1990LS400

The advanced search feature of this and other Lexus forums is useful for finding information you are seeking. "Current hot method" for connecting an iPod? Here is a method on another forum: http://clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=269156 Apparently there is not enough demand to lead the main interface companies to provide a solution for older Lexus cars. IMO, the really "hot method" is to replace the Lexus audio system with an aftermarket double DIN audio system that has a built-in iPod interface and much more. If your car is running OK, I would not bother with "Sea Foam". These are usually clean running cars and have sophisticated fuel injection systems and electronics. 100K is low mileage for an LS. www.tirerack.com is a good place to view tire ratings from buyers. The ratings on Tire Rack - sometimes from thousands of customers - will likely be more relevant that the limited feedback you will receive on this forum.

Odd, I don't think I have ever replaced any rear suspension components in my 230,000 miles of driving LS400s. Maybe I've been lucky. But I have had to replace the front strut rods and bushings on both the LS400s I've had. The front strut bar bushes rarely last much more than 100,000 miles and cause sloppy steering and vibrations when they fail. I had the front stut bars and bushings on my 00 LS replaced at about 85,000 miles last summer and it made a world of difference.

There is a section in the owers manual for 98-00 LS400's on how to reset the VSC - I had to follow the procedure recently when I changed my battery. If the light went off, that is great but Autozone guy was apparently not familier with the process. I've gone through a whole bunch of batteries in the 18 years I have been driving Lexus LS cars. Almost every time the first sign of failure has been the engine dying - most often when rounding a low speed curve or hitting a bump. My indie repair shop owner - a former Lexus service writer - thinks a connection between battery cells fails and gets temporarilly disconnected while driving. I too have almost always been able to restart the car and drive until the car dies again. Now when it happens, I don't bother to have the battery or electrical system checked but simply pop in a new battery. Coincidentally, the last battery I replaced (an Interstate) also lasted only about one year. This time, I installed a battery from Walmart - they had several that fit but I got the largest dimension one with the most cranking power. Aside from what wwest said, Lexus dealers usually have lots of well trained, competent mechanics that have seen just about everything that can go wrong with Lexus vehicles -- something you are not going to find at an Autozone or other low budget garage. Look for an indie garage that specializes in Lexus and get to know the owner and mechanics. For me doing that has resulted in getting much better service and somewhat lower prices on repairs and maintenence. Good luck!

The attached capacity chart is from ARRC. Although my 00 LS400 also has a 6.5 U.S. quart engine oil capacity, it takes just under 6 quarts to bring the level up the the full mark on the dipstick. This matches up to what my 00 LS owners manual says -- only 5.9 U.S. quarts is to be added when the oil filter is replaced and 5.6 quarts without filter replacement. It is normal for all the oil to not drain from an engine during an oil change. I'm surprised that your manual says only 4.8 U.S. quarts -- sounds fishy. Lexus_1999_2003_Capacities.pdf

An "Autozone" is the last place on earth I would take a Lexus to to solve a problem like this. You need a mechanic with experience with Lexus cars -- either a good indie or a Lexus dealer. There are apparently multiple issues that can cause the problems you are experiencing. The only thing that has ever caused my 00 LS engine to die while driving and the VSC light to come on has been a bad battery - it has happened twice in the 60,000 miles I have driven this LS and each time a new battery solved the problem. I had a similar problem on a 90 LS I drove for 13 1/2 years. It could be another problem but, I'm curious, how old is your battery?

Well, for sure you should get an owners manual. Try doing an advanced search of this forum for "homelink". The instructions have been posted countless times including by me.

Towing a little 400 pound boat on a light weight trailer is not going to require changing the maintenance schedule. With that said, I have always changed the transmission and rear diff fluid in LS cars every 30,000 miles. Probably overkill but it is cheap insurance.

A trailer designed to carry a 400 pound sailboat likely weighs only between 120 and 150 pounds - there are a variety of places like http://www.directboats.com/sabotr.html that sell them. The total weight is going to be very low unless one fills the boat with a bunch of other stuff. Because of its shape, a boat causes less aerodynamic drag that towing a box shaped trailer. Make sure the boat is well secured to the trailer.

