I've been registered on LOC since 2005 and have enjoyed reading the forums and have gotten a lot of interesting and useful information from them. I have never posted until now, not having anything I thought of enough interest to post.
We've had three LS400's (a white 1991, totaled in an intersection collision, other driver at fault; a gold 1995, sold at 207k miles; and our current white with tan interior 1998. All were purchased used). A few weeks ago our 1998 suffered an unfortunate frontal collision with the car ahead (heavy traffic, less than 10 mph, totally my fault as driver) that deployed the two front airbags and front seat belts, and distorted the Instrument Panel (the dashboard as commonly described) on the passenger side when the airbag deployed. There was virtually no other visible damage (not even a scratch on the bumper!), other than under-the-hood tabs on the front bumper which I can remedy and am fine with. The insurance company totaled the car.
As a side comment, let me say that the airbag deployment "experience" was a little like you might imagine an I.E.D. in Iraq - noise, smoke and violence. Obviously not like an I.E.D. in terms of danger, but still a pretty startling experience.
I've looked for a 1998-2000 model replacement car, but haven't so far been able to find one fitting my criteria (must have a Nakamichi, no Nav, and color of white, gold, or dark green) at a price that makes sense. We have already "purchased" our car back from the insurance company at salvage value, so we now have the choice of either repairing the car for our use (replace the airbags, control module, seat belts and dash, and of course the car will have a salvage title), or selling the car as is. The car is cosmetically very nice, and I'm sure I can sell it for more than we paid the insurance company, if we choose to sell.
Has anyone out there pulled the dashboard out of an LS400, and can share their experience? As far as I can tell, getting to the passenger airbag and the control module requires dash, components, and center console removal. Also, I am not sure whether the left and right collision sensors (also in the interior front area) must be replaced. I have gotten conflicting information on that. If anyone has any info on this it would be helpful.
The seat belts seem relatively simple-I have already removed and reinstalled the driver side to extend the belt length for temporary use.
So, I'm also looking for the components to replace the restraint systems mentioned, used, from a 1998-2000 with Tan interior. Finding these items used is essential, as purchasing at new prices doesn't make financial sense. I tried to post on the "Buy-Sell" forum but I seem to be blocked (apparently because of my lack of posting in the 4 years I've been registered here.) If a moderator or anyone else can tell me how I might post on the Buy-Sell forum for these parts, that would be appreciated also.
Thanks (from Orange County, CA)