1990LS400

I've seen an out of place box (about the size of a deck of playing cards or so) inside the DS rear fender well. This is probably what you're talking about. On the 450, you can remove the plastic cover panel for the jack, and get to it pretty easily. Rookie ← The phone transceiver is much bigger than a deck of playing cards. The two connectors that plug into the transceiver are probably about the size of a card deck when they are plugged together.

If you have a fixed phone, try finding the transceiver (it is in a trunk well in an LS400 - no idea where it is in an LX450), unplug the connectors from the transceiver (probably one male, one female if it is like the phone in the LS400) and plug them together. If that doesn't eliminate the beep, disassemble the console (probably minor disassembly if like my LS) and unplug the handset connector(s). A rep at my local Lexus dealer told me that they tossed out all their phone documention several years ago - I think they were just trying to avoid helping their customers.

There was no damage when the timing belt on my 90 LS broke at about 80K miles. There seems to be disagreement on when the interference engines were first used. As far as I know, the first model year was 98 for the Lexus V8. Early V8 cars like mine had their timing belts trashed by a failed water pump. My failed waterpump was replaced by an "improved" version that was to supposed to have a longer life. Repair shops and Lexus dealers make a lot of money by scaring owners into replacing timing belts at low mileages on the early V8 cars.

I'm still not getting this right. I meant "that the more complex models could not match the reliability of their more simple variations"

dkfd, What I meant is that Toyota (Lexus), for example, thought that the reliability of their highly optioned cars could not match the reliability of their more complex variations of the same models. An example is the air suspension option offered early on mainly on the early US 90's LS but more rarely on the later US LS400. Air suspension, however, was quite common in Japan. Manufactures simply did not want their most expensive variations to be more unreliable than there more basic versions of the same model. Toyota, for example, kept their very highly optioned models in their home market where their more complex systems could be better serviced. Also, because of some odd regulations, cars in Japan were not expected to be kept in service as long as in the U.S. Toyota has been carefully building an image with the Lexus brand and they have been very careful in introducing additional complex systems into their cars. FYI, Toyota "stock" (symbol "TM") closed on Wednesday above $100. Yeehaw!

RFeldes said it best. The Century looks incredibly like the Soviet era Volga Gaz-14 cars that were used by diplomats. Weren't Crown sedans and wagons sold in the U.S. through the 1980's - along side the Camry diesel sedans? There was a lot of hype in the mid-90's that Lexus was going to sell a long wheelbase V12 LS - I think was to have been called the LS500. Why was it cancelled? Some said that there was concern that owners of V8 LS cars would be put off by the availability of much more expensive V12's. It's not just Toyota that doesn't sell its most well equiped cars in the U.S. A common reasoning for these cars not being sold here is that U.S. customers expect a higher level of reliability that the more highly optioned cars could not deliver.

NarkE, Whoops, I didn't notice that you had asked for the headlight beam info that I must have deleted from one of my websites. Try using the PM function to contact people - it works very well. Well, you probably don't need these anymore but here they are...

Try pressing the reset button on the steering wheel to turn the warning light off.

Well, Lexus isn't for everyone. I absolutely love the way BMW's and Audi's handle. But after the prior 20 years of European (mostly Mercedes) car ownership, the last 15 years with Lexus LS cars has been a huge relief. Keeping my cars operational is no longer a central part of my life. Boca is a great place. Gene Lynn played an important role in my life.

One feature of the Dunlop SP Winter Sport M3 tires is that they are directional. Directional tires limit the amount of tire rotation one can do (unless you have them remounted on the wheels occasionally) to even out wear. I used go through directionals like !Removed! goes through a goose. I have Blizzaks on Mille Miglia wheels (all from Tire Rack) on our 00 LS. With VSC on and the transmission mode button set to "Snow", the LS is an absolute miracle in heavy snow - far better than our front drive Camry. And it sure is fun to blast away from stop lights on uphill inclines while 4WD SUV's and all other cars spin their wheels helplessly. Learning to trust VSC was tough at first - take your car to a big parking lot (without light standards!) the first time it snows, have fun and see for yourself. Wheeeeee! I completely change my driving style while the snow tires are on the car - no more maniacal sliding around cloverleafs and my favorite curves (yes, you can actually do this in an LS). But hey, its only for a few months. As for the Michelin Pilot A/S tires (they are also directional), my suggestion is to instead buy a set of non-directional pure summer tires and enjoy the ride, handling and usually a lower noise level. I have a set of Dunlop SP5000 A/S tires on my summer wheels stacked in the garage. The ride and handling is decent but they get out of balance quicker than any other tire I have used. And they are noiser than the Blizzaks. I'm looking forward to "punting" them and getting some pure summer tires. Here are a sampling of the tire ratings from the Nov. issue of those Consumer Reports. It is not an "enthusisast" magazine but it sure has helped us stretch our dollars over the past 30 years.

