1990LS400

Are there any good independent Lexus repair shops where you live? The indie shop I use is owned by a former Lexus dealer service writer and staffed by former Lexus dealer mechanics. I know my 2000 LS400 is a different animal than your 2002 SC430, but I doubt if the maintenance costs should be all that different since they have similar drive trains. In summer 2005, the 60,000 mile service on my 2000 LS400 cost $400 including sales tax. In summer 2007, the 90,000 mile service cost $1417 including sales tax. The 90,000 service was essentially the same as the 60,000 mile service except it included replacement of the water pump and timing belt and a number of related pulleys and parts -- the independent shop I use doesn't cut corners and uses only OEM parts. Since your SC is at 6 years, you might want to replace the timing belt assuming that the recommended replacement interval is 6 years/90,000 miles like on my car. If you choose to use a Lexus dealer, unless you like to make donations to your Lexus dealer's sailboat fund, make sure he follows the service schedule in your maintenance manual rather that the fantasy schedule that many Lexus dealers push to pad profits. For example, the spark plug replacement interval on my car is 120,000 miles but many Lexus dealers will try to tell you it is 60K or 90K miles. It is not necessary to replace brake pads and rotors prematurely. Rear brakes pads usually last far longer than front brake pads -- the original rear brake pads on my LS have 106,000 miles on them and I'm guessing they will last at least 125,000 miles. The front pads on my current 00 LS were replaced for the first time at 71,293 miles and I think the front pads lasted about the same miles on my previous LS. A message will be displayed on the information display in your dash when brake pad replacement is needed. Rotors rarely require replacement and can usually be resurfaced at lower cost and work just as well as new ones. My main recommendations are to read your maintenance manual and find a good independent Lexus repair shop. One way to find a good shop is to ask other Lexus owning friends and even to ask Lexus owners you run into while pumping gas and in shopping center parking lots -- that's how I found the indie repair shops I have used.

I was curious about the size change. The IS is a smaller car, although I kind of disagree with you about the back seat. I'm 5'11'' and I was surprised at the fit. There seems to be more room than it looks back there. I was quite comfy. OK, "Smooth", since you own an IS350 and disagree with my opinion about the usefulness and the size of the back seat of an IS, tell me how you fit an adult male human in it when two adult male humans are occupying the front seats. I tried it again today in the same IS250 in which I tried it a few months ago and with the same three friends. It was not pretty. I again got relegated to the back seat since at 6'0" I'm the shortest by a couple of inches and, of course, it's not my car. This time, instead of sitting behind the driver, I tried the back seat behind the front passenger seat which was probably most or all the way back since the guy sitting in the front passenger seat is 4 - 6 inches taller than me. With my butt pressed as far as it would go into the seatback, I could not even begin to swing my legs into the car -- my knees hit the hard side of the front seat back and there appeared to be only about three inches between the backseat cushion and the front seatback. Is there some kind of trick or is the IS backseat only for gnomes? The only way we were able to proceed was by having the front passenger slide the seat forward and have his knees pressed to his chin -- we made it - painfully - the couple of miles we had to go. My friend sitting behind the driver wasn't too happy either and the driver wasn't too happy because he had to sit too close to the steering wheel. I've had these same three guys in both my previous 90 LS and current 00 LS and even in our Camry and it hasn't been a problem -- or at least there was enough room that no one was screaming. I thought my memory might have faded but today's experience confirmed to me that the IS is mainly a two passenger car with a back seat for small children or pets - or gnomes.

Ski sack for the pass-thru from the trunk -- lots of cars have them.

