1990LS400

I've given you what I think is reliable information on how it works based on information gained through 31 years (retired) with a well known provider of financial services to franchised auto dealers. You can take it or leave it. I think it is wonderful that a person can special order a Toyota-made vehicle at all - that is really possible only for vehicles assembled in North America. Try special ordering an LS460 from Japan and see how it goes. My sister's former employer once special ordered a Mercedes S-class and his wait was just under one year ... and he was a Unimog dealer and they didn't cut him any slack. My information may be outdated, but my understanding is the only way most European cars can be truly special ordered is to 100% pre-pay for them and often to pick them up on a European delivery plan - something I'm investigating due to age restrictions for renting cars in Europe. I'm not ready to get on a tour bus! For vehicles not made in North America, most special orders are really dealer trades. My first Lexus, a 1990 LS400, was about to be loaded on a truck bound for Phoenix in a dealer trade when I bought it. The 1998 Camry my wife drove for many years was diverted to Kansas City from the dealer in Wisconsin (IIRC) who originally ordered it. Don't bother emailing Lexus corporate about your perceived problems. You would only be wasting time and energy and you won't be taken seriously.

Excellent!

Forecasting a delivery date is not an exact science. The delivery date of a lavishly equipped Acura MDX SH-AWD that I ordered in February 2014 slipped by a several months due to a supply shortage of a particular component ... something to do with the trailer hitch option that not many people ordered. The delivery date slipped so badly that I cancelled the order and then scrambled to find an acceptable vehicle I could get quickly. A special order is never considered by a car dealer to be a guaranteed sale. My wife wouldn't be driving the most ridiculously highly equipped 2012 Prius on earth (retail $40,000+) if someone had not special ordered it and then backed out of the purchase. We happened to be looking for the most highly optioned Prius variation and wanted it only in a specific extra cost color. The Toyota dealer sales manager was probably thrilled that we took it off his hands at a deep discount and we were happy to get all the extra stuff for almost free. Car dealers do not normally modify existing orders unless it is on a slow selling model already in the pipeline that they are obligated to accept as part of their allocation. Most vehicles that dealers order for their inventories are usually what are considered to be the easiest to sell which is why it is unusual to find very high specification vehicles in dealer inventory. And really, some dealer sales people don't even understand how their dealership business office works. The Toyota dealer "sales-child" who took the order of my Sienna van through the Costco Auto Program had no idea that an existing order could be modified to cut the delivery time. I waited to see how the order would be handled by the dealership business office and asked if an existing order could be modified after I was told they would submit a new order. I feel odd defending a Lexus dealer since I am not at all fond of mine, but it sounds like your Lexus dealer acted reasonably and did what most car dealerships would do when a customer orders a vehicle instead of buying one out of inventory. After cancelling the order of the Acura due to the trailer hitch issue, something "funny" happened with my special order Sienna. Shortly after ordering it, I got a call from the Toyota dealership telling me that Toyota had put a "stop sale" on factory installed trailer hitches. Although I was extremely perturbed, this time I told the dealer that I would accept the Sienna without a trailer hitch ... which turned out great since I installed a much nicer hitch at 25% of the price of the Toyota factory installed hitch.

The attached diagram shows the components and part numbers. Toyodiy.com is a very useful website. I assume that it is still necessary to register in order to see the diagrams but you can try it for yourself.

I would start by checking the condition of the bulb socket and the wires leading to it. Maybe use a 12 volt test light to see if power is coming though the positive wire leading to the socket. I assume you have verified that you are using the correct bulb type - 7443 per http://www.sylvania.com

Are you certain you are comparing apples with apples? There are two distinct ways to special order a vehicle for a customer through the Toyota/Lexus "Dealer Daily" on-line systems. 1) Place a brand new order. 2) Modify an existing order. Modifying an existing order can mean much faster delivery but a dealer might not want to do that for a variety of reasons or not even think of doing it. The delivery time on my special order Sienna, built in Princeton, Indiana instead of in Georgetown, Kentucky where the ES is built, was going to take about three months until I asked if the dealer could modify an existing order to speed it up. The dealer did that and delivery time was cut to exactly four weeks. So ... I'm guessing that your Lexus dealer did not modify an existing order. Maybe he couldn't do that because all existing orders were pre-sold and/or the dealership wanted specific model variations in their inventory. Yeah, it's a bummer but I'm reading that the wait time is a lot worse for a special order Lexus RX built in Ontario.

