1990LS400

One way to select a new tire is to compare the customer ratings on http://www.tirerack.com/tires/SelectTireSize.jsp?autoMake=Lexus&autoModel=IS300&autoYear=2003&autoModClar= I doubt if an all season tire exists that comes very close to matching the performance of a winter tire for driving in snow. OK ... A group of actuaries are on an elevator. How do you tell which one is the extrovert? He's the one staring at someone else's shoes. (I've got a million of them!)

My main tip is to follow the maintenance schedule religiously and keep your vehicle reasonably clean. Excess maintenance can be almost as wasteful as too little maintenance. Consider using an independent repair shop that specializes in Toyota and Lexus vehicles. I've rarely used Lexus dealers in my 21 years of Lexus ownership and have gotten much better service and prices from independent repair shops.

The BMW dealer probably didn't want to put a 12 year old Lexus on his lot and sold it at an auto auction. Buyers of older cars at auto auctions are usually indie used car dealers. That is how I bought my 2000 LS400 in 2003 -- from an indie dealer/broker who bought the car at an auto auction.

Of course there is no "plug/cap" made to cover the antenna hole. Maybe you could get a rubber grommet of the right size to fill the hole or a body shop could fill in the hole and paint it. Or you could buy a new antenna for $144.16 (retail is $234.40) from Sewell if you register your forum member name: http://lexus.sewellparts.com/ Or you might find an OEM or non-OEM antenna on eBay. Yes, the nav system ECU is on the right side of the trunk near the radio antenna.

What does your maintenance manual say? If it says to change the coolant then do it at the mileages or time interval indicated in the manual ... no more, no less.

If it is on the inside of the headlamp next to the grill and uses a halogen bulb, it is a fog lamp. If it is on the outside corner next to the headlamp and uses a tiny 5W bulb, it is a clearance lamp.

http://lexus.sewellparts.com/ ... register with your forum member name to get a substantial discount. If I am using the right part number, I see the driver side seat cushion heating element for $140.26 (retail $228.08).

It could be something else but I've had the same thing happen several times over the last 20 years on LS400's -- battery was beginning to fail and the connections between the cells were separating and reconnecting. When it has happened to me, it has been at low speed when turning a corner or hitting a pot hole.

I'm surprised someone would need or want to charge a phone while their car's ignition is shut off. These days most phones charge up super-fast when connected to DC power. Is your DC phone charger good and have adequate power to charge your phone. Some aftermarket mini-USB chargers provide only 500mA of charging power instead of the 1000mA provided by OEM and better aftermarket mini-USB chargers. Is your phone battery OK? If you really want to charge your phone while your ignition is off, it would probably be easier and safer to add an additional power outlet that is connected to an always-hot power source than to muck with the OEM wiring. My cell phone charging cradle is wired to both a switched power source and an always-hot power. Although I installed the phone kit and charging cradle myself, I wasn't in the mood to wiggle around under the dash so I had an audio system installer connect my phone kit's power wires to the car's electrical harness. It took him only about 10 minutes and my understanding is that he connected both phone kit wires to wires at the ignition switch -- one wire on the Accessory circuit leading from the ignition switch and the other wire connected to a constant 12V source leading to the ignition switch. Or maybe there is an always hot source in the under dash fuse box. Add-A-Circuit or "piggyback" connectors (photo attached) are designed for powering accessories from a fuse. You can get a 12V extension code (photo attached) for a few bucks from a discount store if you want to power your phone charger that way. I used one to power my portable GPS - chopped the power plug off the extension cord and spliced it into the accessory power port circuit. I recently saw a photo of a cool set up where a person had installed a mini-USB port with a flip-up cover in a Lexus center console next to the gear shift. It took some drilling but it looked nice.

The was no diagram on the ARRC database for the 92 LS400 Nakamichi but attached is one from ARRC for the 93 LS400 Nakamichi. It may or may not be the same as for the 92 LS ... "probably" is. 1993 LS400 Nakamichi diagram.pdf

Have you asked the dealer to let you try the radio's in other LS460's to see how there FM reception is? Surely they have one on their lot.

Probably not good to put your phone number on a public forum. I suggest you edit your post and remove it. As long as the fluid levels are OK - engine oil, transmission fluid, coolant (things anyone can easily check) - and the engine is not over heating or spewing fluids, the problem is likely not going to endanger you or the vehicle .... at least not in the short term. It is not all that uncommon for warning lights to come on. For example, I've driven around for a few days with the "Check engine" light and the "VSC Off" light and/or warning messages until I could get my car to a repair shop. It is usually not a big deal. Crested Butte was my wife's favorite ski destination before a couple of hip replacements stopped that activity. We stayed at the Nordic Inn a bunch of times -- a type of old fashioned ski lodge which is rare in the U.S. today. I'll give Allen, a fellow former Kansas Citian, a plug: http://www.nordicinncb.com

Don't worry about it unless the "Vehicle will self destruct in 30 seconds" warning light comes on. :whistles: As long as everything seems OK, wait until it is convenient to have the problem checked. If it is the Malfunction Indicator Lamp, here is the text from your owners manual -- copied from the owners manual section of the Lexus website: (g) Malfunction Indicator Lamp This lamp comes on in the following cases. a. The fuel tank is completely empty. (See ”Fuel gauge” on page 34 for instructions.) b. The fuel tank cap is not tightened securely. (See ”Fuel tank cap” on page 67 for instructions.) c. There is a problem somewhere in your engine or automatic transmission electrical system. If it comes on while you are driving in case ”c.”, have your vehicle checked/repaired by your Lexus dealer as soon as possible. Don't worry ... Be happy.