I guess I never regarded the power steering pump issue as a safety issue even though a leak once lead to an alternator failure that caused my previous gen 1 LS400 to coast to a stop while driving on an interstate highway. I was lucky to coast down an exit ramp and into a gas station although the car was hard to steer and brake. After the above described failure, I learned to monitor the power steering pump closely and have it rebuilt or replaced at the first sign of a leak. I probably should have made a guard for the alternator from a plastic bottle to prevent leading power steering fluid from getting on it -- there have been photos of such a guard on this forum in the past. IMO, it is a waste of time trying to start some sort of movement to get this problem reported to NHTSA. It seems way too late now that the last gen 1 LS400 is 15 model years old. I would certainly encourage those with a gen 1 LS400 to make a leak guard for their alternator.

Consider contacting your nearest Lexus dealer to see if it has any "take off" wheels. I bought a set of new take-off OEM wheels from a Lexus dealer to use with snow tires on my first LS. I see that, as of today, Tire Rack has three different models of snow tires available in 225/65-17 for your RX: Bridgestone Blizzak DM-Z3 Dunlop Grandtrek SJ6 Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow I'm guessing that 17" wheels off a Toyota car or SUV would fit -- is there a Toyota dealer nearby where you could do a trial fitting or do you have friends with a Toyota with 17" wheels? Craigslist can be an excellent source of wheels. Snow tire stocks seem to be down more than usual for this time of the year -- the bad winter and the economy are likely both a factor. I noticed today that Tire Rack has restocked the Blizzak WS60 I need since I last checked about 10 days ago. I usually wait until spring to buy snow tires when they go on sale but maybe I'll go ahead and order replacement snow tires for my LS today since they may be out by Spring.

There can always be the occasional unplanned repair but it shouldn't be a worry if you really do reserve your $1200/year for funding repairs and maintenance. Regardless, maintaining a Lexus LS is far less expensive than maintaining a BMW or Mercedes of a similar model year and new car price. Your 97 Coach did come with the most important piece of original equipment, didn't it? I'm speaking of the "COACH Leather Cabin Bag" -- the specs are here: http://www.lexus.com/contact/pdf/1997/1997LSspecs.pdf (Ignore the parts about HID and rear heated seats being an option on the U.S spec 97 LS -- they were not.) Don't be concerned about not having a wood steering wheel -- the leather wrapped wheel is more comfortable. Funny that outside the U.S., the wood steering wheel was standard and the all leather wheel was optional on the LS430. Americans are just plain silly about wood in car interiors. Regarding the number of transmission gears, modern transmissions shift so smoothly that shifting isn't really noticeable anymore -- the more gears the better. It looks like you have a nice car. Take care of it and it should last you for at least another decade.

I think you are on track with a $100/month expense allocation over the long haul. As the miles mount up, you will likely be having a number of front suspension components replaced that usually wear out between 75,000 and 140,000 miles. If it has not been done, you will probably spend $1300 - $1600 on the 90K mile service if you have someone do it for you and depending on if you have an indie shop or a Lexus dealer do the work. You might even be able to squeeze your tires out of a budget like that. Without checking my files, I'd guess that our 00 LS400 costs more than twice as much to maintain as our 98 Camry with a similar number of miles -- about 105,000 miles on both. But then, it feels like twice as much car. The 95-97 LS400 is definitely my favorite LS body style -- very clean design.

How do you unplug the sensor? I'm assuming that, like on most Toyota vehicles, one has to partially remove the fender liner inside the wheel well to access the electrical parts for the windshield/headlight washer reservoir. Here is an illustration of the components: http://www.toyodiy.com/parts/p_U_1999_LEXU...EAGKA_8503.html

I've had a remarkable number of damage incidents at car dealers over the past 40+ years. Having a car damaged is unpleasant but it is not the end of the world. Most of the damage has been done by porters, the clean up crew, and the less skilled dealer staff who perform tasks like oil changes and tire rotations. In an attempt to at least minimize damage, I usually ask that our cars not be cleaned and washed. Especially at the Lexus dealer, I do a "walk around" inspection with the service writer so that he notes all existing blemishes on the work order. Because of all the damage, I long ago started doing most oil changes, tire rotations and minor maintenance myself and to take our cars in for service only every 30K miles or if something breaks. We've had relatively little damage since I adopted these tactics. Cars are sometimes damaged during shipping and there are very large body shops at ports of entry to correct this damage. New cars that arrive at dealerships with damage go directly to a body shop or to one of the legend of mobile independent contractor touch-up specialists. If you have bought several new cars, chances are high that you have bought one that has had at least some minor touch-up body work between the factory and the dealership. I hope your car gets fixed properly -- most do. Unfortunately, yours is not a particularly unusual situation.

