1990LS400

Many people have reported that they have been unable to get a North American Lexus navigation system to function in Europe and have had to have the U.S. navigation system completely replaced by one made for Europe. I suggest that you reconsider purchasing a Lexus made for the North American market and instead purchase one equipped for sale in Sweden. Although the currently very weak U.S. dollar makes the purchase and importation of a U.S. specification vehicle alluring, you can end up spending many Krona in a futile attempt to bring it to the level of cars made for sale in Sweden.

As I said above, there is little correlation among specifications and option packages among the world markets in which Toyota sells Lexus brand cars. As you may have noticed by now, Lexus IS cars sold in the Swedish market car can be purchased with a far higher level of equipment than those available here in the U.S. I do not know if they are still available but in previous years there were two different dealer installed "Lexus Parking Aid" systems available from Lexus dealers for the IS250 in most European countries. I attached only the cover pages from the 400 (rear sensors only) and 800 (both front and rear sensors) versions of the product since the installation manuals are far too large to supply on this forum. The installation instructions may be viewed in the "Accessory Installation Manuals" section at http://www.lexus-tech.eu .

Ask the seller for a copy of the original invoice which will tell you exactly how the car is equipped. Here is a link to the specifications for the US market 2009 IS: http://www.lexus.com/cpo/model_library/IS/2009_options.html

I have the mechanical skills and most of the tools to do this kind of work (I've rebuilt engines, replaced engine/transmission mounts, completely dismantled cars, etc.) but now that I am in my 60's - a "child" compared to you! - and working long hours after being dragged out of retirement, I'd rather have my trusted mechanics do it. My time is worth more than I pay "Fred" or "Alan" and my only "garage floor time" these days is while doing oil changes. I suspect the rate at which transmission and engine mounts deteriorate varies quite a bit -- maybe by climate and driving conditions. It's probably the same for the strut rod bushings which generally last between 40K and 80K miles before they get bad enough to cause vibrations at highway speeds. I don't know what symptoms your 99 LS exhibited when your strut rod bushings became worn but my LS had vibrations that came and went between 60 and 70 mile per hour depending on road crown amount and even wind conditions. I don't know what it would have been like at 80 mph since I adhere to speed limits and we don't have speed limits above 70 mph where I drive. My 90 LS was still on its original engine and transmission mounts and vibration free at highway speed when I sold it in 2003 after driving it from new to 183,500 miles -- maybe your Texas heat causes them to deteriorate faster than up here in balmy eastern Kansas and the areas much further north where I drive. :)

Diagrams of the brake components can be viewed at http://www.lexuspartsnow.com/ I prefer to view similar diagrams at http://www.toyodiy.com/ but there you have to register and it can take several days before access is granted.

As I said at a Veterans Day / Marine Corps 235th birthday celebration ceremony last Wednesday when I took my turn at the microphone at the Marine Corps installation where I work as a civilian contractor: "Army, Specialist 4, 1971-1972 ... 1 year, 9 months, 15 days, 12 hours, 30 minutes" Of the several hundred veteran men and women who reported their branch of service, former rank and service dates at the ceremony, I had the shortest duration of service. My section head served the longest: Marine Corps, Lt. Colonel, 31 years.

You are on a Lexus forum for USA and Canada. There is no "executive package" here. Option packages on Lexus cars varies widely around the world. See http://www.lexus.se/range/is/specifications/index.aspx for information about the IS sold in Sweden.

Micah.Berry, how many miles do you have on your 99 LS now? Wasn't it at 112,000 miles last Spring when you bought it here in the Kansas City metro area? FYI, since I was experiencing a very slight vibration through the steering wheel at idle, I specifically asked that my transmission mount be checked during the 120,000 service earlier this year at the indie Lexus specialty repair shop that has been maintaining our Lexus and Toyota cars since 1996. The mechanic thought the transmission mount on my 00 LS was a long way from needing replacement so I will have it checked again at the 150,000 mile service. IMO, it is doubtful that your drive train is misaligned. The cause of your vibration at highway speeds is more likely a wheel imbalance, a defective tire or a defective suspension component. First, eliminate the tires/wheels as a potential cause by having them dynamically balanced. If the vibration is still there, look at the suspension. I assume that you have verified that the strut rods have been replaced or that you have replaced them since you bought the car since you were involved in a discussion about them earlier this year. The strut rod bushings rarely last 75,000 miles on a 98-00 LS and sometimes are worn enough to cause vibrations at highway speeds by 40-50K miles.

Any LS wheel from the 1995 LS400 through the 2006 LS430 will fit or from the 2001-up SC430. 1990-94 LS400 wheels will not fit a 97 LS400. Actually the wheel style of the 95-97 LS400 is my favorite of all the wheel styles used in the 11 LS400 model years.