In your last thread someone gave you a link to Sewell's website where you can buy a legal navigation update for your 03 LS430 for only $135.20 after registering with your forum member name: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=67823&st=0&p=426200&fromsearch=1entry426200 I can almost see why people messed with pirated nav disks back when prices were much higher but why bother when they are now so cheap? BTW, I've bought parts from Sewell numerous times and found their prices and service to be first rate.

As mentioned in numerous past threads, having a "Trac off" or "VSC off" warning light or message usually has nothing to do with those systems which are turned off when any of numerous other issues arise. The first thing to do is to take your car somewhere where stored diagnostic codes can be read or to learn to do it yourself. I don't know how it is done on a 94 GS300 but here is how it is done on a 94 LS400: http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/intro/codereading.html Your goal should be to find out why the check engine light (CEL) is coming on. Fix that and you will likely "fix" your "Trac off" situation.

Maybe others have information that says otherwise, but I've had Lexus techs and repair shop owners tell me they have never seen an LS timing belt break from fatigue or wear and that the cause of failure has in all cases been the failure of other component -- tensioner, idler, water pump, etc. Based on that information, it would appear to be a waste of time to check the timing belt itself. By the way, the "timing belt failure" on my first LS was caused by the water pump seizing. Personally, I would sell the car "as is", discount the price a little and let the next owner worry about replacing the timing belt.

I just checked eBay and saw one for a 97 ES for $8.99 including shipping. Seller says he has more than 10 of them. Other sellers have them at similar prices.

This is one of the reasons I have done my own oil changes for the past 40+ years. It takes only one ham fisted idiot to mess up an oil pan.

No, all that means is that the heated seat option was available only on 1999 ES300's with the leather seat option and that the heated seat option was not available on 1999 ES300's with cloth seats. You are not the first person who has asked this question. By the way ... "nice rack" on your ES. I've done my share of northeast skiing ... mainly in upstate New York.

In your opinion, does the VSC on your 02 LS430 work differently than on your dearly departed 98 LS400? I routinely drive my 00 LS400 on snow/ice (like the past few days) aggressively enough (when it is "safe") that I often hear the beep-beep-beep of the VSC alarm. I've never experienced more than a "moment" of engine power loss until VSC put the car back on course and restored the power. At least with my 00 LS400, the key is to "keep my foot into it" and not to back off the accelerator pedal when the VSC alarm goes off. If I don't keep the gas pedal "planted", there won't be any power when the car straightens out. Doing this takes a certain degree of "Chutzpah". By the way, after 2003, it is impossible to turn off the VSC on an LS430 - the switch was changed to "Trac off" (only traction control off) instead of "VSC off" (both VSC and traction control off).

Toyota does not put seat heater elements in cars without the heated seat option and, with rare exceptions, Toyota does not wire a car for options that a car doesn't have. The most cost effective way to get heated seats is to buy a car with them. You could probably add OEM or aftermarket seat heaters but why go to the huge expense on a 12 year old car when you could buy another ES with OEM heated seats and essentially get them for free. If your car has the leather seat option, maybe a set of seat covers or sheepskins that allow for the seat mounted side airbags would make that cold leather more comfortable when its cold outside. Here are the specs and option list for your "new" 99 ES: http://www.lexus.com/contact/pdf/1999/1999ESspecs.pdf

I don't know if the attached diagram is accurate but it shows the high pitched horn behind or under the driver side headlight and the low pitched horn behind the front grill. If you want louder horns, I'd suggest a pair of Hella Supertone horns - the ones with the red grills. Give a listen: They are widely available on the Internet. Leave your current horns in place, use the relay that comes with the Hella horns to power them from the battery or under hood fuse box and trigger them from one of the wires leading to the standard horns. Do not try to power aftermarket horns like Supertones directly from the OEM horn wires -- not enough power and the Hellas will sound wimpy. I had a pair of Supertones on my first Lexus and painted their red grills black so they couldn't be seen through the grill. I've been wishing lately that I had a set of Supertones on my 00 LS -- might wake up people engrossed in texting while driving and keep them from wandering into my lane. Grease and modern accelerator linkages? Sounds like you have a potentially dangerous situation there that might warrant immediate professional attention.

What exactly are you wanting to do? A2DP audio streaming? Bluetooth phone? iPod/aux-in? The reason I ask is that there are a number of fairly low cost ways to get these features that you might want to consider that you could implement without discarding your current radio.

The only "red fuel light" I know about is the low fuel warning light in the fuel gauge. Is the fuel gauge needle on "Empty"? Are you out of gas?

I'm not certain if the 93-94 LS remote entry works the same as the 90-92 LS system since there was some sort of revision with the 93 model year, but in the 90-92 LS, the keys and ROM chip came as a set ... i.e. you could not get a key that was "laying around for a car that no longer lives" and make it work in another car unless you also had the matching ROM chip that plugs into the keyless entry receiver in the trunk. So ... if you want to use the electronics in a donor key for your car, you may also need the ROM chip.