Love My Car But Have A Few Problems And Need Help.

[Chad in SC]

I am the proud owner of a lexus SC400 and I love my car to death. After owning it for almost one full year, I've started to develop some problems with my car. I have pictures of the issues I could photograph, so I would appreciate your help.

Problem number one, the paint is chipping off of the front bumper. Is this easily fixable? I'd like to repaint it, but I don't know how much that will run me. A friend suggested getting a bra for the front and i'd like to konw if anyone likes or dislikes those? Number two is a detail shot of the paint. I would like to keep the car without having to put a bra on it, but if that's my only option, I guess I will, any thoughts?

Second problem is with the passenger seats, the leather seems to be wearing down, and other than replacing the seats, are their any other options? Photo 4 shows a detail shot of the damage, and photos 5 and 6 show the back seat where it's splitting at the seams. The funny thing is, that no one ever sits in the back and I don't know why it would be splitting like that, any thoughts here?

Third, the plastic is cracking and breaking around the windshield on the drivers side, any idea what's causing this or how much it will cost to get replaced?I doubt the winshield will fly off, but any thoughts on how to fix it?

Fourth, the passenger door won't open from the outside, can someone explain how to take off the inside door panel and replace the "yellow clip" if that is indeed the problem? It opens fine from the inside, but when I go to pick my girl up, I want to be able to open the door from the outside for her! ;)

Fifth and final problem! I've been driving my car now for the past two months, praying to god that this would go away, but I dobut it will. My car is packed with horsepower, but for some reason, always around 2,000 rpm's or 40-45 mphs, when I gently push down on the gas to pass someone, the car wants to heistate and doesn't really "go" does that make sense? It never happens at any other time or rpm. I don't mind the problem, but I don't like the idea of my car lunging forward in stop in go traffic when I'm going around 45 mph. Any idea what could be causing this? I've heard that it could be water in the sparkplugs, a cracked head, or a clogged fuel injector. Before I got and drop 1k plus figuring out what the deal is, can anyone guide me in the right direction as to what they cause "may" be?

Thanks so much for your help, your time and your consideration. I greatly appreciate it and appreciate belonging to such a great community of car owners.

[j_lee84sc]

Dear friend welcome to the world of Lexus. 1st Prob, the paint... I have a 97 sc300 and it started on the bumpers and now is on the hood and roof of my car, I think with that red the chipping is normal wear(as I have the same color). A bra will cover it up now but the rest of the paint will surely follow. 2nd prob, the leather in the back will split there, more worn items. WWW.Leatherseats.com sells awesome replacement seats for about 750, includes both buckets, the rear and the center console leather. The third problem again some normal weather wear, you can have the weather stripping put on pretty inexpensively. What year is your car?? 4th prob, hmmm there are several screws along the botom part of the door panel(inside of course) and the top right by the mirror, and a hidden one behind the handle. after those are removed it pops out pretty easily. and the cable might be loose to the door, easy fix, hopefully. 5th yeah it could be a number of things, maybe bad plugs or wires, distributor cap and rotor might need replacing, fuel lines cleaned and filter changed. That one is hard to narrow down Well hope some of this helps lemme know how it goes!!!

[Chad in SC]

so do you think I should start by having the fuel system cleaned and then try the plugs and go from there?

[j_lee84sc]

yeah a new fuel filter and a line flush and cleansing wouldnt hurt, new plugs arent expensive, and a flush at a local shop is about 60-90 bucks.

[GaDawg]

so do you think I should start by having the fuel system cleaned and then try the plugs and go from there?

Go to the "Results of My SC400 Mods" by Jibby and you'll see TONS of issues we've discussed over the past few months.

You may consider a new torque converter. I know I'm going to get one soon myself. Read the thread above for all the details.

I just replaced my spark plugs with NGK platinums, a Bosche wire set and a K&N air filter that fits in the stock airbox and my car felt an immediate improvement.

Also, look into Seafoaming your fuel system before you change anything. It will make a big difference by cleaning out the system, however be prepapred to replace your plugs, so do this before adding new ones. To really get the most out of the Seafoam, add a whole can to a tank just above Empty. Per their recommendations, I added 1 1/4 cans to a full tank and showed an immediate improvement in response. But, just to make sure I got it good, I added the full can to a nearly empty tank before I swapped out the plugs and wires. You can add it via the tank, but Jibby suggests sucking it up directly into the engine (read the thread above for his approach.

You can also clean out your engine via the oil, but it will smoke like a mutha and should be done away from your house or any other populated area (re: big, sparce parking lot will suffice).

I ordered my new seats from www.leatherseats.com and I haven't heard anything but GREAT stuff about them. Everyone that I can see, uses either letherseats or Katskinz.

Good luck.

[BlueSC400]

I ordered my new seats from www.leatherseats.com and I haven't heard anything but GREAT stuff about them. Everyone that I can see, uses either letherseats or Katskinz.

Good luck.

I want to get some new seats for my SC400 and but I want something light IE not electric and heavy. Are there any good brands I should look into that would be easy to install on a 93 SC400?

[Chad in SC]

so do you think I should start by having the fuel system cleaned and then try the plugs and go from there?

Go to the "Results of My SC400 Mods" by Jibby and you'll see TONS of issues we've discussed over the past few months.

You may consider a new torque converter. I know I'm going to get one soon myself. Read the thread above for all the details.

I just replaced my spark plugs with NGK platinums, a Bosche wire set and a K&N air filter that fits in the stock airbox and my car felt an immediate improvement.

Also, look into Seafoaming your fuel system before you change anything. It will make a big difference by cleaning out the system, however be prepapred to replace your plugs, so do this before adding new ones. To really get the most out of the Seafoam, add a whole can to a tank just above Empty. Per their recommendations, I added 1 1/4 cans to a full tank and showed an immediate improvement in response. But, just to make sure I got it good, I added the full can to a nearly empty tank before I swapped out the plugs and wires. You can add it via the tank, but Jibby suggests sucking it up directly into the engine (read the thread above for his approach.

You can also clean out your engine via the oil, but it will smoke like a mutha and should be done away from your house or any other populated area (re: big, sparce parking lot will suffice).

I ordered my new seats from www.leatherseats.com and I haven't heard anything but GREAT stuff about them. Everyone that I can see, uses either letherseats or Katskinz.

Good luck.

Gadawg,

Thanks for your help, I'll be sure to give all of that a try and let you know how it works out!