chrisnisbet

I have a '95 LS400. I have basically the same problem, although it sounds like I have even more things not working. All problems seemed to start at the same time. When I use the remote to lock the car, the doors do lock, but there is no confirmation beep. Same for when I unlock the car. Doors unlock but no beep beep. Also, before the problem started, I would need to press the unlock button twice to unlock passenger doors, else only the driver's door unlocked. Now, the driver's door unlocks, followed by the passenger doors a couple of seconds later. Additionally, the driver's door controls no longer operate any of the passenger door locks or windows. The driver's window control still works though. The seatbelt height adjustment no longer works. The driver's window switch (from memory) used to allow me to close the window if the ignition switch was switched from ON to ACC for a period of time. Now, the only time the window switch works is when the ignition switch is ON. All very strange. Previously, if I tried to lock the doors with the remote while a door was open, I would get a long beep from the alarm system. Now I get no beeps at all. Ever. Is there a single door computer that controls all of this stuff that needs replacing perhaps? Ooh, another thing. The interior light doesn't come on when the driver's door is opened. Still works fine for the passenger doors. I wondered if it had something to do with a faulty door switch or something like that, but I can't even find them. Are they part of the door latch or something? Does anyone have any ideas? I've tried disconnecting the battery for a period of time to see if that fixed things up, but it made no difference at all. Thanks for your help.

>>Their goal was a world-class smooth, quiet car which they succeeded at. Well, when it's not vibrating I'd say you're right. When it is though, it's pretty disappointing. Difficult to rectify too.

Well, based upon my own limited experience, I'd say yes, things do need to be done carefully, ensuring that everything is aligned correctly. I'd be interested to know if you car suddenly develops a vibration after your work has been done. I'm not sure that a dealer will necessarily do a better job than anyone else. I guess they are more likely to know of the importance of doing the job properly though.

This sound like you? There's an attachment in there too showing what to do. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...l=tilt+steering

Hi. I seem to remember reading a thread on this forum about this problem before. If it's the same thing, the problem is down to an electrical connector in the guts of the steering column that connects to a position sensor on the column. The problem is that the wiring as it exits the loom to go to the connector is a bit short, which results in the connector being pulled out of its receptacle a bit, resulting in intermittent tilting of the column. There's an article somewhere on how to fix it up. Basically, you just (carefully) cut away a bit of the loom tape to allow a bit more slack and take the tension off the connector. Search the forum (keywords: tilt, steering column?) and you'll (hopefully) find the thread.

I had a similar problem with my LS400 once. Started happening shortly after getting the car back from a service job. Anyway, the problem turned out to be one of the ground connections between the battery and the engine/chassis. Someone had forgotten to tighten all the connections. Anyway, the car would run fine once the engine had started, but I couldn't get the thing started in the first place. To get it started, what I did was connect a jumper lead from the negative terminal of the battery to the engine, then use the key to start the car as usual. Once running, I removed the jumper cable. For you though, the hot cables sounds a bit mysterious. That makes you wonder if you have a short circuit somewhere. Check the cables from your alternator and your battery to ensure that they haven't been pinched against some earthed metal, or perhaps have damaged insulation.

Nope, no idea if any of these bits and pieces need greasing. I saw the cracks in the diff mounts, and they need a fairly close inspection to spot. I guess one day I'll get around to seeing if I can get this sorted.

Yep, exactly. That business of being a bit worse/different first thing in the morning matches what I experience as well. From what I have read on this forum, and from my own experiences, it strikes me that it doesn't take much of a misalignment in the drivetrain alignment (diff/tranny mounts etc.) before this vibration rears its ugly head. Another thing I found was that with each new attempt at trying to resolve the problem, the vibration would occur at slightly different speeds. (I had the driveshaft dropped out a few times, and the diff mounts checked.) One of the hardest things to do I've found is convincing people that the vibration even exists. Odd, because it's plainly obvious to me.

