1990LS400

Well, whatever "floats your boat". I used to be the same way and even put the cradle for my portable Nokia phone in the center console of my previous 90 LS400 after its original fixed phone died in 1999. The main reason to put the Bluetooth kit controls where you can easily see and reach them is SAFETY. Especially if the Bluetooth kit has an LCD display, you want it high on the dash to minimize the angle between looking at the road and looking at the LCD display -- Sorry Jainla, I still think your Parrot install is cool! I suggest you research the features of various Bluetooth phone kits and look at the features of your current phone and other phones that are available. A big reason I didn't pursue using the Lexus phone command module on the steering wheels is that more modern phone kits and phones have features that make the steering wheel phone controls superfluous -- features like voice and speed dialing, auto answer, auto hangup. I'd hate to see handsfree banned but there is currently discussion in some jurisdictions about banning the use of both handheld cell phones and handsfree phone devices by drivers. I definitely agree with the studies that have shown that handsfree is no safer than holding a handset to one's ear while driving.

Those huge old phones are also worthless and take up a lot of console space. Unless there are still a few small pockets of analog service somewhere in the U.S., these old Lexus phones will not do anything at all -- not even call 911.

There is plenty of information on the Internet ... such as http://www.foreignborn.com/visas_imm/enter...tingyourcar.htm It can be incredibly complicated and expensive. I knew a number of people who imported nonconforming cars into the US back in the early 80's before our government cracked down and actually started enforcing compliance requirements. I've known of at least one case where a person never was able to get his vehicle to comply and he had to ship it back out of the US to keep it from being impounded and destroyed.

A Lexus dealer can turn off the automatic tilt/telescope feature of the steering wheel in a couple of minutes. There are a number of other LPS (Lexus Personalized settings) that can be set to your personal preference. The auto folding mirrors are definitely cute -- hard to believe they now put these things on the low end Mercedes C-class like the one I saw the other day. I tend to fail to see the value of auto folding mirrors unless one parks frequently in narrow public parking spaces, has an unusually narrow garage door or lives in the U.K. like steve2006 where even main streets in towns can be incredibly narrow.

mkehl, I had the same idea of using the steering wheel phone command module to control my aftermarket phone kit when I bought my 00 LS used back in 2003. I even bought a new -- and not inexpensive -- steering wheel phone command module for the project. I thought it was going to be fairly easy since there were already a number of interface kits available from the European company Connects2 to connect the Nokia phone kit I have to steering wheel controls and even trip computer displays on a variety of cars sold in Europe. But ... I had no success figuring out to make to pins on the steering wheel phone control do anything with my Nokia phone kit. I'm not saying it can't be done but that it might take some sound electrical engineering skills. You might want to take a look at the Connects2 website since they currently have interface kits to connect Parrot Bluetooth kits to the steering wheel controls for a few Toyota vehicles sold in Europe: http://www.connects2.com/c2prodoverview.aspx Be aware that there can be big differences between the electrical systems of Toyota/Lexus vehicles sold in different world markets. By the way, the Motorola IHF1000 Bluetooth kit that "Bill H" installed in his 97 LS has for the past several years been sold as an official dealer installed accessory by UK and European Lexus and Toyota dealers. Here is an example of the option as offered on the IS in the U.K.: http://www.lexus.co.uk/range/is/accessories/interior.aspx I don't think there is a mute connection under the armrest on the 90-92 LS400 like there is for sure on the 95-00 LS400 and there might be with the 93-94 LS400 which was the first year of the optional Lexus portable phone. It wouldn't hurt to check. You can likely find a mute connection in the trunk or on the radio head unit or amp. The wire color of the mute wire is not consistent through the model years ... the closest audio diagram I have to your car is for a 94 LS400 with standard audio system. I'll attach it but you car's audio system could be different. You might ask your Lexus dealer to print the audio system diagram for your car -- my Lexus dealer did that for me for my 00 LS400. Hacking into a door speaker to play the phone call doesn't buy you much. There is plenty of room under the dash to hide a phone kit speaker. After reading the threads AzHotLS provided, feel free to ask questions. There are quite a number of people on this forum who have installed phone kits. Good luck! 1994_LS400_Pioneer_diagram.pdf

Mercedes put 2.6 liter six cylinder engines in S-class cars (the 260SE) sold in some countries through the 1980's. BMW was putting 2.0 liter engines in the 7-series (the 720) sold in some markets earlier in this decade. BMW didn't even offer a V8 engine in the 7-series until 1993 -- three years after the LS400 was introduced. Except for 6 cylinder engines, only the "nose bleed expensive" V12 was available in the 7-series before 1993. We've gotten spoiled -- which has been kind of nice. The new 306 horsepower V6 should be a real "screamer" and provide plenty of power for an LS350. It will have more power than an 06 LS430 engine.

