lionvp

THat's interesting because the Edmunds MPG ratings are just the opposite: higher by 1MPG city for the 96-98 than the 99-00, but they average them all at 19mpg. The Carpoint(autos.msn) is a slightly different rating at 19/26(96), 19/25(97-98) and 18/25(99-00). Any longevity or reliability difference known between the 4-speed and 5-speed trans?

Wow, 24-25mpg avg would be much better than the 18mpg I was expecting. What is your secret to the higher MPG?

Thanks for the backlighting info, that darn negative Edmunds report was almost enough to keep me from considering a 97. I plan to test drive it tomorrow and it will be interesting to see how the ride compares with 99 I drove on Sat....that was my first experience in a LS400 and it blew me away!

Hello, I am a new member looking to join your illustrious ranks as a proud LS400 owner. I am looking at both a 97 and 99 model, but have some concerns about a bad reliability report on Edmunds.com for failure of the Combination meter back lighting, which could cost $1500 to repair. Any thoughts on this probability? Another cost factor for the 97 would probably be the timing belt replacement, since it has 90500 miles and probably has not been done yet. The pluses for the 97 are a lower asking price of $7495 and possibly 1MPG better gas mileage. The 99 is at a Lexus dealer and seems perfect at 105000 miles, plus it has a good Carfax and the dealer claims the timing belt has been replaced, but not sure about the water pump, etc. They want $10995 for that one, but it does drive like silk! Any recommendations, and what type of average MPG's can I expect on either vehicle properly maintained? Thanks, Leon