Archie

Hmm, dead post,oh well. So I will post my answer based on my experience today. I did some searches and most were dead wrong with a few being right on battery replacement . That is a probelm, sorting out the guys who guessed and never did it to the guys who knew and did it. This was a trip and even the Lexus dealer gave me a wrong answer. One wrong answer and I won't believe anything you say. Changing the battery is just like any other old car. Nothing special and nothing to worry about if you have done it before. Short out a lead and you have had it. . 1 The radio- If you have a dot blinking on and off that means it has a security code # . Don't install the battery but take it to the dealer and get hosed. My radio had never been assigned a code number and there is no danger of locking it up. 2. Some cars but NOT the LS 460 require a 9V jumper in the cigar lighter to keep all electronics live. Lexus has a built in hold up so you will not have to worry about anything being lost. The cigar lighter can not be used with a hold up because it is disconnected when the car is turned off. I checked it with a voltmeter. . Do NOT turn the car on so you can use it. I have no idea what might happen but you would probably be in a lot of trouble.$$$$ Tools needed a .Screwdriiver to pry battery terminal open after the bolts have been losened. b, spanner wrench 10MM and 11MM for undoing terminal clamps on battery. c . Phillips screw driver to press clips open d. roll of duct tape TURN OFF ALL THINGS IN THE CAR AND PLACE THE KEY FOB IN ANOTHER ROOM !! Start by removing two plastic panels on the passengers side covering the battery. There is one big panel over the front wheel and one small panel near the cowl with rubber weather seal that have to be removed. Gently fold over the small panel toward the drivers side. To remove the panels locate the clips. Push in the center, you will hear a click. Push them all in. They are all loose and if you pick the panel up, for sure, you will loose a few. Cover them with duct tape so they don't pop out. or store in a box. I had several clips missing from the dealers work and or Jiffy Lube. Before you start buy a full set from Lexus. You need these anyway after the miscreants work on your car. in the future. The clips are not user frendly and tricky. With the panels off, the battery is in plain sight and very easy to get out compared to a Jag I once owned. You will have to unbolt the terminals. and a hold down clamp . First roll up all the windows and turn everything off incuding AC and the radio. Remove the key fob starter to another room . You don't want to turn the car on with the Fob. If you do you are dead meat. Prepare a series about 8" long of duct tape. Fold back about 1" on each end and stick it to the other side. Unbolt the hold down fixture. It has one nut. Duct tape the rod to the front side so it can't flop forward and get in the way while the new battery is being installed. Using the 10MM and 11MM spaner undo the hot + lead toward the drivers first. Use extreme caution do not tiouch the spanner or lead to the frame and short it out. When the terminal is unbolted you may have to use a screw driver to pry it open so you can remove it. When it comes off cover it with the duct tape you prepared so no metal shows. Move it to one side. There is a lot of room but keep it away from metal. Using the spanner again repeat the process and move the minus - lead to one side. Pull out the old battery and install the new one. Very easy to do. Install the clamp down holder. Place the plastic panels in place. The clips have to be reset. Lift from panel and push in the center part so it sticks above the out side ring. I used channel locks. Its not easy. You may loose some. I told you to have replacements on hand. Listen up. Insert the clip and push down. That's easy. You can off course remove all the clips and place in a box for safe keeping. Your choice. All done. If you are an expert battery installer just rip the old battery out and install the new one. There is nothing that you have to do to protect the settings that I know of. This was confirmed by some others advice. Then there were others talking about using a 9 V hold up and a bunch of other nonsense. Who do you trust? I'm a engineer, MSEE and paid cash for our LS460. However anyone can say that. Good luck. This took me 15 minutes to install and two days to find out nobody knew how to do it. Rant- what's with our education system that kids can graduate and know absolutely nothing about electricity but stuff about Zeus ? Unreal, in this electrically driven world. Rant #2 How can we expect an electric car to work for years when I have to replace the battery in my Gas powered car every 4 years? Batteries suck and guess what? Toyota said that just last week as they pulled the plug on their all electric car.

