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Lexus Hybrid 600h L in excellent condition, like new inside and out. Sparkling Starfire Pearl White over Cashmere interior. Never seen snow (California car), spotless undercarriage, near mint & loaded with MSRP over $117,000. No accidents, paint or bodywork, clean Carfax, clear title in hand. Rides like glass, supremely quiet interior. 438HP, 0-60 in 5.5 seconds. Asking $38,500 but motivated and negotiable! Call (847)293-1447. This is probably the nicest pre-owned 600h L in the country and it turns heads daily. I see dozens of Teslas every day but not a single LS600h L on the road in the last year. With a higher quality interior and Lexus reliability, it's amazing that these are selling for $50-60k less than the Teslas. That's a lot of extra cash! I am happy to pick you up from O'Hare airport if you want to go that route. I will also allow up to 3 weeks to arrange shipping pick up. UShip is a great resource for shipping. Newer top-of-the-line Michelin tires all around, loaded with nearly every option including Premium Package w/adjustable rear seats, entertainment center with remote control and (2) wireless headsets, refrigerated cooler box, side & rear power sunscreens, backup camera, Intuitive Parking Assist, laser guided cruise, self parking feature, all-wheel drive, dvd player w/19 speaker Mark Levinson surround sound, 30GB hard drive, heated & cooled seats, heated steering wheel, EV Mode, Bluetooth, adjustable Air Suspension, 19" aluminum wheels, Alcantra Headliner, LED Headlamps, and more. I am including a brand new set of four digital fit Floor Liners. I have all the original books, tool kit in trunk, both remotes and master key. Never smoked in, no pets. Always garaged, Factory GPS system, Like new interior. Everything works 100%, Must be seen in person to believe. Full synthetic oil change 4/5/15 at 68,950 miles. Just fully detailed, clayed, polished, and waxed. ALL scheduled maintenance including Dealer installed spark plugs at 60k.

I'm looking at both a 2011 LS600h and 2013 LS460 at about the same price, a few less miles on the 2013. Would like to get opinions on your choice and why? The 600h has depreciated SO quickly, perhaps from the mediocre reviews about performance and gas mileage being unimpressive, but I love the ultra silent ride and luxury features. I like the 2013 styling, haven't driven one so can't compare the rides and interiors, etc.

Thanks for the ideas. The reservoir cap was replaced and definitely holds pressure as I found out during my impatience with no letting the car cool down before opening. Cabin filter is always replaced each year and my air flow is terrific at any speed. I think there is something related to the fact that after I bleed the system (and visibly watch large bubbles escape), it has great heat for weeks or months straight before the problem returns.

Hi all, it's been a long while since I've been back here, and it's good to see some familiar names and great threads. My '98 LS just turned 336k miles and is still a champ. I've had a recurrent problem where there is no heat at idle even when the engine is warmed up. The temp gauge seems accurate and the car warms to temp without issue. I don't believe it is a thermostat issue at all. I bypassed the heater control valve by removing it but the problem persisted. The reservoir always stays full. Some would say heater core, BUT: I found that there was a huge amount of air in the system, and every year, I use a very long funnel with coolant at the water inlet and run the car for 15 min. and a few minutes at 2-3k rpm and this burps out the air. It works! This seemed to hold for a season, but this year it lasted just a month. How in the world do I find how this large amount of air is getting in the system, and how do I fix it for good?

Thanks Mike. I'm curious what your labor cost was, or did you replace it yourself?

Can anyone recommend a source for a replacement Y pipe, other than the Dealer? The part is very expensive, I assume even at discount places like Park Place. If someone has a part# I would appreciate it. I haven't found a muffler shop that has an aftermarket version. I have over 300k miles on my '98 and the pipe is leaking in multiple areas. a used one is an option off a 98-00, but who knows how long that would last?

