nc211

Get the actual code number and post it up here, or google it, to verify what he is saying. The reader won't "say" what is wrong, it will give a series of numbers that you then use to look up in the mechanic's manual for the car. You want to make sure he's telling you the truth, and verify the code number.

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but as technically advanced, and new technology in general, as the 400h is, are you sure you want to even mess with one that shows up on carfax like that? I wouldn't, personally. I have a feeling, due to all the wires and gizmoos in it, slapping a new strut rod and some bondo to it probably doesn't do the trick quite as well as a normal engined car.

Since they just came out with it, I doubt for several years. I'm sure they'll make little "tweaks" every few years, but the style itself will probably remain in play for quite some time, like 5 years or so.

Further more, if the ICV goes bad, I believe it will trip the check engine light. You don't have that do you?

This, is truly amazing to watch. You want to see an example of what's going on in the economy, in a War Games / Missle Command (1980's video game) format, click this link below. Then click on "THIS WEBSITE" in the first paragraph, then click the play button. I ask that you note the timing of when this started, and where it is now, and to think what was going on then, and now, that are similiar. I'll give you a hint...."make no mistake about it", and "yes, we can". You'll also note when gas prices started to get way out of control, by the evidence of one major city. http://cbremarketing.com/ve/ZZz9069dMa61k98YP

It needs to NOT BE TOUCHED, and you need to replace those mounts! The throttle cable smooths out the shifts between 1-2 and 2-3 gears. The ICV controls your idle when you're sitting still. The thump and lurch is due to slack in your engine's seating...aka....the engine mounts! The car is 14 years old. Trust me, they're due to be replaced. I don't care if they "look" ok, I promise you, you're wasting your time hunting around for this with the original mounts still in there!

Nope. Sounds like the wrong diagnosis, ESPECIALLY on the thump. Ask your mechanic how in the heck an idle control valve can "thump"? You have a bad, driver's side, engine mount. Whether if it "looks" ok or not, I know it's that mount. That is the mount that takes the weight of the torque of the engine when you accelerate. The engine wants to lean to the driver's side when it's under pressure. Simply put, after 14 years, it's leaned enough on that mount to permenatnly compress that rubber to create enough of a gap to cause the thump. I would simply buy the mounts online, and take them to a mechanic and ask him/her to install them for you. Otherwise, you run the risk of getting exactly what you just got, which is a mechanic with a lexus in his garage with a bad engine mount "typical repair on all cars" with the idea that he'll make some money off of you. Replace the mounts before spending anything on the car. Furthermore, I would make damn sure he doesn't mess with that idle control valve, period. Watch your idle speed now, make sure it is the same as it was before he looked at it. Adjusting that thing is an easy way to make someone think there are bigger (and more expensive) problems with the car, than there really is. But, simply ask him how an ICV can thump, and please post up his answer here. I'd love to hear this. Is this an indi mechanic telling you this, or are you at the Lexus dealership?

Hi Texas! My opinion on this? No brainer, get rid of the car for something a little newer and better. I haven't heard about this government money thing yet, sounds like it's part of this new emissions thing Obama is chatting about? If it is indeed true, then the amount of the voucher itself is probably what your car is worth in an open market anyway. So, if you can get $7,000 for your car ($3,500 x2), I'd take it and run! I sold my 95' in 2007 for about that much, and quite frankly was glad. Plus, your a/c is giving you fits, and if you haven't had the power steering problem yet, you know you will, so those two fixes right there will probably cost close to the government voucher once it's all done and said for. If it were me, I would personally say "i'll match the voucher with my own funds", then start looking for something a little newer with updated technologies and better mileage. Maybe a 2000 GS300? Or another LS in the 99's area? You can buy a lot of Lexus for about $10k these days. I bought my 01' GS430 with 56k miles, for in the $12k's. I also traded in my 07 Mazda for it, but the spread between the loan balance they had to pay off and the price they sold it for wasn't all that great. Barely enough to justify the cost of business to sell it. At the end of the day, if you've got a car that you're starting to lose confidence in, especially one that costs a lot to repair, it's time to start thinking about alternatives. If the government is offering you a carrot to make that choice, then I'd have to say take the carrot. Another government carrot story: Our house in NC sold in 3 days for damn near what we were asking for it last February. The buyers had been looking for 3 years! They are a young family (mom a teacher, dad in retail, 2 kids). They were first time home buyers, and qualified for this new $8,000 tax credit program under the FHA loan program. That tax credit is what made the sale happen. They're happy, I'm happy, we're all happy. When will the government offer such a thing for a depreciating asset (like a car) again? I'd take the money and run! I'd also start looking at the GM and Chrystler used car lots for ideas as well. Especially ones that are a bit further out from town "more likely to be closed". Desperation can play into your hands, and those places are desperate to move cars. If they can't move the cars, then right back to auction they go to be liquidated, at auction prices. They want to avoid that, no doubt about it. I bought my GS from a GM/Saab dealership. Another source to look at, is the GM dealers in the upper crust areas of your town. What I found when I got my car, which was in a very high end suburb of Chicago, is that many folks are bringing in their expensive toys to get rid of them for cheaper alternatives. My GS was traded for a 2002 Honda Civic. A finance guy owned it, used it to drive to the train station and back (only drove it about 7k a year), and rode the train into Chicago to his office. Lost his job, ditched the car. Their lot was FULL of similiar stories, and the dealership was desperate to move the cars. They were asking nearly $18k for the car, and parted with it for mid $12k's. I could have walked the price down a little bit more, but I felt comfortable at that price level, where I got a good car, and they made a little money too. Gotta' be fair, cause Karma is a !Removed! sometimes.

