1990LS400

Darned, here's a thread that says the Lexus phone in the 93 LS was installed on the driver's side of the trunk: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...20&hl=phone

Sorry but this diagram for a 90 LS suggests that the phone ECU is on the right side of the truck of a gen 1 LS400: http://www.lextreme.com/Lexradio.pdf The 90 through 92 LS was pretty much identical so I'm guessing the phone ECU is in the same place for these three model years.

This diagram for a 90 LS suggests that the phone ECU is on the right side of the truck of a gen 1 LS400: http://www.lextreme.com/Lexradio.pdf I've done quite a bit of searching this morning for that past thread about a Lexus phone problem muting all the speakers except the left rear. In all the related threads I've found, the problem mutes all the speakers.

With all the problems you are having, I'm almost afraid to ask .... but did an owners manual come with your car? The owners manual for my 00 LS400 shows the location of the two fuse boxes -- a small one under the dash on the far left on the drivers side and the large one in the engine compartment. It also shows the function of each fuse. The inside of each fuse box cover in my 00 LS shows the function of each fuse. I assume your LS430 owners manual contains similar information. My 00 LS400 has two fuses associated with the radio. The one under the dash is shared by the radio, outside mirrors, shift lock and A/C. I would notice immediately if it blew. The one in the engine compartment is only for the radio. Your LS430 may be different. The "radio 1" fuse in the engine compartment of a friend's 99 LS400 failed a few months ago. We tried replacing it but the new fuse blew as we inserted it. We disconnected the battery terminal, inserted another new "radio 1" fuse, and reconnected the battery. The fuse didn't blow this time and the radio and CD player again functioned normally. It seemed odd that we had to disconnect the battery to keep from blowing a new fuse. Has the 90,000 mile service been performed? There should be a sticker on the engine cover showing that the timing belt has been replaced if the 90,000 mile service has been performed. If it hasn't, you'll be spending about $1,500 to have the 90,000 mile service performed. It is starting to sound like the previous owner let things go. I hope you can verify that the car has had at least a few oil changes along the way.

No kidding! This is the problem that bought me to this forum in 2003. In it's nastier forms, the broken wires in the hinge can keep your car from being able to accelerate and cause it to buck like a bronco. That's what happened to my 90 LS in 2003. Park your car and do not drive it until the trunk hinge wires are fixed. It is an easy fix and shouldn't take you more than an hour.

I may have been the one who posted information you read on disconnecting the two large connectors from the trunk mounted phone ECU on a 98-00 LS400 and plugging them together to bypass the ECU and complete the circuit. I do not know if this applies to the earlier LS400. As I just posted on another thread, I think the phone ECU in a gen 1 LS400 is behind the left side trunk trim -- only because that is where the dealer had a phone ECU for a non-Lexus phone system installed when I bought my first LS400 in 1990. If there are two of you -- one with a 93 LS and one with a 91 LS -- who have dealer installed Lexus phones and only the left rear speaker working, then "the plot thickens". I vaguely remember someone posting specific instructions about removing the phone from a gen 1 LS400 but I'd be hard pressed to find the thread. I think it was at least a year ago and I'm not even sure it was on this Lexus forum. I'll see if I can find the thread.

I'm not certain but I think it is behind the trunk trim panel on the drivers side. Take a peak. I didn't buy the Lexus phone option (too expensive) when I bought my first LS400 in 1990 but my understanding was that the ECU for the aftermarket President phone system I bought through the Lexus dealer was installed in the same location where the Lexus phone ECU would have lived -- behind the left side trunk trim panel.

The problem with your temperature gauge could be the sending unit at the engine -- I wouldn't know how to check but I've had one go bad on a non-Lexus car. By 140,000 miles, I think I had replaced about every single front suspension component on my 90 LS except the shock absorbers - all ball joints, strut bar bushings and probably a few other things had been replaced. The current owner told me a few months ago, that the car is still riding fine on the original factory installed shock absorbers at over 260,000 miles. My 90 LS also had a cloth interior and it had only three options -- remote locking, sunroof and floor mats. The sticker price was just over $36,000 but I got a heck of a deal because few people wanted a car with a cloth interior. There are a few photos in the gallery that I took shortly before I sold it: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...m&album=131 I don't know about yours but, from new, my 90 LS rode about an inch lower than a 90 LS with leather interior -- obvious when my next door neighbor parked his LS400 beside mine.

