1994 Lexus Ls 400 Sticky Speedo Needle

[Larry W]

I posted this problem months ago and its not really bothered me until the other day when the needle "stuck" for about 2 blocks worth of driving. Is there a tutoral for repairing this sticky issue? I know why it does it, just wondering is this a very labor intensive job?

[CUMan]

I am assuming that you are referring to the condition where the speedometer and/or tachometer do not move off zero until the car has been driven a while. You don't give any details as to what is happening with your car.

If this is what is happening, it is not an easy fix. The instrument display has to be removed and taken apart to get to the needles. The cluster is composed of about four separate sections, and it must be completely disassembled. There are numerous screws to remove, and there are a number of a special type of screw that both holds the cluster sections together and completes electrical circuits.

Your goal in this disassembly is to get to the backs of the speedometer and tachometer needles, where the needles rest on a stop when they are at zero. There is a tiny bit of lubricant on the needles at this resting point. In warm weather, this lubricant liquefies and causes the needles to stick to their stops. The fix is to remove this lubricant with something like a q-tip or pipe cleaner. The difficult part of this fix (other than the cluster disassembly) is the tiny space in which you must work to get the lubricant removed. A full size q-tip will not fit in the space available. A pipe cleaner will fit.

That being said, I was able to do this fix on my 93 LS; and it solved the problem. I believe there is a posting (with pictures) about this fix on CL. Look in the "stickies" at the top of the LS 400 section.