A Few Questions From A New Lexus Ls430 Owner

[fitforlifechris]

Hello All,

I am excited about being able to exchange valuable info with longtime Lexus owners. I have a few questions about my just purchased preowned 2002 LS 430.

The car has 16,000 miles and drives great. I can see myself holding on to the car for 6-8 years. I dont want to compromise the car's performance and life by trying to skimp out on its maintenance etc.

So my first question is:

Does the car absolutely require premium gasoline?

Is there a big difference in performance and life of the engine if I continue to use synthetic oil over the conventional. Reason I ask, because i normally pay $18 for a conv. oil change, today I tried Jiffy lube because of time issues and wanted to get out right away. Anyways they charge $30 but I was upselled to the super duper synthetic Mobil Oil. (you know the guy really sold the upgrade) So I paid $60 and went with the synthetic. My thought was if after researching if it's better great. I made a good choice if not that will be my last time using the synthetic. So what are your opinions.

How often would you change your oil for conv. and synthetic? ( I was told synthetic can go for 5k while conv. is good for 3k.

Thanks in advance.

BTW The Lexus dealer wanted $105 and I bet that's for a conv. oil change.

[99lsguy]

I think you'll find most of the LS owners use synthetic - usually mobil 1.

I use Amsoil synthetic and will change every 3-5 K. It will cost me $35 per oil change for DIY. Amsoil claims you can go 15K on the oil and just change the filter at 7500 miles but I want my oil CLEAN

Synthetic oil is SUPERIOR in every way :D

And, yes, I would always use premium gas.

I bet your car is an awesome vehicle - congratulations and welcome!

[mejojo]

Some people use whatever works (aka "doesn't knock") since modern engines adjust to gasoline quality. The downside is that you may lose something around 5-10% performance and get slightly lower mileage with standard grade gasoline.

Other people use premium gasoline because it purportedly keeps your engine cleaner (I don't know whether that's been substantiated) or at least "my Lexus deserves nothing less". They also may calculate that if premium costs 20c per gallon more than standard (that's the case in my area) then a 20-gallon fillup a week only costs you $200/year in extra cost. (Of course, that's $2,000 over 10 years)

Personally, I used to use Premium when my car was young and was worth $20,000-$30,000 and when gasoline cost less, but now that the market value of my LS400 is less than a handful of thousand bucks, it gets 87 and likes it.

Joe

[mig25]

No offense , but If you can afford a LS430 2002 with 16K miles, I'm sure you can afford the required gas for it. I have a 1990, that only burns premium, I had a 1980 Honda accord that only burned premium gas. Please, it is a crime to burn anything less than premium in that machine.

Engine oil? Synthetic off course. No Jiffy lube thank you, I rather craw under the car and do it myself. I would never ever trust my 1990 on a Jiffy place , Let along if I had a Killer 2002 LS 430.

BTW, Congratulations on your purchase, I'm sure you will keep it way longer than 8 years,

[fitforlifechris]

Thanks for the info everyone.

I will continue to use the synthetic oil on my car after being convinced it is much better. It's just that Ive never had a real nice car so I am just getting used to babying this car. Example. I'm clearing my garage of all my professional gym equipment in order to park my car. Thanks, Chris

[monarch]

Is there a big difference in performance and life of the engine if I continue to use synthetic oil over the conventional.

you can buy this motor oil at Toyota dealers. It's the oil recommended in the 2003 & 2004 lexus owners manuals http://www.saber.net/~monarch/lexoil2.jpg

[Marks_LS430]

Thanks for the info everyone.

I will continue to use the synthetic oil on my car after being convinced it is much better.  It's just that Ive never had a real nice car so I am just getting used to babying this car. Example. I'm clearing my garage of all my professional gym equipment in order to park my car.  Thanks, Chris

I know how you feel. I did that when I bought my fun car (see sig). I'm trading my GS and picking up an 01 LS430 tomorrow myself. Great car! I hope to keep it if its not too much car for me - I have 5 days to decide.

[SW03ES]

No reason to buy "Toyota Motor Oil", a quality oil is fine, just don't pay Lexus for synthetic, they charge upwards of $20 a quart

I always use premium, just to get the best mileage and performance. I also suggest you use synthetic oil simply because it does everything better, and its not REALLY that much more $60 for a synthetic oil change isn't bad, Lexus charges over $160 to do a synthetic oil change on an LS430. Bulk Mobil 1 Synthetic will cost you $5.60 a quart.