jcrome04, Since when did Sequim or Port Angeles start getting snow? Heck, your grass stays green year round! (My cousin just got back from visiting her wussy brother in Port Angeles.) My brother-in-law across the water on Whidbey didn't even put central heating in when he built a new house back in '94! You wussies! LOL Vermont is not just iced over highways in the winter but gets some real snow -- more like the kind of snow you see on the drive to Paradise on the slopes of Rainier, which I climbed twice when I was younger. Try driving up to Paradise this coming winter on your all season tires -- that'ill teach ya! A LS400 in fresh 5" - 10" snow is just about immovable on all-season M+S tires as I've found out when I've got caught in an early snow storm with all season tires on. And I consider driving in snow to be great fun. Snow tires (the real ones with the mountain/snowflake log) make a huge difference when the snow is deep -- the difference between being stuck with your wheels spinning helplessly and getting where you need to go. Two or three years ago, we started out in a late night snow storm to drive about ten miles in my wife's front wheel drive Camry which has all season M+S tires and traction control. (We wouldn't have tried it but she had to meet some sort of publication deadline.) The streets were abandoned -- no one else was venturing out. We made it about two blocks before we gave up. We struggled back home, got into our Blizzak equipped LS400 and drove the 20 miles round trip with no problems at all. OK ... some of the credit has to be given to VSC and the transmission snow mode setting on my 00 LS but the Blizzaks are what made the real difference. Hey, I'm just having fun with you. I'm jealous of where you live. I've spent so much time in the Seattle area I should have moved there decades ago.

First of all, the charge for re-aiming the headlights should be far less than $750 -- probably less than $100. I've corrected the headlight aim on many cars over the past 40 years and it has rarely taken me more than 10 minutes total to do both sides of a car -- and that was by doing it the old fashioned, more time consuming way of parking the car in front of a marked wall. As I explained previously in this thread, it is likely that your headlights are in the default position -- they should be perfectly aligned in the default position and that is why they are "projecting together in a straight line". The indicator light (probably) came on because the leveling system is not working and would not be able to compensate if your car is heavily loaded down with passengers and stuff in the trunk. As I said before, there is a diagnostic procedure for the headlight auto-leveling system. It involves checking continuity, resistance and voltage on the actuators, ECU and sensors. My guess is that the entire diagnostic procedure can be performed by a knowledgeable mechanic in less than one hour. Perhaps you need to take your car someplace else.

There is really nothing that needs to be done that isn't explained in the maintenance manual that came with your car. As you can see in your maintenance manual, the recommended timing belt replacement interval is 90,000 miles or 6 years after the in-service date. In summer 2007, I paid right at $900, not including tax, for a timing belt replacement on my 2000 LS400 -- the service included replacing the serpentine belt, water pump, and a bunch of miscellaneous parts including gaskets, O rings, and idlers. $480 of the $900 was for labor. I waited an extra year (to the day!) from the car's 07/31/2000 in-service date before I had the replacement done. Any competent mechanic can do the work but I would recommend that you verify that the mechanic has prior experience replacing a timing belt on a V8 Lexus or Toyota and that he is going to replace ALL the parts that are recommended for replacement during the timing belt service. Beginning in about 1994, I started having most of the maintenance of my Lexus cars done at independent repair shops owned by former Lexus dealer employees and staffed by Lexus trained mechanics. Look around and you might find a similar business in your area. Perhaps ask Lexus owners you see at the gas station where they have their cars serviced. You may not think your car is worth a lot but I'll bet it is worth something to you. The 95-97 LS400 are very nice cars and my personal favorite for their exterior styling. Best of luck!

Do you have a written quote of what the Lexus dealer was going to do for $750? That's a whole lot of money. That just can't be only labor costs. That would be ... like ... seven hours of labor. Were they going to replace some parts?

The recommended oil weight for your car is 5W30 year round. Driving an LS400 in snow with all season tires can be scary -- even worse if your '93 LS doesn't have the traction control option. If you decide to get snow tires, you will need four of them. Putting snow tires on just the rear can be very dangerous (suicidal?) on a car with as much power as an LS. I've used snow tires on my Lexus LS cars for the past 18 winters and wouldn't dream of driving in snow without them. But, I'm not one to take needless risks and I like being in control of a car. I also find it fun to drive past all those stuck vehicles that have only all season tires. If you do get snow tires, do yourself a favor and get "real" snow tires with the "mountain/snowflake" logo on the side wall -- a world of difference from the ones that are labeled only "M+S". I use Bridgestone Blizzak snow tires on my 00 LS but there are other good real snow tires. If you need an extra set of wheels for snow tires, a set of used 16" wheels from a Toyota Avalon or Camry should work. Try CraigsList. This month's (Nov 08) Consumer Reports magazine has a good article about the different types of tires for trucks and SUVs -- the information is also applicable to cars. These cars generally start easily at cold temperatures and warm up reasonably quickly. If you find you need or want a block heater you can obtain one at a Canadian Lexus dealer -- the closest one to Vermont would probably be in Montreal. If the age of your battery is unknown, consider buying a new one -- cheap insurance.

Well, then ... it sounds like the cradle is for an aftermarket phone kit. Even when a phone kit, Lexus or otherwise, is hooked up to mute the radio during a call, it would mute all the speakers and not just some of them. You might want to take a look at http://carstereohelp.com/lexus.htm They offer advice on what to check to determine the problem. These are the guys that fixed the Nak head unit in my 00 LS earlier this year. I was lucky to have a friend with an identical car so I was able to determine which component was the problem by swapping mine into his car. If you have to have your head unit or amp repaired, I would highly recommend Car Stereo Help. They were quick, cheap and nice too.