If your car doesn't have a dealer installed Lexus phone, maybe it doesn't have a speaker relay. Why are you looking for it?

I suggest doing a little "playing" with tire and wheel sizes on http://www.tirerack.com I know you've already bought winter tires for your 18 inch wheels, but I think you would be happier and safer using your current 18 inch wheels with a staggered setup with summer tires and buying a set of 17" wheels and 17" non-staggered winter tires for winter use. Tire Rack has 17" wheels for your car for as little as $105 each. By the way, the standard size on the IS350 is "225/45VR17 all-season tires front, 245/45VR17 all-season tires rear". Your 18" wheels and tires were an extra cost option. For one, you should be driving cautiously on winter tires anyway. It's not like you are going to be zooming around curves on snow tires -- or at least I would hope not. Also, a non-staggered winter tire setup would allow you to fully rotate your winter tires for maximum life. From my experience winter tires wear out about twice as fast as summer tires -- but you are further north so they may last longer if the roads are snow covered much of the time since there is virtually no tread wear when driving on snow. Also, 17" inch wheels and slightly taller 45 profile 17" tires will likely give you a slightly cushier ride over rough winter roads. Oddly, I've found narrower tires also contribute to a cushier ride -- not as much width to pick up imperfections in the road. I'll bet you could use 225/45-17 winter tires front and back. This might not be a great idea if the IS350 is prone to significant oversteer -- I've never driven one of the newer ISx50 cars ... only ridden in an IS250 ... in the back seat -- ARGH! The IS350 has a fairly high "power to weight ratio" but it is a heavy car for its size and it doesn't weigh that much less or have that much more power than my 2000 LS400. Stick a couple of cheeseburger eating friends in your car and your car's curb weight will exceed mine. 2007 IS350 - curb weight 3,527 lbs; horsepower 306; Torque 277 2000 LS400 - curb weight 3,890 lbs; horsepower 290; Torque 300 My LS400 gets around just great in snow on its Blizzak winter tires with a 225 width. It uses 225/60-16 tires but that is beside the point. I've got a bit of experience with snow tires -- every RWD car I've owned and driven in winter for the past 42 years has had snow tires. OK, that is my idea. Maybe someone with some real first hand experience with the IS350 will provide some ideas.

At least the owner of that RX400h can say he got a lot of "bang for the buck" from his car. I think the explosion was caused by space aliens -- probably has something to do with that pyramid in Memphis: http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc11018.php

how do you know this, curious Because I've known a lot of people who, like me, have bought new Lexus cars -- including my next door neighbor who bought one of the first LS400s sold in Kansas City in 1989. "Ron" wouldn't set a security code since he, like most people, don't read owners manuals. Heck, I few weeks ago I showed him some of the unusual features on his Porsche -- he bought the damn thing new in 1996, rarely drives it, and told me he has never looked at the owners manual! I know more about his car than he does probably because I'm a car nut who's idea of fun is to visit car dealerships and tour auto factories in non-English speaking countries. The most silly aspect of security codes on the older Lexus radios is that they wouldn't fit in other makes of cars. It was not like some kid was going to steal a Lexus radio and slam it into a Honda Civic. There simply wasn't a market for stolen Lexus radios. Now ... DIN and double DIN radios are a completely different matter since there is a market for stolen ones.

Most people don't set the radio security code -- it was a silly feature. If the prior owner told you he never set a security code and he replaced the battery without a problem, you have nothing to worry about.

You threw away the two metal stiffeners? Cool! You can see them in this illustration: http://www.toyodiy.com/parts/p_U_2002_LEXU...WAVFA_8502.html I wonder if you will have to buy a new wiper blade to get another set of metal stiffeners. The two metal stiffeners usually don't come with a wiper blade insert -- at least not from Toyota/Lexus. Don't use the rear wiper until you get this fixed -- you could easily scratch the rear window.