Mine is the silver with black interior, and I'm ok with it. It doesn't set off any bells or whistles for me, but at the time when I bought it, there weren't any used GS430's for sale that weren't super high miles, customized beyond repair, or simply in bad shape. So, I had to take what I could get "actually stumble upon". I've seen two colors though on others that I wish mine were. One, the green with tan interior. I think that color combo looks fantastic on this car. The other is the blue and tan interior. There are two in my neighborhood, the green and the blue one, and they both catch my eye every time, especially the green.

What about a turbo subaru outback limited? That turbo engine is nothing to kick dust at, it'll flippin' fly like a bat out of hell. Plus, you have the AWD, ground clearence, and the limited's are loaded up with a lot of nice toys, like a Macintosh stereo, heated steering wheel, etc. I'd buy one of those myself in a heartbeat if I were in the market for a quisi-suv, which is a category I believe the RX belongs in. If you want a mud pounding SUV, then I'd look at a limited 4runner, so you don't have to deal with the air bag suspension set up of the GX.

I wouldn't touch a used car with this feature. I'm not sure if it's the air setup, or something similiar to the nissan product of throwing a switch to tighten up the shocks (i'm not familiar with the new GS series). But two words in the english dictionary that = ungodly expensive to repair is "variable" and "suspension". Especially when you consider the cost difference between a normal set up. For instance, on the LS400's, replacing a worn out strut on a normally set up LS400 is about $100. Replacing one with the air suspension, is about $1,000, no typo there, three $000's.

Easy fix, as my 95 use to do the same thing. Go to the hardware store and buy a roll of black, fabric based, tape. Now, open your sunroof and look for the two, small, black rubber seats along the front of the opening. Put a piece of that tape on top of those rubber seats, and you should be good to go! What has happened is that over time, those two, square rubber seats have simply compressed enough create some slack between them and the sunroof when it's closed. The tape will fill that void, and with it being fabric based, won't stick to the roof when it closes and opens. I did this, and it fixed it for the three years I owned it.

I'd love to guys, but I won't have time, as I'll be too busy stealing rims off of cars that are sitting on the side of the highway because they ran out of gas, starting in Port Angeles, WA. I need a new muffler or two too! DC: My Cheetos friend, this one is for you! This is my son "who turns 1 this Sunday" learning to carry on the tradition a few weeks ago!

Well, who hasn't noticed the inching back up of the prices at the pump? Outside of the "driving" season coming upon us now, there is an interesting little backstory going on that ties back to last summer, and from what I'm reading, is set to meltdown in September of this year. Many of the smaller oil producers and gas refineries around the world sold delivery contracts last summer, when oil was in the $140 range, for delivery as late as September of this year. So, even though oil has been low in the eyes of the public perception, behind the scenes several producers are still delivering at last summer's prices. This is also why there are still so many smaller-time oil and gas companies still in business today. BUT, that is set to change in September, when these hedging contracts expire. The big oil companies (Exxon, Shell, Chevron, etc) are sitting on the side lines with billions upon billions of dollars, just sitting idle, waiting for those contracts to expire. And when they do, you can bet they're going to swoop in and buy up these small oil producing companies at a feverish pitch. They can't do it now, because when one of these small producers are appraised to determine what they're worth to a buyer (I'm talking about buying the business in general), the appraised value of these smaller operations are based upon those $140 barrell prices. Basically, it's like saying (I'll sell you my company, for $140 a barrel), which makes no sense when oil is in the $50-$60 range. But once those last remaining $140 contracts expire in September, it's strongly suggested that many of these smaller companies won't beable to stay in business, and be forced to sell, at fire bottom prices. What does this mean for us? Well, first off, $140 prices will finally be out of the system in general. Second, and this part is a little scary, an oil monopoly could be created with the big boys owning most of the market. However, the flip side to that is Obama. He has more pull with just a few, then with a thousand. What are we going to see? In my opinion, another plung in prices, big time! This might be the return to the $1 range that we've been hoping for. If you think about it, everything else in the economy is resetting back to 2000 levels. It's very strange, it's like we're just erasing the past 7 years and resetting to September 10th, 2001. So, that's my prediction folks. We'll hit $3 a gallon this summer, then tank tank tank tank in the fall!