You will have no problem at all if your transmission is in decent operating condition. I've seen lots of people on these forums say that towing a trailer is terribly hard on an LS400. But I have noticed that just about none of them have much or any experience towing a trailer behind an LS. I've towed a 2000 pound sail boat behind a 60 HP Mercedes diesel sedan so towing 600 or so pounds (boat and trailer) behind a 240 HP LS400 is rediculously easy. It will be so easy that you find yourself checking your rear view mirror to verify that the trailer is still attached. I had a class II receiver hitch on the 90 LS400 I drove from new until 2003 and I towed a fully loaded utility trailer behind it countless times - several times with 1,500 pounds of paving bricks in it. That car is still going strong today with its current owner at over 250,000 miles. I currently have a class II hitch on my 00 LS400. I bought it at "etrailer" which seems to have only a class I hitch available for a 90 LS400: http://www.etrailer.com/hitch-1990_Lexus_LS400.htm It appears that the supply of class II hitches (3500 lb max) for the early LS400 has dried up but a class I hitch has plenty of capacity for your needs.

You might be surprised at how many people pay cash for new and used cars - even fairly expensive ones. If you price your RX well, you should have no trouble selling it.

I know this was a common problem on the 90-94 LS400, but is this also happening on the 95 and up LS? I'm not saying it is not, but I don't remember seeing a thread about this problem occurring after 1994. It is certainly worth checking out. I had a similar false warning light for several years on a 90 LS400. The problem turned out to be a loose connector on an aftermarket trailer wire harness. If you have not changed all the rear bulbs, I suggest you do. You might be surprised how blackened some of the bulbs will be and it is possible that there is a loose filiment in one of the bulbs. Also, check the ground connections for the rear lights -- see if they are tight and if there is any corrosion. It could be the rather expensive module that senses that a bulb is out but failure of that seems to be quite rare. It's probably something simple.

The OEM size was 215/60-16 was standard on your car so 235/55-16 tires would fit perfectly on the OEM 16"x7.5" wheels and keep the speedometer almost perfectly accurate. There is a pretty good selection of 235/55-16 tires available at fairly low prices - check http://www.tirerack.com You can play with tire sizes on this calculator: http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp You can view the OEM tires specs for your car here: http://www.lexus.com/contact/pdf/1996/1996GSspecs.pdf

I doubt if you are going to find a used trailer hitch. etrailer.com where I bought my hitch has quite a selection for a 2007 RX -- pretty inexpensive ... http://www.etrailer.com/hitch-2007_Lexus_RX350.htm

Prof, there was certainly no miracle involved in getting your cargo net installed. If the dealer did the job correctly, he merely acquired the correct cargo net hooks and screwed them into place. This is literally a two minute job which I have done three times -- on two Lexus and one Toyota brand vehicles.

I doubt that you can just "reprogram" your steering wheel volume controls. The steering wheel controls were "hijacked" for use with the phone when the dealer installed the phone system. I would hope that this would be an easy question for a Lexus dealer. It might be as simple as unplugging the cable for the steering wheel control from the phone system harness and plugging it back into the audio system. Or it might require removing phone system components. Lots of people have removed the phone systems from older Lexus vehicles and it is normally not all that difficult. If you don't want to talk to the dealer you might try https://techinfo.toyota.com if you are willing to do a short term subscription. You should verify it yourself, but I just checked and saw that techinfo has (or is supposed to have) accessory installation instructions for all Lexus vehicles back to 1990.

I have not done business with this company but their price is currently $215.85 for each headlight assembly: http://www.lexuspartstore.com/catalog/?N=9...us&md=LS400

Is it that low brake fluid indicator that is on? If so and the fluid is not low, sometimes the little float in the reservoir can stick or the switch attached to the float can fail.

intellivised, There have been many threads about the awful gen 1 LS lights. They were the main reason I moved on to my current LS as I got older and it got more difficult for me to see at night. I think auxilliary lights are your best bet since there is nothing you can do to improve the light pattern of your headlights. As for bulbs, a 2-pack of Sylvania Xtravision bulbs cost less than $15 where I live. Xtravision bulbs are sold as Silverstars in Europe and the capsules are clear and not tinted like the American Silverstars. Xtravisions put out a bit more light than the standard bulbs and the light is whiter. Unfortunately, according to the chart on the Sylvania website, Xtravision bulbs have the same short expected short life as the American Silverstars. But at the cheap price, you can more easily afford to replace them once or twice a year. Laramie? I used to ski at a tiny ski area called Medicine Bow near Laramie way back in the 1970s - it had one ski lift and a couple of rope tows but was a fun place.

