nc211

Yeah man, it's the electronic throttle setup. It seems to be a problem for nearly every Toyota built car, from camry to LS430. They've been trying to figure this out forever. Their might be a software update you can have the dealership do that changes the computer's settings on shift points and lag time. I'm not 100% sure about this, but I do believe there is something out there. It's worth the call to your local dealership to ask. It seems like everyone who buys a Toyota these days has that same complaint. My parents just bought a new solero convertible recently and my dad instantly noticed this too, and complained about it as well. Guys in the office have new ES models...complain about it...new camry...complain about it too.

SK, I'm curious, have you had a chance to test out the new rims yet? I drove 500 miles this past weekend and the fury on my face from the vibration just about put me over the edge. I'm going to take the car to a lexus specialist here in Raleigh in the next couple of weeks to get this problem fixed! I think it's the drive shaft, especially since the car suffered from the Off Throttle Shock problem for 8 years of it's life. I knew that jerking in the transmission when taking your foot off the gas at 40mph could not be good for the driveshaft. I'm betting it's either the couplings, or center support, or both. This in addition to my old ripped differential mounts makes me think I'm in for one hell of a bill soon. I've got Mich tires so I would not think they would be bad. They've got about 60% of life left on them.

Nevermind my previous post :chairshot: . Wobble still there. CRAP!!!

The rotors did smooth out the wheels however, which was needed. ;)

The wobble is in the drive shaft, no doubt about it as this is all that's left. It doesn't feel like it's in the wheels anymore. Obviously the rotors were masking it and acting in conjunction with the wobble in general. I'm wondering if when the guys changed out my differential bushing mounts they did not connect the driveshaft to the differential correctly. If I recall from the manual, there are marks that need to line up for a proper balance? Or if the flexcoupling is shot. Or, if they damaged the center bearing by not properly supporting the disconnected drive shaft during the bushing replacement. But, either case, I'm convinced it's in the drive shaft, and either coming from the center or further back towards the differential. One way or another, one more $100 or another, I'll figure this out. Too late to turn back now! Any ideas?

that is most likely your struts wearing out. I had a squeek too while moving slowly through parking lots. www.parts.com and drill down to lexus. you'll find a few good vendors.

you guys gotta stay out of those dealerships, they're killing you on price! :o  strut rods for a 98 LS can be had for only $90 a piece on line. It's 3 bolts to attach them too.  They're #12 on the picture below. 

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Wow. Thanks for the info. Where did you purchase them. I had to have mine replaced for it to pass MD State Inspection last year. However, I noticed after driving long distances, I hear a squeaking noise as the car is rocking, or if you get out and push down on the front end back and forth. What in the world could that be? Heated rubber squeaking?

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well i had to throw in the towel and a C' note to the mechanic today for install of the rotors. Just couldn't get those bolts loose on my own. I think the new rotors might have fixed the wobble. They atleast lessened it, that I can tell already.

Up from the ashes on this one. Update:

Well the wobble in the rear was greatly reduced, if not completely eliminated by replacing the rear rotors. I still had it, but most noticably from the front. I just had the rotors replaced and I can greatfully say the wobble has been toned WAY down. I think now it's just an alignment issue. It's been a good 5k miles since my last one, on some pretty bumpy side roads and highways "ever been on I95 in South Carolina", then you know my pain. Point of the story, I think it was the rotors. I'll know for sure this weekend as I am heading up to Williamsburg, VA. But it sure did feel better this afternoon coming back from the shop.

Now we're talkin'! That is sharp!

right choice. air struts are nice when they work, a very expensive p.i.a. when they don't.

Well my mechanic checked with Lexus and, with his discount, the one front air strut is $972.00- uninstalled.

So I've decided to purchase a set of strutmasters struts for all four wheels and get rid of the air suspension system.

I'll report later what the result is.

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Finally got internet at the house! That only took 2 1/2 years. Wezz a bit slow downs hear.

