nc211

I couldn't agree MORE! Some Lexus dealerships really do step up to the plate. Although there are those who've had a bad experience with them, I think the majority feel like you do. Johnson Lexus of Raleigh has really done a TOP NOTCH job for me over the past few months to fix problems on my car, just to prove that just because your LS400 might be old(er), it isn't worn out. It's funny....when most manufacturers are trying to get you to upgrade to a newer model year, Lexus puts out sooo much effort to keep you happy with the one you've got! Even when it is 11 years old with 112,000 miles on it. You just can't beat that....period.

Do I hear the call for the Air-Hamma? Hamma time? Good to see ya' Rf...

you have a burnt out light bulb somewhere.... I guessed it had something to do with the parking sensors? But then again, I really have no idea what it could be. It doesn't help that she didn't give the year, but I told her I'd try to find out anyways... Is there a picture of the gauge cluster with all the lights on that I could get ahold of? Or if someone wants to tell me real quick what that symbol represents that would be great too! Thanks in advance! -Jesse

I'm changing out my pads this weekend, and all the skims and fitment kits. I'm not sure what the carrier part is, or if the 95 has one that would work on your model? If so, and it's one of my older ones, then you're more than welcome to have it....but....what is it??? post up a picture? or one of those parts pdf files with the number?

"iycrtttbfo" aka..."if you can read this then the b*tch fell off".... oppss....wrong forum....that's for the Harley Davison guys! haha

I can tell you one thing though, if I ever do sell this car and the buyer needs to know how it was maintained, I'm going to tell him to come to this website and do a search on NC211. Then I'll charge him/her an extra $500 bucks and we'll all have a drink while trying to diagnoise that funny sound in my "new" LS430.

HAHAHA DITTO DITTO DITTO!!!!!! It's like reading one of those self-diagnosis medical books. You get a bug bite, and you instantly think it's cancer and you're not going to make through the rest of the week.

Those bushings are usually one of the first to go, due to the massive loads and abuse they take. I would not be suprised if you indeed need new ones. Once they start to fail, the wheel hub itself will start to shift back and forth, especially when braking. My guess.....you need new ones. Get the ASUS ones and you'll be fine. Take it to an indi mechanic and probably be done with the repair for $150 bucks.

I wish you could get to the oil filter easier and not have to take off that engine cover every time. My only gripes are from my own stupid "learning curve" mistakes during the refurbishing phase. I freakin' mulilated my lower ball joints and tie rod ends rubber seals last year when doing the suspension replacements. I'm replacing the ball joints this weekend "the right way" and throwing out these second round of aftermarket brake pads for oem. Other than that, I'm sure I'm facing a new rack in the next 12 months, and maybe a driveshaft adjustment. The wobble has been my only frustration, but I've got it down to maybe 10% at best and have no doubt it'll be fixed for good very very soon. I paid $14,200 for the car back in early 2004. Put probably $3,000 in it, and have absolutly NO regrets about doing it. I've grown addicted to tinkering with it. I spend my weeks waiting for the weekend so I can tinker with it. I love my car, it's my all-time favorite toy! I don't think the car has run this good since it was new....it just purrrss and accelerates effortlessly. smoother at 112k miles than a nissan maxima at 12k miles. This weekend's chores: 1) replace lower ball joints 2) replace brake pads with oem "new shims and fitment kits too" 3) seafoam the intake and replace spark plugs "thanks Blake! YOU DA' MAN!!" 4) seafoam the tranny then mityvac it out, replace with new oem fluid. 5) scrape screen in bottom of power steering canister to loosen up dirt on screen, then mityvac the dirt out, seafoam the system, flush it, and replace the fluids. Things that'll probably happen in the next few months: 1) Possible new rack "got a tiny leak on passenger's side" 2) Possible new driveshaft flex-couplings 3) Tighten up the driver's door panel...little loose from 11 years of slaming door. Already have a bag of new clips from dealership. 4) Possible new windshield...mine looks like it was sandblasted and get's tough to see at sunset "all those tiny pits light up!" Other than that, just take care of whatever comes up I guess.

How old is the battery? It may just be dead in general. What's the CCA rating? Is it strong enough for the car?

Kewl....go here: www.gsp9700.com you'll see up on the top right "locate a 9700". Type in your zip code and whaaa-laaa! This is the best system for mounting and balancing tires...period. You have one of these machines do it, and it'll be dead-on center. Firestone: Tell the manager you want to speak to the area manager about the problem. Take the store manager completely out of the equation, and make it known to him that you have no intention of dealing with him anymore, you're going over his head and will get the problem rectified. !Removed! around with the store managers is a waste of time in these situation. Most of them don't care anyway, they're just there for the paycheck and get yelled at enough in a week to just not care. I had the same problem on my old maxima....store manager screwed with me for about a week. I told him that all communication will be through Firestone corporate and district manager from now on. $300 was refunded to me for the labor and damages.

HAHAHA.....AMEN BROTHER...AMEN!!!

Good thread M500! I'm completely lost on how all of this satelite radio stuff works and have been thinking about getting one soon. I haven't a clue what the difference is between XM and Sirrus? Are they different technologies in general, or just different "channels" of programming. Oh...I'm so lost.. Sorry M500.... those kind's of comments are very rare around here. You, clueless? I don't think so, especailly when you've got a top of the line new LS430 sitting in your garage! You've figured out something right! My offer to fix those 3 wheel bearings for free still stands....I'll just need the car for a couple of years!

