blake918

I'm not sure what you are getting at here. I'm saying that the auto headlights are controlled by the door switch, and since your dome lights don't work properly, the switch is likely causing the headlights to stay on since thay turn off when the door opens. If you get the dome lights working, I think your lights will work properly. Just try oiling that switch, I kid you not it takes all of a minute. ;)

The black button is for the alarm chirp. ;) Not sure about the other ones. The seat does need to come out for the amp to be removed easily. To remove the seat...there are 4 bolts on the seat, one for the seat belt, and the connector for the power seat has to be unplugged, and the entire seat will come right out...not sure about the amp removal procedure though. KC, the first aid kit is in a drawer under the driver's seat for '95. The only thing in our trunks are the tools (cd's are in the second glove box). ;)

Don't be! That's what this site is for! ;) Here is a pic of the boot, covering on the door switch on B pillar-courtesy of www.lexls.com. I just peeled it back, inserted the WD40 extension nozzle in there..spray, and pressed/released the switch until it worked properly. Super easy! I think you can email Pioneer. PM might be out the question since you are still new. Here's his user info page: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showuser=1629

Front passenger's seat. ;) Can you further describe or photograph the switches you are refering to?

It's about looking too successful-seeking pity is hardly the idea here; I'll start critiquing her sales methodology when I can pay cash for a new LS430 and live in an affluent neighborhood when I'm 35. Her Maxima is in superb condition; it's not in the condition that you are imagining. Precisely!!! :D

When you look at the belt, it's not going to be a certain thing, but you can get a feel for its condition. Make sure it's not dry rotten, cracked, the ribed parts are sticking out, etc. Pioneersbuy is a LOC member with tons and tons of Lexus OEM audio equipment for sale. I'm guessing your headlights that don't go off and dome lights that don't come on are all related to your door switch. I had this delima on my ES, and fixed it in about 1 min with a couple of squirts of WD40 and playing with the switch.

Welcome! ;) The amp is under your passenger's seat. One of the switches you are refering to by your feet will turn the beeping on/off for the remote entry system. I think you are looking at the storage cubby for the missing tool kit on the pass side of your trunk. ;)

First off, welcome! ;) 1) This varies. Lexus recommends something silly like 60k or 80k miles. 120k is a common interval. It's really easy to inspect the belt...just remove the cover that has 32v 4 cam blah, blah, blah on it, and you can see the timing belt. 2) Pioneersbuy might be able to help you with this. 3) See others 4) I know on my '95 it adjusts the reaction time of the sensor for the auto headlights(I forget what direction speeds up the reaction and vise versa). I'm sure it's the same thing on your car. 5 & 6) Dunno 7) They go off when you open your driver's door, no? 8) Check the tire section. Many recommend Michelins, Yokamahs, Toyo's, etc.

Wow thaks for the tip!!! :D I'm closing in on 240k, so it's time for an oil and tranny fluid change after she gets out the body shop! Looks like I'm going to go pay PepBoys a visit today!

Den, I know what you are saying. My aunt is a very successful sales rep for her company, but she still drives her 95 Maxima w/ 175k for her appointments. She says that if clients see you pull up in a Lexus, Jag, BWM, they will think you are so well off that whether or not you get their bussiness doesn't really make a difference. Makes sense! She saves the '05 LS430 for the weekends. B) Welcome Jeff! ;) I've driven my neighbor's '01 GS430, and what an awesome car!!!! :D She flies and has excellent brakes!

For new covers, try vyhanh's link or www.katzkin.com. A skilled upholsterer can duplicate the pattern of your oem leather; I had this done in my ES, and it turned out very nicely! If they are dried out, try leatherique or lexol.

Which is a very obscured version of how things happen. One can edit and doctor up things to support any argument they want. I saw part of his film on a university movie channel here. I've been wanting to see it, but I refuse to support him in anyway i.e. renting his movie. I saw the last hour or so, and the scene where all of the Iraqi children were playing on the swings and monkey bars happier than pigs in s**t. Then, you here him say something to the effect of...how are they threatening us?? I literally lmao!! Just as it is depressing to hear all of these democrats say oh my god another 4 years, how did that iddiot get re elected, we are totally f**ked, how could the American people be so stupid?? An attitude like this is not conducive to getting anything done. Sorry, but liberals are guilty of the same offense...same song, second verse... 3.5 million votes is hardly a close election. Not really, that's just a stupid person that obviously has some kind of mental problem. I really don't like Kerry, but I'm sane enough to not blow my brains out if he would have won the election. Exactly!! :D