You are not providing much information about what the $300-$400 includes. It can be a big job to rewire to make an aftermarket radio work -- I've done it four or five times but not in the past 20 years since audio systems have gotten more complex. I don't remember seeing conversion harnesses for Lexus with Nakamichi -- I know that the Nakamichi in my 00 LS uses a different wiring harness than the standard Pioneer radio and that a conversion harness is not available for it. If I was going to get an aftermarket radio -- which I have thought about doing -- all the wiring to make one fit in my car would have to be done manually. Metra recently came out with dash kits for the 92-00 SC -- you can read about it on this other forum: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/lexus-audi...sc-92-00-a.html If part of the $300-$400 was to build a custom dash kit, maybe your shop can use one of the new ones from Metra.

The only speaker relay I see on the audio system diagram is the "telephone transceiver with speaker relay". If that is what you are looking for, it would likely be in the trunk with the telephone transceiver. The attached diagram is for a 94 LS but it should be the same as the 93 LS. 1994_LS400_Pioneer_diagram.pdf

It would help if you put the model year of your car either in a signature or the "Car model" field. I figured out from one of your past posts that your LS400 is a 1994. First of all, it's not good to keep driving a car that dies unexpectedly. What's going to happen if the engine dies and you can't get out of someone's way? Being a 1994, the problem could be related to a dying alternator -- typical on the 90-94 LS400 due to power steering fluid leaking on to the alternator. Or it could be a bad battery or battery connection. Or some other electrical connection that has become corroded over time. Are their any stored diagnostic codes? Some people have reported that stores like Autozone can pull the codes.

I am sure that you have already resolved your headlamp issues by now, Hutch. However, for future reference and for those who will need to know how to do this, I'd like to give you exactly what it takes to replace an HID lamp in a 1998 to 2000 Lexus LS-400 headlight assembly. I just replaced my left (driver's) side lamp, and it was fairly simple. The HID lamp itself is the most expensive cost to this procedure, and the entire headlight assembly definitely does not need to be removed. You can do this in a fairly short period of time. It took me about 30 minutes, and that was because I had never done it before. There is a small triangular shaped plactic cover right in front of the battery, bridging from the radiator to the battery. It snaps out by just pullig straight up on it. Set it aside, then you'll have to first remove the battery, as there is no way to access the back side of the headlamp assembly without removing it. Next, there is a gray plastic cover over the backside of the lamp compartment, you simply turn that cover about 1/8 of a turn counterclockwise and remove it. It has four keyways in it, and an arrow pointing to the top position so there is no way you can reinstall it incorrectly. Under that cover there is a smaller metal cover over the actual lamp connection. A metal clip on each side (right & left) holds it in place, and you only have to spread (pull) each clip away from the cover (outward) to remove that metal cover. Then the actual power connector is turned slightly counterclockwise, pull straight back and off the lamp itself. Now you are down to the lamp, and you will have to look for two long spring clips (one on each side) that overlap the flange or lip of the lamp base holding it in place. These two spring clips are snapped in place at the top of the lap as you look down on it, so once you have identified them it is easy to see where each one is snapped into a spring-metal hook. Once you unsnap these two clips from their spring-metal hooks, you will be able to remove the bad HID lamp by pulling it straight out. By the way, if your old lamp blows apart into numerous pieces, I would try to remove as much of the glass debris as possible, as it could cause damage or blow your new lamp. I used a piece of sticky tape on the end of a pair of hemostats. Then I used a can of compressed air (Dust-Off) to blow out whatever fragments may be left on the inner cone of the lamp assembly. Realize that if your old lamp did break-up into many pieces, you will probably not be able to get them all out, and you will see some small pieces of glass sitting at the bottom of your lamp assembly, looking through the front lense cover of your headlight. If you know of a good way to remove all of them without removing the entire headlamp assembly, please let me know as well. In replacing the HID lamp, you must first remember to NEVER touch the glass part of the lamp itself. Its lifespan will be short-lived if you do. Only touch the lower plastic portion of the HID lamp when installing it. Insert the new lamp the same way as the old one came out. To insure correct installation, just keep the open keyway (in the plastic base of the new lamp) at the top so that it aligns with the key on the flange of the insertion hole. The spring clips are still attached to the assembly, so now just pull them back up and over the lip, or base flange, of the new HID lamp, and re-clip them into their perspective hooks. Reinstall the power cable to the new lamp, just the reverse of how it came off. Then install the metal cover that will snap into its clips on each side. Finally the gray plastic cover goes on last, covering the entire assembly and connection. When putting that last cover back on, simply re-align the keys to the keyway openings (there's four of them) in the headlamp assembly. Insert the cover in those keyways and make a slight (1/8) turn clockwise to lock it in place. Again, the arrow on this cover should be on the top and pointing toward the engine hood. In the case of it being the driver's side, you then reinstall and reconnect the battery, and replace the snap-on cover, etc. FYI: You do not need to replace both sides when only one HID lamp has blown, as they do not lose their intensity over time, and the remaining old lamp should match-up in its intensity with the new HID lamp once the replacement is done. I would be certain, however, to get an authentic replacement HID lamp directly from Lexus, otherwise your 'after-market' new lamp could appear to be yellow in its intensity instead of white like the original HID lamp that is still working on the other side. There are many good plastic polishes that you can buy at any of the 'automotive parts' outlets that will help improve your HID intensity and clarity. I hope this helps anyone else needing to know how to replace a Lexus HID lamp in their headlight. I believe that this same procedure would apply to all LS models from 1998 to 2000. The replacement task is much easier than it appears, and again, does not require removing the entire headlight assembly. I'm sorry but I don't agree with your suggestions. Why would you dismantle the engine compartment merely to change a headlight bulb. The headlight units on the 98-00 LS are as easy to take out as they were on the earlier LS400. A headlight assembly can removed and replaced in five minutes without altering the headlight aim. You actually removed the battery and had to reprogram your radio, clock, etc.? Wow! Why? When one HID bulb fails, most certainly replace both -- for multiple reasons. The color of the bulbs will not match if only one is replaced. If one fails, the other is likely to fail soon. Most recommendations are to replace headlight bulbs in pairs. The intensity and output of HID bulbs degrade over time although they can keep working for many years after their light output diminishes. The exact same HID bulbs sold by Lexus dealers can be obtained from other vendors at a fraction of the price. "good plastic polishes"? Lexus headlights have a clear coat layer that, once it degrades, must be restored with appropriate products unless you want to "polish" headlights every few months.

