jainla

Anytime... sorry it took me so long to finally catch your thread. Perhaps your car went through the service campaign to remove the Lexus Link (they disconnect and then replace the control box with a generic sunvisor) or somebody was trying to troubleshoot something else. Enjoy the ML and have fun with the voice command! If you search the AV forum you'll find my odyssey of installing bluetooth in the '01, now that you've wet your feet with the amp, another project! Hey there... Depends on what speaker. The original Lexus phone is wired to use the driver-side rear door speaker(s). Is that the one that's out? The connection point for the phone system (as well as the Lexus Link) is in the trunk on the right hand side. The in-car mic, the door speaker and power are all routed through this connection. If it's disconnected both the NAV system mic and that rear door speaker set won't work. If you remove the floor cover on the right side of the trunk you'll see 2 ECUs (one of these is the Nav system) and a white connector. In the attached photograph it's the one with an X on it. If your car doesn't have LL or the phone you'll have just two of these guys; make sure they are connected fully. If you have LL (like the car pictured) you'll have 2 pairs of these guys; and if you have (had) the phone you'll have 3 pair; you might have to play mix and match to see what needs to be connected. Good luck! jainla you are brilliant! that was exactly it. it was completely disconnected and stuffed down underneath the dvd unit and the other ECU. i dont know why someone would have done that, but they did. im just glad you were willing to help. thank you so much.

I went through this in August with my '01. It only had about 85k miles but the belt was coming up on 8 years of service. I think I drove it about 5000 miles last year, but since I drive the car in LA (automotive hell) I eventually broke down and replaced the belt. I figure it was cheaper than buying a new engine should the belt fail. Many dealers or indepent shops will quote you for just the timing belt; but while they are in there you really should replace the water pump. It's hard to get to on these engines and should it fail it will take your belt (and possibly the engine) with it. My pump was actually leaking when they replaced it; the engine also seems to run much quieter (I think one of my tensioners or pulleys was squeaking). Mike showed me all the parts after the service; the belt looked OK but not great. I think the guys at Lexology in Hermosa quoted me about $1100 for the whole shebang; I had them do some additional work while it was there so my bill was higher. I had another shop (not Lexus/Toyota specialist) quote it and I think it was about $600 just for the belt. My normal shop was too scared to do it (hence the need to shop around). Getting to the timing belt is a real pain; it involves removing the radiator and draining the coolant from the car so the labor costs for this service will be high.

Chalk up another happy customer. Some observations: go ALL THE WAY AROUND the ring, especially the rubber ring side that attaches to the faceplate, even if you can only see a tear on one part. I had to do it twice after I repaired the first tear another one seemed to develop. if you use the silicone caulk don't be afraid to use LOTS of it. use a flashlight to see in and around the housing; it's dark in there! You might want to run the stereo and then (gently) push on the rubber ring with your fingers if you are trying to figure out where the rip is. I had one rip that I could see and a later one I couldn't. Certainly beats replacing this speaker; I honestly think the bass sounds better than ever. Posts like this is why this forum ROCKS!

I've had the original Vaistech unit (the SLi) in my '01 LS430 for about 3 years. It works exactly as advertised. Every once in a while (maybe couple months) I have to reboot the ipod, but I think the problem is with that particular ipod (I frankensteined it back together) as opposed to the box itself. The newer SL2 units supposedly have better sound quality; but they were unavaliable when I did my upgrade. I have the unit in my lower glove box and ran the wire out the side into the center stack where it connects underneath the CD changer. I built a little stand that covers all the wires and the ECU has a little well to put the ipod in; that ipod basically lives in the car full time. It's completely invisible and most people don't even realize I have one in the car. I installed it myself; most dealers or stereo shops can probably handle it (it takes about an hour). You need a 10mm socket wrench with extender, a phillips screwdriver, a pry tool and some patience. I highly recommend it; it will reduce wear on your CD changer; and having 100 playlists at your beck and call is pretty amazing. I'm not sure if the SL2 will work with an '01, also if you use the SLi you might need a charge adaptor. My SLi will charge the 30gb but not my iPod touch although it seems to charge my 120 gb iPod classic. The staff at Vaistech is also really friendly and knowledgable; I'm sure they'll know what units will work for your car. Good luck!