RX in NC, Based on your post, it's as if we are twins that were separated at birth -- except for the options trading part! Some of my friends and coworkers can seem envious of our lifestyle and that we never worry about money. I just tell them that the reason we can afford to pay cash for everything is that we pay cash for everything. Most people just don't understand that when you never pay anyone else to use their money, then you have a lot more money to spend and especially to invest. Maybe we can start a "movement".

You have to remember that, depending on model and equipment, the list prices of Lexus vehicles range from about $30,000 to over $100,000. Like many brands, the majority of Lexus vehicle sold are towards the lower end of the list price range. The $145,000 figure seems consistent with, but a little lower than, other information I have seen. The average income of buyers tends to increase up the model range as car prices increases. The average income of new IS250 buyers is probably far less than $145,000 since most IS250 buyers are relatively young. The medium income (a better measure than "average/mean" income) of LS600hL buyers is more likely well above $400,000. I've had several Lexus and Mercedes salesman tell me that most sales of their most expensive models were cash deals. People are more likely to finance cars at the lower end of the price spectrum but pay cash at the upper end.

Professor, The plugs do not unscrew but are simply pushed into place, held by friction and can be removed with a trim removal tool. I suggest that you remove the entire plastic sill (see the arrow in the attached photo) so you can see exactly where the hooks should be installed. There are a variety of trim removal tools that you could use to pop the plugs out. The one I use looks a little like the garden tool I have for popping dandelions out. A trim removal tool works a lot better than a screwdriver but you could use a screwdriver if you are gentle. When removing the plastic sill, I suggest that you insert the trim removal tool behind the sill material and not try to insert the removal tool between the head of the plug and the face of the plastic sill. This will keep you from scratching the exposed side of the sill. The plastic sill is very easy to remove and reinstall. I've done it many times.

This Sewell Lexus webpage says that "anchors" should already be on either side of your trunk on an 02 LS430: http://www.lexus-parts.com/parts_detail.asp?id=87788 Does "anchors" mean "hooks"? Maybe someone removed the hooks and replaced them with clips? When a body shop threw away the cargo net hooks on my 90 LS in 1999, they had a replacement set for me the next day after I complained. Maybe the dealer can get the hooks separately. I suspect the hooks are the same for all model years of the LS -- at least the ones I installed on my 2000 LS look the same as the ones I installed on my previous 90 LS and the same as the ones in your photo. The cargo net hooks on our Toyota Camry are different than the Lexus hooks - different size bolt -- even though the hooks install on either side of the trunk opening like on an LS.

Mera, does your 98 LS have super high miles or been driven mostly on rough roads? I often notice how cushy the ride is in my 00 LS is after driving a rental car for a few weeks. Depending on the rental car I've had, my LS can either seem like a boat or very pleasant. Whats your "daily driver"? A Porsche? ;)

I checked my repair manual set for my 00 LS and was surprised that, except for the self leveling feature, there are no detailed diagnostic procedures for the HID headlights in my car - only charts with voltage and continuity values for various connectors and at the underhood fuse block. Has a Lexus dealer given you an estimate of $1,000 to fix this problem? Surely it wouldn't cost all that much to get a diagnosis at a Lexus dealership or an indie Lexus repair shop. The problem could be as simple as a corroded connection. If you are good at diagnosing automobile electrics, you could do a short subscription to https://techinfo.toyota.com to see if you can find information about your problem. The main thing I recommend is to find a good indie repair shop that specializes in Lexus. Try asking around.

I owned three Mercedes cars over a 21 year period from 1969 to 1990 when I bought my first LS400. Personally, I don't have a need to convince "dedicated Benz owners" that Lexus cars are better. Why bother? I live in a culdesac where there are five S-class Mercedes cars owned by other households. It is as if my Mercedes owning neighbors are living in the same Mercedes fantasy I once lived in. I don't say anything bad about Mercedes to my neighbors or to my best friend who bought a new Mercedes and has had a bizarre string of crippling problems with it. I let them all have their fantacies. I do, however, vent my opinions about Mercedes on this forum.