New Ls Owner Here With A Question (that Is Not In The Faq)

[pettit]

Howdy folks. Just to begin, I've driven everything. My last few cars (in order of progression) were:

1968 BMW 1600

1986 Audi 4000

1987 BMW 535is

1999 BMW 740 Sport

2000 Audi A6 4.2 (do NOT ever buy one)

1996 Volvo 850 GLT

1992 MB 300e (had kids)...

Traded the Audi for a RX330 for the wife and then last week trade the 300e for a 1995 LS400. One owner, 130 miles and a TON of records...

There is the background. Out of all of the cars previously mentioned I have to say that the LS is absolutely the best driving car of the bunch. Sure the 740 was a blast (and was fast as hell after modifications) but was harsh and somewhat loud on the road.

The first thing I noticed about the LS was the acceleration. It doesn't "go" as most cars do; it thrusts forward smoothly with a hint of engine noise and almost no evidence of the transmission shifting. Another thing I noticed was the lack of any noise...All I hear whilst driving is the sound of OTHER cars driving by me. Cranking up the amazing Nak system takes care of that (eat THAT BMW crap sound system).

Anyway, I have a couple small issues...

My car has the air suspension. I hear this is not the way to go on this car, but hey, it on there and I am stuck with it. When driving down the road the "hi" suspension light flickers on and off at times without me changing the settings. The car does is not sagging.

Second: When sitting in traffic the other day (99 deg in Dallas) the car began to overheat. If I didn't turn the A/C off and blast the heater, it would have gone into the red. This happened twice. The temp remedy was to turn the heater on. I do not know if the fan was running, but I tried to replicate the problem tonight in the driveway and the fan did turn on.

Number 3: High idle. When starting the car (cold) the idle runs up around 2K RPM. When warm, it seems to be normal...

That's the deal. Any help, comments or suggestions are welcome.

Glad to be here with you guys!

Paul

PS. Sorry if I was ranting or misspelling. It's Sunday and one of my martial duties is sit and watch Desperate Houswives with my wife. It takes a few beers to get though the show. I'd rather change my oil right after returning from a 600 mile road trip than watch this show...

[blake918]

Welcome to the board Paul! ;)

As for the air ride, the flickering light indicates that there is a trouble code. A lot of people are quick to say replace the struts, but I've heard that a bad air ride ecu or height control sensor can ruin a perfectly fine strut. I believe that you have to have a Lexus scanner to get these kinds of trouble codes, but I'm not 100% on that.

I'd start by checking the simple things like the thermostat, coolant level, and coolant cap gasket to see if that helps with the overheating. Replacing the coolant can't hurt either if it hasn't been done in a while. Other than that maybe the radiator, or god forbid the water pump.

My cold idle doesn't ever get that high (maybe 14-1600rpms tops), but it seems very dependent on the weather. The repair manual doesn't say much about it other than your idle should be 650+/-50 when the car is at operating temp. The repair manual recommends checking your IACV if your idle speed is off. Has your ECU been replaced?

[dfkd]

Welcome to LOC,

Glad you're enjoying your LS...

Just wanted to add a possibility about the air suspension...the air suspension computer is programmed to raise the car to high if it senses that you are driving on very rough terrain. So if the roads in your area are on the rough side, that may be the cause. Normally, air suspension error code flashes the NORMAL light.

[blake918]

There isn't a normal light in the '95 (you have height hi or nothing lights up at all.). ;)

[jainla]

You may also want to check to make sure that the air ride system has not been turned off...there is a switch in the trunk (I believe it is behind the first aid kit on the left hand side).

Anytime you have to put the car on a lift and start it you have to turn off the system otherwise you risk blowing out the airstruts....I seem to remember that if you drive with the system off it flashes that particular error.

The first thing I noticed about the LS was the acceleration. It doesn't "go" as most cars do; it thrusts forward smoothly with a hint of engine noise and almost no evidence of the transmission shifting. Another thing I noticed was the lack of any noise...

The LS gearing has always provided this seemless, near silent accelleration....but it can get you in trouble. I

have more than once inadvertently hit triple digit speeds when passing a truck on the 5 freeway.

Second: When sitting in traffic the other day (99 deg in Dallas) the car began to overheat. If I didn't turn the A/C off and blast the heater, it would have gone into the red. This happened twice. The temp remedy was to turn the heater on. I do not know if the fan was running, but I tried to replicate the problem tonight in the driveway and the fan did turn on.

I would check the oil and coolant levels, obviously. Or perhaps the temp sensor has gone bad? I went to Vegas a few weeks ago and even after sitting in stop and go traffic at 108 degrees the temp never went above midline...also I believe the '95 may have an thermostatically controlled cooling fan..you might want to have them check that out.

But otherwise welcome to the forum!!

[pettit]

Thanks folks. Glad to be here.

Regarding the overheating...I'm not 100% sure my cooling fan turned on. I didn't get out to check, but I did notice it turning on the other day and am sure I didn't hear it when it was overheating. Good thing is that it is cooling down now (weather wise) so I have a bit more time to find out what the problem is.

Now to the air suspension. It seems like the front end is always on the high setting. The nose is sitting higher than the rear, and it is quite obvious. Is there a sensor that has gone bad? A relay?

jainla, I looked for the switch but could not find it.

So there you go...Thanks for the tips, and happy motoring.

Paul

[cardona6569]

Hi:

I would replace the radiator cap, that is one of the most overlooked parts when dealing with overheating engines. Unless you can check the proper operation of the part, which almost no one has the will or equipment, so just buy a new one. Second to know if your auxiliary fan is working just turn on the car and crank on the AC both fans should work if they are not, then you need to check them, sometimes is that the AC needs gas. The idle problem can probably improve with a seafoam treatment. Read in the forum to see how to do it or go to the knowledge articles or links. And welcome to the club.

C. PR

Thanks folks. Glad to be here.

Regarding the overheating...I'm not 100% sure my cooling fan turned on. I didn't get out to check, but I did notice it turning on the other day and am sure I didn't hear it when it was overheating. Good thing is that it is cooling down now (weather wise) so I have a bit more time to find out what the problem is.

Now to the air suspension. It seems like the front end is always on the high setting. The nose is sitting higher than the rear, and it is quite obvious. Is there a sensor that has gone bad? A relay?

jainla, I looked for the switch but could not find it.

So there you go...Thanks for the tips, and happy motoring.

Paul

[pettit]

Thanks for the tip...My 300e was overheating and it was driving me nuts...NUTS I tell you. I checked the fluids, the fan, the fuses...Everything that I thought could be the problem. Finally (after filling the radiator again) I noticed that the rubber seal around the radiator cap was in very bad condition. A new cap solved the problem.

I'll try this on the LS as well.

Now something else. My front suspension is acting up. It seems to want to stay in the "hi" position while the rear stays where it should. Any ideas?

BTW, I freaking love this car. In the words of Monty Python, "it's varry nice."