1990LS400

It is very odd that none of the lights in the radio are working. The button lights usually fail independently, or at least they did on my gen 1 LS. It is almost like the signal from the dash light rheostat dial isn't making it to your radio. Trying another head unit is not a bad idea if you can get one really cheap, although you might end up with a another 11 year old head unit with problems. You don't happen to have a friend with a similar year (95-97) Lexus, do you. Exchanging head units can be done in under 15 minutes if you know what you are doing.

Most complaints of worsening gas mileage seem to take place during periods of upward spikes in gas prices as we have had during the past several weeks. Are you sure you are not just paying more attention to your gas mileage now that you are paying more at the pump? The EPA rating on the 90 LS400 I drove for 13 1/2 years was 18 mpg city / 23 highway and the gas mileage I got was often less than that. I kept track of every drop of gas that went into the car in a log book and still do that for all our cars.

Why do you think that what you "should actually do" is different from the maintenance requirements documented in your owner or maintenance manual?

Did it change after 1990? The radio security code on my 1990 LS400 was not enabled when I purchased the car new in early 1990.

Yes, Joe, the mispronunciation of Audi was "a joke to associate Audi with shoddy, as in workmanship".

As delivered from the factory, the radio is not protected by a security code. People are free to choose whatever code they want. I think I used part of my birthdate the one time I enabled the security code.

I've been following Audi since I first rode in an Audi taxi in Germany in 1971 and have, sadly, watched a number of family members and friends purchase them over more than three decades. Audi has been consistent for all those years -- consistently far behind other brands in quality and reliability. My own sister owned three new ones before she finally learned her lesson - one 80/Fox and two 100/5000 models. Until then, I never realized how many transmissions a car could go through in a short time. Currently I am watching a coworker (his initials are DMF - really, they are), pour money into his low milage A4, trying to keep it going. I sure wish they were better cars since I agree that they are a lot of fun when they are new. BTW, many people mispronounce the name "Audi". I learned the correct pronunciation from the U.K. car magazine "What Car?". The correct pronunciation of "Audi" rhymes with "shoddy".

Whoa there! The links torose supplied are for a 91-94 LS. Here is a link with instructions that are appropriate for the 95-00 LS400: http://carstereohelp.com/stereoremovalLexusLS400str1.htm Be gentle when removing the wood console trim on a 95-00 LS; it is much thinner and more fragile than on a 91-94. Personally, I think it is best to use a plastic trim removal tool or a well taped putty knive to remove the wood console trim on a 95-00. Doing so spreads out the force as you carefully pry the trim upward at the four indicated points. After you lift the trim up and out, carefully unplug the wires for the ashtray/cigarette lighter, VSC button, and heated seats. The connectors do not need to be forced to remove them. Look closely and you can see how each one is disconnected. Reinstalling the wood panel is almost an art. First you "plug" in the wood panel below the radio and then work your way towards the rear evenly on both sides - it will snap into place. Don't forget to reattach all the connectors first!

Odd vibrations at different speeds can also be caused by worn front suspension bushings. Some of the front suspension bushings on the early LS400 was known for premature failure. Some the original front suspension bushings on the 90 LS I bought in 1990 were replaced at no cost before the basic warranty expired simply because of the noise they were making.

The likelihood that VAIS is going to come out with an iPod or aux adapter for a pre-2001 LS is most likely zero. They were originally going to start with the 98 LS but they gave up on that idea early on and focused on 2001 and up. 99 LS with Nav and CD are not particularly rare in many parts of the country. There were a few 98-00 with standard audio systems without CD but I am almost certain that a CD changer was part of the nav package. I don't know if the nav audio system headunit is Pioneer but my 2000 LS400 repair manual set shows that the same amp is used for the nav and the non-nav audio systems. The amp on the Nakamichi is different. Even a geezer like me is starting to like the idea of hooking an MP3 player to my car. I assume I am going to have to wait a few years until I buy a new car to do that -- I'm sure I will survive listening to the radio and the CD player.

98-00 LS400s with air suspension are rare. I sometimes have clearance issues under the rear of the car - mainly contact between the ground and the trailer hitch when pulling out of driveways when the car is fully loaded with passengers and luggage. If I had it to do over, I would definitely buy a 2000 LS400 with air suspension.

Does the car have other options? For example, if the car does not have heated seats (probably not needed in Miami!), are you going to be "kicking yourself" later for not buying an LS that has them? Over the years I have noticed that Miami and Phoenix seem to have an unusually large number of low mileage Lexus cars available -- often "snowbirds" who keep a car in a southern location for winter-only use.

I think the lower body cladding of the 90-92 LS400 is somewhat different than the lower body cladding of the 93-94 LS400. The beefier lower body cladding of the 93-94 LS was mentioned in advertisements. If you put cars of the two series side by side, the difference is striking.

One way to find a good independent Lexus repair shop is to ask other Lexus owners you see - particularly owners of older cars out of warranty - for suggestions. When you see another Lexus owner while pumping gas or in a shopping center parking lot, ask the owner -- if you are not too introverted. I've given other Lexus owners numerous business cards for my favorite indie shop while pumping gas. I don't get anything for doing this but I like to think I am doing a favor for both for the other Lexus owner and for the indie repair shop owner who has done a great job for us over many years. Maybe Lexus cars are not that common up in Boise. Where I live, Lexus cars are as thick as fleas. Not long ago, on the way to work (Overland Park, Kansas) the first two rows of cars at a traffic signal around me (six cars total) were all Lexus cars. I call Lexus -- "Overland Park Chevys".

