1990LS400

I think the main aspect of the pre-wired phone system that would be of use would be the audio mute pin. Blake918 found a mute pin under the center armrest (on the driver side) of his 1995 LS400 and I am guessing you will find the same connector on your LX450 - do an advanced search on "Blake918" and "phone" and you will surely find his thread that shows a photo of the connector and mute pin. You could probably go all the way and play the call through the door speakers if you want - find a thread about how Jainla did this on his 01 LS430. Or you could take the easy way out like Blake and I did and use an add-on speaker hidden under the dash. You can pick up a hot wire at the underdash fuse box or the ignition switch or in the prewire phone harness but the easiest way is to tap into the underdash fuse box (assuming an LX450 has one) with a dummy fuse adapter sold at auto parts stores - these plug into the fuse box and allow you to take power off a fuse with one or more connections coming out of the fuse. If you remove your phone, avoid cutting any wires. Just unplug things. It will probably take some disassembly of your center console. I have no idea where the main phone ECU is on an LX450 but I assume that, when you find it (probably in the trunk or under the rear seat), you would would unplug the connectors from it and plug the large ones into each other. There aren't all that many LX450s out there. A coworker of mine - who, BTW, bought my 90 LS from me - told me recently that he wants to buy one. He told me that he thinks they are a great buy. Please post information about whatever you do on your LX - it might help others.

Your question has been asked hundreds of times on this and other Lexus forums. The short answer is "No".

I doubt if ATT/Cingular would provide you with service for your Lexus analog phone since they have for several years been slowly withdrawing analog (and TDMA) service in preparation for the end of analog service in February 2008 --> http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/analogcellphone.html Cingular has been trying to pry our GSM/TDMA/Analog phones out of our hands for the last year or so but we have held on to them since the Nokia kits we use them in mute our radios (00 LS400, 98 Camry) when a call is in progress. It is fairly easy to install a phone kit but if I had to start from scratch, these days, I would only install a Bluetooth kit. Do you have a handset that supports Bluetooth? I suspect the sunroof part you need is most easily found at a Lexus dealer. I have bought quite a few parts from Sewell Lexus ( http://www.lexus-parts.com ) and they will normally give at least a modest discount off list price. Try submitting a quote request through their website.

Of course the dealer should take care of the problem if your car is under warranty. I don't see any TSIBs about wind noise on the 04 LS430 but I could have missed one -- only one about a water leak at the top of the rear window on vehicles with a VIN prior to JTHBN36F#40167882. That one is TSIB BO005-04. One thing you could do is to use an inexpensive automotive stethoscope to locate the source of the noise so you could direct the dealer to the location of the problem. If you do this, I suggest you either have someone else drive or move the stethoscope around the interior. The doors or sunroof could be out of adjustment even though they look OK. Of course, some people notice the wind noise because there is so little mechanical noise. Have you driven other LS430's to compare the noise level?

If you don't like the dealer's price, you might check one of the many salvage yards that carry Lexus parts. Here is one of many that has interior parts including seats. Perhaps they would sell a first aid kit separately. You probably wouldn't want the original contents (12 years old!) and you could stock the kit with items purchased at a drugstore. http://www.automotix.net/partshotline-lexu...r-requests.html

This is normal with any car - front or rear drive - that has a relatively powerful engine. My wife's 98 Camry has the same engine as your RX and it will spin the front wheels the same as yours until the traction control kicks in to stop it. Only yesterday in the rain and at the beginning of a 200 mile Thanksgiving trip, I had to turn the ECT switch on my LS to "snow" mode to get enough traction to pull away from a stop light while going up a hill - my LS has 8/32 tread left on all the tires - I just checked the depth yesterday before the trip.

Actually, I don't think problems with the starter are common on any of the LS400 model years. A starter can last the life of the car. I certainly would not replace a starter until it failed or began to cause problems.

The "manual" I mentioned is the repair manual set for the 2000 LS400 which I purchased from a Lexus dealer. I bought them for $200-$300 shortly after I purchased the car and have purchased repair manual sets for almost every car that I have owned over the past 40 years. It is odd that bulb replacement instructions were deleted from the owners manual sometime in the 1990s. The owners manual for the 1990 LS400 I owned had instructions on how to replace almost every bulb in the car. The owners manual I have for the 1994 U.K./Europe LS400 has even better instructions and includes lots of information omitted from U.S. owner manuals. Perhaps omitting bulb replacement instructions from the owners manual was another way to increase dealer profit!