Well you know I'll support ya'!

Or you can get lucky and find a second owner like myself who has corrected all the deferred maintence from the first owner. The guys are right, most of the these cars are purchased and held on to for many many years by the original owner. The key is to find that one owner LS400 that's had the routine maintence done "verified". Usually you'll find them around the 90k mile mark because the original owner has had the car for many years, and now faces the whopper service interval for the timing belt and water pump...ranges around $1,500 -$2,000 at the dealer. Most owners simply say "nah...not worth the money, I'll just trade it in for a new one". That's the one you want! You build in that 90k service interval into your offer to purchase. But if you can't do that, then sometimes you'll find a second owner who's done all of the repairs and just wants a newer one.

Well, I did the crankcase seafoam today.....at 2,990 miles since the last oil change....the oil was black as midnight! I've been using mobile one synth now for about 15k miles. The seafoam definetly cleaned out some junk. I get a big jug of the oil at walmart "5 quarts jug" and then a 1 quart. With the oil filter replacement, it calls for 5.4 quarts. I had about half a quart left on the shelf from my last oil change. After I drained out the old oil, I poured the rest of the new leftovers into the top, and watched it come flowing out the bottom, still black! But as it slowed down, it started to look like the new oil. I think I'll do this seafoam in the crank case thing a couple more times at oil changes. I recommend that if you do it, to have an extra quart of oil handy to flush out the old oil with. I let the car idle for 15 minutes with the seafoam in it. She puuurrrrsssss.....but I too can hear those injectors going off. Oh well, just the way it is I guess.

Well, that's true...but I'd get rid of it after the bumper to bumper portion of the warranty expired, or buy an extension period. To me, and I have no real logical method to support my theory other than personal experience, but to me it just seems like the problems all start to show up just past that 3/36 warranty....go figure that one, and I have no idea why "although did read something many moons ago about the designers using plastic bearings and such, to fail around 40k miles". Anywho, first 20k miles of my dad's Envoy were fine, but after that, it just started to come apart. Although with all the heckling I do on GM cars and trucks, even still to this day, my all-time favorite SUV is a 1999 Chevy Tahoe, and one day I will have one, and drop a crate engine in it...no lifts kits, no nothing outside of oem looks, but probably a new 5.7 engine. To me, that's just one awesome truck! To me, it all seemed to change when they started adding on plastic parts to the body and stuff like that....lost some of it's "tough truck" appeal for me.

i respecfully disagree with you swo...36 months is a long time..

Sweet, listen to skperformance, you don't want to leave that stuff in your oil for that long. It's meant to just be in there for a few minutes while the engine idles, not rev up and down under load. You could be setting yourself up for some oil leaks in those seals if you do that, if not worse. You'll probably need to change out your plugs too at some point, as I've read on here, and that other lexus site, there is a high probability that they'll foul up now with the gunk from the intake. I'd probably wait until the stuff has gone through your gas tank before replacing them. I'm going to do to the crank case hopefully tomorrow. I'm due for my oil & filter change now. I'm going to wait to do the intake method until I've got a couple addtional parts here so it's a all-in-one deal. But none the less, I wouldn't let that stuff stay in your oil like that. I don't think it's a good idea...

My dad had a 2002 envoy....40k miles later, two suspension bushings needed to be replaced, 7 recalls, starter failed, brakes failed and half of the electronic "toys" malfunctioned at some point or another. He traded it in on a Toyota Solara convertible about 8 months ago.....AND STILL GETS RECALL NOTICES FROM GM on the car!! This is a 65 year old man, who lived in the suburbs of Kansas City. The Envoy never towed anything, never even when on a dusty trail...... I give it 12 months before your little sister kicks you in the butt for not making her buy a Lexus. It'll be your fault...trust me big bro'...it'll be your fault somehow....hahahaa.

Sweet, on my 90k service receipt from the dealership it has an entry called "BG44K Fuel Inj. Additive" as a service they did. Probably just a can of fuel cleaner they dump in the tank on the way out the door.

The reason why I ask is because if you had recently replaced your front pads with non-oem pads, and did not use the fitment and shim kits, then they could bang around in the calipers....mine are doing it right now...waiting on my oem with all new shims and fitment kits to get here next week.... Blake is right, it's your front strut rods, or your lower control arm(s). How is your alignment holding? Are you getting any wandering around on the road?

OMG!!! There is one on there under the new releases called fartin' in bed......IT'S TOOO FUNNY!!!!!!! I use norton firewall, antivirus and a few other options, and behind a firewall router....I got no virus warnings from that site....Might have been someone in your token ring in your neighborhood that's pingin' one around w/o their knowledge????? I've seen it happen before...????

So Bicol, are you whistling a wind of warning? Think they're just pure hard plastic junk that will drive me and Blake to start drinking out of frustration?

Craig, check out these attachments. Now they're for the gen 2 model, but I don't think our engines are that different. I'll try and find the one that's titled EG389 as the chart points you to over the weekend! craig_1.pdf craig.pdf