yotoy82

They are quoting pretty expensive labor, he said 3 hours, its kind of hard to argue with a dealer on prices, but one can only try. I know it must be pretty easy to install myself , but they already have it taken apart to diagnose it. $118 for the pump. If I decide to do it myself, it'll be around $70 to tow it back to my house, then probably another $70 for their diagnostic charge, and then the trouble of doing it myself, I guess if they agree to install my parts, its worth the extra money to have them do it. Theres no way I was going to pay their quote of $380 for a lexus fuel pump which is availble online for $280. I guess I'll call them and see if they'll install my denso pump for me. $115 at parts geek with 7 dollars shipping, cant beat it.

Welp, it sputtered all the way to my toyota dealer and finally died for good over there, they finally diagnosed it as a bad fuel pump. Online the original Lexus fuel pump is like $306. I saw an aftermarket Denso one for $118. Which one should I go for? I read that denso makes the original part anyway.

So far the problem not solved. I'm convinced the mileage issue is related to the engine not being warm/optimal temperature. Going to buy an aftermarket higher temperature thermostat and see if that fixes the problem!

Well I got an update on my car problem. If you don't remember, it wouldn't start, and the next morning started just fine. Now 2 weeks later or so, a problem has again emerged at the same time in the evening. While driving, it started to jerk/hesitate, then smoothed out again. Then when I pushed the accelerator, it wouldn't increase speed. I was driving 30 miles per hour, I pushed the gas pedal, but NO RESPONSE. Then like 5 seconds later all of a sudden that surge of power. Its like the fuel came to it late! Then there was a misfire/pop sound from the engine bay. I kept driving home and the same issue kept on, car drove fine, but the delay from pushing the accelerator until it sped up was about 3-5 seconds! What could this be? A slowly failing fuel pump or something related to it? I mean when the fuel finally came to it or when it reacted, it took off smoothly and with a lot of power.

I really don't know myself. Fuel pump?? Its hard to say, I've googled a lot and failure of the LS400 fuel pump seems to be incredibly rare. Mine didn't have any codes in it

lol..the smell is not coming from outside. Ah but the A/C filter could be clogged causing the poor air flow and the smell I don't have poor air flow though. Just to be safe, where is this A/C filer located? Is it the pollen filter? A/C filter, ie Cabin Filter, ie Pollen Filter, is the filter located behind the glove compartment.

Yeah, guess it won't hurt to have it done. Its working fine now completely. If its an intermittent fuel pump, there really is no way to diagnose that is there.

I'm not sure about the core but you could get a charcoal cabin filter, they really help stop smells from coming inside the car!

Maybe coolant temperature sensor. If it is faulty your ECU could think the engine is cold when in fact it is warm. The ECU then would send too rich a fuel mixture possibly flooding the engine so it won;t start as you experienced. This could also explain your poor gas mileage you've been complaining about. Its a simple thing for the dealer to check and the part isn't that expensive. I changed the coolant temperature sensor a month ago, the old one was completely broken, put a new genuine oem one in and the car was driving fine after that. I did some research online and the dealer said it could be the Idle Air control valve, and people online have had the same problem. Do you just clean it or do you replace it, I dont know anything about the IAC, it sounds like something worth checking?

Still no replies? The dealer said they went to check it today and it started right up without any problems! That makes me more worried now that there is a problem with the car that will probably show up again later. Its there anything it might have been that I can prophylacticly change that might have been the problem??? I dont want to get stuck again somewhere

My 96 LS400 has a new issue. Today 5 minutes from home at the local walmart, I come back after shopping for 5 minutes. I try to start the car, and it wont start! It turns over just fine, battery has plenty of juice, it acts like its just about to start, but doesn't. I tried like 15 times. 2 or 3 times it kinda started, it was like ALMOST running but sputtered out, so I would say a few times it did start for a second then die, but not exactly, it wasn't fully started! I had it towed to the local toyota dealer and waiting for the morning but want to know what you guys think it would be so I don't get tricked into something else etc. Could it be the fuel pump? I changed the fuel filter 3 weeks back. Its been driving fine for the past month besides city mileage issues.

29 is the optimal pressure for comfort basically. You can increase it higher for better tire life, but a slightly bumpier ride, or you can decrease it for more traction and a much worse tire tread life. 29-31, not a big deal. The higher you put, the better gas mileage you will get and tire life, but a bit harsher ride. I stick to 29 myself, cant go wrong with the one rec'd by Lexus, make sure check the spare once in a while too

Well I can assure you that there is no magic ghost sucking the heat from your engine. Thermodynamics is the same for your engine block as it is for your dad's LS. Now, if you take your car to the dealer, there IS a magic ghost that will suck the money from your wallet. But that's a different subject. Your test of 40 miles on the interstate is probably too short to get an accurate reading. I suspect ditto for your city test. But yes, your car will get much worse mileage when cold than when hot. I'm confident on my results which I keep track of over the last 2 months. 6-11 mpg in city, and 25 mpg on the interstate. I usually make short trips to work and home a few times a day, so tats like start, drive 3 miles, sit for a few hours, drive back etc. At 50-70 miles on the odometer later, half the tank is empty. If I drive on a trip on the interstate, ie from here to st. louis which is about 90 min, I'll easily get at least 150 miles before the tank is half. I'm sure if there was some issue causing poor mileage in general that it would show across the entire spectrum, ie the interstate mileage would be poor too! I have a good dealer I go to, guess will wait and see.

