Still Lovin My Ls400! And Oem Toyota/lexus Parts!

[OmarG]

I just replaced the positive battery terminal on my sisters black jade LS and i cant believe how easy and cheap it was! OEM toyota parts made in Japan are made so well, i cant imagine using any aftermarket chinese crap. I also replace her hood struts. after almost three years. Also Lexus of Pembroke Pines has some of the best prices (online)on parts around. Trust me i searched. They are very friendly and helpful and carry everything you could need. ALso if your missing a certain bolt or screw, they carry it! I also got that some PCV valves and the dealer part was cheaper than autozones!!

I got some wiper blade inserts and they were only like $4 a piece and covered in graphite(!) for smoothness. You just dont get that quality from anyone else. Especially at that price.

If you use OEM parts your lexus is gonna last forever!... kinda

sorry about the disorganized rambiling. I just love my cars soo much. Well i love precision, and quality and Lexus delivers. Considering the cars age and mileage its hard to believe its running so well. Now if i can take care of that oil leak...

[Marklouis]

I just replaced the positive battery terminal on my sisters black jade LS and i cant believe how easy and cheap it was! OEM toyota parts made in Japan are made so well, i cant imagine using any aftermarket chinese crap. I also replace her hood struts. after almost three years. Also Lexus of Pembroke Pines has some of the best prices (online)on parts around. Trust me i searched. They are very friendly and helpful and carry everything you could need. ALso if your missing a certain bolt or screw, they carry it! I also got that some PCV valves and the dealer part was cheaper than autozones!!

I got some wiper blade inserts and they were only like $4 a piece and covered in graphite(!) for smoothness. You just dont get that quality from anyone else. Especially at that price.

If you use OEM parts your lexus is gonna last forever!... kinda

sorry about the disorganized rambiling. I just love my cars soo much. Well i love precision, and quality and Lexus delivers. Considering the cars age and mileage its hard to believe its running so well. Now if i can take care of that oil leak...

still one of the best known secrets about these cars...people think the parts for these cars are like Merc or BMW, just cause it's a Lexus!

you just reminded me i need to replace my hood struts.....this is the longest i have ever kept the hood closed on any car. ;)

[PureDrifter]

you paid >$180 for a pair of OEM hood struts?

i think i'll stick to the $50 ebay ones that seem to work perfectly fine.

most ls400 parts arent overpriced, some, on the other hand, very much are. but still, much better then bmw/mercedes.

[dcfish]

100% OEM all the way If you don't want to afford the original replacement parts I ask why did you buy a Lexus to begin with ? You should have bought a generic local auto store parts car....................

[SKperformance]

I got cheap and bought a pair of aftermarket sway bar links for $20 over the $150 from the dealer . It is an easy part to not worry about.

Now i need to get rear upper control arms , front upper control arms , rear lower rods ,................ will it ever end.

But i do have some great brakes !

[90LS400Lexus]

Omar... I am going to be in Anderson South Carolina, very near your hometown of Athens Georgia in June and I am going to bring my Lexus on down and get you to do some work for me. :P

Power steering pump

engine mounts

and valve cover gaskets. :D

Seriously, I feel the same of my Lexus. Driving home from work this evening, I was at a traffic signal and was noticing the new cars and older cars (1980s cars) go by. Around here, even alot of the 70s-80s cars are still nice, but I saw a couple of even 90s cars ragged out. I kinda looked around in my car and thinking how nice it was for a nearly 20 year old car to still be so nice on the inside, then hit a pothole and never hear a squeak or rattle.... impressive for a 18 year old car with 220K, but then my Mercedes (3 years older) is as squeak and rattle free. ;)

All I get out of my LS is if the interior is really hot, it will "tick and click" on some bumps when cooling down and an occasional rattle from the passenger side window when rolled down... this also plagued my old LS... strange, but it was the same window as well.

Oh, also, oil leak on your car?

[OmarG]

haha bring it down. we can talk about the cars intricacies. :)

I know why your window rattles. My white LS did the exact same thing because a short screw fell off the bottom of the window pane guide. Its very easy to replace. I can even take pictures if you need me to.