Putting V speed rated (149 mph) tires on a 112 mph RX seems needless. It's not a sports car. And here is a quote from http://www.lexus.com/cpo/model_library/RX/2008.html about your car: "18-in performance tires are expected to experience greater tire wear than conventional tires. Tire life may substantially be less than 15,000 miles, depending upon driving conditions." Lower speed rated tires usually provide a softer ride although handling might not be quite as crisp. I just started using H rated (130 mph) Michelin tires on my LS than came with V-rated tires and don't notice much difference. And I use snow tires in the winter that are only T-rated (118 mph) and the handling is still pretty sharp. Just having the 18" wheel option is likely going to mean faster tire wear no matter what speed rated tire you use.

I have no idea if diagnostic trouble codes on an ES250 can be read in the same way as on an early LS400 but you might check: http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/intro/codereading.html Your car's problem could be caused by one or more of many possible issues. If you are not comfortable with troubleshooting the problem, a lower cost route might be to take it to a Toyota mechanic as the Camry V6 from 1990 is virtually identical mechanically to the 1990 ES250. Also, there are real authentic hard copy repair manuals - not the junk versions on CD - for the ES250 currently on eBay - I just checked. The repair manuals are written in a way that assumes that the reader has a healthy level of mechanic skills and the appropriate diagnostic equipment.

It sounds like the new bottom of the line Lexus is not the car for Pat.

Sorry but I pretty much suck at doing more than the most basic electrical diagnosis. My mechanic Fred is so quick at figuring out this kind of stuff that I rarely bother. There are likely detailed diagnostic procedures for many or all of your issues in the repair manuals for your LX as there are in the manual set I have for my LS. Oddly, the repair manuals for my LS do not mention diagnosing problems with the lumbar supports - I suspect it is because the lumbar supports are on circuits separate from the adjustments controlled by the seat memory ECU and are simpler to troubleshoot ... i.e. if you have power to the switch and the switch is working, then the lumbar motor is probably defective or disconnected from the switch.

Call Lexus customer service and consider sending your information to them in a letter. I've had all sorts of little odd things fixed while our Lexus and Toyota cars were under warranty and I don't understand why your claims are being refused. Crap, I'm a Toyota Motor company shareholder and I sure want Toyota to fulfill warranty claims.

Where is this "fuse" and what is it for? What is not working? I'm not seeing a square red fuse in my similar 2000 LS400. The fuse puller for standard fuses should be in the fuse box under the hood if it hasn't been lost.

And there are good reasons they do that. They don't necessarily know how much a customer car has been driven before it got to them to work on and if the tire pressures are artificially high due to heat caused by driving. It's safer for them (legal wise) and for you to have your tires inflated 5 or 6 psi too high than 5 or 6 psi too low - particular since some people check their tire pressures ... like ... never. And tire pressures go up or down about 1 psi per 10 degrees of air temperature change. With air temperatures fluctuating 40 to 50 degrees in a 24 hour period at this time of year - at least where I live - it's better to set the pressures to be at least the minimum at the coldest part of the day. Me too - at least when ambient temperatures are relatively stable, I keep pressures right at the 29 psi shown on the door jam of my LS. I can feel a couple pounds tire pressure difference in the seat of my pants and my main goal is a smooth ride. I also find that keeping tire pressures near the minimum provide more predictable handling and a less abrupt "breakaway" when taking curves (too) fast -- I really should stop doing that now that that I'm an "official" (> 60) geezer. I keep an electric tire pump in the trunk and sometimes adjust tire pressures during multi-day trips -- particularly when driving a few hundred miles north in winter where it can be waaay colder than at home.

I like the Michelin Primacy MXV4 set I bought for LS earlier this year but unfortunately it not available in either size 225/45-17 or 245/45-17 that would be needed to do a IS250 or IS350 standard wheel/tire size configuration. Whether or not 16" wheels would clear the brakes is an interesting question but that would mean using aftermarket wheels or wheels from a different and probably older Toyota or Lexus model. The main problem I've found with aftermarket wheels is trying to find a replacement if one gets severely damaged. I sure wish I had bought OEM Lexus wheels to use with my snow tires back in 2003 instead of aftermarket wheels ... won't make that mistake again.

You may need professional help. I did some limited research and was surprised at how many different and likely incompatible versions there are of the 1mz-fe. I think you would be lucky to get reliable information on this question on a car forum.

