Frank DUva

cool👍

I had the same issue and replaced the purge valve on the intake manifold, drivers' side with no luck. When I took it to the dealer for a 60,000-mile service, the tech said there are three to consider. One by the charcoal evaporator box, by the gas tank, the one I changed and the one that goes into the airbox on the engine, passenger side, which was my issue, it was unplugged. Make sure those under the hood are plugged in and working. Hope this helps

yeah, wish I lived in salt free state. But this year, (unusual stretch of nice weather), I did have a long summer and many nice days to drive it top down and stereo playing. I saw a 2004 Pebble Beach in Pearl Azure blue and cream leather and black wood, at a local store with its top down and had to say I fell in love again. ...lol

thanks, have fun on those mountain roads. Mr2 Spyder is another great looking car.

I just have to say.... I bought my 2002 SC430 with 39,250mi in the fall of 2022 after noticing one for the first time in April of that year. When I saw it, I was totally captivated by its sleek and unique design. It looked Like a sport car but after researching it on-line, I realized it was a one-of-a-kind idea that I knew I wanted to experience, and I have to say it was much more than what I expected. I bought a really clean 2002 in the colors I wanted at Wheels Unlimited in Valparaiso, Ind. It is badged as an SC but is really a high-end GT, an ultra-luxury Grand Tourer, for its' day and still is filling the bill today. It is not a tight handling sports car. It does however have a very quiet and reliable engine that puts out 300hp and 325 ft lbs. of torque that moves it quickly, with smooth acceleration when you stomp the pedal, (0-60 in 6.1 sec.) It's a heavy vehicle, (which contributes to its smooth ride), due to its solid drive-train components, the safety features built into the body and chassis, with sound insulation throughout and luxurious interior materials of wood and leather. It also has an awesome 9 speaker Mark Levinson stereo that sounds great top up or down. I've had all the maintenance done that was needed, including the timing belt, water pump...etc., I replaced the antenna, fixed the sub-woofer and passenger door speaker, the power trim cover for the stereo, installed a spare tire kit with all the brackets, hardware and trunk trim swapped the OEM wheels for a set of 2003 Lexus LS 17" wheels shod with 235/50-17 Hankook Ventus2 concept2 tires which smoothed out the bumps by at least 65%. I've driven the car around 4,000 mi since I've had it and thoroughly enjoy it. It looks' like new and drives better than new and look forward to driving it as long as I can. I live in MI so I don't drive it in the snow and salted roads. Driving this car has made me come to understand the passion of driving.

Thanks, I'm really glad I stuck with my choice. I almost went aftermarket which would have been much more expensive. I like the color and that they are dated to 2002 with close to OEM specs.

Thanks Here is a pic my friend took of it today

Well, I finally touched up my used 03 17" LS430 wheels with American Touch-up Paint, a little clearcoat, some Menzerna 2500 compound and Meguires ultra-finish polish. They came out shiny but a little blotchy because I over sprayed a little. I bought some Hankook 235/50-17 Ventus V2 Concept2 AS tires because their overall diameter was 26.1, rather than the usual 26.3 for that size. They give me another .7-inch sidewall height and all the specs are all very close to the OEM wheel and tire. The ride is much smoother with no sharp raps over RR tracks, concrete seams and those overpass patches. I'm really happy with them. I attached a before and after shot.

Thanks Dave, that explains it well

I was wondering, seeing I may be due for brake service soon, why are the rotors on the rear are solid? I'm also wondering do the rear brake calipers have a piston on both sides of the rotor?

I had mine done at Davis Auto Care in Northville

Glad to hear, the stereo is definitely one of the outstanding features of the SC430 and having the system working as good or better than new is a must.

Yes, that's definitely a good possibility. I repaired my stereo cover and when I finished, my HVAC unit did not work, nor the top. No light, no nothing. I took the unit out again and to my relief, had found I didn't push two connectors in all the way. I have no other suggestions, hope you sort it out.

If you have the manuals, you can check the diagnosis chapter for the connectors pin locations, and purpose.

You probably should check electrical connectors for power going into the unit, and continuity for the switches. Or, you could gamble and replace the unit, but they go for $300-$700 on e-bay.

Does the top "open/close" button have power?

Have you checked the fuses? Did the previous owner install a back-up cam? Does the nav screen work? Maybe they removed the plug for the nav screen to install the Pioneer stereo unit. There seems to be a few possibilities.

I don't believe there are many companies making 8 ohm speakers anymore, and they would be very pricey. If you remove the speaker, you may see the surround foam deteriorated and is falling apart causing your speaker failure. There is a kit for under $30 from Simply Speaker, that I have used on two of my speakers, the sub-woofer and passenger door 6x9, and the speakers are better than new. The material for the surround foam in the kit is much stronger than the original. Attached is a pic of the repaired 6x9.

When I picked up my 2002 SC430, the radio trim bezel never worked. I wanted to have it function, so I ASSumed the door mechanism and motor had to be bad, so I bought a replacement on ebay with a darker bezel. No problem, I would swap it with my original cover. So I removed my radio, removed the mechanism and decided to check the mechanism to make sure it was bad and it worked!!!! 😮 Come to find out it was the little connecter in the switch wasn't seated all the way. Now I have a functioning cover and a spare mechanism that will be going back on ebay. Hopefully this post will save someone a lot of work,...and money

I am replacing the non-working motorized audio door cover sub-assembly and was wondering if I have to set the radio in "ship mode" before removing it

I was thinking about having them refurbished but they quoted me $150-$175 per wheel also. They also said the color being that old it might have to be custom mixed paint, which might be even more. I think a body shop may be worth it, seeing they have experience with paint restoration. Or I may attempt to use a light compound then a finish polish by hand then wax. The scratches are many but light and the wheels are in good shape, maybe a good place for getting some experience.

I recently bought on eBay a decent set of 2003 LS430 7 spoke 17" wheels in Millennium silver. I have 2002 SC430 in millennium silver that has a like new paint finish. The wheels need some paint touch up, but they are somewhat dull. Not sure if I should polish and wax or compound cleaner and wax. I have no experience in abrasives.

I'm sorry , in reference to my above post, the used 2003 LS430 wheels I bought are 17"

I bought a used set of 2003 LS430 7-spoke wheels to replace my gorgeous stock 18's on my 2002 SC430 to improve ride comfort. I want to increase my sidewalls a bit while retaining most of the suspension dynamics. If I buy 245/45-17, the wheel and tire combo overall identically match stock specs with a (.4 in.) increase in sidewall height. If I buy 235/50-17, the wheels are (.6 in.) taller and (.6 in.) narrower but provide a (.7 in.) increase in sidewall height. Does anyone have experience or knowledge of tire size swapping for improving comfort.

That saddle color interior makes for a sharp combo with the red. I'm all in for keeping it stock for the fact the designers went out and broke their usual parameters with this car for a pretty specific product and I think everything about the car says that.