ipaquser

Check out this past thread on the same subject. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...wtopic=8550&hl=

My wife's 99' LX470 had a steering wheel lockup last year in a parking lot. She turned off the car, turned it back on and everything seemed to be fine. She too was hesitant to drive the car, so when she got back home, she called the Lexus dealer and they came and towed the car back to the dealership (benefits of a CPO?) to try to fix the problem. They couldn't recreate the problem. So they flushed and re-filled the power steering system. Don't know if that was the fix to the problem, but the steering wheel has not locked up since then. I hope this helps. . .

Paul (a.k.a. prharper), Great job on the HID install on your LX470. I had done the same thing (low beam only) last year and have been so pleased with the outcome. I however did not make my own wiring harness, but you've got me thinking about it. I wish that all the LX's came with HID as standard equipment. . . .

HRP, I checked edmunds.com to get an estimated price for the 60K service for my LX470 and the amount came out to $333.37. Price was way off the quoted price of price of $1,130.00 from the dealer. I wonder if the labour cost and parts costs are much lower in your area compared to the northeast. Also, from the price sheet that the dealership provided me, the dealer quote for the 60K servvice for the LS is $1,039.95.

Thanks for the feedback. I did drop off the car to the Lexus dealer this morning as I wanted them to check out the rear shock. Previously, when I was getting the tires rotated at a tire shop, they had indicated that one of the rear shocks was "leaking". Because I bought the car CPO, it was covered under warranty. Anyways, I did get a list of the items performed during the 60K service. They are: Replace Engine Oil and Oil Filter Inspect Tire Pressure and Wear Rotate Tires and Balance Inspect/Correct All Fluid Levels Inspect Engine Drive Belts and Hoses Replace Engine Air Filter Replace Spark Plugs Replace Engine Coolant Replace Brake Fluid Inspect A/C Filter Clean Throttle Housing Replace PCV Valve Inspect Valves/Audible Inspection Inspect Fule Lines and Connections, Fuel Tank Vapor Tent Systems, Hoses, Fuel Tank Bend Inspect/Replace Fuel Tank Cap Gasket Inspect Charcoal Canister Inspect Exhaust Pipes and Mountings Inspect Brake Pads, Disc/Drums, Lines and Hoses Inspect Steering Linkages and Sterring Rack & Pinion Inspect Ball Joints and Dust Covers Inspect Drive Shaft Boots (Retorque Flange Bolts) Replace Transmission Fuild Replace Differential Oil Inspect Front Wheel Bearings Replace Trnasfer Case Fluid Lubricate Front Drive Shaft Bushings Lubricate Propeller Shaft Inspect Height Control Suspension Inspect Height Control Suspension Fluid Inspect Boby Condition Inspect Chassis Bolts and Nuts Replace Wiper Re-fills Road Test Vehicle Clean Vehicle Replace Drive Belts Seems kind of pricey to "inspect" these items. I've heard a while back that because Lexus is so reliable and their vehicles are seldom in for service, that the service deparment is not making any money. Traditionally, it is the service department that makes most of the profits for the dealership. My theory is that if they can't make money of repairs, they will make it off of scheduled maintenance. How else can they charge the following for the 60K service on their other vehicles. ES, IS - $964.95 GS300 - $989.95 SC - $1,014.95 LS, RX - $1,039.95 GX, LX - $1,149.95

I encounted a "scraping" sound coming from the back of car last year driving at low speed. The sound went away once I got the car up to speed on the road though. It only happened for a couple of days and by the time I brought the car to the dealer, the noise was gone. I asked if they could diagnose the problem, but they said that if it was not making the noise anymore, then I would be wasting my money in having them look for a problem that's not there anymore. The "scraping" noise only happened for a couple of days last year and has not occurred since then. I guess I'll never know what caused the noise.

My wife's 99' LX470 just reached 60000 miles. I called to schedule an appointment at my local Lexus dealer for the scheduled maintenance. I was quoted a cost of $1,130.00 for the service. I've asked the dealer to fax me the list of items that will be performed during the service. I'll be interested to see what's included. Does this cost sound about right for the 60K service?