Hey there... Depends on what speaker. The original Lexus phone is wired to use the driver-side rear door speaker(s). Is that the one that's out? The connection point for the phone system (as well as the Lexus Link) is in the trunk on the right hand side. The in-car mic, the door speaker and power are all routed through this connection. If it's disconnected both the NAV system mic and that rear door speaker set won't work. If you remove the floor cover on the right side of the trunk you'll see 2 ECUs (one of these is the Nav system) and a white connector. In the attached photograph it's the one with an X on it. If your car doesn't have LL or the phone you'll have just two of these guys; make sure they are connected fully. If you have LL (like the car pictured) you'll have 2 pairs of these guys; and if you have (had) the phone you'll have 3 pair; you might have to play mix and match to see what needs to be connected. Good luck!

The 04-06 models have an additional ECU that powers the camera and sends the signal to the nav screen. Not sure if this can be retrofitted or not. You might be able to rig something with this: http://www.vaistech.com/products/sl2vu.php you'd have to manually switch to the backup camera; and you'd have to figure out how to power the camera and turn the signal into a standard audio/video input that the adaptor could handle. It might make more sense to fit parking sensors if your car doesn't already have them; several kits are available that use either sonar or electromagnetic sensors to detect proximity.

My LS430 occasionally makes noise from the sway bar bushing in the front. Sounds like a crunching noise; usually when it's cold out and I turn the wheel during parking or tight turns. Last time I had the car in the shop they lubricated the bushing (or the pad I can't remember) and it disappeared. Not sure if the LS400 has the same design but worth a look.

Sounds like the air spring is leaking, or their's a leak in the air line on that side. Have them replace it if it's still under warranty. 2 inches it too much; I think the spec is like .1 inch per day or something like that.

Toyota is already doing it. While it's been a very slow and cautious rollout the revolution has already begun. The IS-F is a direct response to the M3 and the C series AMG. I see more of them out here than the M3 or the C63. IS and GS 'F' series accessories are already available; I wouldn't be surprised to see some of the LS sport appearance kits eventually branded as F series before too long. And of course the ultimate niche market car is finally here: the LFA is far more exclusive (by volume) than anything currently sold by Mercedes, BMW or Audi. It's basically the Lexus M1. If Toyota wanted to create an LS-F they could, easily. The parts already exist; Tom's racing (supported by Toyota) has made supercharger and suspension upgrade kits for the Celsior and the LS460. On their website they have a concept LS46 car. In the US TRD sells a dealer-installed supercharger for the 5.7L V8 in the Tundra; I expect someone will try to retune and shoehorn that engine into the LS before too long; it might also work on the 4.6L engine. Everybody else in the space has a sport variant; Audi S8, BMW Alpina B7 (and possibly M7), Jaguar XJR and Mercedes has both the S63 and S65. While none of these cars are high volume sellers the branding halo they create benefits the whole line; and the AMG, M and S-line accessories/wheels/styling kits sell pretty well; at least out here in SoCal. Mercedes and BMW now have AMG or M branded variants of almost every model line they sell; even the SUVs. I think in a way they created these brands-within-a-brand to differentiate themselves from Lexus and Infiniti. Also they bring younger guys (and gals) into the showrooms; and nobody wants to go the way of Lincoln with a median buyer age over 65+. It's really the last frontier left to conquer. Come on Steve you're honestly going to tell me you wouldn't be the least bit curious about a 504HP LS-F ?

This has been covered a lot recently; you can search for "ls430 purchase" and get a bunch of recent posts around this topic. No major gotchas to avoid (a la Mercedes) but the 04+ cars have some nice features. Shop around; there are plenty of nice cars to choose from. Good luck!

Have you checked the center high mounted stoplight? That drove me NUTS for weeks until i figured it out. Also make sure all the bulbs are seated properly; I had one actually pop out. The should click into place. Also check fuses maybe?

I was quoted $720 at Lexus of Santa Monica for front and rear brakes @about 69k miles. I was like. Uh huh. Drove right over to my trusty independent, who pronounced my rear brake pads 'Fine' and the front brakes were 'a little low, not quite there yet but you could change them now to avoid having to pay for the sensors'. It cost $219 out the door. I probably could have done better but Max is a good guy and had good notices on the interwebs. I did end up changing the rears about 6000 miles later, similar cost. I hear the LS430 brakes are a little tougher to work on as there is not much clearance around the caliper and the rotor (both are enormous) but nothing too exotic. Someone posted a whole detailed description on how to do it in this forum somewhere and it's not hard if you have the right tools. It just takes a while. It definitely pays to shop around. For small things like this I feel like the dealers really put the screws to you. I have yet to walk out of a dealer for less than $100 (even for an oil change). That 'free' loaner car is not so free when you compare to the cost of independents; but the convenience of being able to drive and go is worth it for some people.

