1990LS400

You're not serious, are you?

For one, it is impossible "to take the cylinders out" - engines aren't constructed like that. And unless they are using rare albino mice to lick the carbon from your cylinder walls, it most definitely doesn't take half a day to clean a cylinder. I think you are being fed a complete ration of s-h-i-t by your dealer. If your car is still under warranty, demand that your car be bought back at a reasonable price. No competent or honest dealer would keep a car for 1 1/2 months to fix a problem like this. Maybe 1 1/2 days ...

You might as well go ahead and replace the upper strut mounts. It was an extremely common problem - virtually 100% failure rate - on both the Toyota Camry and ES300 of that era. Lexus and Toyota dealers here in the U.S. replaced many thousands of upper strut mounts under warranty. The ones on our Camry were replaced a few years ago at 80,000 after years of rattling -- our Camry is driven little and was out of warranty by the time the rattle became apparent. Your 2000 Aussie spec ES300 uses the same poorly designed upper strut mounts ("SUPPORT SUB-ASSY, FRONT SUSPENSION")- same part numbers - as our 1998 Camry that had the same front suspension rattle. You can check the part numbers at: http://www.toyodiy.com/parts/p_G_2000_LEXUS_ES300_MCV20R-BTPGKQ_4803.html I think the replacments are supposed to be "better" but I wouldn't know how to tell. I checked the invoice for the repair on our Camry and see that the part numbers for the replacement upper strut mounts were 48609-33121 and 48603-33021. It seems odd that the rattle on our Camry also seemed worse on the right side. I thought it might have been from hitting road defects that seem more common near the edge of the road but your having the same situation on your RHD ES seems to blow that theory. Maybe there is less sound insulation on the right side of the firewall.

If your GS has one of the old dealer installed Lexus phone systems, failure of the phone ECU in the trunk can cause sudden total loss of all sound from the audio system. The phone system is integrated into the audio system including a feature that mutes the audio system sound when a phone call is in progress and sometimes also lowers the HVAC blower speed. When the phone ECU fails, it often permanently grounds the mute connection to the audio system. The solution is usually to unplug the connectors from the phone ECU in the trunk. After unplugging the connectors, if any of the unplugged connectors will plug together, then do that to complete the circuit. I did this on a friend's 1999 LS400 a few weeks ago. Disconnecting his phone ECU restored his audio system volume instantly.

I think we could all just read about it in your long thread on ClubLexus: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls400/501168-1998-ls-400-with-900mi.html

Since no one has answered you (and I don't have a GS!), I'll tell you how I remove the garage door opener panel on my 2000 LS400 since many vehicles made by Toyota have similarities - maybe the process is similar. On my LS400, the garage door opener module is at the rear end of the overhead map light assembly. After I pop the plastic lens out of the map light assembly (it's held in place by friction), the screws that hold the entire map light/garage door opener assembly are exposed. Does your sunroof glass panel fit tightly? Have there been any repairs or adjustments to the sunroof?

Never ate or allowed food in the 90 LS with cloth interior during the 13+ years I had it - not one single time. (Toby? I can tell your kids having been eating in "my" 90 LS!) The only food that has been eaten in my 00 LS since I bought it in 2003 were a few PB&J's when I was working for the Census last year -- wouldn't have done that if it had a cloth interior. I don't eat fast food -- fried food makes me sick. Visualize Linda Blair in the Exorcist.

I searched and found a post from Jainla that has a photo showing which connector to unplug to deactivate Lexus Link: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=45258 Jainla put an "X" on the connector to unplug. Edit: I searched the Internet and found the official Lexus Link deactivation instructions -- see attached.

Toyota did sell the Mark 2 in the U.S. -- as the Toyota Cressida until 1992. I occasionally see the Toyota Cressida wagon someone nearby owns -- it has two wipers on the rear window like the Camry wagon had.

As shown on http://www.lexus.com/contact/pdf/1999/1999LSspecs.pdf , the standard and optional tires were: Summer Bridgestone Turanza ER33 P225/60R16 97V (Code: 035629) or All-Season Dunlop SP Sport 4000 P225/60R16 97V (Code: 0207-55).

Lexus dealers in the U.S. removed the Lexus Link components at no cost - or at least unplugged them - when the analog Lexus Link was discontinued a few years ago. The attached diagram shows a "Lexus Link ECU" which I assume is somewhere in your trunk -- I am guessing it is on the left side under the removable floor panel where the ECU for the optional phone system would have been installed but if you do not find it there, check the right side of the trunk. Stopping the message might be as simple as unplugging a connector from the Lexus Link ECU -- but I am guessing. Take a look and see if you can find an electronic module labled "Lexus Link" in the trunk. Perhaps another forum member with personal experience will help? Jainla?

There are interface harness for installing Bluetooth phone kits into an SC430 at http://www.quickconnectproducts.com/Find/find.php The 9000 series of Parrot kits seem to have the most features. Here is a thread over on Clublexus about someone using one of these interface harnesses to install a Parrot MKi9100 into his 02 SC430: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-430/441563-1-stop-bluetooth-ipod-solution-for-02-sc.html There was a past thread about someone trying to piggyback the Parrot interface harness with a VAIS sat radio/etc. harness but, last time he reported, it wasn't working and he was talking with VAIS about his problem.

Have you checked for stored problem codes? If it was running great one moment and terribly the next, that means just one component has a problem. It sounds like you did a lot of needless work.

Lexus dealers in the UK and Europe sell a roof rack and accessories including snowboard and bike carriers: http://www.lexus.co.uk/range/gs/accessories/exterior.aspx Some UK Lexus dealers will ship to the U.S. but from my experience it can get quite expensive.

You might have better luck getting mudflaps from a dealer in the U.K. or Europe since they were standard equipment over their unlike in the U.S and Canada. I bought a set for my first LS400 almost 20 years ago from Park Lane Lexus/Toyota in London before they became optional accessories in the U.S. -- their address and phone number can be obtained through the Lexus GB website.

There are threads from the past on how to change SC3/400 headlight bulbs. Here is one: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=10787&st=0&p=65018&hl=%20headlight%20%20bulb&fromsearch=1entry65018 Use this page to search this forum: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=search and limit your search to the 92-00 SC section. You can find posts that have multiple words by prefixing them with "+" signs in the "Find Words" field ... e.g. +headlight +bulb

Is this happening on both front doors? That would be weird. Are the door gaskets in good condition? I suspect the drivers door gasket wears out first. The driver's door gaskets on my 2000 LS400 probably needs replacement although the door seems to have sagged slightly or have been misaligned in the past. Check to see if the door gaskets are making firm contact with the doors and car body -- particularly at the top and at the A-pillar. Cut several strips of paper about 1 inch by 12 inches and close your doors on the paper strips. Pull the paper strips out while standing outside your car. You should feel firm resistance while pulling the paper strips out. If the paper strips pull out with little or no resistance then you probably have have a door gasket or door alignment problem.

Maybe there isn't a problem. Maybe the rod is extending an additional 3 cm from the old shock absorbers due to wear. Can you just pull the rod further out of the shock absorber housing when you install it?

This question has been asked what seems like hundreds of times. The VSC and check engine lights can be caused by many issues that are completely unrelated to VSC -- the best way I can describe it is like your PC is going into "safe mode". Although I have never heard it happening on a 98-00 LS400, on later Lexus cars these warnings can occur when the gas cap is loose or the gas cap gasket is defective. My suggestion is to see if there any stored error codes. Your Lexus dealer or an indie repair shop should be able to see if there are any stored codes.

Have you asked your dealer about installing your VAIS components? The reason I ask is that at least some Lexus dealers offered VAIS components as dealer installed options. Your "local stereo shop" may just be paranoid due to the skills or lack thereof of their employee installers. Maybe I have a faulty perception but the stereo shop installers I've dealt with haven't been very competent. Here are instructions from Pro.Fit that discusses removing the wood trim: http://www.pro-fit-intl.com/Adobe/MV-50-03-L-p2.pdf Sounds pretty easy to me. Try using a plastic trim removal tool to pop the wood out -- be gentle but firm. You can probably buy a plastic trim removal tool at an auto parts store but I particularly like the one I bought from Pro.Fit. I haven't removed radio surround trim in a GX but I have in other cars including two LS400s, a Camry, a bunch of Hondas, Volvos, Mercedes, etc. and I haven't broken anything yet.

I completely agree with SRK -- especially due to have owning three Volvos although only one was purchased new. An LS400 is never going to become a "classic" car in the traditional sense -- too many electronics that are eventually going to become unavailable. Don't worry about preserving it for posterity. Properly cared for, your 93 LS engine and tranmission can last hundreds of thousands of miles. I think my first LS, a 1990, is nearing 300,000 miles and I think the current owner (Tobywan, are you reading this?) told me at lunch six weeks ago that the engine is still running fine and not using any oil between changes. He told me that he is going to keep it "forever". There are always going to be repairs on any car as it ages -- the key is to take care of issues as they happen and don't let them build up into a mountain of problems. As your LS continues to age, you'll likely be spending an average of around $1,000 annually on repairs and maintenance but that is way less expensive than buying a new car.

Yes, it is possible. I had the strut bars and bushings replaced on my 00 LS400 at 80-some-K miles and I don't plan to wait until they get in that horrible condition again -- I plan to arbitrarily replace them at the 150K service if they last that long since I know there is no way they will make it to the 180K service. By 156,000 miles on my first, generation 1 (1990), LS400, I had replaced most "normal wear" suspension components including ball joints. At this point, I really don't know if ball joints on my 00 LS are going to fail at the same rate as on my 90 LS. Except for the strut bar bushings, my 00 LS seems far more "robust" than my 90 LS did and I suspect suspension parts (except for those damned strut bars) are going to last substantially longer. Hey Blake (if your read this), how are the other suspension parts on your 99 LS holding up -- don't you have something like 180K on your car? Have your done a simple bounce test on your LS? I'm doubting that your shocks are worn out.

It's because so many of us have dealt with the exact same problem on our gen 1 LS400's. Sometimes I wake up at night screeming "IT'S THE LEFT TRUNK HINGE WIRES!!! THERE'RE BROKEN!!! AHHHHHH!!!".

Have the codes read. The check engine and traction off warnings can be caused by any number of problems -- most cheap to fix and some expensive to fix.

That may depend on the condition of the roads you drive on. I rarely have alignments done unless I'm replacing a suspension component ... decided it was silly to have alignments done only to discover the alignment was already correct ... been told that LS cars don't get out of alignment unless a suspension component fails or something gets bent. Really true. Shock absorbers have become "lifetime" components. Absolutely agree. People who work on these cars everyday understand them. I'd be lost without my mechanic Fred who worked at the local Lexus dealership and has now been with the indie Lexus repair shop I've used the past 14 years. He's in Montreal. That's in Canada. Registering on the U.S. website isn't going to help. I don't think you can track past repairs on the Canadian Lexus website: http://www.lexus.ca