A default security code was not set at the factory for the LS400 I bought new in 1990 so I doubt if it was for your ES. I think I remember people on Lexus forums saying that dealers charged them $50 to $100 to unlock the radio.

Nope, it doesn't take a wiring kit designed especially for your car -- just one that is compatible with the tail light types on your car and trailer. If you need assistance in choosing the right kit, I suggest visiting a trailer supply store -- that's where I bought mine.

There are instructions for various wiring set-ups here: http://www.etrailer.com/faq_wiring.aspx How it is done exactly depends on what type of wiring harness you buy. Installing most involve connecting the wiring harness to wires leading to the tail, stop and turn signals of the car and running a power wire forward under the car to connect to the engine bay fuse box or battery. The wiring harnesses I've seen come with detailed installation instructions. The wiring harness I have on my 00 LS400 is from Modulite. I had a mechanic run the power wire forward under the car and he connected it to a power terminal on the fuse box in the engine bay. He told me that he exited the power wire from the trunk through an existing grommet for ABS wiring and attached the power wire with wire ties to existing wiring under the car. He didn't have to drill any holes.

LittleSand, I don't see a partially heated windshield on the features list of the Canadian spec RX400h. I suspect your dealer is "pulling your leg". Do you see anything in your owners manual or the specs at: http://www.lexus.ca/lexus/experience/en/ho...category=option Heated wipers have been around for decades -- it's not like they get red hot or nearly hot enough to break a windshield. If I lived up in Ontario where I recently attended a family reunion, I might give heated wipers from http://www.everblades.com/ a try. They look good, eh? Or you could try the "Hotshot" product: http://www.windshieldwiperheaters.com/ General Motors was equipping cars in 2007 with the system until some sort of wiring problem required a recall and its supplier, Microheat, went out of business. I think the problems were with the Hotshot that was customized for GM's use.