The attached maintenance manual is for the 2006 model year. My opinion is that maintenance can be done mainly based on mileage if a car is driven at least 5,000 miles per year. Brake fluid deteriorates with age so definitely have it replaced at least every three years regardless of how little the car is driven. I hadn't noticed until now but the timing belt replacement interval on the 2006 ES and several other models is now 9 years or 90,000 miles -- it used to be 6 years or 90,000 miles so you have 5 years before you have to think about replacement if you don't drive much. If your ES is still withing 48 months from its in-service date and still within the basic warranty period, be sure to have any outstanding issues that are not considered normal wear - no matter how small - fixed under warranty and at no cost to you. 2006 model year Lexus maintenance manual.pdf

Rough roads in San Francisco? Your streets and highways seem wonderful compared to some of our cratered streets in the Kansas City area. Even the 100 mile pavement/gravel stretch of Highway 1 between Monterey and Cambria I drove in February was smooth by comparison ... or maybe it was the scenery that make them seem good. Ah, yes ... I was wearing shirt sleeves in Golden Gate Park while it was snowing back in Kansas. I think you would notice a substantial improvement in comfort by switching to 17" tires and keeping them near the minimum recommended tire pressure. If you are looking for maximum comfort, you could even go with the standard IS250 setup of 225/45-17 tires front and rear instead of the standard IS350 setup of 225/45-17 front and 245/45-17 rear. You might get a little undesired rear wheel spin with 225/45-17 tires on the back but your traction and stability controls should manage it unless you drive like an idiot. And you should get cheaper tire prices by avoiding 245/45-17 on the back. The IS350 is a powerful car but my 2000 LS400 does just fine on its standard 225/60-16 tires and it has power (-16 hp) and torque (+23 lb-ft) ratings similar to your car and a curb weight higher than an IS350 only by an amount equal to the weight of my beer swilling Concord CA brother-in-law. A good place to start is to compare the comfort ratings in the surveys at http://www.tirerack.com although you may see ratings only for the tires they have in stock. I suspect you could do a swap with, plus get some cash from, an IS250 owner who thinks your bigger wheels and tires are "cool".

Rats! This forum is "dueling me for control" and winning. Sorry about the duplicate post but I can't seem to delete it without deleting the image file I supplied in the above post.

The attached image is from the 2007 GS450h navigation manual. I highlighted the information you need.

If you follow the maintenance schedule, the timing belt is to be replaced every 90,000 miles or 72 months (6 years) - whichever comes first. I wouldn't worry about the aging of the belt as much as failure of the other components in the timing belt system - idlers, tensioner, water pump. Having had a timing belt trashed on a 1990 LS400 at about 75,000 miles when the water pump seized, I'm not one to stretch belt replacement much. I did wait an extra year on my current 2000 LS400 and had the timing belt (and idlers, tensioner, water pump, etc.) replaced at 90,000 miles which was within a couple of days of being 7 years from the car's in-service date. If your GS300 is a 99 as indicated by one of your past posts, you are at about double the recommended 6 year replacement interval.

Other than the air filter, the only parts normally replaced during any procedure I would call an "engine tune up" on a V8 Lexus are the spark plugs. I'm pretty sure that the normal spark plug replacement interval for the LS430 is 120,000 miles since that is what it is for my 00 LS400. By the way, the factory installed spark plugs on my 00 LS looked like new when they were replaced recently and the engine does not run any better with the new plugs. The total cost of new OEM spark plugs for my LS, not including installation, was about $125. I've had two Lexus V8 cars serviced "by the book" only by Lexus dealer or former Lexus dealer employees during the over 275,000 miles I've driven them and I've never had a mechanic or service writer suggest throttle body cleaning. Not that it would hurt - maybe it could if improperly done - but I have to wonder if it is necessary unless the car has substantially higher mileage than yours. A variety of components can make the throttle less responsive. For example, when the "TPS" (thottle position sensor) on my car failed last year, throttle response varied from normal to poor to non-existent. You might have a mechanic check for stored error codes.

About all I can contribute are the two attached electrical diagrams from the Chilton website which is available through many public libraries. I would think the first things to check on the moonroof and lumbar would be the switches to see if there is power at the appropriate terminals when the switches are pressed. Switches can become defective ... I had to have the overhead light cluster in my 00 LS replaced a couple of years ago due to a defective switch. It's quite common for the folding motor in the LS430 mirrors to fail so it's likely the same on the LX -- the usual fix seems to be to replace the entire mirror assembly although I remember a few people saying on forums that they have had some success at disassembling and fixing/lubing the folding mechanism. Whether you have any chance of fixing the mirror might depend on if the motor is working at all -- hear any noise coming out of the mirror when you press the folding button? As to the CD changer, you could call the guys that fixed the Nak radio in my 00 LS: http://carstereohelp.com/lexusLX.htm ... or look for a replacement changer on eBay. 2000 LX470 moonroof electrical diagram.pdf 2000 LX470 driver seat electrical diagram.pdf