Very doubtful. This question has been asked soooo many times on various Lexus and Toyota forums -- especially by Canadians who have imported U.S. spec models. I've never seen anyone come up with a conversion method - except that there is a Toronto company -- Speedofix? -- that supposedly can do it on later models.

The IS is a much smaller car than a Mercedes E-class and is more similar in size to a C-class. An E-class Mercedes is large enough to carry four adults comfortably on long trips. The IS has far, far less rear space and especially far less rear leg room than an E-class -- an IS rear seat is only suitable for children or very short trips if carrying adults. An IS even has substantially less rear leg room that the smallest Mercedes C-class sedan -- check the specs. I'm only 6' feet tall and I can't even begin to fit in the rear seat of an IS -- I've tried. It is not that I am merely uncomfortable in the back seat of an IS -- I'd have to be a double amputee to fit.

OK, I give up. Where do you mean when you say "the forward part of the bottom of the console wall."? You didn't just now realize you had an ashtray under your radio, did you? LOL!

Hey, that gives me an idea. Maybe we should have a "sticky" in General Discussions where all the Mercedes bashing could be done in one place. But seriously, if you search the forums (not just the IS forums) for "Mercedes" you can find plenty of past threads and posts from people like me who have switched from Mercedes to Lexus and from people who currently own both.

Lou, excuse me if you found my comment offensive. I thought you were making a blanket statement about all Lexus cars. I wonder if Ron Pratt is really asking about the "17-in 10-spoke aluminum alloy with Graphite finish" wheels that are optional on the 09 ES350. Many people, or at least people on Lexus forums -- mistake the new lighter graphite finish wheels for chrome wheels. Maybe Ron Pratt also thinks they are chrome. There is more than one graphite wheel finish being offered. The graphite finish on the optional wheels for some models is darker than the graphite finish on the optional wheels for others.

Pop off the center console wood using these instructions: http://carstereohelp.com/stereoremovalLexusLS400str1.htm Remove the air vent you see when the arm rest is raised if you really want to remove the whole console. I think the rest will be obvious. There are may be detailed instructions on this forum that could found by doing a search -- not sure. Removal of the console is pretty easy although it takes a while.

If you check the specification history on the Lexus website you'll find that chrome wheels were offered as official options on some Lexus models at least as far back as 1995 ... for example: http://www.lexus.com/contact/pdf/1995/1995LSspecs.pdf Lexus dealers also commonly sent out non-chrome wheels to be chromed -- from what I have seen and read, the official Lexus chrome wheels have a clear coat on top of the chrome. Some people prefer the unofficial chrome wheel option due to their greater brilliance. Although chrome wheels were available as on option on the 2000 LS400, mine is a Platinum Series and the Platinum Series wheels were not available in chrome -- they were a $1700 (retail) option which was the same price as the official Lexus chrome wheel option.

tfalsetta, My white 2000 LS400 has an Ivory interior (your's is ivory and not "beige", right?) and it came with black floor mats. Apparently putting dark floor mats in Lexus cars with light interiors is nothing new. If fact, the black mats were so popular that Lexus is permanently sold out of replacement black mats for my car and all that is left in stock are the lighter colors - ivory and blue/gray. My wife's Toyota has neutral gray mats and they look dirty all the time and have a couple of stains that won't come out. The dark mats in my car look pretty nice even when they are dirty. Get ivory mats if you want but I think you will find that the dark mats have advantages.

