1990LS400

Your speedometer accuracy will depend on the section width and profile of the tires you choose for your 18" wheels. For example, it looks like your speedometer will read 6.143% too fast with 225/40R18 tires but just .23% too slow with 245/45-18 tires. Play with the numbers on http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp while checking the available sizes and prices on http://www.tirerack.com/ There are likely a number of other combinations that will keep the speedo error low. You might want to ask others how they like a particular wheel size / tire size combination on their 98-00 LS since there can be a noticeable effect on ride quality and a reduction of tread life.

You can see the LS430 color keyed mudflups on the Lexus South Africa Website: http://www.lexus.co.za/showroom/ls/gallery.html Highlight the "top right" small image of the LS430 and then click on "1024x768" when the enlarged version of the photo is displayed. Similar photos are in the gallery of the Lexus Australia site.

FYI, it might helpful to others if you put the year of your LS430 in the "car model" field or in your "signature". If your LS430 is "brand-new" and includes Bluetooth, consider getting a "Bluetooth Complimentary Kit" available from Lexus in the U.K. Until recently, there was a link on the U.K. Lexus LS430 webpage to an accessory catalog describing this kit. The link seems to now be missing but here is a link to the accessory catalog for the GS which contains what appears to be the same Bluetooth Complimentary Kit that was shown in the LS430 catalog: http://www.lexus.co.uk/Images/GS430Accesso...m254-198432.pdf Here is the text from the Lexus GS accessories catalog: "BLUETOOTH COMPLEMENTARY KIT Communication is the very essence of modern life. The Lexus Bluetooth complementary kit improves the organization and quality of telephony as you drive. The system's ingenious interchangable cable-less cradle sits neatly in the central armrest where it not only keeps your phone secure but also recharges the battery. Adding to this is a discreet external antenna which enhances reception while minimising the effects of electro-magnetic interference. Importantly, you can take the cradle and your phone to use in another car fitted with the same system. Similarly, if someone else with a different phone wants to use your car, or if you change your phone, all you need to do is change the cradle and not the whole kit." I remember from the LS430 accessory catalog that the kit's cradle goes in the center armrest -- same as in the GS. Besides the Bluetooth kit, the U.K. GS accessories catalog contains everything that was in the last U.K. LS430 accessories catalog I saw: trailer hitch, rear and car-top bike racks, ski rack, ski box, surf board carrier, etc., etc.

Here is some trivia about radio remote controls: Some of the more expensive European made radios had a connection for a simple remote control at least as far back as the mid 1950's. The 1956 Mercedes 190SL I owned had a remote control on the steering column that changed radio stations on its Becker Mexico radio -- it looked a bit like a turn signal lever. Some of the more expensive 1950's era (and newer) Mercedes sedans had simple (foot operated!) radio remote controls for back seat passengers. The remotes could be connected "in series" so that, in theory, every passenger could have his own. The really "sick" part of this story is that I just now went out to the garage and found one of these old foot operated remote controls in a box -- it is unused and looks brand new. Even sicker, I bought it decades ago and I knew where it was stored.

