Center Console Lighting

[92Lex_in_Oz]

Greetings from Sydney Australia.

I stumbled across your site while looking for information regarding my 92 LS400 - a great and rare find, indeed!

I have a mica/burgundy 92 LS400 with 250,000 kilometers (150,000 miles to most of you). I originally purchase the car in 2000 with 150,000 kms (90,000 miles) through a Lexus dealer. It had a perfect service history - and still does. I traded in the (automative) love of my life - an 86 Series III Jaguar, and have never regretted the decision.

The support and service by my local Lexus dealer has always been excellent and reasonably priced. My wife loves the loaner IS200 the give her when she takes my car in for service - I am under considerably pressure to replace her 2001 Sonata for one.

My only mofication to the car has been to have the rear end (non-air suspension) lowered slightly - it sat too high for my liking. The suspension guys hated doing the job, but it worked out well.

I have been thinking of selling the car, but every time I see in clean, in the sunlight, I can't bring my self to do it.

My only minor problem at the moment relates to the back lighting for the push buttons on the centre console air conditioning controls. The back lighting for the five buttons on the left handside(A/c. LOW, Extra Flow, Face only, Face/Legs) doesn't work. The dealer has told me I have to replace a significant part of the centre console assembly - at great cost - to fix the problem. Sounds outrageous to me, so I just live with it.

Can anyone give me any advice?

PS: thanks for the advice on sticking light switches and on oils for high milage vehicles.

[1990LS400]

It is still rather early in the U.S. and I hope someone who really knows the answer will chime in soon. I think the A/C controls on the U.S. left hand drive 92 LS are identical to your right hand drive car except that the locations of the buttons are reversed and the "Air flow control buttons" are slight smaller to make room for your "Rr. XTRA FLOW" button. We don't have the XTRA FLOW button in the front A/C control or in the back of the center console like your LS has.

I think the button bulbs were changed in the A/C control of the 90 LS I used to have and that it did not cost all that much. But it was probably 5 - 7 years ago and my memory I could be faulty on this one. I am certain, however, that the bulbs in the A/C display were changed in mine and that it cost about $100.

The radio is a completely different story and my repair shop would not even think about trying to fix a burned out bulb - he recommended exchanging the radio.

The A/C radio module is easily removed if you want to explore - be careful not to scratch the vinyl upholstery. I surrounded the module with cardboard as I extracted it to prevent damage to the vinyl.

Removal instructions are at: http://carstereohelp.com/stereoremovalLexusLS400str1.htm

[1990LS400]

Here are more thorough instructions on removal and separation of the A/C module from the radio: http://www.lextreme.com/lcdtech.htm

[jbarhorst2]

In the second link above, picture number 14 shows several round items with an X in the middle. These are your bulbs that have burned out for your buttons. Twist these out with a screwdriver and replace and you will be back in business. Your local dealer will have these, but my dealer did not have the right ones for my controls. They only had green covered bulbs instead of blue. I guess the newer cars have green. Go ahead and buy these bulbs and then take the colored rubber cover from your old bulbs and put them on the new. It's an easy job once you get the control box apart.