I've been using an old Thule Frontier lockable cargo box on my LX470 factory racks. In the winter, I use it to transport skis and poles on our ski trips. A couple of nice things about having a cargo box is that the skis are protected from the elements, and I don't have to unload the skis since they are out of sight and the box can be locked. Less chance of theft if thieves don't know what you are carrying. In the summer, I use the cargo box to carry some light luggage, making sure that I don't exceed the load limit of the factory racks. I have not had any problems with the cargo box at all. An interesting note, a coworker of mine had mentioned that when he mounted his cargo box on the factory racks on his GMC Yukon, he noticed that the cargo box would make a thumping sound when he drove it on the highway due to the lift caused by the wind. I have not had this problem at all on my cargo box. Hope this helps!

Stanigu, Yes, it's obvious once you peer inside the light. Look at the attached file called LX470_AFTR.jpg in an earlier reply to this post. In the picture, you will see one of the slot that is in the cutoff shield in the housing. There are two slots in the cutoff shield. The picture only shows one. . .

I did find a solution to my problem :D . I had cut out some covers for the slots out of some metal that I had. The shape was more or less the shape of the slots. I then used some JB Weld to glue the covers over the openings. I used a magnetic screwdriver in order to hold the cover so that I could insert it into the housing opening. Once I positioned the cover over slot, I then used a small wooden dowel to press and hold the cover onto the opening while I pulled out the screwdriver. I then laid the headlamp flat overnight. After curing overnight, I installed everything back and voila, no more UFO's. I am very pleased with the results. I don't notice any dark spots and the light on the ground is pretty evenly distributed. I do like the more defined cutoff line on the side of the road now. I've attached a pic showing the covers that I made and the beam pattern afterwards. This solution worked for me. Good luck!

Here is a picture of the enlarged opening. I used a 6" slim (triangular profile) file purchased from Home Depot. That seemed to work the best. Good Luck!

Thanks for the info Will. I installed my kit over the weekend and had to enlarge the hole with a file to get the capsule to fit properly. If anybody wants a picture of it, let me know. It will save you some time in inserting and taking out the capsule multiple times to get the capsule to fit. I kept banging the capsule during the fitting and was afraid that it would be damaged, but everything worked. Also, I managed to retrofit a bracket to mount the ballast and igniter in front of the battery. It was a tight fit though. The lights are so bright now. I can see so much better at night now. One thing that I noticed is that there are a few spots above the cutoff line in the beam pattern that can cause glare. On the road, those spots were probably desinged to light up the road signs as they seem to shine above the oncoming cars. Never noticed these spots with the halogens because the light output was so poor. However, with HID's, the light output is so bright now that it is very noticable. So far, no one has flashed me yet either. FYI, here is a picture of the beam pattern. Don't know if there is a way to fix this though. If I come up with something, I'll post it.

Thanks for the feedback. I ordered the CATZ 4500 HID kit from http://www.liteswap.com a couple of weeks ago before the ban on all aftermarket HID kits went into effect. I got my order in just in time (at a good price since they have to move out their existing inventory) as Liteswap stopped the sale of all their CATZ HID aftermarket kits shortly after. I have since received my kit and will be installing it in the near future. A couple of questions for BCHENG4JC: Where did you mount the ballast and igniter on the drivers side? There's not much room there as the battery is in the way. Did you have to mount the ballast and igniter in seperate locations? I had no problem finding a spot to mount the ballast and igniter together (zip tied together) on the passenger side. Also, after the installation, did you have to re-aim you headlights. BTW, on the http://www.hidforum.com site, there is a thread on the poor low beam performance on the GX470 also.

New member and Lexus owner. Bought a CPO 1999 LX470. Noticed that the low beam don't really light up the road that well. Has anyone upgraded their low beams with an HID conversion kit? If so, did you notice a significant improvement? Has anyone tried using a 100 watt H1 bulb instead? Any concerns that it will melt the wiring? Thanks.