Brenden, pick this one up at your local Barnes and Noble: "Michael Moore Is A Big Fat Stupid White Man." I think the authors should add to the title "...that likes to hear himeslf talk." What an excellent read! :D I think Trey Parker and Matt Stone did a fine job of portraying him in Team America as well as the rest of F.A.G.(I can't believe they left out Barbra Streisand. I could only imagine the nose they would put on her puppet! BTW, wasn't she supposed to leave when GW got elected the first time...I think Alec Baldwin and a host of other actors that think America wants to hear their political stands said it too?? I'd love to give Barbra et. al. my credit card number so that they can buy a one way ticket to Afganistan. I love these actors...so true to their words!)! The movie wasn't as hysterical as most told me, but the stabs at hollywood, the UN, and middle eastern issues were great! lol I'll send you some of these black W 04 stickers when I get them(they should go great on my black LS). ;) What a great idea for a new documentry..also include how they lost the senate too; maybe some of the guys at Fox News would like to do it with a little help from Rush! I love it!! ;) :D I laugh when people make all of these stabs at GW Bush for being a war mongral. Believe it or not the president doesn't have absolute power. He can only authorize force for 60 days without senate approval. Your senators should be getting all of the credit for the war since they are the ones that voted for it and sadly voted against the extra $$ for supplies. I find that Bush is very well regarded everywhere in the US save California and the northeast. Right again, Agent! :D John Kerry really is the candidate for everyone(this comes from a reporter at CNN which is a complete shock): http://johnkerryads.websiteanimal.com/

Yeah wtf is this?? If this is supposed to be some kind of joke, it's not a good one at all.

Do you not do valve adjustments on 91 LS 400's? ← Yeah they do...when I was searching for a LS, every 90-94 I looked at made horiffic valve clatter, so I gave JP Importz a call to get ideas on the repairs and prices, and they do indeed offer this service. He said pricing depends on how many valves he has to reshim; he said typically around $500 though. I doubt you could get very much for your car eventhough it is in perfect shape. The only thing the buyers are going to hear are 250k miles and 13 years old. After all of that work, enjoy all of the repairs!

My P/S pump went out at 215k. I suppose my rack is fine; she steers fine. My radio lcd went out, but thank god for Mikado--fixed for $150 plus shipping. BTW, 1995 LS4, 239, 4xx miles.

JEEEEZ!!! If that were my car, I'd have no worries whatsoever after all of those repairs!!! You've got everything...p/s pump, bushings, lcd screen, and timing belt. The only possible things I could think of are the head gaskets and a valve job. Short of the car blowing up, I think you're good to go! Personally, I'd sit back and enjoy the miles! B) Excellent work!

Why get rid of it if you love it and it's perfect? With 12 years and 300k miles under it's belt, not only will it be hard to sell but you also won't get very much for it. These cars can go on forever, and if you are still satisfied with it; then, I'd hang on to it for a while. ;) On the otherrhand, '95 LS's with under 130k miles are now in the under $10k range, so this might be something for you to look at. Just say you get $3k for your '93 plus your current $6k= $9k which could get you a nice gen II-the cars of the later half of the generation with vvt-i, new front clip, etc. are still well over $15k.

1) I'm not sure what your mechanic is talking about when he says tranny problems on the early ES300's. I believe there have been very, very few isolated tranny issues in this club-most likely from abuse and/or neglect, but that's about as much as I know. Mine is silky smooth at 11years and 130k miles. 2)It's hard to rate the three. It all depends on your needs. If you are over 6 feet, the LS will be suitable for you with a non sporty, soft ride. The ES has similar characteristics but with fwd, a V6, less floaty ride, and slightly less quality since it's not in the same class as the LS4. I'm not saying it's a bad car in the least; it's just one is a $30k car and the other is a $60k car. ;) The SC is the sporty one of your selections, so it's got an aftermarket where as the ES and LS don't. I'm not familiar with the SC, so I can't make any comments there. 3) Again, this is up to your needs/wants. I can talk some about the ES since I have one-a '94...the ES is a great car...too small for me but a great car none the less. Common ES problems: leaky valve cover gaskets(not a wide speread issue, but some do experience it), flickery speedo needles(you will see this on any first generation Lexus at some point or another), tired motor mounts, dead hood support struts, and clunky suspension sounds caused by either strut mounts or bushings. The cool looking pilarless windows will haunt you. Many owners use the window to slam the doors shut, so over 9-11 years, it knocks the windows out of alignment causing pronounced wind noise. The moonroofs make a similar sound; they don't leak, but they make wind noise because they need to be adjusted/shimmed--easily cured by closing the shade. The cupholders suck, and the trunk has a very high opening which is also kind of inconvienent. On the plus side, they ride great, the interior is first rate, the seats are very comfy, decent sound for a stock stereo, they look nowhere near 10 years old on the outside, and the powertrain is outstanding. They come with projector headlights, so real hid's are always a nice addition. I think the 3.0 V6 that is in that car is one of the best engines, but it is slow as molasses. It looks like you've done some hw on the ES since you stated the 94-96(ES's with the new, alum. V6)! ;) I looked at several 90-94 LS's, but the trampoline seats turned me off. I bought a 95 instead, and it's the best car I've had! 239,4xx miles and counting. :D My LS had no service records except for a recent brake job and new p/s pump, and she's been a ok with me. The service history is nice but I wouldn't pass on a car because of the lack of it. You can easily tell a good LS so long as you print the pinned post about used LS's at the top of the LS page and do a thorough test drive. The pinned used LS topic goes into great detail about what problems to expect. ;) Parts and labor on Lexi will empty your wallet very quickly. Dealers want north of $85 an hour, and parts are extremely expensive. If you diy, many things are a PITA; I wouldn't rate these cars as the easiest to work on...especially the LS. Though, oil, tranny fluid, and brakes are very easy to do. These cars rarely break, but when they do, be prepared to shell out some duckets!!