The seat belt alarm on your 2008 ES350 can be turned off by using an appropriate tool through the diagnostic port under the dashboard. Some people swear by the Carista phone app which requires a Bluetooth OBD adapter. Here is a list of what Carista can do on your car: http://www.caristaapp.com/customizations/?car=lexus_es350_2008

Looking at the parts diagram for the 2004 RX navigation system, it's not even close to plug and play. Did you also get the navigation DVD drive with its bracket that go in the back of the RX, the microphone and bracket that goes in the headliner, the different switch module for the steering wheel, the backup camera, the nav antenna and cable and all the miscellaneous parts and cables to bring it all together? The 2004 RX had a generation 2/3 navigation system. The final map update for gen 2/3 was in 2013 which pretty much means that even Toyota has given up on it. To put it in perspective, most current Lexus vehicles have generation 9 navigation systems. I have to agree with zieke on this one except that newer navigation systems used in more recent Toyota and Lexus vehicles compare quite favorably with Garmin and TomTom except that we still like getting the free map updates for our Garmins four times per year. We use our Garmins only in rental cars.

It is odd that the 95-97 Lexus V8 continues to be listed as non-interference in most charts including the current one from Gates when there have been a number of reports on Lexus forums of bent values when timing systems has failed. The bottom line is that it is best to replace timing belts, tensioners and idlers and water pumps when driven by timing belts at the recommended intervals. Not that timing chains can't present problems too but I'm glad that none of our current vehicles have timing belts. My understanding is that Toyota no longer makes any vehicles that have timing belts - last one was in around 2009 IIRC.

255/35-18 should fit on the back with no problem since that was the optional rear tire size of the IS350. The optional 18's for the front of the IS350 were 225/40-18. The 2010 IS350 has a 306 hp engine. The 2010 IS250 has only 204 hp. That's a huge difference and your IS250 AWD is even heavier than an IS350 RWD. I'll never forget my experimenting with wider tires on the LS400 I bought in 1990. That car had a 240 hp engine. It was heavier than your IS250 AWD but it's power to weight ratio was almost identical - I just did the math. Wider tires turned that LS400 into a painfully sluggish vehicle. It may have handled a little better but the "breakaway" at the limits was much more abrupt, the car no longer seemed nimble and it was less fun to drive. And it seemed like I could feel every pebble and irregularity in the road. My wife complained endlessly about the harsh ride. The wider tire setup did look great however. Fortunately, like most wider tires, they wore out quickly and I reverted to using the standard tire size. If you are going to do this, I suggest you use 225/40-18 on the front. According to http://www.wheelsandcaps.com/ where I have bought extra OEM wheels, your 18" wheels should have a 45mm offset. You won't be the first to use the optional 18" wheels and tires of the IS350 on an IS250. Some of have been happy with the results and others have not.

Listen to those who recommend a "square" setup on an IS250 AWD. I wouldn't go any wider than the standard 225/45-17. Unless you live in the tropical part of Ontario or don't drive your IS in the winter, a 295 would completely suck on snow and the greater mass of the 295 would turn your relatively low power IS250 into a dog.

Clogged sunroof drain tubes can cause a problem like this. If the water smells of antifreeze it could be a heater core problem.

The Camry and ES have been largely mechanical clones since the beginning. Based on the website of the company from which I last bought refurbished OEM wheels, it looks like the 2007 ES and the 2008 Camry wheels have the same bolt pattern and offset but check for yourself: http://www.wheelsandcaps.com

Do not drive it. Call a tow truck (flat bed only) and have it taken to a Lexus dealer or independent repair shop.

I think your questions about standard equipment, options and packages for the 2010-up IS are addressed by the brochures in the L-Certified section of the Lexus website: http://www.lexus.com/lcertified/models Traction Control and halogen headlights are standard. As you can see in the brochure, performance (acceleration) figures for the IS250 are similar to those of the 92 LS400.