I formerly used a metal phone bracket similar to the Panavise in both my previous 90 and current LS400s but now have and vastly prefer a leather Kuda phone console: You can see it in my avatar on the left or a larger photo (with notes) in the gallery: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...=si&img=816 Very tall people riding in the front passenger seat tended to bang their knee on the metal bracket. It also made some of the radio controls difficult for the passenger to reach. I could have mounted the bracket higher but I didn't want to block the flow from the center air vent. Here is a link to another thread that has a PDF showing where the metal bracket had been positioned in my 00 LS: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...?showtopic=7791 I gave the metal bracket to Blake918 - this post from him includes a photo where he put it in his 95 LS: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...&hl=antenna I think Blake told me that he was going to buy a Kuda phone console. Kuda also has a console for the LS430 although the mounting position seems a bit low on the center console: http://www.kudausa.com/kuda_mount_and_hold...-06-21-208.html I think I've seen leather consoles of other brands for the LS430 that mounted higher on the center console but they may have been only for right hand drive LS430's. Several European companies other than Kuda make phone consoles. Here is a pic of a Plummer console from SIO in the U.K. where I have purchased products: http://www.siocommunications.co.uk/Shoppin...uct=Lexus-LS430 I wonder if your LS430 has a hidden phone antenna imprinted on the rear window like the 95-00 LS400 -- the LS430 was prewired for a fixed or handheld phone up through at least 2003. The best part of using the hidden phone antenna is that there is zero wind noise; the external antenna on my 90 LS "whistled" a bit.- especially in the rain. The imprinted phone antenna in my 00 LS400 seems to add a lot of range to my GSM/TDMA/AMPS Nokia phone. I don't know if it is designed to work with GSM though since the U.S. Lexus phones installed in the LS400 were not GSM. I suppose it could be the same imprinted antenna as on the U.K. LS -- the dealer installed phones in the U.K. may have been GSM only. Does the small OEM-looking antenna I see above the center of the rear windows on LS430's include a phone antenna? Maybe your dealer knows. If so, you could buy one of those. Still another option is to use an phone antenna that mounts on the windshield like often used in the U.K. -- SIO sells a variety of these too: http://www.siocommunications.co.uk/Shoppin...?product=DG-510 I also have looked at the Wilson amplifiers since we may eventually move to an area with currently has awful cell phone service. I hope that the external antennas on our cars turn out to be good enough without installing amplifiers. I wish Wilson would come up with a single amplifier that would work on all bands -- it seems a bit much to have to match the amplifier to a specific band.

What "rear radio buttons" are you talking about? The radio controls in the backseat armrest of the LS430 with the relatively rare (and costly) Ultra Luxury package which allow the rear seat passengers to scan radio stations/cd tracks and control audio system volume?

The percentage of UV blocked by tint is substantially greater than the nominal tint that came on your car from the factory. The value of window tint is far more than just cosmetic. The leather wheel on my first LS likely would not have faded badly if I had not waited 12 years to have the side windows tinted. And I doubt if I would have as much serious sun damage on my left arm if I had had tinted the side windows since I have little damage on my right arm. We have 35% tint (the legal limit in Kansas) on both our cars and I wish we could go darker. Here is what 35% looks like my LS on a bright summer day: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...&cmd=si&img=818 If you don't already have one, consider buying a custom window shade for your windshield -- the Covercraft one I bought was usuable for the entire 13+ years I owned my first LS: http://www.autoanything.com/driving-access...0A1228A0A0.aspx I bought a similar Covercraft shade for my 00 LS and almost always use it when the car is parked outside during the day for more than an hour.

That is odd that the recommended spark plug change interval changed from 60K to 120K somewhere between the 98 and 00 model years -- there was no mention of a change in spark plug design or change interval in the official Lexus "summary of changes" between the 98 and 99 or between the 99 and 00 model years. Maybe it was considered such a minor revision that it wasn't mentioned.

By all means get a copy of the maintenance manual for your car. I would be surprised if the spark plug change interval is only 60K miles on a 1998 LS400 since the change interval is 120K miles on my nearly identical 2000 LS400. The spark change interval was, however, only 60K miles on the 1990 LS400 I drove for 183K miles. I question the advisability of doing odd things like power steering, transmission, and engine flushes. This is what I call "voodoo maintenance". Simply follow the normal (not the severe) maintenance schedule and your car will be just fine. The later LS you bought requires substantially less costly maintenance than the early ones. Some repair shops and dealers suggest more maintenance than necessary simply to enhance their revenues and to offset the lost revenues that come with declining maintenance requirements. Above all, trust the Toyota/Lexus maintenance recommendations -- Toyota knows how their cars should be maintained.

