2000 Ls400 Tool Kit

[steeviebrat]

Hi, this is a really great forum! I bought a 2000 Lexus LS400 July of 2008 and I have never been happier!

It drives soooo smooth, but can accelerate quickly and quietly. Mine is silver with black leather interior. It has navigation and Xenon headlights. The conveniences this car provides makes every trip a breeze. The tilt moon roof is such a great feature as are, the Xenon self-leveling headlights, heated seats, seat memory, telescoping wheel, and the best of all, side mirrors that tilt down on reverse. I live in LA and have to parallel park a lot. I have the stock stereo and it sounds fabulous.

I purchased my car from a used car dealer. There were only 86,000 miles on it. There may be a few things coming up (timing belt, steering column, etc.)but so far, it's a dream ride.

About 3 weeks ago, my drivers' side headlight went out. I do a little maintenance sometimes, so I figured I could just change the bulb. Upon seeing the set up under the hood, it seemed best to ask for help. I called the Lexus dealership and was told they would fix it for $330. Then I called the used car dealership where I bought the vehicle. They said the bulb was $260 but they would install it for free. I was a little hesitant to use either of these options. I dropped my car at my independent mechanic, who I have been going to for 10 years. I waited at home for what seemed like an eternity. Finally at 3:30pm they called and said my car was ready. It was not the bulb at all! It was just a short in the wiring and he only charged me $50! I was so relieved. Would the dealer have replaced the whole thing and charged me the full amount?

I was wondering if anyone knows where I can get the tool kit that sits in the right side of the trunk. I have seen some on ebay, but is it the kind of thing one can find at a junkyard? Or am I ridiculous for even thinking that? My front hood shocks are bad as well. Does that part have to be the Lexus brand? I am so happy with this car and I want to make everything perfect. Thanks for your input.

[blake918]

About 3 weeks ago, my drivers' side headlight went out. I do a little maintenance sometimes, so I figured I could just change the bulb. Upon seeing the set up under the hood, it seemed best to ask for help. I called the Lexus dealership and was told they would fix it for $330. Then I called the used car dealership where I bought the vehicle. They said the bulb was $260 but they would install it for free. I was a little hesitant to use either of these options. I dropped my car at my independent mechanic, who I have been going to for 10 years. I waited at home for what seemed like an eternity. Finally at 3:30pm they called and said my car was ready. It was not the bulb at all! It was just a short in the wiring and he only charged me $50! I was so relieved. Would the dealer have replaced the whole thing and charged me the full amount?

This is interesting since I just repaired some of the wiring for my '99's highbeam. Was this high or low beam? The only reason I knew it was out was because I noticed my DRLs were out. You can get Philips xenon bulbs on ebay for about $60/bulb. ;) After you remove the headlamp assembly, it's very easy to change the bulbs (as is removing the headlamp).

I was wondering if anyone knows where I can get the tool kit that sits in the right side of the trunk. I have seen some on ebay, but is it the kind of thing one can find at a junkyard? Or am I ridiculous for even thinking that? My front hood shocks are bad as well. Does that part have to be the Lexus brand?

For the tool kit, ebay or junkyard would be fine. Search for some wrecks in your area using http://www.car-part.com; you might have to email the junkyard since it doesn't look like you can search for the tools. I bought hood struts off of ebay for my '99, and they were only $50 or so for the pair. Make sure that you get some that come with the ball screws so that you don't have to remove them from your old hood struts.

[1990LS400]

Yeah, I see a tool kit on eBay today but it is missing the flashlight as are most used ones. I hope you are carrying a lug wrench with you in the mean time in case you have a flat tire. You could advertise in this and other Lexus forums for a tool kit. According to the eBay ad, the ones for 95 - 00 are the same. I found plenty of salvage yards by googling "used Lexus parts".

Based on all the grief I've seen mentioned on the forums from using aftermarket hood struts, I recommend using only OEM. You can sometimes find OEM hood struts on eBay. I bought replacement hood struts for my current and last LS400 from Sewell Lexus in Texas. Replacing the hood struts is extremely easy.