Maybe he took it down for a little while to do updates or something because I just pulled it up with no problems. ;)

I wouldn't put a whole lot of stress into the Crown Vic and it's smoke issue since most of them are beat to hell by law enforcement, and then, Taxi driver's get to drive them into the ground the rest of the way during round two. Look at ebay...maintaianed TC's fetch a nice ammount even with high mileage-the engines and tranny's are strong. Refined? Not like a Lexus, but with decent maintinance, I've herad they last a very long time. Plus, most of them are babied and just a means of conveyance between church the retirement condo and Wal Mart for their elderly owners. I've driven '01 and '04 TC's, and I think both are great, comfortable American boats! I'm looking foward to next week when my Lexy is getting her door fixed because I'll get to mess around in a rental TC for a week or so. You say the Olds is too small...Lincoln's are quite the opposite which is my main reason for liking them(the magic carpet ride is cool too! lol)...especially the 03+'s and previous 98-02 with power pedals since ones without are kind of short on legroom.

I agree. My thinking with cars is drive the best possible thing you can with the money you have to spend. If I were playing with $20k, the first thing to come to mind would be a 98-00 LS. If I were shopping for a SUV...new Explorer or used LX470?? I'd take the 470 anyday of the week. I don't need a new car smell to make me happy with a car; besides it'll be gone in about a month or two. I'm one of those people that is perfectly happy driving the same ole road scraper for 15 years at a time! :D IMO, all of the problems you had with your Lexy could have easily been fixed by someone else with the money you spent on the way down the depreciation cliff(USA wrote an excellent article about the 'cliff!'). I could see how it would be hard to stomach spending probably $4k-$5k on a car that is 13y/o, but in return, the LS would have kept going on forever. But, I can completely understand your situation-you are a Chevy guy, so you wanted something with the bow tie on the hood, and you should drive whatever makes you happy. ;) Best of luck with the Malibu!

I'd be glad to part with the Leatherique. I do have the Pristine Clean and Rejuvinator set. The Pristine Clean hasn't even be opened(I'm pretty sure), but I'd say about a half to third of the rejuvinator is gone. I'll talk with you some more about this when I get home Friday; I want to get the bottles in my hands so that I can let you know exactly what I have and don't have. ;) PM or email is fine; my email is available if you click my username(so is PM)-->send an email. I've tried everything to get this stuff to work in my car...I let it bake with the heater on, let it sit in 95 degree southern heat, sit in 80 deg weather, but it just never seemed to do anything even after 4-5 treatments. My seats are very clean too....the product gets absorbed, but no softness is returned. <_< If your seats are dirty, Mr. Cleans Magic Erasers are a dream come true-available in your grocer's cleaning isle for $5. Take a look at what it did to my '95: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...77&hl=mr++clean Your car looks great! ;)

Congrats on your new car!! With only 95k your car is just starting to get warmed up! Let your wife see this pic at the bottom....I think it'll put her mind to rest about the albatross. Yeah, we need pics!!! I've used Leatherique, and I am pretty disappointed with it and the results it returns for a $70 product-I have two large bottles that collect dust in the garage. :( I'm much more satisfied with a $10 bottle of Lexol. Enjoy...

What the 98 has that the 97 doesn't: -VVT-i -Wooden steering wheel(optional...std in 99) -Optional hid's(std. in 99) -5 speed tranny -text read out in gauge cluster for various warnings and trip computer functions -head rest for middle, rear seat -stunning front profile -the rear tail lamps were stretched a hair as well as adding different reflective material inside -the center stack was revised(they moved the outside temp and time below the ac vents) -All in one key(compared to the seperate key and remote that the 95-7 has) -VSC