Has anybody here every replaced their car battery them selves? This appears to look like a I gocha pay up from the dealer and Toyota. The battery will hit 5 years shortly and I like to replace them at about 4 1/2 years. I did a seach on the net but did not find a step by step how to . The Radio has a key number and I have no idea were to find that. It takes a series 24. Walmart but they won't go near it. I had a Jag like that once. That thing ate batteries. My LS460 eats tires. Batteries are cheaper.

I am back. Very humble and embarrased. The great Hankook tires I bought and raved about 2 years ago, I take it all back. Tire Rack totally mislead me on wear. They gave it a good number of 8.2 and the Mich a 7.8.Can you really trust those numbers? So the Hankooks are bald at about the same millage the OEM Dunlops did. 25K So scratch this brand off your buy list. However I'm reading that the LS460 is a tire !Removed! and eats any tire alive in just a few miles. I'm trying Continetal to see what happens. That will put me at 75K and time to dump the car anyway.

I drove to the Dealer today to see what the deal is with rapid tire wear. I expected nothing but baloney from these guys and they more then met my expectations."Ya got soft rubber tires, bud",I'm told. I came back with a quick comment that I check all my new tires with a Duraometer and the tires came in at the 85 percental, they had a 50,000 mile guarantee ya ya ya. and they should not have had rapid wear.ya da ya da ya da. By this time his eyes are bugged out and he's looking for back up. I just made all this stuff up but it impressed me that I was still good talking to the car guys. I bought a funeral policy last year from one guy who is now selling their cars as a back up job, the ecomony and all you know. So the back up runner shows up and changed to subject to how they changed all the valve springs in my car for free and it took 13 hours and and and. Gave me free oil and even washed the car. .He said that was the dirtest car he had every seen. Uh, pidgeon problem in the hood.. I changed the subject. Found out they extended the warranty to 100K. Hmmm, I bet that was the same warrranty I had om my Hankook tires. LOL on collecting. The conversation finished with the LS 460 had no probelm but the GL and some others did. He punched my TS card from my Army days and that was that. We got mugged 3 times trying to leave the lot by guys in red jackets trying to sell girl scout cookies. I'm still trying to get a handel on this, so tomorrow I'll call HQ. Last time it was on seat belt failure. That's a whole new story.

EGad, 15,000 miles expected? Or is that just on the Hybred ? I was going to post here on my tire probelm GRRR, but saw this thread. A couple of years ago I posted my great buy with Hankook. $600. and they had a good review from Tire Rack. The OEM tires,Dunlop,made it to almost the exact same miles before they wore out. Well 25,000 miles later the Hankook are shot also. A very good wear pattern and I like the tires. Quiet and good ride and handeling for this type of barge. So I called Hankook and they said take proof of the 7500 rotation etc to your tire dealer. Uh, I never in my life spent that kinda time in a stinky tire shop. Plus the charge of course. So I didn't rotate them on schedule and some other stuff and was told basiclly to go away. $200 a year is better then $400 a year for tires so I don't get mad I get even so I'm here. squealing like a stuck pig that I am. This morning I called tire rack and bought new tires. Continetal had good reviews and a good price. Extreme Contact DWS. Dept of water sewage I think. $800 that's $200 more then the Handjob. Walmart puts them on for $5.00 a tire. Heh,heh heh, These puppies have a 5000 tread wear warranty and I am going to follow instructions like I was convict rooming with Bubba.

Thanks Paul. Your answer is correct, I think. Haven't done it yet but went back to the 10,000 PAGE 2 ton car manual that came with the car and found the same answer. The index does not list" key battery replace" or "battery -key replacement" As it should. Duh. Took a bit of thumbing around in side the manual and the info for the replacement battery is on p-586. Takes a CR1632, about $2-$3.00. We have a 2008 LS460. I don't know if this info is good for 2007-20111's. This should be a Stickey- The key fob is on all the time. You cannot turn it off. Battery life is 1-2 years.P 39. So replace once a year. Do not have key in pocket within 3' of a computer or other items with a magnetic field like a cell phone. ie- key fob and cell phone in purse is a no no. If your key fob dies and the car is locked use the mechanical key. P656. There is a small slot under the door handle for the key to unlock the car. Then hold the Lexus emblem against the start button. Car should start. Do not put book in trunk. That is the first item to shut down when battery starts to die. No bookie, no drivie. Keep a spare battery and small screw drivers ( slot and Phillips) in the glove compartment. We always carry a small led, li ion flashlight that won't self discharge. Why we were not told this by the typical Toyota dealer I have no idea but no harm in this case was done. Great Site, thanks.