If you buy 16" snow tires, you will need 16" wheels that will fit your LS430. Yes, the 01-02 16" LS430 wheels are a direct fit on your 06 LS430. You have to be careful when buying wheels -- your front brakes have very large calipers and the wheels need to clear them. If you buy OEM LS430 wheels you will be assured they will fit. If you buy used wheels, make sure they fit properly on the front hubs -- wheels made for other Lexus models may not fit. Depending on where you live, you might be able to identify a wheel style and assemble a set of 16" wheels by buying them one or two at a time as you find them. So the dealer told you that your chrome wheels will be fine in the winter ... OK, I guess they might survive the salt of winter if they are the type that have a clear coat. The chrome wheels that came on my 2000 LS400 when it was sold new were horribly corroded after only three years -- the person who leased the car used the chrome wheels in the winter. The first thing I did when I bought the 2000 LS in 2003 was to have the chrome wheels replaced under warranty and then put the new chrome wheels on the shelf for use only in the spring/summer/fall. After five years of non-winter use, the new chrome wheels still look flawless. If you buy a set of wheels to use with snow tires, try to get painted or polished non-chrome wheels. You should be able to get a set of used 01-02 LS430 wheels for less than $300 and perhaps a lot less than that. Here is a thread where a forum user was wanting to sell his 2000 LS400 Platinum Series 16" wheels which are the same 16" wheels that were standard on the 01-02 LS430: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=50794 If you can get through this Winter, you will have the Spring, Summer and Fall to take care of all this before next Winter. Winter is a difficult time to be buying snow tires and wheels since lots of people are in "disaster mode" and looking for the same thing. Some of the tire suppliers like Tire Rack are even running low on stock due to the demand or perhaps because they are keeping less stock due to the economy.

IndyKen, aren't you being a little too hard on Tire Rack? A local store like a Goodyear is always going to be in a better position to sell slightly used tires to a customer who walks into their store and can see their condition. Tire Rack is not set up to sell used tires. I've purchased as many as 12 tires at a time from Tire Rack -- including a set of wheels on that purchase. I've been amazed at the low "closeout" prices I have gotten by buying snow tires in early Spring and Summer tires in late fall. I've returned only one set of tires to Tire Rack in the past 20 years -- when I accidentally purchased a set of snow tires that had a max pressure limit of 35 psi for a car which on which snow tires were supposed to run at a minimum of 34 psi. Tire Rack had a replacement set at my door before I even sent others back. I don't think they charged me in full for the second set -- only debited or credited my card for the difference -- they just trusted that I would send the first set back. I've been super-pleased with Tire Rack and plan to buy another set of snow tires from them in early spring.

DrAlbert, Your 06 LS will make an excellent "snow car" if equipped with heavy duty snow tires -- ones with the mountain/snowflake logo on the sidewall. I guarantee that you will not believe the difference. I'd recommend getting a set of 16" wheels and 225/60-16 snow tires for your 06 LS -- the same size that came standard on the 01-02 LS430 -- 16" wheels and tires will give more cushion on rough winter roads and 225/60-16 tires are usually substantially less expensive than 17" or 18" snow tires. I have Blizzaks but there are other good heavy duty snow tires. Look at the ratings on Tire Rack's website and pay attention to both the traction and noise ratings. Craigslist is sometimes a good place to find used Lexus wheels. I bought "take off" wheels from my Lexus dealer to use with snow tires on my first LS. After getting your car properly equipped with snow tires, take it to a large empty snow-packed parking lot (w/o light standards!) and learn how it handles. Drive it hard in a circle until you lose control, the VSC alarm starts beeping and VSC intervenes. Slam on the brakes and get an understanding of how anti-lock brakes work on snow while letting you continue to steer. Put your transmission in "snow mode" and floor the gas pedal. BTW, VSC, traction control and anti-lock brakes don't help nearly as much on snow if you don't have snow tires. The Kansas City metro area where I live usually has fairly wimpy mild winters -- maybe I would try to get by with all season tires if I didn't routinely drive much further north or in areas where there is little snow removal done. Yesterday the roads in KC were completely snow free while the streets in Des Moines IA where we were visiting were completely snow packed -- gave me an opportunity to demonstrate VSC to a sister-in-law who is looking to replace her 4WD Ford SUV with a regular sedan. I think I scared her! Personally, I would never drive a rear wheel drive car on snowy roads without snow tires. The price of snow tires and an extra set of wheels is so little compared to the price of a new or nearly new LS.