I suspect you are right SK. The problem doesn't seem too bad now with the new (second hand) shaft. Mostly, I'm the only person than can actually notice it now. The guys at the shop can't really tell what I'm going on about. I'm reluctant to give them a hard time about it because they have tried pretty hard to resolve this for me (at their expense). All told, we've replaced the diff mounts, the driveshaft couplings, and replaced the old sloppy shaft with a second hand one. It would have been nice to get a new shaft as well, but the cost was about NZ$5K, and I would have had to stump up a lot of the cash for that (my warranty doesn't stretch that far). I just remember the way it used to roll along so smootly, and wish it was like that again. I guess we could have a go at balancing the second shaft.

Hi I guess they were talking about the two rear mounts which attach to the crossmember, and the two 'mount stoppers' which go at the front of the diff ether side of the drifeshaft coupling.

I must admit, I didn't bother to take too close a look under the car myself. I was only going by what the mechanics told me. Next time I take the car in for a service, I'll mention what you've said about those mounts though. I might take a peek to see if I can see the mounts they/you are talking about.

NC211, it's interesting that you should mention those diff mounts. It's a bit of a long story, but it wasn't until I had them replaced (I'm not 100% sure they're the ones you are talking about, but there are a total of 4 diff mounts from what I was told, and I had them all replaced) that I first noticed the vibration. Before then, my car rolled along as smooth as silk. I went to get a warrant of fitness one day, and the mechanic (independant) noticed that two of the mounts were cracked. Didn't cost me much at all because I have a warranty that covers most of those things. Anyway, got the car back and noticed this vibration/noise. Quite minor, and thought it might be a wheel balance issue. Got them balanced, and the tire guy told me that the two rear tyres were out of round, and could be causing the vibration. Anyway, because I don't drive the car much, I just put up with it. After some time though, the vibration suddenly got _really_ bad. Couldn't travel more than 60kph. Took the car back, and they found that they hadn't installed one of the driveshaft couplings correctly. They replaced the front and rear driveshaft couplings because one was destroyed (due to error during diff job). Fixed that up, and I was back to where I was before. Finally got my two rear tyres replaced, and vibration didn't change at all. Vibration got a bit worse, and I thought I'd nag the service people about it. Went to get driveshaft balanced, but balancers said that there was too much play in splines to do a decent job. Got a different driveshaft, and vibration is better, but not completely gone. I've had a gutsful of it now and just put up with what is left. I'm left with the feeling that it is pretty easy for something to be slightly off in the drivetrain, resulting in a vibration/drone noticeable in the cabin.

I'd be interested to hear how it turns out. Is your vibration accompanied by a kind of low frequency droning noise? With my car, the actual vibration isn't too noticeable any more, but I still notice the funny droning kind of noise. The noise is a little bit similar to what you can get if one of the windows is left open while driving along.

I have a '95 LS400 with much the same problem. At certain speeds, a virbration comes up through the car and can even produce a droning kind of noise. We finally tracked it down to the driveshaft. Replacing the couplings at each end of the driveshaft made no difference. In the end, we replaced the driveshaft itself (with a second hand one as the price of a new one was horrendous (NZ$5K)). The problem hasn't _completely_ gone away. I still get a bit of vibration at about 70kph, but nothing like what I had before. All other speeds are pretty good now. We considered balancing the original, but the balancing people said that my driveshaft had too much play in the splines that connect the front and rear portions together. I just put up with the little bit of vibration that is left. Apparently, it is also quite important to get the alignment of the driveshaft correct when installing it. personally, it seems like a bit of a design issue to me. The idea of a mounting point in the middle of the driveshaft connecting it to the car seems like a likely spot for any slight out of balance condition in the driveshaft to be transferred to the car

>> i am just wondering how it can be missing since reaching that part is not that easy I don't think the part is 'missing'. When I investigated my gearbox, which was having the exact same problem as described in this thread, I found the remains of what was probably the stock washer. I'm guessing that it disintegrates over time. Perhaps some kind of reaction to the lubrication grease? Who knows? Anyway, I cleaned out the crud and inserted a plastic washer behind the blue gear to get it sitting in the correct position again, and all is well now.