.

Once again to the well, where I find a third SMP SC174 sensor for $184.79 and you guessed it, in less than 24 hours after clicking the "Buy it Now" button, I was informed they could not find the part in their inventory so I was refunded.

Damnit... again.

Who would have thought that such an innocuous little device, could be so hard to find, so easy to break and so damnably expensive. So, if you have a 1995, 1996 or 1997 Lexus SC300 or SC400 with an Automatic transmission, good luck finding this part for under $200.

I'm starting to believe that it is going to be difficult to find the part anywhere other than through a Lexus or Toyota dealer.

I know I may sound like I'm being a cheapskate, after having spent so much money on this car to bring it back to daily use, and perhaps I am just being cheap, but I'm tired of the overly complex electrical system on this car.

My BMWs are from the same era as this car, and they're not as dependent on such an expensive little part.

I'm seriously considering trading this Lexus to a nice little 325i, or 328i convertible.

In my best Eric Cartman voice, "Screw you guys, I'm goin' German."

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