And (don't shoot me) as long as you watch them, make sure they change the oil filter, and check the oil level before you drive off, Jiffy Lube is fine...

I would however supply your own genuine Toyota or Mobil 1 oil filter.

[99lsguy]

SWO,

Very good points;

Supply a good quality filter - watch - and check everything!

You' ve got a $40K investment there........

99

[lexusonthelake]

I use premium every other fill, believe it balances the NEED to use premium. Personally, I can't tell any difference between the two grades. Congrats on your purchase, the LS is a fine automobile!

[Marks_LS430]

I also suggest you use synthetic oil simply because it does everything better, and its not REALLY that much more $60 for a synthetic oil change isn't bad, Lexus charges over $160 to do a synthetic oil change on an LS430.

Damn!!! The Audacity!

Bulk Mobil 1 Synthetic will cost you $5.60 a quart.

I used this on my previous GS and definitely on my vette

And (don't shoot me) as long as you watch them, make sure they change the oil filter, and check the oil level before you drive off, Jiffy Lube is fine...

I've been using the same Jiffy Lube for 3 years. Great bunch of guys that let me bring my own Mobil 1 Synthetic and they just charge $25 to change it. They also let me put down boards so that I could get my fun car (which is lowered) up over their rails around the pit.

[markham51]

Some Lexus dealers rip you off big time. If you have more than one in the area, compare the costs. You will always pay more than a Jiffy Lube, but I believe there is value to having a Lexus certified mechanic check out your vehicle. My (Toronto) Lexus dealer charges only about $60 per service and a fully qualified technician works on my car. If there is any problem, I know my dealer will back me up because I have established myself as a valued customer at both ends of the shop.

On the other hand, the dealer near my winter home in North Carolina is pricy and generally incompetent. I could go on and on about them and my amp problem but I won't. My daughter used to service her IS300 there and she had the same problem. Crazy prices and useless service advisors. (my blood pressure is rising as i write this!)

As far as synthetic or regular is concerned, I think it comes down to how often you change your oil and how hard you push your car. I change my regular oil every 5K miles and I have never had any issues with any vehicle I have ever owned. But then I never keep my vehicles for more than 4 years and don't run them particularly hard. I did have a WS6 Trans Am once and I ran Mobil 1 in it. After having it for 3 years and putting less than 5K miles on it, I realized that the Mobil 1 was probably a waste of money. Still, as a person who owns a "fleet" of vehicles I can understand those who want to go with the best.

[SW03ES]

Some Lexus dealers rip you off big time. If you have more than one in the area, compare the costs. You will always pay more than a Jiffy Lube, but I believe there is value to having a Lexus certified mechanic check out your vehicle

BUT, most dealerships dont have their techs change oil, its "beneath them" they're just kids like at Jiffy Lube. If you're only paying for an oil change and not a full maintenance, no Lexus tech ever sees the car, its the same kid that washes it that changes the oil. Which makes you even more mad when you think about the $160 price tag...

[glenmore]

I just did my first oil change on my 1990 LS400. The oil was reddish like ATF. Is Lexus synthetic oil this color? I used Mobil 1 5w30 but will use 0w40 in the future.

Around here in Southern California, Mobil 1 is normally $4.99/qt and $3.99 on sale. To save even more, register at the Mobil One site and get rebates of $5 for every 6-pack you buy.

Also just bought some Toyota oil filters on ebay that fit the LS400 and also one of the Lexus SUVs for $25 for 4.

glenmore

1990 LS400

1991 MBZ 300CE

[SW03ES]

No... Lexus dealers use Mobil 1 if they do Synthetic.

Oil is always the same color to be uniform, could be contamination, coolant maybe...

[monarch]

I just did my first oil change on my 1990 LS400.  The oil was reddish like ATF.  Is Lexus synthetic oil this color?  I used Mobil 1 5w30 but will use 0w40 in the future.

Around here in Southern California, Mobil 1 is normally $4.99/qt and $3.99 on sale.  To save even more, register at the Mobil One site and get rebates of $5 for every 6-pack you buy.

