Bykfixer

Ahhh, but one should recheck torque after a trip or two just to make sure that did not happen. Sometimes a stud or two will stretch over time so what was factory correct at first may have become a little loose. If lug nuts are correct a breaker bar should be needed if removing them with a ratchet. Factory spec is pretty snug. Depending on stud size the torque spec can be between 70-80 or as much as 135-145 for the larger ones. 70-80 should at least require one to push down on the ratchet with "leg power" to get it started. Some say recheck torque at 25-50 miles after a tire rotation or other service where wheels were removed and refastened. I use a beam torque wrench as it can also tell you if the lug nut was over tightened better than a clicker. The dial torque wrench is best but those are pretty pricey.

It seems to be a pretty common thing with these cars. Here in 2021 an 18 year old LCD that stops working is not unusual as 18 year old solders begin to fail. Often it's as simple as softening the connection between the ribbon and circuit board then pressing down on the connection with a pencil eraser and re-establish a proper connection. There are various sites at eBay selling factory radios for these cars. Another option is source a local audio repair service who can repair it for a fee.

If you know it was well taken care of, have a basic understanding of fixing cars, have the time, place and tools to do it……go for it. If you don't do your own repairs in general such as rotate your tires, replace broken electric locks, replace leaking gaskets and such you should probably avoid any old Lexus.

My old boss uses scented dryer sheets in his antique cars.

I agree gamalot. I have family who get their bamboo toilet paper delivered cross country via fossil fuel powered truck. As I type this it is highly likely that every room in their house has a light turned on. They come to my house and comment how hot it is in summer or cold it is in winter. They arrive in three compact hybrids instead of one sedan. They live by the ocean and complain the sea is rising. They fertilize their landscaped lawns then complain about plastic straws polluting streams. They moved away from areas run by high tax and spend politicians then vote for high tax and spend politicians in their community. I grew up when air conditioned cars were for the neighbor who had loot. Back then they had little wings you could dial in to circulate air throught the car so the vinyl seats weren't so uncomfy.

To put it in perspective, it sounds like the 27 year old vehicle that carries you to doctor visits is in need of some doctor visits. It really comes down to making a steady monthly payment or the occasional "SURPRISE" $2000 repair. That and do you still like the car enough to put up with all the hassle. Some would say "stick with the devil you know". Me? I used to buy all Fords because I knew what broke on them. So I'd probably keep that old LS 400 if I did not have to commute every day.

He rents cars like Acuras, Hondas, Fords and Mazdas. He ended up buying a 12 year old Acura TL AWD with SH technology from the 5th generation Prelude where clutches up front bias torque applied to wheels in corners. Think turning a wheel chair at high speed. You would reduce the speed of the wheel to the inside. Honda uses sensors and clutches to reduce the speed of the inside wheel.

My son rents sports cars for a day from time to time to see if he wants to buy it in 10 years when he can afford one.

I was reading on how to install a dvd player in a headrest and every article suggested isolating the player with its own fuse. It seems the fuse you seek is the one that powers the entire infotainment system and not an individual player itself. https://fuse-box.info/lexus/lexus-gx470-j120-2002-2009-fuses ^^ The diagrams

There was a time when the alternator/generator ran the car without needing a battery after the battery had been used to drive the electric starter motor that cranked over the engine and got it going. So in essence you could start your car and pull off a battery cable and the car still run. Largely you can still do that yet these days there is a symbiotic relationship between battery and alternator. So it may be as simple as crud on a battery post or a faulty ground wire interupts that relationship. In turn it may cause the voltage regulator, now inside of the alternator to prematurely give out. I used a pair of painted terminals on a car once. Painted between the battery post and terminal interupted proper circuit flow and murdered 3 alternators before I took it to my mechanic who said "painted terminals, dummy?" He also said dirty battery posts or terminals can do the same thing. I had a Chevy truck for work where the ground wire next to the battery had exposed wire. Weathering of the exposed wire caused issues with charging the battery so at times although truck ran 8 hours or more the battery would not receive a charge. In both cases no charging system malfunction lamp lit up. So it could be as simple as a ground wire is dirty where it connects to the engine block.

the owners manual should list it.

Nice!! Thanks for the update.

Goof info. Thanks and welcome to the site!!

Note I said "began as" malfunction indicator lamp for pollution controls and added "thrown in" regarding safety items. If it's flashing you should stop as soon as it's safe to pull over. Codes mean something is not functioning within a given peramiter like say the o2 sensors have a spec for volts and if the computer reads the o2 sensor voltage is higher or lower it sends a code. That code may light the check engine lamp. If the a/c is not working at a given peramiter such as air through the ducts is 80 degrees although it is "dialed" to be at 50 degreees that won't light the check engine lamp. That does not affect safety or pollution output.