Looks very nice! Ah ... the joy of driving a RHD car in a LHD land. Back in the 60s, I remember having to tell a friend when it was safe to pass since he couldn't see around trucks while driving his RHD Jag XKE 3.8. Which specification is your Celsior? A, B, C, C/F ? I assume it is a "B" or higher since it has leather seats. Not that you will care, but does it still have the speed limiter? I've attached a photo of something I think you need for your front seat passenger so he/she feels more comfortable. Might be fun if you are ever stopped by the police.

Cover the light with black electrical tape? I suspect your headlights are at the default level position and are no longer able to compensate for the amount of weight you are carrying in your car, e.g. the number of burritos you had for lunch, LOL. The default position is likely just fine for a lightly loaded car. Do either of your headlights go through the up and down synchronization routine when you start your car at night? The problem could be an actuator, ECU or a level sensor under your car. There is a lengthy diagnostic procedure for the leveling system of my LS400 in my repair manuals -- doesn't look easy. Have you considered having a mechanic evaluate the problem? I love the headlight leveling system in my 00 LS. When I carried a full load of people and luggage in the 90 LS I had for many years, all I could see at night were the tree tops.

Name: Jim Rank: Specialist 4 Branch: US Army Job: Newspaper reporter, Company Clerk Years of service: 1 year, 9 months, 21 days, 12 hours, 30 minutes (Really! I gave myself back-to-back "early-outs".) Assignments: Fort Riley, Kansas; Grafenwöhr, Germany Schools: Ft. Still - Artillery Surveyor I certainly had a odd military "career". In exchange for dropping my application for officer candidate school as Ft. Sill OCS was shutting down towards the end of the Vietnam war, I was given a choice of duty stations to serve out the final few months of my original two year commitment. I chose Ft. Riley, Kansas since it was close to home, I had lots of friends there and I wanted to go with them to Octoberfest and tour auto plants in Germany during the annual Exercise REFORGER war games. To say the least, I was very fortunate. I have a Veterans license plate on my Lexus.

You can register on the Lexus website to view the owners manual on-line. Go to http://www.lexus.com/ and then click on Owners ... Owner Resources Some on this forum have said that Lexus will give a new owner of a used Lexus manual a free owners manual. I can not personally verify that but I have bought a Lexus owners manual and it was not very expensive.

I'm guessing that what you found is for the dealer installed Lexus phone. All LS cars from 1990 through 2003 where prewired at the factory for a dealer installed phone. I couldn't swallow the high cost of a dealer installed Lexus phone when I bought my first LS in 1990 but the dealer had, at my request, a much less expensive aftermarket phone system installed. The transceiver for my aftermarket "President" phone system was installed on the left side of the trunk of my 1990 LS400 near the radio antenna in the same location where the Lexus phone transceiver would have been installed. The coax cable you found may run to the phone antenna coax cable connection at the center of the rear window above the headliner. If you take a peek, you can see the coax cable attached to a small bracket above the headliner.

If the phone cradle is from a dealer installed Lexus phone system, there should be a control module for it on the left side of the steering wheel unless it has been removed. The control module has three buttons and a lever. If there is no steering wheel phone control, there will be a removable plastic blank. Does the phone cradle have any brand marking? From what I remember, the old Lexus phone systems played the phone call audio only through the left rear phone system. If you are getting radio audio through only your left rear speaker, I suspect there is some other problem. Is this a new problem? (i.e. were all the speakers previously working?)

As far as I know, pinstripes were after-market products installed by dealers and not official Lexus options. I've never seen pinstripes listed on an official Lexus options list. I removed the pinstripes from my 00 LS with a hairdryer and cleaner wax -- took about 30 minutes. If you really like pinstripes, I suggest you contact your nearest Lexus dealer and ask who they used to apply them.

It does not sound like a speaker problem if all the drivers side (left channel) speakers stopped working all at once. When all the right side speakers stopped working on the Nak system in my 00 LS400 earlier this year, the problem turned out to be a loose connection on the balance control in the head unit. In my situation, the right side speakers worked on and off over a period of several weeks until finally there was no sound at all from the right channel. Your problem could also be in either your head unit or amp.

Very nice, Blake!

I found these instructions on ClubLexus: "When you are driving, turn on the cruise control. It will probably say something about the radar. Before setting it, push the cruise control lever forward and hold it for a few seconds. The radar will go off. Then just push down to set your speed." You might want to check your owners manual to confirm this.

Maybe weiners were used as the lower steering column shaft on U.K. models. The one on my U.S. spec car appears to be made from steel. Sorry, I couldn't resist a little kidding. I know this is a serious subject. I used a flashlight and I see on my car the part you are talking about. Did the shaft itself break or did the bolt that holds it to the U-joint under the dash come loose? I've certainly never heard of anything like this happening. Do you know if your steering column has ever been repaired? As you probably know, the tilt/telescope system sometimes goes bad and sometimes has to be disassembled to replace a variety of parts including the tilt and telescope motors. Could someone have made an improper repair? Or ... do you know anyone who might be trying to "do you in"? Are you getting along with the wife or girlfriend? Or ... wife AND girlfriend? Any gambling debts? You might want to check your brake lines to see if they have been tampered with! How expensive is it to fix this problem?