My favorite solution is "allen" head bolts - you can buy stainless steal or chrome ones at a hardware store. This is all I've used since I caught someone switching plates -- he was apparently trying to buy time by putting somebody else's plates on a stolen car.

Highlander, Originally, I wanted everything to do with the phone completely out of sight. So I put the phone cradle in the console of my first LS and lived with it there for 11 years. (I did change car kits and handsets twice.) The best thing I ever did with the phone was to move the handset from being inside the console to a holder by the radio. I no longer had to pop the console lid to see the caller ID, to speed dial, voice dial, end a call, reprogram the phone, etc. And it made it a lot easier to keep my eyes on the road while driving. The leather phone console you see in my avatar is from Kuda, is well made, matches the seat upholstery, doesn't block the radio controls, and costs only about $60. Several people have said that they thought it was original equipment from Lexus. But I'm really starting to warm up to Bluetooth. Some of the new Bluetooth kits are incredible. Look at this one from Parrot: http://www.parrot.biz/products/index.php?id=3400 With a Bluetooth kit with an LCD display, most of the time I could just leave my phone in my pocket.

Supraguy, I'd recommending getting your own insurance agent involved - including on the diminished value issue. That's why you pay him/her the "big bucks" to cover your car. Our previous LS was rear ended in 2000 - $11,000 damage - right rear door and gas filler door would not open. The other insurance company quibbled about the repair price and even expected me to drive around in a subcompact rental car for a couple of months. I told them that it was not my problem, I was in pain from the crash (I really was) and that it was up to them to negotiate the repair price with the body shop. I told them I was going to rent a luxury car at least as nice and safe as my LS - we "settled" on a fairly large rental SUV. During that time I also refused to sign the medical release so I had that hanging over them too. In our case, there wasn't a diminished value issue. The old LS was 10 years old and the other insurance company could have "totaled" it if they had been smarter. But on your 2006 LS, the diminished value settlement could be quite large. On a positive note, it was impossible to tell that our old LS had ever been hit. It drove and looked perfect after the repair and for several more years until we sold it.

Someone on ClubLexus interfaced his Parrot phone kit to play the call through his door speaker - the principle would probably be the same on an LS: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183275 I'm betting you will find pins in the OEM phone harness to do the same thing. There may even be a pin for automatically lowering the HVAC fan speed. If you have not done it already, it is fairly easy to get at the connectors under the console. The arrow is pointing at the white driver side phone connector - front center pin is "mute". Please let us know what you find out!

Highlander, I think you have already looked at Blake's post on how he added a phone kit to his 95 LS: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...topic=24181&hl= Here again is how I added a phone kit to my 00 LS - very similar to your 98: http://home.kc.rr.com/colchester/phone/Nok...H%20install.doc My install allows voice dialing although it is old and has a limit of only 10 names. I just press the voice button on the phone and then speak the name. The phone repeats the name back to me if it recognizes what I said and then it dials. I have nine more numbers on speed dial which I use more than voice dial.

Yes, probably. But my opinion is "why bother". You can install a car kit and stay almost completely away from the factory radio and the risk of damaging it. Here still again is how I install a phone kit in my 00 LS: http://home.kc.rr.com/colchester/phone/Nok...H%20install.doc I'm betting that the driver's side connector under the connector has pins for the steering wheel mounted microphone. But I would just as soon use a mic made for my phone kit.

Is LexusLink back? I thought it had been discontinued. Wasn't the old analog based LexusLink a dealer installed option? Is there a LexusLink version of the new digital OnStar service?

That photo looks like the holder for the optional Lexus "Portable Plus" phone. The other Lexus phone option in 1999 was "fixed". If you want information about the connectors under the console (and a tutorial for installing a phone kit) for your 95 LS , search for a past post by Blake918. If you want information about the connectors (and a tutorial) that would apply to a 99-00 LS, search for a past post from me.