The boat in the photo provided by Blake is what is commonly known as a "runabout" -- a small, light 14-16 foot boat with a total weight, including motor, of less than 1,000 pounds. The total weight including the trailer is well within the towing capacity of a Mazda Miata.

Yep, I agree that it is best to check the switch at the brake pedal first -- it is a very common problem -- been there, done that. On my first LS, the switch failed gradually until I could no longer get the gear selector out of Park without using the hidden override button. Fortunately, this is inexpensive to fix.

Wow! $240 for a set of four is a very good price compared to what one would likely pay to buy them from a U.K. dealer and have them shipped to the U.S. If they are similar to the sets I installed on my 90 and 00 LS400's, installation will require removing the back wheels and drilling one small hole for each mudflap. It was not necessary to remove the front wheels since one can turn the front wheels left and right enough to provide plenty of access to the mounting location. I think the only tools I used were an electric drill and a hex head wrench.

I finally ordered a trailer hitch today for our 2000 LS400 from http://www.etrailer.com/products.asp?model...e=Lexus&t1=&h=e etrailer is near St Louis -- 250 miles down the road (I-70) from where we live in Kansas. My wife "made" me buy it -- long story there -- the past two weeks on vacation together gave us lots of "discussion time" - i.e. she discussed and I listened. I didn't do a lot of searching but $108.96 (plus about $11 for shipping) seems like a reasonable price for this $180 (list price) Draw-Tite class II receiver type hitch. From the photo and on-line instructions, it looks like the installation is similar to how a Draw-Tite hitch was installed on our previous 90 LS -- the main difference is that the 95-00 LS400 hitch does not appear to bolt to the back of the bumper beam -- which was bad since doing so eliminated some of the impact absorbing properties of the rear bumper. I don't plan to wire for trailer lights quite yet since the main reason I am buying this hitch now is so I can carry more bicycles ("more" = my wife's bicycle). But at least I understand now why a "curcuit protector" type trailer light harness is necessary and I can see a fairly easy way to power one without running the power wire all the way up to the car battery. I will post photos after I get the hitch installed.

I recommend contacting a Lexus dealer in the U.K. for mudflaps for the LS430 -- they used to be shown on both the U.K. and Europe Lexus websites. I was watching a British TV show a few years back an LS430 on it was shown with color keyed molded mudflaps that were obviously made for it. All U.K. Lexus dealers may not have export licenses that allow shipment to the U.S. I bought a variety of parts and accessories, including mudflaps, from Lexus Park Lane in the early/mid 90's. Their address and phone number is: 56-59 Park Lane Park Lane Greater London W1K 1QB TEL: 0845 850 6905

By starting this thread I didn't mean to imply that the Ford Five Hundred was an LS competitor. I am making several points: During this vacation, it has been easier to transition from my 2000 LS400 to the Ford Five Hundred that to any other rental car I have ever driven. Monarch, I don't particularly like how Toyota/Lexus puts the headlight switch on the turn signal stalk. By the way, how many of you know the reason Japanese cars have the headlight switch on the turn signal stalk? I prefer how the Ford Five Hundred "ripped off" Mercedes with an almost identical headlight/foglight switch on the dash. How many of you can tell me about the tragedy that caused Mercedes to design the headlight/foglight switch that has been used on their cars for 50 years? Unlike Monarch I rent cars only 5 - 10 time each year but sometimes accompany my wife who rents cars about 25 times each year on business trips. We rent a rather large variety of cars so we see a variety of good and bad cars. By the way, for safety reasons we never rent anything less than a full size car and never an SUV. I generally do not have any problem finding the controls on rental cars. Why? I spend 5 - 10 minutes finding out how all the controls work before driving out of the rental company parking lot. I always carry a tire pressure gauge when I travel and check the tires before I venture out - I sometimes find tires under or over inflated by 10 - 15 pounds. I really like Toyota/Lexus products and will likely continue to buy them. But my experience during this vacation with the Ford Five Hundred shows me that the gap is being rapidly closed. Competition from Ford and other manufactures will only make Toyota/Lexus even better. Competition is what it is all about. Meanwhile, I am really enjoying this Ford. We off to Mount Vernon tomorrow on the continuing history tour -- four of the five first presidents' homes.

