Power Mirror

[Guest]

So, one of the unusual things noted on the Lexus (98 LS400) was that when in reverse the passenger side mirror tilted downward. Thought it was dumb at first then kind of liked it as a safety feature. Have had the car for three weeks now, worked just like that until two days ago. Then it stopped working.

The only thing I can attribute it to is that just before I noticed the mirror problem my battery had fully discharged when a door was left adjar. My charger did not seem to work so I removed it and had Autozone charge it up (and test it.) Battery fine now but the backup tilt on that mirror stopped working and fuel gauges went wacko--not the empty/full gauge, the electronic mpg readouts. I think the gauge issue will resolve when next I fill up and I reset them.

Any thoughts or experience on the mirror or gauge issue?

BTW--the readout for Current MPG seems to always be all over the map! 10, then 25 then 99, then 56 MPG, etc... My 98LS owner-friend said that is normal because it is a continuous read of the gas burn so it has wide fluctuations. Guess it could be so but it sure seems weird.

[LexusLooker]

The first thing to check is the position of the three-position mirror adjustment switch. It has to be in driver-side mode (seems counter-intuitive), and not the middle or passenger-side positions. The mirror won't flip down in the latter 2 positions. If that's OK, then maybe you do have another problem. You said the readouts went wacko. We're they just numbers that didn't "add up", or was it gobbledy-!Removed!?

The current MPG is the instantaneous MPG. Mash the gas and you're sucking fuel at that instant, so your current MPG will be bad. Let up and it goes up. You may be thinking about the Average MPG readout...that averages out all those 10...20...99...mpg readings over time.

[alsalih]

LexusLooker, thanks for the tip on the side mirror I also had this problem and couldn't figure out what the hell was causing it!! Baja, your display is working fine, you just need to change it to the TANK AVERAGE MPG to avoid the instantaneous reading it's displaying which can vary tremendously. Also, if I'm not mistaken other 98 owners have reported battery drain problems which occur if you leave the interior light on the setting DOOR, even if your door is properly closed! SKPerformance didn't you have this issue??

[sha4000]

So, one of the unusual things noted on the Lexus (98 LS400) was that when in

BTW--the readout for Current MPG seems to always be all over the map! 10, then 25 then 99, then 56 MPG, etc... My 98LS owner-friend said that is normal because it is a continuous read of the gas burn so it has wide fluctuations. Guess it could be so but it sure seems weird.

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the advice for the mirror is solid, but my current mpg does the same thing and i cant figure out what the purpose is though

[lexus411]

the mpg will vay based on the amount of gas being used. If your coasting it should jump all the way and vay depending upon how much your asking it to do. Hope that helps. There is another setting for avergae mpg as well.

[nc211]

It's like on the bmw's that have that gas mpg needle in the dash, it slides back and forth in conjunction to the gas peddle.

[Guest]

The first thing to check is the position of the three-position mirror adjustment switch.  It has to be in driver-side mode (seems counter-intuitive), and not the middle or passenger-side positions.  The mirror won't flip down in the latter 2 positions.  If that's OK, then maybe you do have another problem.  You said the readouts went wacko.  We're they just numbers that didn't "add up", or was it gobbledy-!Removed!? 

The current MPG is the instantaneous MPG.  Mash the gas and you're sucking fuel at that instant, so your current MPG will be bad.  Let up and it goes up.  You may be thinking about the Average MPG readout...that averages out all those 10...20...99...mpg readings over time.

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Dang, I feel dumb! The mirror thig is exactly as you (and the book!) say-the mirror adjusment cannot be in the middle as I have left it on past cars. Thanks for clearing me up! (This kind of goes with my telling my son when we picked up the car to, "just bang on the headrests to put them down." Took us five minutes to give up and check the book and find out about the power switch!) :-)

On the gas readouts--that is what I had concluded on the Current readout--totally useless in my book.

Sorry for the dumb new owner questions, I have been driving, shall we say, lesser cars for a LONG time!

[GRAND_LS 4]

Why is the instant MPG useless? I think it’s the most useful part of that whole computer readout. While TANK, and AVG MPG is useful, those numbers hardly change, at all. I only need to see them every Tank fill up possibly even less. However, Miles till empty was useful until I memorized how many miles I had left by eying the physical gauge.

However, instant is interesting because it helps you keep your foot off the gas by actually seeing the LOW MPG you’re getting when you floor it. At least that’s how it’s been for me.

[Guest]

Why is the instant MPG useless?  I think it’s the most useful part of that whole computer readout.  While TANK, and AVG MPG is useful, those numbers hardly change, at all.  I only need to see them every Tank fill up possibly even less.  However, Miles till empty was useful until I memorized how many miles I had left by eying the physical gauge.

However, instant is interesting because it helps you keep your foot off the gas by actually seeing the LOW MPG you’re getting when you floor it.  At least that’s how it’s been for me.

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Didn't think of it that way. The fluctuations were just so wild that it did not seem relevant. Even minor use of the gas shot the MPG down so low and just easing off sent it to 50-99mpg. Was so all-over-the-map that it seemed ridiculous. Guess I will try that approach a bit and see if it teaches me to be a little less leadfoot. Thanks.

[highlander]

the current mpg readout is PERFECTLY usefull..it will let oyu know when you are depressing the accel pedal TOO MUCH.... I use it a lot more than my average... it will let me know exactly MY bad driving habbits... sometimes you can push the accelerator pedal 20% and have the same speed as if you have it at 10% no acceleration or extremely minor... but 10% is a lot less load and you get more mileage out of your engine.

[oohryry]

The first thing to check is the position of the three-position mirror adjustment switch.  It has to be in driver-side mode (seems counter-intuitive), and not the middle or passenger-side positions.  The mirror won't flip down in the latter 2 positions.  If that's OK, then maybe you do have another problem.  You said the readouts went wacko.  We're they just numbers that didn't "add up", or was it gobbledy-!Removed!? 

The current MPG is the instantaneous MPG.  Mash the gas and you're sucking fuel at that instant, so your current MPG will be bad.  Let up and it goes up.  You may be thinking about the Average MPG readout...that averages out all those 10...20...99...mpg readings over time.

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Dang, I feel dumb! The mirror thig is exactly as you (and the book!) say-the mirror adjusment cannot be in the middle as I have left it on past cars. Thanks for clearing me up! (This kind of goes with my telling my son when we picked up the car to, "just bang on the headrests to put them down." Took us five minutes to give up and check the book and find out about the power switch!) :-)

On the gas readouts--that is what I had concluded on the Current readout--totally useless in my book.

Sorry for the dumb new owner questions, I have been driving, shall we say, lesser cars for a LONG time!

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lol. It took me about five minutes of messing with the controls to figure out how to move the headrest to.