Ya, 6 years/90000 miles. Some car companies suggest 60,000. But safe to go with the Lexus recommendation, and you gotta know they left a lot of redundancy in that. If they say 6/90,000 then you gotta know the belt not meant to last at all longer than 12/180. If your that far then you are really on borrowed time lol

Yah, it is an interference engine, if the timing belt goes or the water pump goes and leads to timing belt, you can kiss that engine good bye (from what I read), the first generation LS400, didn't matter if timing belt broke, you would just be stranded, but the 1996 yah, if it breaks your done with. Used LS400 engines are pretty cheap though so if you really don't want to spend money on it, and can afford the cost of a used engine , $1000, and labor to change them, at least $1000, then take your chances. Otherwise the $700-900 timing belt/water pump job is well worth it. They say every 7 years or 90,000 miles, so regardless of mileage, 15 years is a good time to change it for sure in my opinion

Still haven't tried the cardboard trick but after engine was warm, filled up and drove 40 miles on the interstate, pulled over filled up again, averaged 25 mpg on the interstate. But still averaging 9 mpg in the city! I'm guessing the mileage issue is because of the engine not warming up, can a cold engine really make that much of a difference, I know I should be getting 18 mpg in the city the way I drive.

Changed my 1995 LS400 timing belt at 96,000 miles, it still had the original on it. Took it to a very reputable Toyota dealer and had the service done there, didn't ask anyone else about the belt. Came back later on for another problem and the actual mechanic came with me for a road test and he was like "I remember changing the timing belt on this last week, we change them all the time but gosh this one was really cracked up, never seen it so bad" Anyway, depends on how your car is driven as well and what kind of climate you live in. If you live in a cold state, rubber does deteriorate, and if you drive a car hard like the previous owner of our car did which is very evident, the belt will wear down over time. Will it completely break? Eventually! It also depends on the buyer. If you have a conscious, I would at least inform the buyer about it, let alone they buy the car and don't even know about it, you would be surprised, some innocent family member might get stranded somewhere and stuck with a very big paper weight. Then again you won't recoup much money for your investment on it either. If you can get it done affordable, I got it done at my toyota dealer for $750, parts, tax, labor , everything, ie belt tensioners, water pump, idlers etc. Then show the receipt when your selling it.

Haven't had time to do the thermostat test yet. I used a brand new thermostat and gasket, original toyota/lexus parts. All I can imagine is that I installed it wrong because I don't remember, maybe I had the jiggle valve upside down or the thermostat not aligned exactly the same as the old one, going to open it up again soon as weather gets better and see if I can find a problem! Haven't had time to do the cardboard test, its just so cold outside to be messing around. I drove my dads white ls400 like 3 miles to mcdonalds from dead cold and it was fully warmed up in like six minutes. But My LS400, haven't timed it exactly yet but I would safely say it takes 20 minutes to get fully warmed. If I turn the car off even for 30 minutes, it will be fully cold again and will take about 15 min to rewarm again whereas other cars once they fully warmed if you turn them off, go shop around and come back and turn it back on, it will warm up even twice as fast, its almost like some magic ghost is sucking the heat from my engine, it just won't preserve the heat!

Haha, no geese here. The car has been doing it since it was brand new, I even have the lexus dealer service paper saying "car makes goose noise, could not locate a problem , may be due to system depressurizing" or something like that. I have a new radiator cap too, only does it when the weather is warm though! No leaks or anything. Guess its just the way it will be