Hey all. Not sure if I'm remembered on the forum. It's been a while and that's a testament to these cars! I just rolled over the 300k mark a couple of months ago on my 98 LS. At 250k miles the starter went. I replaced it with an OEM Denso that I purchased from Toyota. A few days ago when I turned the key in the ignition there would be total silence, and then by trying again it would start. This lasted only about 2-3 days, when finally no response. Classic starter failure, right? The battery is at full charge, and the car never died while driving so I assume no alternator. I spoke to a guy I know at Lexus, he states that it is rare to see an ignition problem and he suspected the starter. I just tore the engine apart and replaced the starter (I know I could have tried the contacts) and the same darn thing is happening. Could it be a security system malfunction? Almost seems like the starter is being cut off. The dash lights would all light up initially, but after trying a couple of times there are no lights at all, seems like a security starter kill.

I purchased a direct bolt-on exact fit Eastern Catalytic converter for $172 shipped from Autoanything.com. This is the lowest price you will find on a direct replacement converter. However, I replaced my cats 2 years ago with the same Eastern cats and only one converter kept the code away, the other came back. I took a chance with the same brand and it worked, and worked well(CEL had been lit for over a year - didn't even reset the code and it went out on it's own within 60 miles of driving on the new converter). Good for now, and bought me another 2 years before the next retest. The hardest part is removing the old rusted nuts and bolts.

Thanks for your suggestions. Bicol-ini, your method worked perfectly. I did not need to remove the tranny support, just the two lower bolts and nuts on each converter, and the Y pipe dropped easily. Don't know how I missed that. After about 50 miles of driving today, my CEL dissapeared and I passed emissions just fine. The aftermarket converter took care of my PO430 code as I had hoped. Thanks

Hi all, it's great to see so many old faces still here, along with great new members. I'm nearing 300k on my '98LS and it has been mostly trouble-free. I'm replacing a passenger side catalytic converter with a direct bolt-on aftermarket hoping to solve my PO430 code. o2 sensors have all been changed with Densos. Car runs fine and I do not suspect a fuel, ignition or vacuum leak issue. I removed the 2 bolts at the lower part and the 3 nuts at the top and somehow freed the old cat, now I cannot get the new cat to clear the 3 studs up top and reassemble everything. I've tried slightly prying the exhaust back, but it is all attached to the Y pipe as one assembly and doesn't much much. Am I required to cut off those studs and replace them? Working under the car I can't picture getting new studs in - or is there an easier way to slip in on? Has anyone done this themselves? Thanks

Thanks for the tips. It appears that the replacement bolt is a 1 piece design and the bolt head is larger than the opening, so I can't insert it from the front, and there is no clearance from the back of it. Are you saying that the wheel stud rotates and can be removed to access from the rear? To me it looks like the high-torqued nut has to be removed to make this possible.

Hopefully I am describing this correctly - I have a broken hub bolt and my shop manual says that the hub nut is torqued to over 250 ft lbs. I assume there is no way to remove the hub with my basic tools. I can't imagine replacing the bolt with accessing the hole from behind and removing the hub. Any ideas?

It worked. I reinstalled the good piston and blocked it and with lots of air pressure and patience the other finally came out. Unfortunately, the bad piston has some pitting and rust which will not come off so it looks like I am in for a replacement. I cleaned and lubed the piston and it did go back in smoothly, but who knows how long it will last and I'd rather not chance it with my new rotors and pads.

Hey Jeff, I'm going to try just that again. My compressor air gun has a 90psi max, and the air was trying to escape in every possible place, but I'm also going to try to lubricate the bore of the stuck piston the best I can first. Will let you know if it works. Thanks

Thanks SRK, but, the piston was stuck before I removed the caliper, so pumping the brakes would do nothing to release it. Plus, when the other piston that is not stuck is removed, it leaves an opening that was normally blocked by that piston which would have forced the fluid into the other (stuck) piston. With the one good piston out I have no pressure for fluid or air. If what you are saying about fluid psi vs. air psi is true, why isn't that the standard method of piston removal? When I do a google search for caliper rebuild, every tutorial uses the air method.

I decided to rebuild my calipers because I had one piston that wouldn't release. I followed the tutorial on Lexls and used compressed air on my front dual caliper but only 1 caliper came out. I tried pliers, and also tried replacing the loose caliper and holding it in place with wood and using air again to release the other. I had the compressor up to 90psi! It still will not budge. Any suggestions other than buying a new caliper?

