1990LS400

You must mean that the mirrors don't "dip" anymore. To make them dip down when you put the car in reverse, move the mirror adjustment switch to either the left or right - the mirrors do not dip when the switch is in the center position.

The shocks on my first LS (a 1990) were fine when I sold it at 183K miles. I think the current owner said that it now has over 225K and I think he would have told me if he had replaced the shocks - I see him almost every day and talk about cars. Are your tires over-inflated? Check the pressure to make sure that it is not too far above what is recommended. The recommended pressure is 29 psi on my similar 2000 LS400 which is a little lower than what was recommended on my 1990 LS.

I love this tread and call it "the thread that will not die." Please read the posts further up this thread to discover that dogboy never delivered. There are a number of other threads on this forum and on other Lexus forums on how to interface a traditional or Bluetooth kit to the audio system at least to the point of automuting the radio when your phone rings or a call is in progress.

The separate upper console tray for the phone was not in the 90-92 LS400. I think the separate phone receiver tray started with the 1995 LS400 but I'm not certain. In the 90-92 LS400, the cradle for the phone receiver was installed on the passenger side of the main console box. Regarding the upper console tray in the 95-00 LS400 ... when I checked with the dealer, the tray insert was not available separately as a replacement part. One had to buy the entire upholstered upper console tray at a price of several hundred dollars. What a shame. If available separately, the simple black plastic upper console tray insert should have been available at a nominal price.

On a 2000 LS400 like mine, the phone transceiver is in the trunk in a floor well on the right side. The two connectors I am talking about plug together after unplugging them from the transceiver and can then be attached to the bottom of the tool box housing on the right side of the trunk -- that is where the connectors "live" on 2000 LS400s without a Lexus phone. But I do not know where the OEM phone transceiver was installed in your 91 LS400. Maybe someone else will chime in. On the 90 LS400 I had for many years, an aftermarket phone transceiver was installed behind the trim on the left side of the trunk - just forward of the left rear tail light and near the tool kit. You might try peaking behind the trim - it is reasonably easy to pop loose. Some people have gotten away with just cutting the wires but one must remember that the phone system interfaces with the audio system. You don't want to accidently ground the "telemute" wire and permanently mute your stereo. Everything in the dealer installed OEM phone system can be unplugged cleanly from the car's factory installed phone harness. There is probably no need to remove the phone control module from the steering wheel since you would have to find a "blank" that matches the interior trim to fill the void removing it would leave. The phone control module on my steering wheel does not impair the operation of anything else. You can pretend that the steering wheel phone control buttons fire the "death ray" that you shoot at offending drivers. Someone at Scholfield Lexus in Wichita - (316) 688-1919 - might be able to help you if you don't find the answer.

The sound made by the turn signals on my 2000 LS400 is also inaudible to me. It was an adjustment getting used to looking at the cluster to made certain that the turn signal had cancelled after a turn but now I have grown to like the silence. The self cancelling feature is very reliable and the signal almost never stays on after a turn. It is possible to buy louder turn signal flasher units like the one on the following website, but I recommend consulting a dealer or a reliable repair shop that knows Lexus before you try anything like it: http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/stores...catalogId=10101 I'll bet you will get used to the silent signals after a few months like I did.

A custom hitch shop can make a hitch to fit almost any vehicle. The best place to attach a hitch might to the bolts that hold the muffler hangers on each side. That is where the hitch is usually attached on the LS400 and LS430. Attached is a photo of the Draw-Tite hitch I have on my 2000 LS400 which is similar to the Draw-Tite hitch I had on my 90 LS400. The LS400 hitch would not fit your SC but the photo might give you an idea of what a fabricated class II hitch for an SC might look like.

Thanks for that advice. The dealer did use the C-best handheld computer reader to check the setting and inactivate the tilt away and I am happy now. Especially since I can still adjust the steering wheel position manually. I checked the service bulletins and recalls and did not see anything. If your local library subscribes to the "EBSCO Auto Repair Reference Center" service, like my local public library does, you can find the information about the recall for the tilt/telescope in the EBSCO database. Look for the "steering column noise" TSIB under "1998 Lexus LS400; Steering, Suspension". I doubt that a TSIB repair will be done for free on a nine year old car but it does not hurt to ask. Lexus required the repair of the tilt/telescope problem to be done while the car was within its basic 4 year/50,000 mile warranty.