Also just bought some Toyota oil filters on ebay that fit the LS400 and also one of the Lexus SUVs for $25 for 4.

glenmore

1990 LS400

1991 MBZ 300CE

Lexus does not make a synthetic in the USA and in fact the owners manuals of all late model Lexus's and Toyota's recommend genuine Toyota 5W-30 Motor Oil and to change it every 5000 miles or 6 months. The Toyota Oil is a dinosaur oil and Toyota dealers sell it cheaply at between $1.39 and $1.99 a quart. Owners who use synthetic oil and stretch out the oil change intervals have gotten into big trouble. JPI on this forum mentioned one case where a Lexus V6 engine was ruined when the owner ran Mobil 1 for 10,000 miles. Here's some info from the 2004 Lexus and Toyota owners manual and maintenance guides: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/lexoil1.jpg http://www.saber.net/~monarch/lexoil3.jpg http://www.saber.net/~monarch/lexoil2.jpg http://www.saber.net/~monarch/lexoilc.jpg

[markham51]

SW03ES:

At my dealer a Lexus tech changes my oil. I talk to him most times after he does it. My dealer has a "jiffy lube" type setup for the Toyota crowd, but a Lexus never sees that area (it is all glassed in so customers can watch the oil being changed on their car. Each Lexus gets their oil changed in the Lexus mechanics bays. I guess I am spoiled if that is not the case in other dealerships.

[99lsguy]

Monarch,

Didn't you say in a different post that you had a toyota with 400K+ miles?

What model / year is it and did you buy it new?

[SW03ES]

Mark- Thats very rare. Keep ahold of them!

monarch- Thats the V6 though, the V6 has a known sludging problem, the V8 in the LS doesn't have this problem. I'm not reccomending stretching out the oil change intervals, just using synthetic oil (which is much more resistant to sludging in the first place) and changing it every 5000 miles.

The reason the Lexus manual recomends the Toyota dino oil is because thats what Lexus sells, you said it yourself they dont have a synthetic, so why would they point you to another manufacturer's product?

[91LS400150K]

Looking at service records from the 91 LS400 I've had for 2 weeks now, the dealers charged $17.78 for the oil filter so I'll be checking eBay for the 4 for $25 deal, thanks for the heads up. Also thinking about going to Jiffy Lube for my first oil change and bringing my own Toyota oil filter and switching to Mobil 1. Also, the records show that with every oil change at the dealer, a gasket ($2.31) was replaced. Do I need to bring my own or will Jiffy Lube have that? Should the gasket be replaced with every oil change? Thanks.

[1990LS400]

My wife has twice bought a case of oil filters for our LS's at a Toyota dealer at a price that breaks down to only $4 each. And the parts guy throws in 10 oil plug gaskets at no additional cost. (The owner of an independent repair shop said that this is near the wholesale cost.) The Toyota Landcruiser V8 uses the same oil filter as the LS - at least through the LS400 run. Costco stores sell Mobil 1 for less than anywhere else I've found.

It has been frustrating how many times dealer (especially Mercedes dealers) and non-dealer repair shops have damaged and dinged my cars over the past 40 years. And these guys are professionals? Unless you have a eally wonderful repair shop, I've convinced that the best thing you can do to preserve a car you love is to buy the repair manuals and take care of simple repairs and oil and filter changes yourself. A quality floor jack and a set of metric tools are pretty cheap and will last a lifetime.

[99lsguy]

91ls,

That gasket they charged you with is a .50 item you can buy from toyota dealer -

I'd say they've lost your business ;)

I agree totally with 1990 ls - as do many :D : That's a 14mm hex bolt for the oil plug, and probably the trans plug too. Oil plug is 29 ft. lbs / trans plug is 15 ft. lbs.

Lexus in KC chages $85 for oil change or trans. pan drain. Since I do them both myself (every 5K) that's some nice cash back in my pocket. That one service along will pay for the Lexus Shop Manuals. Now go get a torque wrench and pay for that next oil change .

No one else will equal the care you can put back into your vehicle. (Well, except us dedicated LOC'ers :D )

[SW03ES]

Dealership here just quoted me $230 for an oil change

[markham51]

$230 is unbelievable! We should start compaining to Lexus whenever dealers try to screw us. Does Lexus have a consumer complaints department?

[SW03ES]

Every dealership has a "Customer Satisfaction Manager".

And the $230 was NOT a synthetic oil change. The way its so expensive is its a "mini service" that includes tire rotation and lots of "checks"