The owner of the shop that tints our car windows requires customers to sign a waiver signifying that they understand that there may be radio reception problems before he will use metalic tint on a rear window with an imprinted antenna. He told me he had numerous complaints about radio reception from owners of various makes of cars with imprinted antennas after he installed metalic tint. Perhaps some cars with metalic tint and imprinted radio antennas fare better than others. Regardless, we have non-metalic tint on the rear windows of both our Toyota made vehicles that have imprinted antennas.

Any professional hitch dealer should have a trailer light harness that will fit your car -- it is not specific to a Lexus. The main requirement is that power be taken directly from the battery. The hot wire must be routed from the back of the car to the engine compartment - usually it is done under the car. Care must be taken to route the wire so it does not get torn off by road debri, ice and snow. Here are examples of harnesses that would work: http://www.etrailer.com/c-ELEE.htm

My 2000 LS400 is similar to yours in that it has the Nakamichi. I bought in 2003 at 38,000 miles. If the light from your low beam headlights have a slight blue-ish color then they are HID. 2000 LS400s without HID are incredibly rare in the US -- don't know about Canada. Usually U.S. cars equipted with Nakamichi have the more basic options like HID which was a $500 stand-alone option on U.S. models. I recently (1 August 2007) had my timing belt replaced at 90,000 miles - seven years after the 31 July 2000 in-service date. If your 2000 LS400 was made early in the model year, your car and the timing belt could be almost one year older than mine is -- look at your "in-service date" or manufacture date. For U.S. models, the timing belt replacement interval is 90,000 miles or six years. I went a full seven years on the original belt. The original belt is in a bag in my garage and appears to be in very good shape with no signs of damage or cracking. It probably could have gone several more years. As you probably know, serious damage can result on a 98-up vvt-i LS400 engine if the timing belt breaks. When to change the timing belt is a decision you have to make on your own. I let my timing belt go an extra year but I have to admit that going beyond the six years caused me a little concern. I had a timing belt shred on a 90 LS400 at well under 90,000 miles when the water pump failed but, of course, my 90 LS had a non-interference engine and no damage was done. I was a lot more worried about being stranded by a breaking timing belt than the financial cost. If your car was mine, I would probably go ahead and replace the timing belt, water pump and all the other related little parts so that it would not be a concern. But what you do is up to you.

Yep, you got it right.

Maybe there is information on the K40 website http://www.k40.com/home_main.html if that is what you have. K40 hidden detectors were installed by many Lexus dealers.

The search feature of this forum would have led you to past threads on how to solve your problem. But you are new here so we won't be too hard on you. Find the phone ECU in the trunk and disconnect all the cables from it. It is probably under a removable floor panel on the right or left side of the trunk. I'm not sure about your model year but on later model year dealer installed Lexus phones, there are two large connectors that need to be plugged into each other after you detach them from the phone ECU in the trunk. You said that you disconnected the handset. Does that mean you partically disassembled the center console so you could unplug the cable from the connector under the vents you see when the armrest is raised? If not, then do so. Avoid cutting any wires! That can lead to more serious problems. It should be OK to leave the command module on the steering wheel in place. I've seen several posts on Lexus forums from other Canadians looking for these old phone systems. Apparently analog service is going to be available longer in rural Canada than in the U.S.

1-800-25-LEXUS or have your car towed to the Lexus Dealer on the next business day. If you go through the trunk and you unlock the doors, putting the key in the ignition (or is it "keyless go") should turn off the alarm if it comes on. If the alarm does come on and can't be turned off, open the hood and disconnect the battery.

I did a quick seach and found 2004 GX470's with nav and rear seat DVD and similar mileage for sale with an asking price between $29K to $31K. What are your local/state tax laws on transactions like this? Where I live, there are significant tax consequences unless you are a licensed dealer/wholesaler. I did a little buying a selling like this back in the 1970s and found that the limited profit wasn't worth the hassle unless it was some sort of unique or exotic vehicle. With that said, try it if you like. It would be an eduational experience.

A drawing in section BO-4 of my 2000 LS400 two volume repair manual set shows two nuts behind the bumper that hold each of these little light modules in place. My assumption is that one has to drop a portion of the under body plastic panel to reach up and remove these nuts.

Jim, I am in the Kansas City area as well and would like to know where you took your car to have the body work done? I would probably like to have the front bumper on my 1992 LS re-painted at some point in time, and would like to know of a good body shop. I have seen work Eveland Brothers in Merriam has done for a couple of friends' cars, I could not even tell it ever happened! Is that where you took your car, or do you know of a better place? Thanks, Thomas PM sent.

Although I'm sure it hurt when it happened, if none of the rear body sections require replacement (other than the bumper bar and cover) then it sounds like it was a fairly minor rear-ender. When my 90 LS was hit from behind in about 1999, about two thirds of the rear end had to be replaced -- the car would likely have been "totaled" by the insurance company had not the adjuster misread the mileage on the odometer. Diminished value is a sticky issue. My then 10 year old 1990 LS400 seemed as good as new after its massive damage was expertly repaired and I kept it another four years. I joked that at least one third of my car was new. The current owner tells me every few weeks that he is still enjoying it a lot. If you car is repaired properly, it will be just fine.