The dealer would use a Lexus handheld tester to deactivate the tilt/telescope function. I think the mechanism on the 98-00 is quite a bit different that what you seen in tutorials on how to fix the tilt/telescope issues on the earlier LS400's. There was a recall to fix problems with the tilt/telescope system on the 98-00 LS400's. In involved replacing the motors and lots of parts - a very expensive recall program. Unfortunately lots of 98-00 LS400's never got the problems fixed under the recall. I was fortunate that my 00 LS was built after all the fixes were implemented on the production line.

The driver side headlight may be from an 93-94 LS400 if it uses an H4 bulb.

VSC "just" helps you have better control? Yes, of course it does. Stability Control like the VSC system is the most extraordinary feature I have seen on cars in my 40+ years of driving. I regularly (and very carefully) push my LS beyond its limits when the roads are snowy or icy just to see VSC intervene to put the car back on the correct path. The "snow mode" transmission feature is very useful in snow or on ice and prevents the rear tires from slipping while accellerating. Snow Mode does not make it harder to press the throttle -- it causes the transmission to start off in third gear. In 17 years of driving LS400's - including lots of winter driving in northern Iowa, I've never had to "spin my wheels" after getting stuck while driving in snow. I've always used snow tires in the winter and have never gotten stuck.

I know quite a few RX drivers and none of them are men. None of the ES drivers I know are men either. Maybe all that proves is that I really, really like women. :whistles:

The most interesting aspect of the article is the use of the term "millionaire". $1,000,000 of gross or net assets IS NOT wealth in year 2007. $1M of net assets or even $1M in cash not including a home won't begin to fund a decent retirement lifestyle in the coming years. Last time I checked the stats, a significant percentage of U.S. households had net assets greater than $5,000,000. I guess everyone has there own yardstick but as far as I am concerned, anything called "wealth" starts at substantially over $10,000,000 in net assets.

Here (Sewell Lexus) is where I bought a cargo net and other stuff for my 00 LS: http://www.lexus-parts.com/partlist.asp?Su...amp;ModelID=161

The "beep" sound for the remote locking was added beginning with the 1993 model year.

It is doubtful that a breaking timing belt will cause damage on a 91. The jury seems to be out on 95-97 on whether there would be any damage. For sure there will be damage on a 98-up LS. I seem to be one of the few who have actually had a timing belt thown on a gen 1 LS. There was no damage to my 90 LS when it happened and the repair shop owner who fixed it confirmed that damage would be very unlikely on a 90-94 LS.

Gosh, the last ES330 loaner I had was very low mileage, in pristine condition and the tires were not over inflated. The Lexus dealer here doesn't loan out junk. Steve, does your Lexus dealer loan out junk? A rear drive GS simply drives (and "feels") far more like a rear drive LS than a front drive ES. Saying otherwise is, well, an "interesting" statement. I haven't driven an ES350 yet but the last ES330 loaner I had felt identical in driving dynamics to our V6 Camry -- lots of front drive "push" and the same buzzy drive train to boot. Its somewhat loose and unpredictable handling scared the !Removed! out of me when I drove it hard on the way from the Lexus dealer to my office and I quickly backed off the throttle to keep from getting into trouble. But, the interior of the ES330 was very nice - a lot nicer than our Camry - but it didn't have the quality feel of an LS of any year and it was missing a number of comfort and convenient features that LS owners take for granted. Maybe the ES350 is a little more like an LS - I haven't driven one yet.

For less than the price of an ES350, you could probably have a very nice low mileage 04 LS430 instead of an 02 or 03 LS430. Have you been seriously looking? I don't understand the concept of choosing between an ES350 and an LS430. An ES and an LS don't "feel" the same at all. The rear wheel drive GS and LS are a lot more similar. Either you prefer an ES or you prefer an LS. They aren't interchangeable. An LS430 will likely cost you quite a bit more to operate than an ES350 and not just in fuel costs. For example, even in Toronto you could probably get buy without snow tires on a front wheel drive ES. But on an LS430, four snow tires and an extra set of wheels are just about a necessity. If you prefer an LS430, I'd recommend looking for an LS430 that has just come off a three year lease and which is within the normal mileage allowance for a three lease lease - 36,000 miles or less or whatever that is in kilometers. I plan to keep the off lease, low mileage, 2000 LS400 I bought in 2003 for about 6 more years - 10 years total. Four years after I bought it, it is at 83,000 miles and has had no problems at all -- only normal maintenance has been needed. But if you prefer the ES, buy one of those.