It's also worth thinking about how long you plan to keep the car. A car you're gonna sell in 3 years vs. a car you'll keep for 10 years may tip the balance one way or the other on all those fancy features. Thing is most 01-03 cars are probably 90k+ by now so mileage will be a factor more than age. The 04-06 cars will be newer and lower mileage (and they have some nicer colors than the 01-03 cars did). I agree with Jim_Chow... pick the best cared for example you can find that fits your budget. The Custom and Modern Luxury cars are very nice, but they are hard to find on cars built before MY '04. I have yet to see anybody clock an '04+ LS faster than 6 seconds in the 0 to 60 run. The shift logic in the 6-speed may be better (the 5 speed sometimes takes its time trying to decide...do I really wanna downshift?) but I haven't seen anybody prove it really shaves half a second off the 0-60. The nav system is also newer, and there's other little bits and bobs that changed but it's essentially the same car (it's not like they made run on goat cheese or anything). Knee airbags? Really? Buckling your seat belt properly (and driving a 4000lb+ car) is gonna do more to save your knees than any airbag will. Again though you pick the features that are important to you. About the air springs I'm sure sooner or later someone will come up with a conversion kit for the LS430; the LS400 kit might even fit. I've seen people on CL do the whole conversion on an LS400 for about $1000, which is the list price of a single air strut. Oddly enough the air struts are pretty easy to swap out, the conversion to coil over strut is a little more complicated. 13 hours? That sounds like a bit much. I don't know if there's something special about the ES's suspension design, but it doesn't come anywhere close to taking 6.5 hours per side to change the LCA on a LS400. On my LS, it's more like 2 hours/side (maybe 3 if you've never done it before).

Hello David... I was in your shoes a little more than four (!!) years ago when I went shopping for a car to replace my indestructible 240D. The LS 430 was and remains a standout on the pre-owned car market. The performance, reliability and overall ownership experience are very tough to beat. Compared to a new Camry a 4-5 year old LS 430 is an unbelievable deal. These are, however very complicated, very sophisticated machines. Toyota has done a wonderful job at making them almost bullet proof (the engines and transmissions some might argue are almost grenade resistant) but they are machines with lots of moving parts. A LS 430 over the long haul will probably have more problems than an earlier LS 400 simply because there are more things to go wrong. Problems are still fairly rare; but when they do go they can be expensive. All that said; in four years of owning an LS430 with the UL package I've had few problems; the center high mounted stoplamp burnt out (about $7 at the dealer), 2 oxygen sensors died around 80k miles (about $300 each with parts and labor) and during the 90k service they replaced a leaking radiator and some front suspension bushings (substantially more than $7). The car had 66k when I bought it. I'm the first to admit that this car leads a charmed life; but most other LS 430 owners I know have reported similar experiences. No problems to speak of with any of the myriad electronic systems in the car--they all still work admirably. Aside from a couple minor cosmetic issues the car had when I bought it it looks almost brand new. Most people can't believe it's 9 years old. I was concerned with the Air suspension but I've been told by several Lexus techs that the air springs typically last between 100-150k miles; although it's not unheard of for them to be replaced earlier. So if you are looking at a higher mileage car it might not be such a good idea. Many people insist that the '04-06 models are better than the earlier ones; styling aside the only substantial mechanical difference is the 6 speed autobox (I admit I have yet to see a review that can demonstrate a substantial performance difference between it and the 5 speed). Bluetooth, Smartkey and the backup camera are nice features to have so that might tip the balance for you but I don't think you can go wrong with an older model as long as it has a complete maintenance history and the features you want. Later models also have more option packages, earlier models tend to either be loaded or more basic. Good luck!

There is an avalanche of information out all of a sudden. The Global LFA Microsite: http://ww2.lexus-lfa.com

Finally. Finally they admit it's coming. There's not much up there at the moment but it does appear that the production name will indeed be just LFA. http://lexus.jp/models/lfa/index.html There is now also a teaser on the US site: http://www.lexus.com/LFA/?s_ocid=homepagehero_lfaanchor1009 According to reports from C&D the price will be over $350,000 USD. Their somewhat rapturous review below: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/09...st_drive_review And Autoblog has what may be the launch video here: http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/21/lexus-lfa-tokyo-2009/ Edit: the site for the Tokyo Motor Show is also up: http://lexus.jp/brand/ms/tms2009/

I haven't done it but it's a PITA. You have to remove all the components below it and then 2 10mm bolts that are behind the driver and passenger temperature controls; which are apparently a real !Removed! to get out. I don't think you'll have to get that far though; the Vaistech units plug into the connector that's behind the CD changer; the XM unit might also work back there. You'll still need the 10mm hex wrench, a phillips head screwdriver, and something to pry the bottom panel out with. Takes about 15 min and not hard at all. You might also be able to plug it into one of the connectors in the trunk near the radio or the amp.