No go here for the answer.. The smart key fob has a mechanical key on the side that unsnaps with a push lever. This will get you in the car but I don't think you can start it. Inside the holder for the key there are some weird looking detents. I think the battery goes in there. I'm not about to probe around as I bet this thing cost $150-$200. There is no external slide on this model that I can see. The case is about 1.5" x 2.5 " x 1/2" thick. On one side their is a big Chrome Lexus symbol. On the other pictures of a lock, open lock, trunk and alarm. Some times me thinks Lexus has been hiring ex GM employees, recalls and all including reliability. The car is full of weird quirks My wife kinda likes the LS460 but I won't drive it anymore. Twice I've almost gotten in a wreck changing lanes. Road rage, which I understand, can get you shot. Cutting people off is a no no especially in a high end car which makes some people mad to start with. The visibility to the rear is the worst of any car I have ever owned, period. The 400 had great visibility with the 3 box design. Hey Mr. Toyota- FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION not the other way around!!! American engineers/ designers suck.

How do you replace the battery in a Smart Key System LS460?

I had a post running below on the Hankook tires I bought sometime back. Very cheap and that's my middle name. Wonderful tires. Worked out very well with zero problems. Much,much better then the junk OEM tires the car came with. Shame on Toyota for using that junk manufacturer. I took some heat here by installing Hankook's but they turned out to be an excellent tire. CU also likes them. The Koreans right now are the best mfg guys in the world. Best prices and quality. I also use Korean tires of a different brand on my Highlander. Terrific wear , good ride and low noise.

Most of the stuff I mention here is just my opinion. Some times ok , other times a duh. Never worked in the Auto industry, thank goodness , but they do have a reputation of doing things just because they have always done it that way. Not a very good reason, my opinion again It usually takes a law or a Nader to get things done like seat belts or smog controls I have noticed in the past.. . Floor or top mount hinge? My foot cannot tell the difference but I've never taken a survey among others.. In a race car using the heel and toe method a bottom hinged might work better but I really don't know. From a design point a top hinge offers many benefits as to reducing costs, keeping the floor cleaner, no worry about hinge sticking etc. What I would really like to see are the floor pedals mounted on a slide so one could adjust the pedals distance for max comfort. This has been done in a few cars I think. The best pedal for a foot uses a double hinge design for less strain on the foot. Never happen in a hide bound company.. The main reason some cars use bottom hinges is just because they have always done it that way. The more expensive the car the less likely they worry about cutting a few cents off pedal costs. What's good for Mercedes is good enough for Lexus etc. What I can't figure out is why all cars look alike. Right now they all swoop the back so the visibility is reduced. Copy cats all. I still can't figure out why a designer would go to great length in building a mechanical friction device into the pedal to reduce minor movements. This is very hard to do to keep it constant over the life of the car. That's a job for the firmware engineer not the ME. and a whole lot easier. But Toyota was not forward thinking enough to designate the brake pedal number one over the motor pedal and that's why they are in this mess today, so why would anything else they do be any different?. I've taught every one in our family to shift into neutral if the throttle sticks or opens unexpectedly, have you?. Should be instinctive.