Well, my 2000 LS400 has about 70,000 miles on it and has not had any problems yet. I had some of the suspension bushings on my first LS400 (1990) replaced after about 10 years and somewhere between 120,000 and 150,000 miles -- I don't remember it being particularly expensive. The dealer also replaced some of the bushings on my 90 LS under warranty when they started making noise. The crank seal on my 90 LS started leaking very early and was replaced by the dealer under warranty and did not leak again. Lexus did a huge amount of redesign between the earliest and later LS400 so it looks like most of the early problems were resolved as the model years passed. For example, the alternator was repositioned on the later LS400 so power steering fluid could not leak down on it. I used to park the 90 LS and 00 LS in the garage side by side and go back and forth between the two marveling at all the differences. As far as I know the 98-00 LS engine is an interference engine. The Gen 1 is not interference - the water pump failed on my 90 LS trashing the timing belt and the car just coasted to a stop with no engine damage. Personally, I think the gen 1 (90-94) LS400 handles better than the later ones. My 2000 is much more of a "cruiser" but that is what I want at this stage in life.

I'm in my 8th day (of 14) driving a Ford Five Hundred sedan on vacation in Virginia and I can't believe how much I like it and how similar it is to our 2000 LS400. Has anyone else spent time in a Ford Five Hundred and have opinions? Except for the cruise control, much of the interior and even exterior design is a direct "ripoff" of the LS400/LS430. The clock in the center of the dash looks like a ripoff from the Q45. The leather front seats are very similar to our LS - even the color is nearly identical. The seat cushion is the same somewhat inadequate depth as in the LS. Except for the manual (instead of electric) lumber supports, the seat adjustment switches are in the same location on the sides of the seat cushions and work the same way as in the LS. The seat memory switches are on the door in the same location as the LS and work the same way. If I was blindfolded (not recommended while driving!), I don't think I could tell the Ford and LS seats apart. The dual mode climate control switches are shaped a little differently but also work the same way as in the LS. The air vents on the dash exactly match the redesigned vents on the later LS which elimilated the rattles common on the early LS. The quality and texture of the interior materials in the Five Hundred seem very Mercedes-like (and lower quality) than in a Lexus LS. The trip computer and its steering wheel controls are quite similar to the LS. I love the huge outside rear view mirrors - they look like they could have come from a large truck but they they cause little wind noise. The interior is very roomy - I'm six foot and I could probably wear a ten gallon hat while driving this Ford. The rear leather seats (which I have not ridden in) seem very comfortable and have more legroom and much more headroom than our LS - and the seat backs fold down. The trunk is humongous. I've been driving this car on lots of very winding roads as we visit many historical sites and wineries (and carrying an every increasing amount of purchased wine in the trunk) - the steering "turn-in" is quite sharp and precise. The car has 225/55-18 Pirelli P6 tires which probably help a lot - I thought they would cost a fortune to replace but Tirerack has them for only $84. The V6 is a little too "raspy" for my tastes but the six-speed automatic transmission helps make the car very responsive and quite zoomy up these Blue Ridge Mountain hills. Driving this car has been an eye-opening experience. I tend to "write off" American cars but I am really getting a real kick at seeing how much Ford has "stolen" from Lexus in creating the Five Hundred. And I like seeing an American company make such great progress. Would I buy a Ford Five Hundred? OK, I do own (too many) shares of Ford stock. But there are a couple of things I don't like about this Ford: The light color dash uphostery color causes an irritating reflection in the windshield - it should be much darker like in our LS. And I consider the lack of rear amber turn signals to be a safety issue. But I've driven over 1500 miles in 8 days and am very pleased with the 23.9 mpg overall. It has been about 15 years since I saw Lexus LS cars being rented by a major U.S. car rental company. Although it may sound like heresy on a Lexus forum, I suggest that LS owners try a Ford Five Hundred the next time they need to rent a car on a business or pleasure trip. It will be an easy transition from your LS.