Call Exact Performance for a quote: 913-384-4555. Tell them that Jim with the 2000 white Platinum Series LS400 sent you. Ben Bennett owns Exact and has been maintaining our Lexus and Toyota cars for about the past 10 years and also services cars for our friends and neighbors. Ben recently moved his shop to a larger building at 6403 Johnson Drive in Mission - just west of Lamar. Ben recently did a full blown 90K maintenence of our V6 Camry for less than $1,200 including tax. Included water pump, spark plugs, timing belts, all fluids and all the other stuff -- nothing was left out. Mechanically, it is the same as your ES so the price 90K maintenance price should be similar. Superior Toyota "low balls" the 90K maintenence price by leaving out items that are really necessary to have done. IMO, by far the best Toyota dealer for both sales and service in the KC metro area is Jay Wolfe Toyota but they are up near the airport -- awfully far from Overland Park. Good luck!.

Shops that install customer supplied parts are generally deeply in the "lower tier" of repair shops. Using customer supplied parts is simply not done by top independent repair shops. That's just the way it is.

The windows and sunroof open if the unlock button on the key is held down. Perhaps he inadvertently pressed the button or the button on the key is sticking. Check the owners manual for how the buttons on the key work. The rear lamp malfunction on the display in the cluster can be caused simply by a bulb in the process of failing -- perhaps a loose filament. If the rear bulbs have never been replaced it might be a good idea to do so -- you will be surprised at how blackened the glass globes of the taillight and brakelight bulbs will be after 7-8 years.

eBay is a possibility and the buy and sell portion of this forum is another. Sewell Lexus has been good to me and I bought an extra CD cartridge for my LS400 from them. Here is one for your 98 ES: http://www.lexus-parts.com/partlist.asp?Su...5&ModelID=1 On the LS400, CD player and cartridge is the same for both standard and Nakimichi systems -- I'm assuming the same is true for the ES.

Really? even though the car is 12 years old? I Didn't even consider it a possibility, but i can give it a shot. thanks! No, not really. The basic warranty that covered the seat heaters expired exactly four years after your car's "in service" date - usually the original sale date. There is a four page diagostic procedure in my 2000 LS400 repair manual set. It involves testing the components of the seat heating system including the testing each of the four heating pads independently. It is unlikely that all four of your heating pads are defective.

Even at the "buy it now" price, that looks like a super buy. After buying an new LS400 in 1990 and a used 2000 LS400 in 2003, I am convinced that buying a used one gives the biggest bang for the buck by far -- especially if you plan to keep the car a long time. It is interesting to see how much more content was included on the 2003 LS400 for the $62K list price -- Lexus kept adding and adding features while keeping the price stable for many years. Since the manufacture date was 12/02, the "in-service date" was probably Jan-March 2003 which means the basic 4 year/50,000 mile warranty has run out or is going to run out any day. If the basic warranty has not run out (or even if it has), be sure to get your "new" LS430 to a dealer ASAP to have any outstanding issues taken care of. Especially see if there are any outstanding TISB's (sort of like a recall) that have not been applied to your car -- these normally have to be done before the basic warranty expires for them to be done at no cost. Whether you buy an extended warranty is your call. I drove my first LS400 to 183,000 miles and nothing broke that would have beeen covered by a typical 100,000 mile extended warranty. My current 2000 LS400 is at about 82,000 miles and the same is true so far - nothing has broken that would have been covered by an extended warranty. Congrats! After seeing the LS460 up close a few weeks ago, I am really warming up to the LS430. With the zero temperatures we've been having, I'd buy an LS430 just to have the rear seat heaters.

Yes, the steering wheel buttons are used to control the phone - if a phone system is installed. If no phone system is installed, the buttons control the audio system. Here is a link to a 2003 press release about the Lexus Integrated Phone System: http://press.nokia.com/PR/200304/898389_5.html The phone system uses a Nokia 6310i phone which looks identical to the 6340i phone you can see in the phone cradle in my avatar. My understanding is that the 6310i is the only phone that works with the 2003 model year Lexus phone system. Here is a link to information about the 6310i phone: http://www.nokiausa.com/phones/6310i Does the cradle in your LS look like it would hold a 6310i? While it does not take photos or have a color screen and cute ring tones, the 6310i phone is a wonderful phone and is widely available on the used market. You can likely find new ones too. Since it is a tri-mode GSM phone, it should be useful after analog and TDMA service is withdrawn. Also, the 6310i can seemlessly interface to a personal computer or PDA via infrared and Bluetooth -- allows one to edit the phones address book and to back it up, download ringtones, etc. The 6310i can sync up to Outlook and Lotus Notes too. There is a separate user manual for your phone system. I would assume that a dealer could get one for you and could also tell you about removing the phone system -- if you don't want to use it --and reactivating the steering wheel audio controls.