Big D

After reading some old posts, I am now getting paranoid about getting my 2001 LX470 90,000 mile service done at a Toyota dealer, despite the fact that I will save perhaps as much as $500, and it would be tremendously more convenient for me, as the Toyota dealer is 3 miles from my house while the Lexus dealer is 70 miles from my house.

I am particularly concerned about some comments which seemed to indicate that Toyota dealer service does not understand the Active Height Control (ACH) system in my LX470 and could put the wrong fluid in, thus causing a $2000 problem. Is there any validity to this concern??? I guess I thought the LX470 mechanicals were the same as the Landcruiser.

Perhaps and LX and LS are "apples and oranges", but last week I paid my favorite Lexus indie repair shop $1,417 (includes Kansas sales tax) for the 90,000 service on my LS. I excluded the oil change since I like to do that myself. The service included replacing the timing belt and water pump and changing all other fluids -- brake, coolant, transmission, differential. It included changing the engine air filter the HVAC filter. It did not include changing the spark plugs since the interval on a 2000 LS is 120K miles. The service included rotating and balancing the wheels, all the normal inspections and tightening of stuff, and a car wash and interior cleaning.

I've found that some Toyota dealers in the Kansas City area do not include water pump replacement in their quotes for the 90K service -- this makes their prices artificially low -- and also omit other items that are included in the Lexus service schedule.

Thanks, that is very helpful.

D

My 2001 LX 470 is coming up on it's 90,000 mile service.

The quote from my Lexus dealer was $1,798. for 8 hours of servicing which included timing belt, water pump, all fluids, plugs, etc. etc. etc.

The quote from my Toyota dealer, which I occationally use, was $1,450 for similar, but not as comprehesive a service.

So my question is simple, are these quotes in the ballpark???

Thanks.

This is probably a dumb question, but I have been trying to figure out where the VIN sequence for the USA 1992 SC300/SC400 cars begins. As I have never seen or heard of any cars numbered below N0001001, it would seem reasonable that the sequence starts there. A quick review of cars for sale online today show the lowest VIN as N0001117 for an SC300. So does anybody know for sure what is the earliest SC300/SC400 VIN in the United States?

Thanks!