Well, keep it between the ditches, and in about 10 years or so, you'll have full coverage rates like I do, at $50 a month with a $250 deductible Wow. Well I cant wait for my insurance to calm down after maybe another year or two. Keeping that record clean. ;) Insurance rates usually don't start to ease up until you're around 25. Two areas of life insurance companies want their drivers to get through before reducing their "liability probability" points: 1) "Lets see how fast it goes" = 16-20 years of age, and 2) "I'm ok to drive, I only had a couple drinks" = 21-25. You get through those two phases of life with a clean bill of health, and your rates will fall like a stone. My rates are also due in part to my long time loyalty to my insurance company USAA, which has insured everything my family has ever owned for over 50 years, and their banking side USAA Bank, also has both notes on my two cars. Both the 4runner and GS430 cost around $50 each.

Well, keep it between the ditches, and in about 10 years or so, you'll have full coverage rates like I do, at $50 a month with a $250 deductible

Damn! You're either a teenager, or have a bad driving record to get those kinds of quotes! OUCH! Dens, the reason for the cost difference is probably associated with the cost of repair if an accident were to occur "parts".

May 14 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama, calling current deficit spending “unsustainable,” warned of skyrocketing interest rates for consumers if the U.S. continues to finance government by borrowing from other countries. “We can’t keep on just borrowing from China,” Obama said at a town-hall meeting in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, outside Albuquerque. “We have to pay interest on that debt, and that means we are mortgaging our children’s future with more and more debt.” I'm sorry, but does anyone follow this guy's approach anymore? I'm confused. If he's warning of this stuff, then why is he issuing hundreds of billions of dollars in "loans" to companies that don't offer what the buying public really wants anymore "GM, I'm talking to you?" And, why won't the Treasury allow banks that don't want and don't need the TARP money, to return it back to the tax payer? I'm lost.

Hahaha! She'd be perfect for some stupid MTV reality show! Like "Moose Huntin' in The Hills"! I agree, I think more time is needed first to see where his policies take us. If they lead us to better times (his policies specifically, not normal course correction tactics in general), then he's golden. But if they fail, I think he'll be in some hot hot water. Gotta' give the guy a nod though for barking the way does. That takes either guts or stupidity, and I doubt he's anywhere close to being stupid.

Again, another article surfacing that indicates a potential backlash to Obama's tactic of using the Oval office to run the corner office. In my opinion, he needs to make Pennsylvania Ave running Main Street look better than when Wall Street was running Main Street. I don't oppose what he's saying, especially about the credit card companies, but the manner in which he's doing it, is dangerous in the hidden circles of power, that can make or break a President, especially one at re-election time. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090515/D986IJJ00.html West, of the wholesalers' trade group, said Obama remains popular, but he risks overdoing the populist attacks. "There is overreaching that will catch up with them," she said.

Hmmmm....interesting idea here...

If it doesn't say to use the sunroof once a month in the operator's manual, then you are not responsible for the maintenance of it in that regard. If you ask me, you're getting screwed by the dealership, big time! I would contact Lexus Corporate to inquire about solutions to fix this problem, not the dealership. This sounds like a design flaw. If you can take a Civic to a shop and have a powered sunroof installed for $1,000, then there is no reason why it should cost $1,600 to untwist a cable that shouldn't be twisted in the first place, assuming you haven't done anything outside of the normal use and operation of the sunroof itself "no 90 mph panty raids down the freeway sort of stuff".

$100 and a trip to Best Buy for a Garmin Nuvi to save yourself from the possiblity of having to tear apart your car installing the wires, computers, and the several hundred dollars it'll probably end up costing. If you ask me, unless you bought a car with the navigation system already in it, spending the money to install one just seems wasteful when you can buy a mobile one that can go from car to car to car for cheap. It's kind of like the guy to pays $40k to install a swimming pool in his back yard, then sells the house only to realize about $15k of added value for the pool "as nobody else in his neighborhood has one". plus, you can use the Garmin while you're driving, unlike a Lexus system that locks you out once the car is put into drive.

I hear ya', but I'm taking the "if it ain't broke, I'm not fixing it" theory on this car. The transmission mount is broken, so I'll fix it. I don't plan on having this car for more than a couple of years, and since I've driven a total of 502 miles since I bought it, I can't bring myself to spend the money on it. When the motor mounts start to show signs of wearing out (noise in the cabin, thumping at start up, shaking), I'll pony up the greenbacks. I wasted thousands of dollars on my LS400, only to sell it three years later. I get the 3 year itch, and I can tell I'll get it again with this car. I like it, but I don't love it.

That's why I think it's just the transmission mount and not the two other engine mounts, as the car idles smooth as silk when in park or neutral, but starts to shake when in gear, with the engine engaging the transmission. With the roads the way they are here in Chicago, I'm refusing to spend a lot of money on this car. Just today I was about to order all new rotors and pads, as I'm pretty sure the ones on there now are Autozoney aftermarkets. But, when I saw the total bill for the brakes and mount for $600 bones "with shipping", I decided against it and to live with the brakes until they really need to be replaced. Just doesn't make sense to me to spend hundreds of dollars on a car that is going to get beat to sh*t by potholes, road salt, and all the other crap associated with the horrible "and I mean HORRIBLE" roads here. Paid $12k and change for the car with the plan to drive it for a couple of years and then ditch it on our way out of town back to the south, when the economy gets better. But the transmission mount is a fix I'll do, as I don't want that one to break and cause serious damage to the car.