Its funny how all ls400 have similar problems at the same time ages. Theres almost never a mystery prob with a lexus... at least the LS

[leibow11]

I know this thread is old but I just came across it and had to add my two cents. I have a 1996 LS400 and a 2005 LS430. A major problem I have is that my first LS400 has ruined me for any other car out there. I've owned 20 cars in my life so far and this one is the best I ever owned. I will not, and can not, buy another car for myself other than an LS. The 1996 just turned over 190K miles and it's the first time I've had any major repairs. Ignitor blew out and the starter went. Yes, the power steering is leaking but I put some sealer in it and it's holding for now. Other than rear brake rotors, which I will get to when it warms up a little here in NJ, the Nakamichi, which acts funky and is missing some lights, and the CATs that probably lost their efficiency because of the ignitor problem (hasn't affected the performance of the engine itself), the car just hasn't broken. But even if there were more repairs, at 190K miles I would say it would change my opinion of this automobile

I do have some complaints. I think Lexus dealers do overcharge and I've found that on at least one occasion they blew a diagnosis. Said I needed a fuel pump, to the tune of $700 and when I decided to do the pump myself (never did any work on the car myself - no time) I bought an OEM online for $65, took less than 2 hours to install it, and the problem wasn't the pump afterall but rather the ignitor. I've also found their rates are out of line but generally I like the treatment and general quality of their work.

The LS400 sat in my driveway for 9 months not operating and when I decided to put some money in it and give it to my 17 year old son the sucker started right up! Got the ignitor replaced ($450 at a local shop) and the dreaded starter 2 weeks later ($750 and also at a local garage). It's now running like a champ. When it comes time to reinspect by the state in March of 2011 I will probably get rid of it because it won't pass due to the CATs. Then again, I'm very intrigued to see how many miles my baby will go

All in all, like I said above, I'm spoiled with the LS and will never go back to an American car or even another foreign car for that matter.

[dcfish]

I know this thread is old but I just came across it and had to add my two cents. I have a 1996 LS400 and a 2005 LS430. A major problem I have is that my first LS400 has ruined me for any other car out there. I've owned 20 cars in my life so far and this one is the best I ever owned. I will not, and can not, buy another car for myself other than an LS. The 1996 just turned over 190K miles and it's the first time I've had any major repairs. Ignitor blew out and the starter went. Yes, the power steering is leaking but I put some sealer in it and it's holding for now. Other than rear brake rotors, which I will get to when it warms up a little here in NJ, the Nakamichi, which acts funky and is missing some lights, and the CATs that probably lost their efficiency because of the ignitor problem (hasn't affected the performance of the engine itself), the car just hasn't broken. But even if there were more repairs, at 190K miles I would say it would change my opinion of this automobile

I do have some complaints. I think Lexus dealers do overcharge and I've found that on at least one occasion they blew a diagnosis. Said I needed a fuel pump, to the tune of $700 and when I decided to do the pump myself (never did any work on the car myself - no time) I bought an OEM online for $65, took less than 2 hours to install it, and the problem wasn't the pump afterall but rather the ignitor. I've also found their rates are out of line but generally I like the treatment and general quality of their work.

The LS400 sat in my driveway for 9 months not operating and when I decided to put some money in it and give it to my 17 year old son the sucker started right up! Got the ignitor replaced ($450 at a local shop) and the dreaded starter 2 weeks later ($750 and also at a local garage). It's now running like a champ. When it comes time to reinspect by the state in March of 2011 I will probably get rid of it because it won't pass due to the CATs. Then again, I'm very intrigued to see how many miles my baby will go

All in all, like I said above, I'm spoiled with the LS and will never go back to an American car or even another foreign car for that matter.

Welcome to the club Another satisfied customer..... B)

[ggemigniani]

But what about the 1st gen seats? Many lower priced Toyotas have more comfortable seats, including my 24 year old Corolla! The 1st gen seats are comfortable to sit in for only about 20 minutes and then the seat bottom is just too hard on the butt causing pain and fatigue to set in. Also, the LS has alot of high frequency road noise just like all other Toyotas which causes fatigue on long trips. A one inch thick piece of memory foam would probably cure the hard seat problem and fiberglass or cotton shoddy accoustical insulation under the carpets, seats and inside the doors should cure the high frequency road noise problem.