Some people prefer to remove the headlight assemblies. I do not prefer this method since it takes longer and can slightly affect your headlight aim. I found that moving the battery back on the divers side and removing the plastic intake duct on the passengers side gives you easy access to both bulbs. Total job took me less than 10 minutes. The plastic intake duct only has one bolt and the battery has 2. Good Luck! Gosh, it probably takes me more than 10 minutes just to reset the 18 radio stations settings I lose after disconnecting the battery. You are quick! Or are you able to reach the bulb without disconnecting the battery? I followed the instructions in the manual and removed and reinstalled LS headlight assemblies many times while experimenting with different brands and wattages of bulbs -- sometimes several times in one evening. I have never once had to re-aim the headlights. The key is to not touch the aiming screws and remove only the screws and bolts that hold the entire headlight assembly to the car. There are only 3 or 4 screws/bolts per side to remove. One of the few things I liked about the Mercedes sedan I had before I bought my first LS in 1990 was that the back of the Mercedes headlights were fully exposed - only had to pop a plastic panel off the back of the headlight assembly and slap in a bulb. Toyota sure could have made it easier on the LS.

so i cant use the OEM phone and the OEM wiring? Correct. It is possible to connect an aftermarket phone kit to the OEM phone wire harness so that the call plays through the door speaker like on the dealer installed Lexus phone. Jainla did this on his LS430. Or you can do something like I did and use an external speaker and attach the aftermarket phone kit's mute wire to a mute pin on the OEM phone wire harness. I don't know where you would find a mute pin on a 1990 LS but it would likely be in the trunk. Or you could connect an aftermarket phone kit's mute wire to a mute pin on the headunit or amp. The wiring diagram I posted earlier shows the wire color. Personally, I think it is more risky to mess with the headunit or amp and that it is safer to connect aftermarket phone kits to the car's built-in phone harness.

I bought hood struts for my similar 2000 LS400 from www.lexus-parts.com (Sewell Lexus) for $61.01 each in December 2005. I may have gotten a better price since I am a fairly frequent customer. They arrived in two days and took perhaps ten minutes to install.

Lexus has lately been using H rated tires on the LS and I would certainly hope that you would not come even close to exceeding their 130 mph limit. I used 225/60-15 tires for several years on the 1990 LS I used to have. They fit the 6.5 inch wide wheels just fine. 6" wide wheels, if I remember correctly, are the minimum wheel width for 225 tires but it might be even 5.5 inches so you would be well within the limit. You will get a bit more harshness and noise with 225/60-15 but the speedometer will be perfectly accurate and braking will be much better. And it is just about impossible to "curb" your OEM 1990 LS wheels with 225/60-15 tires since the tire sidewall with hit the curb first. Lots of advantages.

I suggest that you email your wheel photo to the Prime company and see if they can give you the model number. Knowing the model number might help you do a search. Although I love the way they look and they are of great quality, I have certainly had second thoughts about my purchase of Mille Miglia Bello wheels from Tire Rack in 2003 for use with snow tires - which I mounted yesterday, by the way. I would have been better off spending a few more bucks and buying take-off Lexus wheels which I could replace if I ever bent a wheel. I can't find the Bellos anymore, anywhere - long discontinued.

None of the phones for the U.S. LS400 models (1990 - 2000) were GSM. As far as I know, all were analog but the ones in the late 1990s might have supported TDMA or CDMA - definitely not GSM. It is fairly easy to install a phone kit in an LS if you don't mind doing a little minor disassembly of the interior - there are plenty of Bluetooth kits that interface with a modern GSM phone. Or you could use a Bluetooth headset or a visor mounted Bluetooth unit.

I don't see much reason to start still another thread on this most common issue of a leaky PS pump causing the alternator to fail. Consider searching for past threads.

Do you see your wheel on this webpage? --> http://www.primewheel.com/prime_wheels.aspx?size=15 It sounds like your wheel is one of the BBS look-a-like wheels that was very popular in the early 1990s.

Just fix the broken wires in the left trunk hinge. This is an e-x-t-r-e-m-l-y common problem and you will find lots of threads about fixing the broken wires in the left trunk hinge on this and other Lexus forums. It me only a few minutes to splice in wires in the left trunk hinge when the same problem happened on my 90 LS five or six years ago.