Indeed, I was have the same problem (slow warm up) .. I tried to put piece of cardboard in front of radiator to minimize air quantity blowing by main mechanical fan .. Also I checked the Thermostat, by put it in a boiling water, (its opened with no problem..and its closed when put it in cold water). But I observed a very small piece of the rubber ring is broken, and when Thermostat closed at cold state, its remaining to leaks some water through the closed gate, just I removed all that rubber ring and that makes the gate closing completely .. Then I return it back in its hose .. Its work ... Now I need about 6 minutes only to warm up to the normal state and return the RPM to 800 from 1400. Can you explain exactly I didn't really understand what you are saying. That there was leaks and fluid was still going to the engine? Which rubber ring are you talking , is there rubber on the actual thermostat or are you talking about the thermostat gasket or something else completely, please let me know! Well, during test the thermostat by lifting from the place and put it in a basin of boiling water then in cold water, and when the gate is closed, I noticed water leaking from the gate because of damage gasket surrounding the holding of which does not allow rubber clasps tightly to the gate .. Means that even in the case of closure of thermostat, still leaking water from it .. so, this car does not heat up because of the continuation of water circulation. So, you need to checkup the thermostat and the temperature sensor I'm having trouble understanding you a little bit, are you saying the "Actual THERMOSTAT" itself had a problem allowing fluid flow in, or are you talking about the gasket surrounding the thermostat that keeps it in place. Thermostat is one part, and thermostat gasket is another part, are you saying there is rubber on the actual thermostat that was broken? Or are we talking about another part? My thermostat is new so I doubt any issues with it exactly! I'm also tired at this stage, thinking of going for an aftermarket thermostat that opens at 190 degrees or something

The coolant/radiator cap you mean?

Nope, mine doesn't have the air suspension.

Indeed, I was have the same problem (slow warm up) .. I tried to put piece of cardboard in front of radiator to minimize air quantity blowing by main mechanical fan .. Also I checked the Thermostat, by put it in a boiling water, (its opened with no problem..and its closed when put it in cold water). But I observed a very small piece of the rubber ring is broken, and when Thermostat closed at cold state, its remaining to leaks some water through the closed gate, just I removed all that rubber ring and that makes the gate closing completely .. Then I return it back in its hose .. Its work ... Now I need about 6 minutes only to warm up to the normal state and return the RPM to 800 from 1400. Can you explain exactly I didn't really understand what you are saying. That there was leaks and fluid was still going to the engine? Which rubber ring are you talking , is there rubber on the actual thermostat or are you talking about the thermostat gasket or something else completely, please let me know!

The oil change is nice but will do nothing noticeable for your mileage. It sure seems like the thermostat is open although you mentioned that you replaced it. Do you remember the value stamped on the thermostat? Maybe you got the wrong thermostat. Depending upon where you live (btw,where do you live?) and current cold weather, it could take anywhere from 5-15 minutes for the engine to warm up. This assumes you are driving a modest 35-50 MPH down the road. Normally, in this weather (25F in Indiana), it will take about 10 minutes for my engine to be 95% warmed. If the temp gauge is taking in the area of 20 minutes to come to full operating temp, you have a problem in the coolant area. Here are a couple of suggestions. Feel free to try (or not) :) 1) Make some measurements. You dont need a stopwatch but try to get reasonably accurate. From dead cold, start and drive down the road at around the speed limit. How long does it take for the needle to get to "normal"? 2) After getting it up to full temp, find a stretch of flat road where you can keep the speed constant, in the 50-60 mph range. What does your instantaneous(current) MPG readout indicate? 3) If your engine is taking in the 20 minute range to warm up, consider putting a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator (cut to fit so it is safe to drive) and do test #1 again. Does it now warm up much quicker? Do not leave the cardboard on there except for the short test drive or you could overheat. And keep a close eye on the temp gauge if you try this one. This test would confirm an open thermostat, stuck-on fan, etc. 1. I don't remember the exact part number of the thermostat, I ordered it from http://mylexparts.com , it was a toyota thermostat, looked exactly like the factory one which I took out, so 99% sure it's the right thermostat. 2. I had 10w30 in before, 5w30 made a big difference in that the car doesn't idle as high when start it up in the morning and the heat starts coming out the heater 50% faster, but the car still takes long to warm up, although not as long as it had previously. 3. I live in central Illinois so probably have the same weather you do in Indiana. I'd say it takes a good 15-20 minutes to get fully warmed up with driving around the city , speeds from 30-45 mph. 4. I used "Toyota Red Coolant", mixed 50% coolant and 50% distilled water when I filled it up. 5. My 1996 LS400 does not have a miles per gallon read out unfortunately! The only way I can calculate mileage is by filling up, resetting the tripmeter driving around the city as I normally do and fill up around half a tank and calculate how many gallons it took to fill up and see how many miles I had driven. 6. Explain the cardboard procedure, you mean cut out a big square piece of cardboard and cover the entire front of the radiator with it so wind doesn't blow on it? Appreciate you taking the time to help.

I filled up yesterday, and the fuel needle is still moving down really fast! I suspect my problem isnt solved yet, but will wait until half a tank is empty and fill up and see the mileage I got. It is still taking a long time to warm up! I'm quite sure the bad gas mileage I'm having is directly related to the car taking forever to warm up because this problem did not exist in the summer. I also did an oil change today too with Mobil-1 5w30 synthetic extended performance, I really am hoping the problem is solved, lets see.