So my 02 xtype with the 2.5L and Manual tranny has been a very solid little car for a long time. But now the ghosts in the machine are starting to get to me.

When it's cold out there are several gremlins that come out and I am not sure what to do to fix them (going to the dealership and plopping down a grand is out of the question)

1. some days (specifically when it's less than 40 degress F) I get a single beep similar to the parking sensors beep that lasts about 2 seconds and then nothing. The parking sensors don't work at that point and I go about my day as normal. Other days when it's cold out I get a shorter beep and then it beeps every second or 2 for however long I'm driving. This gets maddening during my half hour commute and never stops under any circumstance. It's the same beep you get when your reverse parking sensors first begin, but happens constantly while I'm driving.

2. My engine light cycles off and on every hundred miles or so. But when it's cold it also puts up a yellow light and says cruise unavailable putting my car in "limp home" mode and maxing the revs at about 2800rpm. after 5 mins or so it goes away and the engine light remains on but I can drive normally.

HELP??!?!?!

 

Hi jcappskc,

That's a real mystery and I think Thermo may help? If it wss only the beep i would have said have you got solid wax or ice trapped in your sensors, but with the limp home coming up too, I am confused, especially as you say the car is driving normally.

I know you have a commute, but I wouldn't be taking my baby anywhere in your situation, have you tried disconnecting the battery and retarting the system/ecu to see if it comes up again? Sounds like you badly need an OBD Scanner tool or a knowing friend?

This could be a collection of faults but I am suspecting the alternator/electrics at this point but I cannot advise at this point.

Is there any other issue like handbrake or gears that you are aware of and are the lights/electrics working okay?

 

Can't help you with the parking sensors, but your limp home situation sounds like a vacuum leak or possibly your MAF sensor. Best thing would be to get the codes read (Autozone does that for free) and report back. Then do a search here for the codes. Something like P0171 and P0174 and I think the MAF sensor is like P0101 if memory serves. Fixes are pretty easy and inexpensive. The recent cold weather always seems to exacerbate small vacuum leaks. If yours is serious enough to put it into limp home mode get it addressed soon. You drive long enough with that lean condition and it could cause other problems. Could be other causes, but those seems to be the first things to check.

 

jcapps, I know this is going to sound silly, but the next time your beeping happens, pull into a parking stall and place the front tires up against a curb (to prevent the car from rolling) and then set the e-brake really well. Then, while the car is still in DRIVE, get out and see if your reverse lights are still on. I bet they will be. If this is the case, then we have an electrical issue that is causing the parking aide system to remain engaged all the time. If this is the case, let me know and I will give you a few other checks to make.

If this is not the case, then I am not sure what to tell you. I can't think of anything in your car that would be cycling every 2 seconds during a drive. You may want to confirm that it is the parking aide sounder by simply getting the beeping to happen and then reaching under the rear deck and unplugging the sounder to make sure the beeping stops. If it doesn't, then we are on the wrong track.

 

good info, thanks guys. I had read somewhere that the limp home mode thing was from a vacuum leak. I'll get on that as it's done it off an on in the cold for about a year now...

As far as the beeping, I verified the reverse lights aren't on while driving (used mirrored glass on buildings as I can't do the drive trick since it's a stick. Honestly I'm good with just unplugging the stupid beeper thing if that stops it. Does anyone have some direction as to where it is or if there's anything special to worry about when disconnecting it.

 

Also, to clarify, the beeping and the cruise not available/limp home are separate things that don't correlate in any way other than they both happen when it's cold.

It seems like power drops off a little when the engine light is on and there's a 4-5 mpg drop in fuel mileage when the light/limp issue is happening. I've had the battery out of it twice since this started and it will come back within a couple days each time.

 

jcapps, if I remember right, what you need to do is to open up the trunk and then lay down inside the trunk. This will put your head under the rear deck. Reach up with your right hand and you should see a black box up there with a series of holes in it that makes a circle. That is the beeper. There will be a 2 wire plug going into it. Unplug and that should solve your beeping issue atleast for the moment.

I will take a look at some drawings and see if there is anything that I can figure out for you.

 

jcapps, another thing you may want to consider is if you lift up the carpetting in the trunk of your car (like you were accessing the spare tire), you will notice that along the wall backing up to the bumper, you will find a black box there with an electrical plug. That is the parking aide sensor module. You can unplug the whole system from there.

Thinking about what you are experiencing, what I think is happening is you have a fault inside the module itself that is activating the back up sensors as you are driving down the road and what you are hearing is the sensor seeing the moving road that you have already driven over and it is telling you that something is moving a fair distance away from the car. You can try setting the e-brake and then turning the car to RUN (do not start the engine) and then putting it in gear. Then you can get out of the car and put your ear up to the sensors. If you are hearing a high pitch squeal/chirp, then that is confirming that you have the sensors energized and your problem lies internal to the module (as the back up lights are not lit).

Hope this helps.