I'd be all over a hydrogen car. But I'm afraid it will be like a Tucker some day. Great ideas that never really made it because……

Mars (the Smiths lead guitarist)

It really depends on two things. First, if the drive train as in motor and transmission have been driven mostly highway miles or not. Some say every city mile is like 10 highway miles. So if the car has been mostly highway driven and maintained properly with oil changes, timing belt replaced etc then it may run another 250k miles or more. Suspension would be another aspect. If you have it serviced at a good shop or a dealer they will advise you if things look like they may be needing replacement. For many once those creature comforts like electric locks or navigation system begin to play out they decide to move on. When things like door handles begin to break it's just a sign that it's a 21 year old car. So it kinda comes down to if you want a constant monthly payment with piece of mind a warranty covers the repair or can the occasional $500 repair be tolerated?

A common misconseption with the check engine light that began as something called "malfunction indicator lamp" as its purpose is not to say "pull over now before your car dies", but is intended to point out there is something amiss in the anti-pollution performance aspect. There's some safety stuff thrown in these days with anti lock breaks and traction controls too. My wife called me one day on the way home from work to say the van was running weird. I checked it later that evening and replaced the plugs and distributor cap. It was misfiring somewhat but no CEL. Misfiring enough to be obvious. A few days later she calls to say it was running bad again and the CEL was flashing. I had not changed the spark plug wires and those things had begun to stop working proper. The misfire had become pronounced enough to lower the fuel economy and that triggered the CEL, not the fact that 5 out of 6 cylinders were struggling to keep going. So even though your car is not running in a normal manner, it must be running within spec of your pollution control system.

While looking for other info I found this. It's the paint codes for 2nd generation GS models. This site has photos of cars those colors http://importarchive.com/lexus/gs/1998-2005/paint I'm considering having all of my chrome and the peeling trim on the roof painted graphite gray.

Love the raised sunroof in the photos. random fyi: http://importarchive.com/lexus/gs/1998-2005/paint ^^ For touch up paint reference. Last week I pulled an all nighter for work, went home and a few hours sleep and went back. On the way back home I saw a bone stock dark blue GS heading in the opposite direction. That is one good lookin' automobile. I think it was a pre-face lift but it was a quick glance and I was fairly groggy.

Shane, Do you have an owners manual? It will have fuses numbered.

I'm thinking two things. Possibly bad gasoline. As in water in the gas tank you filled it from. It happens. Rarely but it happens. Perhaps it was a lower octane than stated. That could cause pre-detonation. But my first suspicion is raised by the comment the car was super low on fuel. Over time things settle out at the bottom of the tank and if you sucked up some of that garbage into your fuel system it could be a clogged fuel filter or injector(s). The knocking could have been valves screaming for mercy while being starved for fuel. But that normally would have been been a rattling or pinging sound not a knocking sound. Although my work truck valves do make a low pitched getting ready to explode rattle sound on cold mornings. Has anybody checked to make sure there is a proper amount of oil in the engine? Bottom line if you have never let the car get low on fuel until now it could be as simple as trash in the fuel system starving the engine. One would think the engine misfiring would cause a misfire code though.

Way to hang in there. I had a Prelude that kept having issue after issue. I fought that car for 3 years and finally had it running proper. Soon after I discovered a previous owner had dumped some kind of concoction in the coolant system I was unaware of. So after a routine coolant system flush it began losing coolant from the exhaust pipe. That was it for me. My goal was for it to reach 238,000 miles and it took a year to get it running well enough to get from 237,925 to that magic 238. As the odometer turned to 238,000 the check engine light came on. Random misfire and knock sensor again. When I returned home it had lost a quart of coolant in a 5 mile jaunt. Nearly $10k into the project of restoring it stem to stern I donated that damned car to charity. The best two days of owning that car were the day it arrived and the day it went away on a roll back truck. I sincerely hope you have better luck with your project.

Moved to the RX section where it should be seen more.

Welcome to the site Ethan. I'm on board with your idea to de-chrome the chrome. Something like gun metal would reduce the bling without becoming just another blacked out black car. My son put 18" wheels on his Aristo that are some kind of slightly gray instead of the standard alloy look. Pretty stealth mod actually. I'll ask him what car they came from. I removed the logos from my trunk and plan on having some charcoal flat black die cast decals made to replace them. But first off get that glass look going. A good polish and a super shine will be the best mod you can do.