If you are not familiar with the options on a 98 LS, you might want to know that about $9,000 (retail prices) of options were available. Unlike the 99-00 LS400 which look identical, options on the 98 LS were more individualized and there were fewer option packages. If you want HID lights, heated seats, Nakamichi audio system, chrome wheels, Navigation or air suspension, then be sure that the car you are buying has the options you want. The wood gear shift knob is an option on the 98 LS but standard on the 99-00. All the 98-00 LS400s without HID headlights that I have either seen or heard about were 98 LS400's. Lexus recently came out with an update for the 98-00 Nav system. I was very surprised. Many including me assumed that the 2003 update was the last one. Sewell Lexus has the 2005 update for $300: http://www.lexus-parts.com/partdetail.asp?...ubCategoryID=93 Since you live in Pittsburgh you might also want to factor in the purchase of a second set of wheels and snow tires. Good luck.

I have to say that I find it humorous that some people still think that a 240-290 horsepower Lexus LS should not be used to tow a trailer. You guys should drive around the U.K. and Europe - as I have done - and see LS400's and LS430's (and BMW and Mercedes sedans) towing campers and other sorts of trailers. There have been quite a few threads about towing with the LS400 and LS430 on the U.K. forum - do a search: http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ On my 1990 LS400, the hitch installer wired the electrical receptable for the trailer lights into the taillight harness in the trunk. The only problem was that, after about 10 years, one of the trailer harness wires worked loose and caused the "light out" warning light on the dash to come on -- it took several months to figure out the problem. I never did put a hitch on my 2000 LS400 -- I have been using another vehicle to carry the bikes and I parked my utility trailer when I stopped doing my own lawn care. The main reason I called off the hitch install on the 2000 LS400 was that the installer insisted on running the trailer wiring all the way from the rear bumper to the battery in the engine compartment. Yes, his wiring harness had some sort of module box in it. He said that it would not work to tap into the trunk wiring harness as was done on my 90 LS400. I never verified what he told me and simply did not like the idea of having a wiring harness hanging under the length of the car. I may revisit the whole issue this summer and finally get a hitch installed on the 00 LS -- it depends on if I retire soon and start doing "the gardening thing" again. Plus, I am a bit concerned that the 00 LS hitch will become unavailable -- currently they are still available from Draw-Tite.

I assume you are looking for the actual carpet and not just the carpet floor mat sets that Sewell has on its website for $112 - $118. Have you asked Sewell for a price quote for the carpet you need? http://www.lexus-parts.com/parts_inq.html Sewell has normally giving me price quotes within 24 hours of asking. If you would rather not use the above link to get a quote, you can email Sewell at info@lexus-parts.com

Maybe the beeps aren't coming from the car. Does the wife carry a cell phone? My Samsung/Verizon phone occasionally makes a few beeps at a tone level fairly similar to what the car makes (although softer) -- I suspect the phone beeps when changing cell towers or searching for a signal.

Sure, you can install a BlueTooth kit - there are a huge number of choices from many companies - Nokia, Parrot, Motorola, etc. But I doubt if you will be able to get a BlueTooth kit to work "jus like the factory phone" so that it dials Nav POI's (unless you replace your Nav system) and works with the OEM steering wheel phone control. But for sure you can get a BlueTooth kit to mute the audio system and play the call through the door speakers. Some people choose to use a separate speaker for their BlueTooth kits rather than splice into the audio system wiring -- it is a matter of preference. Quite a few people including Blake918, falciott, Bill H, and I have installed various phone kits (BlueTooth and traditional) in our Lexus cars. A lot depends on the particular features of the BlueTooth kit you choose. Some have caller ID displays and even photo caller ID. Most allow voice dialing. Trying searching for terms like "mute", "phone" and "BlueTooth" (and the above member names) to find past posts on this forum. Here is a recent thread on another forum where someone installed a BT kit to play the call through the door speakers of a 04 RX: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread...&highlight=mute One thing I would recommend is to position the BlueTooth control module fairly high on the dash so as to minimize having to look away from the road and the need to move your hand very far from the steering wheel.