Yes, winter tires wear out faster than summer or all-season tires when driven on dry pavement. If driven only on snow, theoretically winter tires could last "forever" and would have to be retired due to age instead of wear. Also, more tread depth is needed for a winter tire to be truly effective -- at least 7/16 inch -- while a summer or all season tire can have as little as 2/32 or 3/32 of tread and still be usable in non-snow conditions. We usually don't get much snow where I live either but I still use winter tires since we occasional drive a few hundred miles north where there can be a lot more snow. Plus winter tires take the stress out of driving in the few bad snows we get. Most other drivers are out there slipping and sliding around and I just zip right past them. The way I make winter tires last longer is to wait until about Thanksgiving to install them and to remove them before the first day of Spring. At least once, I reinstalled the snow tires after getting a spring snow -- only takes me about 1/2 hour. The first thing I do when buying a rear wheel drive car of any make is to be an extra set of wheels to use with snow tires. For my first Lexus, I bought a set of "take-off" wheels from the Lexus dealer. My current set of Bridgestone Blizzak snow tires are on their fifth winter and will be at about 25,000 miles and 6/32 inch of tread by the time winter is over. I plan to replace the Blizzaks at the end of the winter when tire seller cut their prices on winter tires. Buying an extra set of wheels makes more sense if you keep cars a long time. We aim to keep cars a minium of ten years so that's spreading the cost of extra wheels over a long period of time. I've also found that having an extra set of wheels and snow tires makes a car easier to sell -- buyers seem to see them as a nice "bonus".

Except once when I changed front pads myself, I have had all the brake work done on the Lexus LS cars I've driven a total of 250,000 miles over the past 19 years at independent repair shops. The shop I've used for the past 10 years is owned by a former Lexus dealer service writer and is staffed by mechanics he stole away from the Lexus dealer. The shop I used for a number of years before that was owned by another former Lexus dealer service writer. The repair shops I have used have never replaced the rotors and instead always turn them because it is less expensive and there is no reason to put them in a land fill. They use only OEM pads. I've noticed that people are reporting that brake pad and rotor life is sometimes not as long on some newer Lexus modes -- particularly the ISx50 and the ES350. I don't have any idea what the pad and rotor life is on a newer RX. Find the specs for your car and measure the rotor thickness with a measuring caliper so you don't have to take the word of a repair shop about their thickness. The front brake pads on my current LS, a 2000 LS400 were replaced for the first time at over 71,000 miles. The rear brake pads on my LS should last beyond 120,000 miles. Rear brake pads normally last far longer than the front ones -- on almost all cars. One of the most common rip-offs is to do brake jobs before they are needed -- I guess it is a quick way to "pad" dealer profit. Your RX likely has pad wear sensors like the LS so you might as well let the car tell you when it really needs a brake job. Even though my LS has brake sensors, I still visually check the pad thickness every 5,000 miles when I rotate the tires -- it just takes a glance.

One possible solution to settle this important disagreement ... a new avatar for smooth1 ...

No, and it is becoming less and less likely that anyone will introduce a "plug and play" aux-in solution for older Lexus cars as they continue to age, get crashed/trashed/worn out and hit the junk yard, and the market and potential profit for such devices shrinks.

There are likely a number of minor shared components but they are difficult to identify and are often part of a larger component. For example, connectors on wiring harnesses (e.g. horn) are sometimes the same. The main parts guy in the nearest Toyota dealer has tried with little success to find commonality between Lexus LS parts and Toyota parts. Oil filters, some bulbs and some drive train components are, of course, the same on Toyota and Lexus cars. Likely some of the relays are the same ... I remember that a particular Toyota Supra used the same horn relay as one of our LS400s. Oh... I think the same old style mechanical odometers were used on Toyota and Lexus vehicles before they switched to digital ones. We have had a 1998 Toyota Camry parked in the garage by our 1990 and 2000 LS400s since the Camry was new. I've tried but have not found components common between the Camry and the LS cars. Wait ... there is one part I remember -- the engine oil plug gasket! Toyota sells an absolutely amazing number of variations of visually similar cars around the world. You would be surprised at many parts from the U.K. and European market 97 LS400 would not work on your U.S. spec car. If you want to try to find similarities between Toyota and Lexus parts, spend some time here: http://www.toyodiy.com/