Toyota today (Feb 1) announced the release of a fix for sticking gas pedal assemblies. A web site( please Google)"the truth about cars Toyota throttle fix" or"the truth about cars Toyota gas pedal fix". TTAC some how got their hands on two different pedal assemblies,one made by CTS and one made by Denso. In the article and photos they explain the difference between the two supplies which are totally different. If you have an interest in technical things a very good read which is not to technical to understand. They could not understand why the design is totally different between the two suppliers. They also said the cost for the CTS is about $15.00 which is sold to the public by dealers for $120. Toyota's fix for the CTS unit is a small shim or washer which moves the steel tooth type friction assembly further apart and may eliminate sticking. Why this part was called a steel plate for reinforcement I can't understand. Double talk to me. I also don't know know why it took so long for this fix. TTAC does not like the fix and neither do I. The assembly will wear down and both parts being steel will corrode and stick in the future. A very bad design to start with and a very bad fix imho. TTAC also mentions the lawsuits including Canada's that are based on like of a fail safe when the brake in energized, Compared the pedal assembly in our Highlander vs our LS 460. The Highlander pedal pivots from the top. The Lexus pivots from the floor. Floor mounted pedals fell into disfavor because dirt, water or rust can get in the hinge and make them stick. An obsolete design. Also floor maps can slide forward over the top of the pedal and open the throttle. Floor mats in the overhead pivot usually will slide under the pedal. Strange mats got blamed. Bogus to me.

I only know what I read , mainly on the net, which sometimes has more opinions then fact. According to one accident report a Tundra truck throttle went from idle to full throttle resulting in a rear end accident with a BMW. The driver of the Tundra claims he had complained to the dealer about erratic throttle response before the accident and got no help. True? I have no idea. The motor in the Tundra uses a v8 similar to the Lexus Ithink. Latest news on the net claims Toyota has been working on the throttle fix since Aug when a high profile CHP officer crashed and was killed along with several others. It took a high profile person to die before the press made a major story out of the problem. Latest rumor is Toyota has developed a" Smart" pedal fix. I assume,( there's that word again)that this ties the brake and throttle together. I don't believe that the floor mats caused high speed crashes or corrosion caused by moisture or wear on the CTS sensor was the only problem. The only fix that will satisfy me is the brake override on the throttle. I plan to sell the Highlander next year and hate to think what this mess has done to resale value. We kept out last LS400 about 15 years . This was a better car imho, with better rear visibility etc. I assume the LS400 also did not have the fail safe throttle but ignorance is bliss. Now I have something to worry about. The court of public opinion is an awful thing to face and Toyota has a major problem. The major car rental agencies have pulled Toyota's from their fleets. Smart move,if one crashed guess who also gets sued? The no fail safe throttle is a claim on every civil class action and private law suit.This is a slam dunk in front of a jury and must be addressed on used cars sold and new cars. Toyota has stated their cars in 2011 or 20012 will have the fail safe feature.. Honda and others is staring down the barrel of a shot gun as they do not have a fail safe throttle either. I made a statement that GM has a fail safe but another source says they do not. It might be fun to pretend I'm a new car buyer and test various manufactures cars.

As a design Engineer trained to think" what if" I can come up with several scenarios which I would not want to be in. One is S. Calif traffic. At 70 MPH there is typically less then 1-1.5 car lengths between cars. So worse case situation is the LS460 goes to full throttle with out notice. Now you might have time to slam on the brakes and shift to neutral before rear ending the car in front. I'm not sure I'm fast enough to do this and I'm sure my wife isn't. Car phones, day dreaming, sight seeing distractions etc. Humans cannot stay totally focused for a long period of time say a 1 hour commute. Murphy lives and he bites at the most unfortunate time. I think I will time our 460 to see how fast it can close a 1 car length distance at 30, 45, 60, 65 and 70 MPH. with a friends help. Typical reflex time if you are watching for a typical situation like this is probably about .5 -.75 seconds for Geezers. A youth maybe .35 seconds. The after you recognize the situation you half to react by hitting the brakes and shifting which eats another .3-1.5 seconds. Now if you are steering with your right hand which is a typical driving style add more time as you grab the wheel with your left which is holding a cell phone so you can shift without loosing control when the brakes are applied. See where this is going? The death penalty is a bit severe for daydream etc. while driving and just remember this person may take you with them. I Googled to see which cars have fail safe. The claim was GM, Chrysler and Euro cars do. Ask friends to test their cars, that would be a very interesting survey. I mentioned NITSA whoops, sp error, I think it's NHTSA pronounced NITSA. Why did Toyota not use a fail safe? I can surmise a bean counter at work over ruled an Engineer. Remember the Pinto? It turned out in Court that the actuaries figured out the cost of paying off the dead persons surveyors vs the money saved by the cheap design. Same at Toyota? There is a good chance that there are patents on the fail safe and Toyota did not want to pay royalties and figured it was cheaper to let people die. Somewhere there is an Engineer at work who has the paperwork to prove" I told you so". In my other post I stated that I learned very fast to document my work if I was overridden. I got some very interesting tales on this and when it got time to get fired it wasn't me.

