Getting Rid Of Loud Beep When Starting Engine

[91LS400150K]

Hello everyone,

Glad I ran into this forum. Just bought a 91 Lexus LS400 Taupe with 150K miles a couple weeks ago. Everytime I start the car or even just turn the ignition all the way without starting the engine, there is this very loud BEEP that appears to be coming from the rear speakers. Is this normal? Can anyone tell me how to turn it off?

On a separate topic, the keyless remote works great on my car except there is no one beep for lock and 2 beeps for unlock like my mom's 93 ES300. I'm not sure if I'm locking or unlocking unless I know beforehand if the car is locked or not. Did this car ever beep when locking or unlocking the car using the keyless remote? If so, is it an easy fix?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can shed some light!

[silvermate]

i'm not sure about the beep. when u put the key in ignition. but i do know that the older LS keyless entry does not beep when locked or unlocked. so u'll just have to listen or look inside to make sure.

[tansupplyman]

The keyless beep vol control is on the lower dash about in front of your left knee. Turn knob counter clockwise to increase volume of the beep.

[mejojo]

Does your car have the mobile phone option? I think if the phone is turned on when you start you may get a power-on beep. Mine has the phone, but it's never been used, and is only powered on when my kids played with it....and it does beep pretty loudly when you turn it on.

I'll try it out at lunchtime.

Joe

[91LS400150K]

thanks for the clarification silvermate. actually, the loud beep only comes about if you start the engine immediately upon inserting the key in the ignition or just turning it to the furthermost position (position II or III) clockwise without starting the engine. very annoying this beep. checked to see if it still beeped through the rear speakers with the radio turned off, still does.

just realized something while typing. this car has the built in car phone and even though there is no service (611 and 911 probably work still), i'm betting that's causing the beep. i'm going to search for info on removing the car phone as it takes up way too much space in the armrest storage.

[tansupplyman]

Joe, while you are checking on the phone; do you know how to adjust the phone ringing volume--haven't found that out yet !!!! very loud !!!!!

tks

[91LS400150K]

thanks richard for the heads up. i will look for the knob during my lunch break.

thanks joe. your post hit while i was thinking the same. since you don't use it either, have you tried to take it out? think it's easy? i haven't tried yet but will give it a shot. also need to remove the cellular antenna from the rear window. any insights are welcome. looks tricky, maybe i'll just get some wirecutters and cut the stem off.

thanks guys,

dennis

[VMF]

yes the phone is causing this beep. just turn the phone off. you dont have to disassmble anything. just press the powerbutton and your problem is gone. this annoyed me for a week too when i got my car.:)

[mejojo]

I have not taken the phone out. I'm pretty sure you could just clip the wires and tape them if there's no plug right there.

Tan, I'm not aware of a keyless beep in my '92...I'll have to take another look. No, I've not seen how to adjust the beep volume...I'd guess it's a phone handset feature, but that's just guessing.

Joe

[silvermate]

i thought the post about the keyless beep volume nob was very interesting. so i quickly went outside to check. but there is not nob down there at all. you said it was on the left side under the dash right? about where the diagnostic is located

[tansupplyman]

sorry on the knob---only thing I have to go by is that mine has it and thought it was more or less standard.

[tansupplyman]

my knob is on the bottom of the left dash just to the left of the entry light.

[silvermate]

yeah i guess your right it must have been an option. that would have been cool to find though.

[91LS400150K]

didn't find that knob on mine either.

looks like the phone will be easy to take out. the base on the other hand, may require a hacksaw to remove.

[90LS400Lexus]

It is not even an option on the 90-92s. The 90-92s do not have a "knob" to control the beep. You just have to listen for the locks to fasten or usfasten. It is irritating I know, as I have trouble hearing mine lock as well when I use the remote.

[dogboy]

I know that I am chiming in late on this one but her is some info that you may find helpful. The sound that you are talking about is more than likely your phone. You can just unplug the handset and call it good or do a complete deinstall of the phone. You will not have to cut any wires as suggested by an earlier post. Also you will not need to cut any pieces of your car to take the phone out. In the console where the cord of the phone goes in to just pull the trim piece up. (There are no screws). Here is where you can just unplug the handset. If you would like to do a complete deinstall of the phone. Next pull up the little mat that is on the bottom of the consul. There are 2 screws that you can take out that will allow you to be able to lift the console up enough to pull the wires through. (If you want to take the whole phone out). A component that is left in the car that should be taken out is the transceiver. It is most likely located in the trunk of the car on the driver’s side. The phone is made by Motorola, and they switched transceiver models in 91 to 92 from series 1 transceivers to series 2 transceivers. The series 1 transceiver looks like a black brick with ribs and the series 2 transceivers is about 4 X 8 X 2 in size. You will know you have the right component because it has the end of the antenna screwed in to it with a 25 pin connector next to it with a RJ-11 ribbon cable that plugs in the side. I suggest that you tape the 25 pin connector and the RJ-11 plug up so they do not short. The likely hood of this happening is slim but why take any chances. I have seen some postings that say to just cut and tape the wires but I am sure you will end up like a lot of the people posting on this site that have electrical ghost in there car. The transceiver is the brain of the phone. The hand set is just the human interface for the phone. Also if you are going to remove the antenna be careful, use a 4” putty knife. If you use a flat blade screwdriver or just try pulling it off you may crack the back window. (I speak from experience). The antenna is held on with a 2 sided foam pad that is designed to stay sticky on the inside but get hard around the edges to keep out moisture. I hope this helps and fill free to e-mail me with any questions or if you need photos.

[silvermate]

yeah you could do all of that or you could push the pwr button and just turn the phone off. thats how i have mine and i won't beep at all

[dogboy]

:chairshot: Yes you are right 90% of the time just turning the power of will fix the problem. But turning the phone of does not work for all models of transceivers. (You will still get the annoying sound when you turn the car on with curtain models). The reason I provided so much information is that when I was reading through the posts I saw some suggestion from people that may case some big problems. Just trying to help him avoid them if he decided to take the phone out or worse just cut wires as some one suggested

[1990LS400]

If you would like to do a complete deinstall of the phone. Next pull up the little mat that is on the bottom of the consul. There are 2 screws that you can take out that will allow you to be able to lift the console up enough to pull the wires through.

I'm struggling to remember if the screws under the little pop-in plastic ventilation grill have to be removed in order the remove the console insert or if they have to be removed only when removing the entire console. This is the little grill that passes air to the back seat when the console cover is closed - you can see at the back of the console when the lid is up. When removing the console insert, use a regular scewdriver with the blade well taped to avoid damage when prying the insert out. I usually started prying out the insert by inserting the taped screwdriver blade between the console insert and the upholstered portion just ahead of the coin holder. The first time I pryed the console insert out I thought I was going to break something!

While you have the console apart, it might be a good time to replace the bulb that lights the rear cigarette lighter. Take care to reinstall the plastic shield around the tiny light bulb when reinserting it.

If your 91 is like my 90 was, I think you will see where the Lexus phone plugs in after you remove the console insert. I must have removed the console insert and sometimes the entire console seven or eight times as we changed phones during the many years we had the 90 LS. As many times as I disassembled the console, you would think I would remember the procedure exactly but I'm having a "senior moment".

You could always leave the antenna on the glass in the event you want to use it some day with a handheld phone's car kit. My external analog antenna seemed to add signal strength even to our digital handheld phones.