Widow, you're going to love that car. Not just because it's a LS400, but because you did your research and found this website. You'll never want anything else...well, you'll always have a lexus in addition to what ever you've got. Man, I would have sold mine a while back if it hadn't of been for this site and these guys on here. I think it was Bicoloni that brought me over from another site I used to be on. Never looked back, and on this site every day. Army hooked me up on parts, and truly enjoy having this car simply because of this site. Cars are cars man, point a to point b. But clubs...well...that takes membership. 99 LS400....good membership ticket! Welcome aboard amigo, glad you're having fun with the new wheels.

you guys gotta stay out of those dealerships, they're killing you on price! :o strut rods for a 98 LS can be had for only $90 a piece on line. It's 3 bolts to attach them too. They're #12 on the picture below.

If you want to really get thier attention, call the corporate number and complain about that specific dealership. Dealerships' are rated by corporate on many areas, one being customer satifaction. The higher their rating, the higher up the ladder they go in priority for inventory. This worked for me on my ECU problem I had when I bought my car from the local dealership. The local manager kept dragging his feet and giving me the run around. Once I filed the complaint with HQ, the dealership fell in line and honored their 90day/3,000 warranty and repaired the car for free. Dealerships make there big bucks from the service side, not so much the sales side. And for some reason, Lexus is one of the worst when it comes to giving an honest quote for what REALLY needs to be repaired. I have lost all faith in them myself. I've got to be honest, when I had a 94' Jimmy many years ago, the GM guys did a better job of being honest on the repairs. When Acura showed up on the scene back in the 80's, they nearly lost their butts financially due to the fact that they overstocked inventory parts for their cars, especially the Integra. They simply made the car too good and it never came back for repair work. Go to lexus.com and you'll find the 800 number.

It's not all that unusual on these cars. Look at my repair list below, and I now have 107k miles on my 95. The strut rods started it all "clunk noise" but it didn't fix it...turned out to be upper control arm bushing. I know this click noise too, had it as well. Check your brake pads. If not them, my guess is outter tie rod ends. Mine were so smashed down and worn out, you couldn't even move the pivot anymore. But check the pads first, the inner pads may be getting close, not close enough to trigger the warning light though.

Ok update on car: took car to Stevens Creek Lexus service dept. Tuesday morning (10/4) and had a tech ride along and then he drove it, he verified the noise complaint, got a toyota avalon for a loaner so no complaints. Today (Wed) the service advisor calls late in afternoon and says the warranty will need authorization on Thursday. Parts defective: both strut rods and bushings (cushions?). May not get car until Friday but as long as have avalon for transportation to/from work don't care that much. Glad they allow techs to ride with customers and none of the 'unable to duplicate/find noise' stuff. Thanks for help from the other posters. I find it unusual to have ball joints and the strut rods go out under 100K miles but can't wait to drive it after repairs are done. Thank goodness for CPO.

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My problem is the angle of attack. I can't get directly under the car, just next to it with the floor lift. I can't get my breaker bar to fit in there correctly. I think the heat has done it's job on these and really has those suckers on there.

If you are talking about loosening the bolts that hold the caliper on, it is easy.  Stick a half inch drive on a breaker bar and a  6 point socket over them, then slip a long peice of pipe or conduit over the shaft of the braker bar.  At this point a 90lb. weakling can break it loose.  The heat seems to really tighten them.

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yeah i agree on the extended warranty issue. you'll be getting close to a strut rod bushing going out and stuff. Suspension issues "creaks and squeeks" usually tend to show up around 100k. Not always, but more so than not.

If it was a complaint and never fixed then you may have a leg to stand on.

I would also see if you can extend the warr as you can get everything possible fixed easily for less over time.

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Ohhh man...I just had to go through that myself! I went through lowes for like an hour looking for them...yes, they strip out EASILY!! I ended up buying some from the dealership...at $2 a screw "those b*stards" I bought 10 of them just incase I stripped out one or two...which i did. I remember some of the sizes...6m size, 12 thread count, and I think a 1 was in there somewhere. Man if you were in my neck of the woods I'd give you my spares. They are sooooo soft that any kind of power screwdriver will strip them in a heart beat. But the dealership has tons of them on hand.

edit: I have had to use those stripped out screw remover bits from sears to get mine out. You basically put it on the drill, press hard against the screw and it will eventually back the screw out.

"...Dealer says it will cost about $600 to fix. This seems high...."