One of the nice features of the 98-00 LS400 is that none of the antennas are external. No worry about vandalizm and car washes. The phone and radio antennas are imprinted on the rear window and the OEM GPS is just under the surface of the dash board. What exactly would a "Shark Fin" antenna accomplish? Surely you are not talking about a non-functional "dummy" one! Anyone for curb feelers? <_<

The search feature of this forum is a very useful tool. Using the search feature, I found this link: http://www.cureline.net/lex/audio/howto_li..._hu_pioneer.htm As noted on cureline, fixing the radio LCD and lights is not nearly as easy as fixing the HVAC display. Most people seem to send their radios to a professional when the lights or LCD fail. You might find try doing a search on Google --> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=LS400+radio+repair

In the few times I have heard about a defective phone system causing the radio to mute, the car did have the phone installed. All LS400's are fully prewired at the factory for a phone. I don't know if it will help you any but attached is a wiring diagram for the 1990 LS400 audio system. 1990_LS400_audio_system.pdf

I wonder if the loaner agreement could differ by dealer and location. The loaner is really a "free" rental and the agreement I sign when I get a loaner from the Lexus dealer looks about the same as the agreements I sign when I rent cars from from a regular rental company. A loaner is really not free at all unless your car is being repaired under warranty. I see nothing wrong with a Lexus dealer limiting the use of a loaner car to a specific radius around the dealership. I have noticed that the local dealer service writer always asks how far I plan to drive the loaner I am being given. It has never been over about 15 miles so I have do not know what he would have said if I told him I was going to drive 1,000 miles. From my rather extensive experience in renting cars, I would have to say that a standard rental agreement always limits where one can take a vehicle. It is usually no big deal to ask that the allowable area be expanded somewhat but expanding it a lot can significantly increase the rental cost. I almost always ask that the allowable area be expanded and make sure that this expansion is documented on the rental agreement. I see nothing wrong with rental companies using GPS devices to monitor where their cars are taken and I see no legal need for them to disclose that they are using such devices. If someone signs a rental contract and then violates the contractual agreement, then I have no sympathy if he gets caught.

There have been a "gazillion" threads on this forum about your question. All I can say is that there is that real snow tires with the mountain/snow flake symbol on the side wall make it much easier to get around in the snow and make winter driving a lot less scary in my 00 LS400. The handling of the GS and LS don't differ by all that much. Yes, you can probably get by with all season M+S tires. However, "real" snow tires with the "mountain/snow flake symbol on the side wall" (did you get that, LOL), make it a lot more fun to drive in the winter. As in past years, I am putting my Bridgestone Blizzak snow tires (with the mountain/snow flake symbol on the side wall) on my LS the day before Thanksgiving. Snow is in the forecast for where I am headed!

One thing that can cause the radio to go mute is if the car has a defective phone system - even if the phone system is not being used. The radio on U.S. models automatically mutes when a phone call is in progress. The mute function on Lexus radios work on the same principle as on cars from most other manufacturers. When a phone call is in progress, the phone system grounds the mute wire going to the radio. The problem could also be in the radio or amplifier. Your car could be different than those sold in the U.S. Does the VN = Viet Nam? The audio system in Asian market cars was quite different than those in U.S. cars.

As others have noted, it is typical for the LS transmission to hold a gear longer until the transmission warms up. However ... issues with the new-for-2004 6-speed automatic transmission were more common than for any other model year. I suggest you check to see if any major transmission work has been done on your car and monitor it closely while the 6 year, 72,000 mile power train warrenty is in effect. Since your car is very low mileage for its age, if transmission issues might arise after the 6 year power train warrenty expires, you might have to have it fixed on your own dime. Changing the tranmission fluid every 15,000 miles is overkill although many dealers will want to do it as a revenue enhancer. For the past 17 1/2 years, I have the transmission fluid changed on my Lexus LS cars every 30,000 miles. I think Lexus recommends a longer change interval than 30,000 miles if you are not using the car in a way that requires the severe service schedule.

Don't know if they are close, but try this link and seee if it sheds some light. http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/body/rearseat.html No, the pull tabs for removing the LS rear seat cushion were dropped - I think it was at the end of the 1994 model year.