I had hoped that someone else might have posted some neat, innovative ideas. You may have read some of my previous posts. I suffered with the horrible headlights on a 90 LS for almost 14 years and thought it was the worst aspect of the car. I would not have known any better if I hadn't gone through all of the 1980's driving a 79 Mercedes with Euro lights with wash/wipe and several Honda's with Euro light conversions. Actually, the gen 1 headlights were not considered all that bad when the LS was first introduced. But the lens on the gen 1 really completely sucks and the bulbs are only 45 watts (if I remember correctly) on low beam. Higher wattage bulbs only p1ssed off on-coming drivers - one exploded and caused a real mess. I could have bought Euro spec headlight assemblies when the 90 was new but I was not willing to spend additional thousands of dollars on a new car and lose the foglights in the process (foglights on the Euro gen 1 were mounted in the bumper similar to my current 00 LS). Plus the Gen 1 Euro headlights had a dashboard mounted beam adjustment dial (similar to the Sienna XLS Limited van) and I doubted I could get all the parts and wiring to make it all work. I don't know if the Euro headlight lens is available separately or if it could be used with the U.S. spec headlight housing. The lens is glued to the housing anyway. Besides, you would still be left using the low watt 9004 bulbs. (Oddly, the huge Euro-code glass headlight lens on my 79 Mercedes was not glued and was cheap and easy to replace.) My suggestion is to put auxillary lights in the bumper grill similar to the photos in this thread: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=25433 and to wire the auxillary lights to the low beams. The auxillary lights in that thread look pretty bad but I once found some larger rectangular Hella lights that would have fit perfectly in the same location in the 90's bumper grill. Good luck! I feel your pain.

The only times the engines on my LS's ever died, a bad battery was the cause. The battery on my 00 LS failed at about four years - the engine died when I made a right hand turn into a parking lot and hit a small pothole. Batteries on my first (90) LS usually failed at between three and four years with similar symtoms. If your battery is over three years old, you might as well replace it.

Although my previous 90 LS had the "broken wire in the trunk hinge" problem, I had another problem that caused the warning light to alternate between being off and on. My 90 LS was wired for towing a trailer and there was a loose connection where the installer tapped into the electrical loom in the trunk. Once I fixed the connection, the warning light never came on again. When I had the broken wire in the trunk hinge, the related transmission shifting problems did not start until the wire had separated almost completely. I do not know at what model year the trunk hinge wire issue was resolved.

The lens housings by the fog lights don't do anything and have no bulbs or wiring. There were some preproduction publicity photos of a 98 LS from Lexus floating around which seem to show that the lens was originally intended for use as the front side marker light. The story went that the lens was found to be below the DOT height limit. Here is a thread on how someone put bulbs in the housings: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...&hl=side+marker

Welcome to the Lexus Owners Club! The search function of this website will often provide the information you need without starting a new thread. But I have to say that it might have been a bit difficult to find this previous thread where I provided info from a 2000 LS400 repair manual on how to exchange the nav hard drive --> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...c=18836&hl=hard The nav harddrive is in the right "well" under the floor of the trunk, the cover of which pops up easily. The optional Lexus phone system would be installed in the same well.

This article from Nov 8, 2005 says that "A new front-wheel-drive version of the Lexus RX400h hybrid goes on sale in December" --> http://www.thecarconnection.com/Auto_News/...S173.A9592.html

IMO, the most important improvement in the 98-up LS is VSC. Put some decent snow tires (not all season tires) on a 98-00 and it will perform better in snow than many 4WD SUV's. I don't think the wood steering wheel is as comfy as the all leather one in my previous LS. But it certainly looks nice and there is less chance that the steering wheel leather will deteriorate. The Nak in my LS is quite nice but the std Pioneer is probably pretty good too and it has ASL (automatic sound level) which the Nak does not have. About half the non-Nav 99-00 LS's I've seen have Nak - 2 of the 3 99-00 LS400's in my company's parking lot have it - so you might end up with it anyway. I can't imagine that the non-HID lights would be all that bad. Even our 98 Camry with std halogens light up the road well - the light is just not as white as HID. The main thing I like about the HID's is the automatic level control - when I loaded up the trunk in my 90 LS, its headlights mainly lit up the sky.