Hahaha, everything at the dealer will seem high, even some of the staff! Is the motor making any sounds like it's wanting to pull the wheel back, or is it just dead, no signs of life? If it's completely dead, I would think fuse would be the first place I would look. If the previous owner had any kids, they might of played with the moving wheel and burnt out the fuse. The touchscreen I have no clue about. But my gut instinct is saying to just accept the line as it will probably be very expensive to replace. Although you never know on this site. These guys ARE Lexus! Live it, eat it, breathe it and modify it.

Ahhh, got cha'. great advice, thanks man

Thanks SK! But you lost me on the wire wheel part and seizing up from the heat? Do you mind explaining to me a little bit more?

Yeah, dang I swear it those things are tighter than the control arm bushings bolts. I did the rear rotors just fine, but good lord the fronts are welded on there. I even used a floor jack to try and turn the wrench, no luck. I hate to pay the mechanic to change out the rotors for me since it's so easy to do, but I don't think my shade-tree mechanic tool set can get this one done. I hate being defeated, but I gotta call this one.

also, I'm curious, can a person buy just the shim kit for the front pads? When I had the pads changed "before I knew how to do it myself" they tossed out the shims with the old pads and just threw in the new ones. Now they bang around in the seats.

I've tried twice to replace the front rotors, and both times I've been unable to loosen the two caliper bolts. My indi shop mechanic said he loosened them for me the other day, but still can't get those boogers to budge. Am I missing something here? Are they reverse threaded or something?

Do a search on your questions like DC suggests. Those topics are some of the main topics. Quick answers however are:

Dash lights = look at the "sticky" on the top of the forum index for blacked out needles. You need Jim Walker's help.

Timing Belt = This also includes your water pump. If you go dealership, you're looking at probably $1,500 - $2,000. If you indi mechanic route, probably $700-$1,000.

Air suspension = don't even fool with it. It's a nice feature and those who have it love it..until it breaks...and they ALL break at some point. Most people will convert the car over to normal suspension parts once the air shocks fail to save money. $50 for a normal strut or a few hundred for an air strut. It was mentioned to me at my dealership that it's typically around $1,000 per wheel to replace air suspension. Of course that's dealership rates, and there are guys here who know a better and cheaper route to take. But in my honest opinion, I wouldn't mess with it.

i'm a new member as of today.  wanted to say "whatup?" and sound you out on the oft-posted pre-'95 v '95 debates.  tomorrow i'm looking at a '94 ls 400 that reportedly is in superb condition w/88k miles.  the owner says no problems except for an "amplifier" in the dashboard that causes delay in instrument panel lighting up when it's cold.  sounds more like a capacitor to me.  also, i'm not sure the timing belt has yet been replaced.  what's a dealer likely to charge for this?  lastly, does anyone have any comment on air suspension as opposed to standard?  were any of the issues if identified dealt with in the '95 model?  thanks in advance.

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Ahhhh, yes...the parking brake. Check it!!!! I forgot about that, very common problem. Nice suggestion Denny

I've got to agree with Lexls. I seriously doubt they'll make that much of a radical change to their flagship model. I think that is the new IS350 or something. Or maybe a whole new car in general? But the LS is supposed to be a long, sleek cruiser, not a slicked back sports car type. But if they do make that shift, I will be very curious to see what it does to the depreciation of the current model! It will either accelerate the depreciation, or slow it down. Just depends on what the public thinks and likes best.

Hahaaha, yeah I think you're right SK.

I don't have complete access to it, and can't abuse it too badly, but when you're tied into a billion dollar institution like the one I work for, some things can slip under the radar :whistles:

I shared the same thought.

I'm sure if it's the coolant, it won't cause a problem until I'm hundreds of miles away from home, broke, stuck out in the sticks. Hahaha

you know that the coolant is mixed with water, and stock coolant is red. personally i used the prestone yellow stuff but it does look like yellow oil mixed with water?

also my coolant started removing itself one day, the temp got too hot and the cap that doesn't fully remove with the wires attached started pumpin out fluid? of course i added more immediatly but that was removed also, and during this my coolant light never came on but the coolant temp changed from just above the second line to being consistantly on the third line? maybe your lex is just removing some unnecessary fluid?

just my thoughts! 

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