If you have not explored the handling limits of your car, consider taking it to a big empty parking lot the next time it rains and explore the limits of VSC, ABS and brake assist. Have fun!

Knowing that California has some new laws prohibiting talking on a handheld phone, you might be interested in knowing that there is an audio mute pin in the driver's side cell phone connector under the air vent you see when you raise the arm rest. The mute pin is the center front pin in the connector. To connect the mute wire from a Bluetooth phone kit, all you have to do is strip a quarter inch insulation from the phone kit's mute wire, push into the hole for the middle front pin in the connector and secure the mute wire with a wire tie. There are lots of good phone kits. In the U.K. and Europe, Lexus and Toyota dealers sell and install the Motorola IHF1000 as a official Lexus/Toyota accessory on new cars that do not already have Bluetooth. The best place I see to mount an IHF1000 or similar Bluetooth kit control module in a 95-00 LS is to the right of the VSC button.

Here is a link to photos of my own 2000 LS400 in the gallery: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...m&album=131

[steeviebrat]

This is interesting since I just repaired some of the wiring for my '99's highbeam. Was this high or low beam? The only reason I knew it was out was because I noticed my DRLs were out. You can get Philips xenon bulbs on ebay for about $60/bulb. ;) After you remove the headlamp assembly, it's very easy to change the bulbs (as is removing the headlamp).

My low light was the one that was out. I thought it was dangerous to replace the bulb because of the Xenon gas inside. I am assuming you have to take out the battery, or did you just take the screws out in the front and repair it from there? My friend has a Porche 911 and she screwed up the self leveling feature when she tried to replace her bulb. Could you give me a few more details? I do want to learn how to do it myself, it seems a wee bit ridiculous to run to the dealer just for a burned out headlight.

[blake918]

My low light was the one that was out. I thought it was dangerous to replace the bulb because of the Xenon gas inside. I am assuming you have to take out the battery, or did you just take the screws out in the front and repair it from there? My friend has a Porche 911 and she screwed up the self leveling feature when she tried to replace her bulb. Could you give me a few more details? I do want to learn how to do it myself, it seems a wee bit ridiculous to run to the dealer just for a burned out headlight.

I've never heard of Xenon gas being dangerous, and even if it is, I changed my bulbs on a table so that if they fell they weren't going to go far. I pull the entire headlamp to change the light bulb; it takes me less than 5 minutes to remove both headlamps. To remove the headlamp, you remove the turn signal housing, then there are 3 bolts and 1 nut that hold each headlamp in. I didn't have much luck trying to change the bulbs by removing the battery and air cleaner. Maybe someone with smaller hands might have better success. I had no problems with my self leveling system after changing the bulbs. I was careful to not bang the leveling mechanism on the bottom of the headlamp on anything, and I was also careful with the wiring. No problems at all.

[blake918]

I pull the entire headlamp to change the light bulb; it takes me less than 5 minutes to remove both headlamps. To remove the headlamp, you remove the turn signal housing, then there are 3 bolts and 1 nut that hold each headlamp in. I didn't have much luck trying to change the bulbs by removing the battery and air cleaner. Maybe someone with smaller hands might have better success. I had no problems with my self leveling system after changing the bulbs. I was careful to not bang the leveling mechanism on the bottom of the headlamp on anything, and I was also careful with the wiring. No problems at all.

Here we go, a video is worth a 1k words. I finally figured out how to shrink this video down in imovie. The 1.5 minutes is how long it takes; the only editing I did was shrinking the size in order to post it to youtube....

[steeviebrat]

Thanks for the video link! It looks so easy, and WAY more economical than the dealer. I also looked at the pics of your LS400. Very clean and well maintained. I wish mine had the silver logos on the trunk like yours. I have the gold ones, but I like the silver ones better. Another trip to the junkyard!