Does anyone know the new and minimum specs for front and rear rotors on a 93 SC400? My LS shop manual shows 16mm front and rear, but I'm measuring much larger on my SC fronts and wondering if they are the correct size. Thank you

Thanks Bali. My mistake. Meant to post this in the SC forum.

Does anyone know the new and minimum specs for front and rear rotors on a 93 SC400? My LS shop manual shows 16mm front and rear, but I'm measuring much larger on my SC fronts and wondering if they are the correct size. Thank you

Thanks everyone, you were all correct. The first time I tried in a panic and turning the key seemed to have no effect. But this time it shut off the alarm with one turn. I trusted the seller who sold the car out of frustration after replacing the alternator and battery. The car sat for 2 weeks and left him stranded many times and all he had to do was turn a key. I Bought a reman. Denso starter from Park Place and paid a guy $150 who realized he was underpaid but did a great job (took him a full 6 hours). I guess having a new starter in a 16 year old car is worth the peace of mind...

Hey everyone, haven't been here in a while, hope you are doing well. I'm still an LS guy but just picked up a '93 SC400 last week to play with and I'm stumped. When I purchased the car, the prior owner had changed the battery and alternator but the car would not start. We both assumed it was the starter as he didn't think it had ever been changed. I changed the starter last week and drove it twice with no issue. I should mention that the only key I was given was a skeleton looking key with no remote attached. Yesterday was the 1st time I locked the car, and when I opened the car with the key, the alarm went off. I quickly put the key in the ignition. I turned the key which stopped the alarm, but the car would not crank. Dead silent. All the dash lights are strong. I know the battery is fully charged. I don't think my starter was bad. Is this a starter-cut-off that prevents theft? Would having a remote fix this? How can I obtain one? I tried disconnecting the battery, for 6 hours, but when I reattach the negative lead the alarm starts up again. I also noticed that the power door locks also seem to be disabled but not the windows or radio, and the door locks worked fine before. It would be nice if there is a reset switch I am missing. My other guess from searching would be something to do with lifting the ground to the battery? Any help is appreciated. Thanks

Thanks for the input all. N.C.O., you were right! The issue was air in the system. My tech bled the system today using a large funnel in the water inlet while the engine was running. Took a good 20 minutes. Running perfectly all day with the temp gauge steady on the 2nd line up from the bottom. When I did the drain and fill I followed the steps in the shop manual perfectly; apparently this did not displace the trapped air. My final reflection is that perhaps when the first tech did the timing belt change there was some air in the system because it ran a bit hotter than normal, and when my starter was changed more air was introduced when the hoses were off for the intake removal. I knew something was up with the reservoir not draining with that bottom hose off, even when I tried to force it.

I tested the thermostat today and although I didn't have a thermometer to get the exact temp, it did open up just before the boiling point, and closed again when it cooled. After checking again, my heater inside the car seems to be working fine. Made sure the thermostat was properly installed, and added 50/50 Toyota red coolant and distilled water again and ran the car. Confirmed that both upper and lower hoses are getting hot, and both fans are working properly. Still runs very hot at idle and I needed to kill the engine before it gets too hot. My biggest concern is I can't understand why the reservoir isn't dropping or raising it's level with the engine running or after it cools even though the heater valve is in the open position.

I don't own a temp gauge to test the existing thermostat but I did see that it was installed facing the correct way. I'm going to pick up an aftermarket stat and will test it today and post the results. I agree it's unlikely but possible that even a new Toyota stat could be bad. I'd hate to think that the water pump is the culprit. It ran hotter than halfway for a month after the timing belt service, but did not venture near the top until after my starter repair was done. I wonder if this is coincidence or if something was re-installed wrong in the starter repair. Or could a blocked heater core happen this way? Again, is it normal that coolant wouldn't flow freely from the bottom of the reservoir with the bottom reservoir hose off and some suction applied? If the stat change doesn't help today I am bringing it in tomorrow and staying with the car and will post the result. Thanks