I poked around on Google last night. Amazing the stuff you can find about the runaway problem. Business Week probably had the best article on it. 3 class action lawsuits have been filed with more coming. One of the lawyers claims There is no safety item tying the brake pedal to the throttle."Unlike other automakers such as Mercedes, Volkswagen and Nissan there is no override feature in Toyota's car that idles the engine when the driver steps on the brake." Google - W.Va. Class action suit Toyota Absence of fail safe. It turns out this has been a continuing problem for several years. NITSA , our governments Automotive watch dog, was not doing it's job under the George W. Bush administration. His Chief of Staff was an ex lobbyist for the auto industry and NITSA backed off the investigation. What really gets me is the info giving out on what to do if throttle sticks.. The long article posted here saying press the start button foe 3 sec etc. WRONG !!! Think about the LS 460, in 3 Seconds you could be doing 80 -100 MPH . Then you have almost no brakes or power steering boost with a dead engine.. The fix is to hit the brakes and shift into neutral. Toyota is stonewalling here because they might have to replace some engines. Cheaper an engine then a life. Governments and Bureaucrats react the same. I remember the Ford/Firestone Explorer mess with each company blaming the other. Turns out the tires were bad and the Explorer was prone to rolling over. Ford ignition locks were prone to setting the car on fire while parked. Total denial and stalling. CTS, a very old and respected American company makes the pedal controller.assembly for Toyota . About 20% of production. The rest are made by Denso and Hella. Same prints and spects. Shouldn't make a bit of difference on what model as the philosophy of design puts all models at risk imho. Total recall of all cars that don't have a fail safe provision is a must.. I sure would not have bought my wife a Lexus 460 if I had known there was no fail safe. She's not to happy right now. Interesting thought on reaction here. A lot more hits on the cost of an oil change vs the potential of a car killing you. Darwinism at work. I have no idea what I'm talking about so I'm not responsible for any conclusions or remedies I suggest. This is a disclaimer. I have enough problems in life already.

As noted the recall has nothing to do with software- but it should! The whole mess would not of become an emergency however if the brake software cut off the throttle, just like it does for the cruise control.. Measure the RPM,and return it to idle when the brake pedal or emergency brake is activated. Typical bureaucratic response to a problem. First blame the floor mats. Very unlikely the mat could rise up and force the petal to full open as the claim was for the San Diego fatalities. Car crashed at over 100 mph. Hard to believe a person would freeze at the wheel and not shift to neutral but it happened. I'm an Engineer and we are supposed to be trained in the "what if" scenario Redundancy on critical items is a must and its dirt cheap to do with software.. Engineering bosses are usually Liberal art guys however and I have been over ridden many times. Learned on my first job, right out of school, document every bad decisions as protection because you will become the scape goat. Saved my rear more then once.. Sure made a lot of bosses mad however which was not good for a career. As a side note Ford hired an Engineer as top dog, first time in Detroit this has been done in a long, long time. Ford is doing very well thank you. By the way the President of Germany has a degree in Physics. And we have a Lawyer along with most of our Congress.. Who's in better shape? Now the claim is an American supplier is at fault. Maybe, but I assume they were building to Toyota prints. On the other hand parts made in Japan have no problem it's claimed.. Both our cars, a Highlander and Lexus 460 were made in Japan. The Highlander was a special order.. No problems at all. Never been back to a really rotten dealer. No question in my mind that anything made in the US is problematic. Just read on the news that linear accelerators used for cancer treatment were programed wrong and burnt a lot of people who died a horrible slow death. Our schools no longer teach much related to manufacturing or QC. Working with your hands is considered demeaning by a lot of folks and now most of our Engineers are foreign born . The Engineering pay by Detroit is the bottom of the pile for Engineers according to pay surveys. Not good.