Canopy

On other posts I understood, perhaps incorrectly, that the fuel filter on this model Lexus did not normally require replacement. After you removed yours, did it look like it needed to be replaced? Was it full of gunk?

I bought a 96 last Summer for my wife. Paid $12,500 for car in perfect shape with 101,000 miles. You did better than I did. Best car I've (I mean my wife) has ever had. Only problem I may be developing is the compressor on the air conditioning. Not sure yet. Still, love the car.

If there's no smell (it's just water), then I agee with this good advice. Have had it happen several times to me, although not with a Lexus.

If you write Lexus and register your ownership, and request an owner's manual they will send you one for free. Really. I just did it several weeks ago for a 96 as well. Unfortunately, I don't have the website handy, but I think if you google Lexus their homepage will come up. Then just follow the instructions. Good luck.

You're the man, RFeldes. Has anyone bought one of these compressors from Tampa? Satisfied?

Those are all good possible diagnoses (sp?). But don't forget about your first suspician about Shell. The mere fact you switched to another brand, won't fix any problem that Shell sulfer gas caused when Shell was having that problem. That would be the first thing I would check out. It should be free.

First, bury the bird.

Thanks, RFelde, for the tip. That's a good price and good suggestion. I'll explore that option. Has anyone else used them and are satisfied? It's interesting that the compressor for the Lexus costs $50 more than the one for the Acura with the same model number and description. I'm sure there's a reason. Good old American enterprise?

1996 LS400 with 108,000 miles. Noise under the hood is a buzzing/whirring sound. Hard to describe, but noise stops when air conditioner is turned off. I think it's getting slightly louder, but am not postive since my wife just bought it for $13,500 a month ago and we're still getting used to it. Air conditioner performs perfectly. No lights on dash, good cold air. Terrific car otherwise. Thinking about getting one for myself. What is the problem? I'm assuming, but don't know for sure, that the air conditioner has a problem. Compressor? Bearings (if that's different from compressor)? If so, is there harm in letting the sound continue until the air conditioner stops working or lights start flashing? I don't want pieces of metal to fly off into the condensor or evaporator or hoses, unless they are going to have to be replaced anyway. Now, assuming it needs to be fixed. Are Lexus air conditoner parts such as compressors, condensors, evaporators, etc. "special" or are they generic such that remanufactured, generic, or Toyota parts would work. Assuming I would have to replace the whole air conditioning system, how much am I looking at? Lexus dealer? Or, more likely at an independent shop, although we could go to the Toyota dealership if necessary. I'm not mechanical, so that's not an option. We would like to get another 100,000 miles out of it without any air conditioning problems (even though this is Florida and that may not be realistic, although the car has made the first 108,000 without any air conditioning problems). Thanks for any suggestions, solutions, or just brainstorming.

Based on what you know and have told us so far, it sounds like a good deal. You bought it for less than the dealer was asking, and can use the savings to check the oil leak and to fix it if need be. The 95,000 mile service was important. Don't worry about the 100,000 miles on it. If its been taken care of, it should go another 100,000 easy. From the picture, it's a nice looking car. Congratulations. Keep us posted on how it works out.

I have a 1996 LS400 with 108,000 miles. What's the difference between "just bad bearings and not the compressor itself" ? Just this morning I heard some tapping which goes away when I turn off the air conditioner. From past experience with Suburbans, that has meant that my compressor would soon need to be replaced. My a/c light has not yet come on, and it cools very well. I'm, of course, dreading the expense of replacing the compressor.

why dont you just take all black paint off and leave the chrome? This is my wife's car, so what I think probably doesn't matter. However, having said that, I think we'll go to Pep Boys and get some black striping tape, put it on, and see what it looks like. We can always take it off again. We probably wouldn't even notice it except for the fact that the car is "new" to us. Best car I've ever driven.

Thanks. That makes it easy. Best regards.

Thank you. I received one reply (not recorded in this forum) from someone who said he had the same problem, that it was not paint but vinyl tape, and that he used a hair dryer to take the rest of it off, and then used "stripping" (striping?) tape to put it back on. Said it took about an hour.

Thank you. I'll give it a try. Where did you get the striping tape?

Just purchased a 1996 LS400 with 106,000 miles. Very nice car, one owner, but very incomplete service records. No actual repair invoices and the notations in the driver's manual maintenance section are not complete nor helpful. The owner is very vague about specifically what has been done, but assures me "it received all the services." Doctor's wife, which gives me some comfort, but not enough. Contacted the Lexus dealer where it had most often been serviced; they checked the shared Lexus service data base, and faxed me the result. Most of it's in code with very little explanation. For example, at 90,501 miles it states: "Code 000102 90000 mile service nonwarranty-non OEM time-gear ovr asy (T-chn cvr)". I don't know what that means. I can't tell if the timing belt, water pump, radiator fluid, spark plugs, wiring, etc. was taken care of during the service. In fact, one of my local independent repair shops (no Lexus dealership within 200 miles of Tallahassee) gave me a printout from Alldata of what services should be performed at 90,000 miles and the water pump, spark plugs, and wires were not on the list. First question: Does anyone have the code translation they would be willing to share? Second question: If the timing belt has been changed is it customary/mandatory for the dealer to put some sort of sticker somewhere indicating that fact? Same for radiator flushing? Etc.? Thanks in advance for responses.

We just recently purchased a nice 1996 Lexus LS400 with 106,000 miles. The black paint(?) on the chrome trim outlining the windshield is flaking off on the passenger's side. The other side just has nicks in it. How do we repair that?

Of course, we're missing the obvious. Your body is telling you that you need some sleep, so you ought to get some sleep. I'm sure everyone is different, but power naps work for me. Pull off the road somewhere (rest area, shopping center, etc.) and get 5 to 10 minutes of sleep. It works for me. I'm good for another 5 hours or so. Several years ago I was driving a Suburban pulling a horse trailer with two horses in it to Ocala on Interstate 10 when a car hit the trailer in the left rear just where the two wheels of the trailer were. I never saw the car until it hit me (my wife says never tell anyone that - I'm not sure why. Now I've told several thousand smart people.) The car hit me, bounced off the tires, flipped, and passed us upside down in the passing lane, and then crossed in front, flipped again, and went on the shoulder of the road. I stopped, ran up to the car to check on the driver. I expected him to be dead, or at the least badly injured. He was in the passenger seat (no seat belt, apparently). He was a college student at Florida State who had taken his last exam of the semester and had fallen asleep on the way home. The windows were down and his books and papers were scattered all over the road. They took him to the hospital, kept him over night, but apparently he was OK. The car was totalled. (The horses were OK too, except I had to turn around and go back slowly to Tallahassee with a bent axle on the trailer) I've forgotten what my point was, except that bad things happen when you fall asleep. Pull over, take a nap, or get a motel room for a couple hours.

We just recently purchased a nice 1996 Lexus LS400 with 106,000 miles. The black paint(?) on the chrome trim outlining the windshield is flaking off on the driver's side. The other side just has nicks in it. How do we repair that?

After a great deal of research, I just purchased 4 Toyo Proxes TPT's for my 1996 LS 400. 225/16 60 V. Since it is my wife's car, I wanted to make sure the tires were perfect. Toyo gives you a 500 mile or 45 day trial on the tires. If you don't like them, take them back and they're supposed to give you your money back. 65,000 mile treadwear limited warranty. My wife took her first extended trip on the interstate yesterday and said they were great. Coming from her, that's a tremendous compliment. Good luck.