I have lightly power washed the engines of our past and current LS400's probably a hundred times over the past 16 years -- about once every 1 or 2 months -- and have never had a problem with it affecting the performance of the cars. Of course, the engine covers on my current LS and on more recent Lexus cars means that you really can't see the engine anyway -- the covers make it pretty hard to spray water on critical electrical parts. I suspect the key to washing the engine compartment is the word "lightly" -- I rarely spend more than two minutes total on both the soap and rinse settings and keep the spray nozzle at least a couple of feet away from anything I am washing in the engine compartment. I doubt if I am getting any more water on the engine than by driving in a heavy rain storm. If you frequent the various Mercedes forums, you might have seen comments about how the insulation on Mercedes wiring harnesses completely disintegrates after a relatively short time -- as has happened on a friend's E320 which is having all sorts of odd electrical problems. Toyota/Lexus products do not seem to have this problem so I doubt if you have to worry.

I've done quite a bit of research on LS400 headlights over the past 16+ years and have never found "oem" HID headlights for the generation one LS400. Do you mean "aftermarket" instead of OEM? The light pattern on the 90-97 LS400 is formed primarily by the headlight lens. Beginning with the 1998 model year, the beam pattern is formed by a complex reflector and headlight lens is clear. Almost all "Celsior" headlights you might find would blind oncoming drivers in the U.S. since most cars labeled "Toyota Celsior" were right hand drive. There were left hand drive "Toyota Celsiors" in mainland China in the early nineties but it was never clear to me if they were sold that way or jif they were rebadged LS400's. The Lexus brand was introduced in China a long time ago. The only other option I know is to obtain left hand drive LS400 H-4 headlight units from Europe. But even in the early 90's when my 90 LS was almost new, the price of a set of Euro spec LS400 headlights and the related parts was at least $2,000. It would likely be a lot more now since the U.S. dollar has completely "tanked" against the Euro. The price of Euro headlights might exceed the value of your car. Yes, the gen 1 headlights suck. No, they are not even that good. IMO, the best option for improving the lighting on a gen 1 LS is to clear the foglights (break out the amber reflector insert) and drive with them on. Or mount axiliary lights in the bumper and connect them to the low beams.

Bill H, Bill, glad to hear about your success. I read the IHF1000 manual - sounds like a great kit with interesting features. The fuse box adapter sounds neat - better than forcing a spade adapter into the fuse box or splicing into an existing wire - definitely information I can use - thanks! Little confused about why a fuse blew - did you use an unpowered 12V test light? or a battery powered continuity tester? - mine are not interchangable. I'm surprised there wasn't a mute pin in the driver side phone harness under the console - my 00 LS with Nakamichi has one. I wonder if you have to first remove the in-line trunk mounted phone module - essentially deinstalling the existing phone. If anyone is interested, there are some interesting antenna signal booster amps from Wilson Electronics (and other companies) that can bring a modern cell phone up to the full 3 watt maximum allowed: http://www.wilsonelectronics.com/ListProducts.php?Type=11 The amps can be used either with a phone holder with an antenna connection or by using a cable adapter directly into the phone - the main market for these things may be over-the-road truckers. One of these amps would easily fit in the trunk well of our LS where the Lexus OEM phone module would normally be installed -- looks nearly plug and play with the prewired antenna cables except for tapping into a 12V power source for the amp. We may be moving soon to an area where there is very poor to no cell phone service -- I hope one of these amps does the trick.