Yes it's that time again. Time for unnecessary videos, pictures of options we'll never get here, and general lexus.jp goodness. The 2010 LS has launched in Japan. The updated site has nice driving videos, excessively epic music, closeups of the new hybrid IP, videos of the nightvision and pedestrian detection system, some of the new interior fittings and details of the Designo-like (and at this point JDM only) L-Select program. Also see the Sport (SZ) model in action for the first time. http://lexus.jp/models/ls/variation.html All the videos are now together under the 'Top' link.

I second that. Have her rent a Prius or whatever else she's considering for a day or two. Most of the time I don't realize what a nice car the LS is until I have to drive something else for a while...

Yes my LS 430 seems to sit a little lower on it's rear haunches than its front. As long as the top of the wheel is below the wheel arch you should be ok. Also if the car seems to be higher after driving it around then you might have a leak. Typically the leaks start to manifest when the car hasn't been driven in a while; the car sinks (like and old Citroen) and then rises up when the compressor starts.

I think someone on Club Lexus actually did this; you'll need new fenders, new bumper cover, new grille, new headlights etc. And a great deal of that will have to be painted as the 01-03 and 04-06 colors don't exactly match (except maybe black and white). Also some of the wiring harness is different; if you do a search you might be able to find the post on CL. If you found a wrecked LS430 with all those pieces intact it might be reasonable but I agree it will probably cost less than just buying the 04+

I'm seeing more and more of them here in Socal. I think it looks better in darker colors; there is a dark blue that I think looks particularly fetching. Fully loaded though that car is getting expensive at $44k; I might almost want a 2 year old GS450h which drive much better and doesn't use that much more fuel. On a totally different brand (but similar topic) I had a ride in a Honda FCX Clarity today at the Alt Car Expo here. What a trip! The car sounds like it came out of Star Trek; with a zoomy whine when you step on the gas (allegedly this is from the compressor rushing air into the fuel cell stack). Pickup is surprisingly good for a 134hp motor. Practicality of owning a hydrogen vehicle aside the FCX is gorgeous inside. The eco-fabric feels much like the frachir in the Camry/Prius, and it's really roomy (I'd say the interior room approaches an LS) but no sunroof or leather. Also they are lease only, which is probably a good thing b/c the cars supposedly cost between $1 and 2 million EACH to make. Range is only 220 miles or so but if they made this with a gas/electric hybrid engine I would definitely consider one.

Yeah it kind of does; with the front of the car almost slanting forward. I've seen a couple in LA and one in Philly, and one at the US Open. I think it looks better in darker colors. The interior is really nicely finished though; definitely a step above the Prius.

Um...yeah. For those who haven't driven one recently the last 2 Camrys are/were fantastic cars. My mom has an '07 and I've rented the previous gen several times (one for a 400mile jaunt through New Mexico). I can honestly say that the fit and finish meets or exceeds the Mercedes C/E classes of that era; and they are not only bullet proof but grenade resistant. After 2 Acuras, a VW and other cars my mom is convinced the Camry is the nicest car she's ever owned. I'm trying to talk her into a new or pre-owned ES for her next car but she's resistant to spend the additional money because "the Camry is just so nice." She's even reconsidering the thought of buying a hybrid b/c she gets about 26 mpg. With that ridiculous 268 hp V6. Yes the ES has better leather; more sound deadening, and nicer finishes, but it's the same basic car as the Camry. It's the same size and the suspension and other platform elements are very similar. It's still a lovely car to drive, but you pay (a lot) more for that privilege. The LS will be more expensive to own than an ES but not ruinously so. It does have a lot more bells and whistles to break (and occasionally they do) but all in all compared to other cars in it's class its a bargain to own. It's a little unfair to compare them because they are entirely different classes of car; but they both do very well at what they were designed to do.

The new interior looks nice; can't wait to see it in person at the LA auto show in dec. I think the change of woodgrain, as minor as it is makes a big difference. The burl looks much richer than what they had before. I keep seeing some very nice mint condition '90-92 LS 400's running around LA. I'm amazed at how modern they look being the design is almost 20 years old! I might have to adopt one if it follows me home one day. :whistles: