1990LS400

If you can believe the official specs, there is only one tenth inch difference between the front head from of an LS430 with sunroof (38.1") and an LS460/LS600 with sunroof (38") -- odd because I feel more substantially more cramped in the driver seat of an LS460 than an LS430. Even the current and past two generations of the Mercedes S-class have less front headroom than an LS460 - I checked. I'm old enought to remember cars of the 50's and 60's having enough headroom for men to wear fedoras while they drive. My favorite car of that era, the Mercedes 600 "Grand Mercedes" had an incredible 44 inches of front headroom. Blake918 found a company that supplies seat rails to position the seats further to the rear: http://www.extendmyseat.com/category/extender-brackets/ Maybe they could supply rails that also reduce the seat height. One of the reasons I'm considering a Toyota Sienna van is for its whopping 42 inches of front headroom and expansive interior. We rented one last year on vacation and loved it. Load up a Sienna to the max with options and it will seem very Lexus like.

The following thread points to other threads on resetting the VSC for my 2000 LS400 and jainla's 2001 LS430. I guessing that the procedure for your 02 GS would be more like jainla's 01 LS430 but no damage could be done by trying the one I use for my 00 LS after I change the battery: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...86&hl=reset Might be worth calling the dealer if no one else responds or you can't find specific instructions on the forum for your 02 GS.

I searched this forum and found this rather zany solution for an RX -- maybe it would would for a GS: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...amp;hl=actuator The link to the allelectronics website is broken but I found the lock actuator by searching: http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store...TUATOR/-/1.html

Would disassembling the console and removing the cup holder help? This diagrams sort of shows how the console fits together: http://www.toyodiy.com/parts/p_U_2007_LEXU...ETGKA_5806.html As in my 2000 LS400, it looks like the console trim is held in place by friction fittings and a few bolts or screws. The console frame itself is probably held down by a few bolts. It is probably the same for your car -- vehicles from TMC seem to be all screwed together the same way. I diassembled and removed the center console in my LS 5-6 years ago. It wasn't particularly difficult but it did take couple of hours since I had never done it before. It helps a lot to have trim removal tools -- using plastic ones or plastic coated metal ones will prevent scratching the wood, leather and vinyl. If you don't have trim removal tools, you can probably get by using using a putty knife or flat blade screwdriver with its business end wrapped with electrical tape.

Select your vehicle and the click the "Use/Pair an Existing Phone" to find out much compatibility your phone has with your ES Bluetooth: http://www.lexus.com/models/ES/accessories...er_service.html

I guess it is possible that during all this work a wiring harness around the wheel assemblies associated with the ABS/VSC was damaged. If the ABS/VSC warning lights were off when your took the car in for all this suspension work, I'd say that the shop ought to be figuring out what the problem is. Or take your car to another indie shop or a Lexus dealer and get the problem diagnosed.

I noticed similar erratic RPMs and transmission shifting earlier this year when the TPS (thottle position sensor) failed at about 105,000 miles on my 2000 LS400. It was if the gas pedal was not attached to the engine. The TPS would suddenly start working and the transmission would slam into gear. The TPS was erratic for a few days until it got really bad. I barely limped the car to a repair shop -- nearly had to call a tow truck.

I've seen lists of the customizable settings for probably every Lexus model since they came up with CBES/LPS but I don't remember seeing an option to turning off the seatbelt reminder chime on any of them. Here is the LPS list for the RX350: http://www.lexus.com/pdf/service/RX350_LPS.pdf

I've read that some of the non-HID bulbs labeled "Xenon" supposedly have a small amount of xenon gas mixed with the halogen gas to achieve higher output and a little whiter light. I've also read that some of the "xenon" bulbs contain no xenon gas at all. I really depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you want better light output from your OEM headlights, my recommendation is to get a set of clear capsule Wagner Brite-Lites or Sylvania Xtravision bulbs. GE used to sell Xenon/halogen mix bulbs but I haven't seen them in the U.S. for several years. I'd say ... avoid the high wattage 80/100 watt bulbs. I had one explode just after I put it into the the 90 LS I had and it caused a horrible mess that nearly ruined the headlight unit. The evening it exploded was especially hot (100+ F.) and I had been stopped for an extended period in a traffic jam -- that might have contributed to the head build-up and the bulb exploding.

Funny, isn't it, that RDM, who stated that his preference is JDM Celsior headlights, dangerous in a country like the U.S. that drives on the right side of the road, would question whether or not Eagle Eyes headlights are DOT approved. Yes, RDM, the seller of Eagle Eyes headlights states that they are "SAE/DOT APPROVED, 100% STREET LEGAL". I can only go by what the seller says. I guess the seller could be lying. Why don't you find out and report back to us! RDM, stop throwing around the word Ebonics. I regard the way you used the word Ebonics as offensive and even as a racial slur. Python was communicating using abbreviations and jargon that are perfectly acceptable and common on car forums. I'm highly educated and understand everything that Python said and, by the way, I've come to appreciate him a lot for what he has contributed to this and another car forum in which I participate. Don't go running my down my "bud" -- or is that too slang oriented for you to understand? Python is a good guy, you and I can both learn a lot from him.

That's my alternative for now but this also means that I would have to run the antenna wire all the way to the back. I see what you mean. It is a hassle to run a wire to the back of the car. I ran a coax antenna cable from under the radio head unit to the right side of the trunk in my 2000 LS400 5-6 years ago and routed the cable under the door sills and through an existing hole behind the rear seat back. The door sills pop right up and off. The rear seat is easy to remove. I don't know if there is an existing hole behind the seat back of an LS430 to run a wire through but at least you don't have to contend with the fuel tank behind the seat back like you do in an LS400. Some people have reported putting a SAT radio antenna on the rear package shelf beside the high mounted stop light of their LS430's. I'll bet you could easily press/hide the SAT antenna wire into the crack between the package shelf and the trim/window and attach the SAT antenna to the package shelf with double sided velco tape like I bought from Radio Shack to hold the phone microphones to the headliners of our cars. Or you could let the SAT antenna just lay on the package shelf without attaching it.

Even if the LS430 XM kits on eBay require removing the head unit (don't know if they do), it is not difficult to pop out the head unit on most Toyota/Lexus vehicles.

What the heck, let's post the link: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls430/3350...le-lid-fix.html I'm guessing that the word "jiggle" used by Sigers98 to describe how to remove the box is comparable to my suggestion to use a trim removal tool to pry it out.

If you are using Windows, you might find it easier to right click on a picture and then choose "Save Picture As" to save it on your computer in the format you choose.

I applaud you for switching SIM cards and using this workaround. I have told many - oh so many - people that they could do this but most would rather complain instead of take the simple and effective action you took. I doubt if a nav update is going to have any effect on the Bluetooth function but at least you will have slightly more current maps and POI's.

Well yours is certainly an usually post. Are you asking for help? Do you consider this a problem? Are you proud of your reverse light coming on when you press the brake? ;) If this is happening on a 90-94 LS400, then you most likely have broken wires in the driver side trunk hinge. Splice/solder in some new wire and tape it and the problem will most likely be fixed. It is an incredibly common problem with the gen 1 LS400 and is the reason I began using this forum after wires in the trunk hinge broke on the 90 LS I used to have.

The attached instructions used by Lexus dealers in Europe to install the Bluetooth Complementary Kit shows removing the console box but I think you may have found all the bolts holding it in. The two little dashed circles in figure 9 on page 8 appear to show two friction tabs at the front of the console box very similar to the console box in my 2000 LS400. Use a plastic trim removal tool to pry the console box up and out. If you don't have plastic trim removal tools, a stiff blade putty knife or flat blade screwdriver with the blade wrapped with electrical tape (to prevent scratching) has sometimes worked for me. Bluetooth_complementary_kit_LS430_instructions.pdf

What do I think? Well ... I'm not certainly not much of a fan of my local Lexus dealer service department after the string of bad experiences I had with them, including minor damage, on my first LS400 that I purchased new in early 1990. I got the hell out of there as soon as one of the their service writers started his own Lexus repair shop literally within sight of the Lexus dealership and took the best mechanics with him. I don't think I used the Lexus dealer more than once or twice between the day the 4 yr/50K basic warranty expired on my 90 LS in 1994 and the day I bought a used 2000 LS400 Platinum at the 3 yr/38K mark in 2003. Having the 2000 LS with one year left on the basic warranty meant I had to use the Lexus dealer service department several times to get a few minor issues fixed before the basic warranty expired. The warranty work the dealer did was not always done particularly well but at least the experiences were not the complete disasters they were in the early 1990s. I wouldn't have taken the 00 LS to the dealer in around 2006(?) when they found the strut rod issue if my indie shop's alignment equipment had been working and I wasn't about to take an unusually long driving trip. So, as you can see, I've avoided the Lexus dealer's service department for most of the past 19 years, 4 months of driving Lexus LS cars. Nope, I've never seen a single episode of "House" and watch almost no commercial television -- the Internet is my main electronic vice. You've replaced darned near everything else so why stop now. Sure, replace the lower control arm bushings if your mechanic thinks they are bad. I think I had every normally replaceable front suspension component except the struts replaced, including upper and lower ball joints, on my first LS400 by the time I finally sold it after driving it 13 1/2 years and 183K miles -- I don't remember the cost of all the replacements being all that high. I think the 90 LS is still on its original front stuts with its current owner at over 275,000 miles. My wife just wandered into the room to ask why I was still up typing away. I told her about all the front end suspension work you have done by 54,000 miles and her only comment was ... "WHAT?". Funny. I don't know what to tell you. Maybe a "second set of eyes" on the problem by a dealer mechanic could help. Or give Tom and Ray Magliozzi (NPR's Car Talk Radio show) a call and ask them: http://www.cartalk.com/menus/show.html You've been through a lot so you might as well have them give you some grief on a national radio show!