Because the cloth seats are a lot more comfortable than leather -- summer and winter. And the cloth seats wore like iron -- much better than leather. The cloth seats in my 90 LS looked like new when I sold the car after driving it from new until 183,000 miles and for 13 1/2 years. Cloth was standard for both 1990 and 1991 and required no other options to get it: http://www.lexus.com/contact/pdf/1990/1991LSspecs.pdf http://www.lexus.com/contact/pdf/1990/1991LSspecs.pdf Cloth was available on all years of the JDM Celsior version of the LS400 including the ones with the highest specification -- the ones that included rear A/C, rear reclining seats and rear audio controls. Photos of my 1990 LS400 and its cloth interior are in my gallery: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...m&album=131

Did turning off VSC not also turn off the Traction Control? I think its been quite a few years since there was a separate TRAC off button on Lexus cars. VSC and TRAC are now linked. Is there a "Snow" setting on your transmission? The "Snow" setting on my LS makes the car start out in 2nd or 3rd gear and restricts the throttle. Traction control is no substitute for snow tires. My wife's FWD Camry has traction control and is equipped with all season tires and it has far less traction in deep snow than my LS with heavy duty Blizzak snow tires.

Hmmm, I don't think I agree with you. My close friend's 1994 E320 has the famous self destructing wiring harness where the wire insulation crumbles and causes intermittent electrical gremlins. I seem to rescue him on a regular basis -- he sits in my Lexus while we wait on the tow truck to take his Mercedes away. I've been living around and sometimes owning Mercedes cars since the 1960s and can not identify any sort of "golden age" where Mercedes cars were particularly reliable. I do think that the quality of some of the materials in S-Class and SL Mercedes cars has tended to be a little better than in their mid-size cars and substantially better than in their small cars. A cousin who lives nearby took delivery of his Mercedes Smart for Two convertible a couple of weeks ago -- almost one year early after most people dropped off the waiting list. It will be interesting to see how it holds up after seeing a display model at an auto show get fairly trashed and parts broken by people "looking" at it.

On my 00 LS, there is a radio fuse in the fuse box under the hood that is only for the audio system -- you might try pulling that one first. On my car there is a second radio fuse in the fuse box under the dash but it has other equipment on its circuit including the shift interlock. My car has a fuse puller tool in the fuse box in the engine compartment.

How about a 12 volt hairdryer for thawing out the nozzles? I'm somewhat serious -- it might be worth a try. 12 volt hair dryers are cheap -- are there any truck stops or marine stores nearby? 12V hairdryers are cheap on the Internet. Most premixed windshield washer fluid is rated for use to -20° F. From what I've read, it's the mist that usually plugs the washer nozzles. I don't remember Lexus offering heated washer nozzles on any of their cars -- they are very common on German cars. I don't remember anyone on the Lexus forums adding heated nozzles to a Lexus although I see people doing it on non-Lexus forums -- do you want to be the first to do it and tell us how? GM and Toyota was just starting to equip cars with the Hotshot windshield washer system from Microheat -- but product failures put Microheat into bankruptcy recently and it looks like GM has canceled the option. Hotshot looked promising. Have you used any tap water in the windshield washer fluid tank that could being raising the freeze point? If so, you might want to siphon all the fluid out and replace it with treated washer fluid.