Wow, this is very interesting. If you haven't owned this car since new do you know its history, if the odometer is accurate and if the car has been in a significant front end crash. I know quite a few people with 98-00 LS400s and worked closely with two and I've never heard of such a low mileage example blowing through suspension components at such a low mileage. If you look in the second TSIB in the link I posted previously in this thread, you will see that it involves replacing a flexible cable with a u-joint to eliminate a steering column noise. I've never heard the noise described as a "clunk" but maybe a Lexus dealer can tell you. The problem also affected the LS430 through the 2004 model year if that informatoin helps the Lexus dealer remember. I didn't have the repair described in the TSIB performed when my 00 LS was under warranty and my car never developed the problem. If the problem is the one addressed by this TSIB you could try to get Lexus to participate in the cost of the repair. TSIB repairs are normally done for free only while the car is under the applicable warranty 4 years / 50K miles for a non-drive train TSIB issue or 6 years / 70K miles for a drive train TSIB issue. Getting TSIB work done for free at the 9 to 10 year mark is a real stretch but its worth a try.

These might give you a clue: http://www.sewellpartsonline.com/import/pdf/nav_install.pdf http://www.toyodiy.com/parts/p_U_2001_LEXU...WPGKA_8603.html

Cool! Time to bend over and grab your ankles.

From the ATT website: If it is determined that you are using an iPhone or other designated Smartphone or PDA without an eligible data plan, AT&T reserves the right to add an eligible data plan to your account and bill you the appropriate monthly fee. OK, it maybe it's a "slippery slope" but people are doing it. If you buy an eBay iPhone and just slip in your SIM card, ATT can nail you and add a data plan if you use data functions even once. It requires discipline. You can't go "playing around" with data functions on an iPhone if you don't have a data plan.

What? Only 54,000 miles? I find it hard to believe that ANY front suspension component could be worn out by that mileage. Certainly none of the suspension components on my 2000 LS400 were even close to being worn out by that mileage. Even the strut bar bushings -- almost alway the first suspension component to fail on a 98-00 LS400 -- usually last to at least 75,000 miles. The struts/shock absorbers should have been good for 200,000+ miles. My 2000 LS400 is now at 113,000 miles and the strut bar bushings have been the only front suspension component to wear out. Unless your car has been driven in the Baja 1000, I suspect you have been taken for a ride. Yes, have the Lexus dealer take a look at your car. The clown working on it now isn't doing you any favors. Sheesh, just when I think I've heard everything ...

ATT shouldn't charge you for a data plan for an iPhone as long as you don't buy the iPhone from ATT and never use data functions. ATT will, however, automatically add a data plan to your account if they sense that you are using the phone for data. Also, check the "fine print" on the ATT website. A number of their phones require a data plan when you purchase them but you can cancel the data plan the next day -- no need to keep the data plan in effect like required on the iPhone and some others.

Lift up on the lower leading edge of the rear seat cushion (down by the carpeting) and see if it is held in place by a spring friction fitting and pops up and out like the rear seat cushions of most Toyota/Lexus vehicles. Once you remove the seat cushion, you will see at least some of the bolts holding the rear seat back in place. Look around on the previous web site I provided. There are photos that show a little of how the rear seat is held in: http://www.toyodiy.com/parts/p_U_2006_LEXU...ETLHA_7102.html If the seat back doesn't come out after removing the obvious bolts check for hidden ones under velcro flaps, etc. Sorry, I'm not familiar with the IS but there are lots of similarities in the way these cars are screwed together. I've removed the rear seats of Toyota/Lexus cars many times -- it's usually easy to do.