I doubt if you are going to find anyone on a forum who has adjusted LED headlights on a new ES that is still under warranty. The dealer should not be adjusting your headlights to your preference - only to specification since there are safety and liability issues involved. I assume that your LED headlights are dynamically self leveling instead of having only the "startup" self leveling that your 2008 ES had. I suppose you could subscribe to the https://techinfo.toyota.com/ for a short term to view the instructions but this is something that a Lexus dealer "should" be able to do properly.

On the 2000 LS400 I used to have, I think I remember that I could see the temperature sensor by looking through the slats of the front bumper cover on the passenger (right) side. I think it is a little cylinder held in place by a bracket.

Yes, I've been reading that others are having to wait that long, are irritated about it and wondering if they should cancel and reorder a 2017 RX. This issue seems to be more common when a vehicle is significantly redesigned. It happened to me when I ordered a redesigned Honda MDX SH-AWD in early 2014. I cancelled the order a month later after the delivery date had slipped by two months into the summer. Both Lexus and Toyota dealers order vehicles and do just about everything else through the Toyota "Dealer Daily" online systems. Your Lexus dealer might have been able to cut the delivery time dramatically if an existing order had been modified instead of submitting a new order. That's what a Toyota dealer did for me when I special ordered a Toyota Sienna Limited after I cancelled the order for the MDX but I had to ask since the salesman seemed unaware that it could be done. That cut delivery time from over three months to exactly 28 days.

You might want to check to see if there are any screws or clips behind the rear wheel that need to be temporarily removed or loosened before popping the bumper cover back into place. I can't see from the photo if the bumper cover has dropped much towards the center of the vehicle but there may be other clips or screws that need to be addressed if it has. The following video is for a Camry but the routine is probably similar - look at about the 3:00 and 5:20 minute marks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W0_U4Jd-eM I've had unwanted practice lately popping a bumper cover back into place - wife knocked the front left side of the front bumper cover on her Prius off a couple of weeks ago. It was pretty easy to snap back into place but I had to loosen a few screws before doing it.

Is it Ray or do you go by "The Dude"?!? I just now checked a Toyota forum where someone complained that his license plate started showing up in the camera view. The last post on the thread was about the Toyota dealer showing him that the camera view on other new vehicles like his also showed the license plate. Also, the "Lexus Parking Assist - Things you should know" section of your owners manual says that it is possible for the camera to get out of alignment and that the dealer can adjust it. See page 292 of your navigation manual which you can view at http://drivers.lexus.com/t3Portal/document/omnav-s/OM78105U/pdf/OM78105U.pdf

$700 to repair all the damage sounds incredibly low. About 15 years ago, another car "tapped" my rear bumper and one of the front license plate screws put a small hole in the cover. It cost over $1,000 remove/reinstall the bumper cover, fill in the hole and repaint the entire cover. I had a front bumper cover, left front fender, left fog light, and left front turn signal on a 2000 LS400 replaced about 10 years ago after hitting stuff that had fallen off a truck and that cost around $4,500 if I remember correctly.

Beat-Sonic has an inexpensive harness that provides full control of the nav, audio and phone systems while driving: http://www.beatsonicusa.com/nsd6223ep.html Using voice commands, previous destinations and storing contacts as speed dials are techniques that I find help cope with the limitations while moving. We put our phones in iOttie phone holders mounted high on the dashboards of our vehicles and use the iBolt Dock'n Drive phone app to organize the phone apps we use most frequently while driving. Dock'n Drive is available for both iOS and Android. I have a big "Contacts" button on one of the five customizable Dock'n Drive screens which allows easy access to scrolling contacts directly on the phone screen. The NX owners manual indicates that the owner can turn off the automatic driver seat retraction - see section "9.2 Customization" of your owners manual.

The installer fabricated an interface harness that he put between the Kenwood head unit and the OEM amp. The install he did for me was child's play compared to the incredible audio/video system he had installed in his own LS430. The installation cost was only $125 which included the custom made interface harness but of course didn't include the Kenwood unit and the dash kit. Maybe a professional installer can help you - these guys do this stuff all day long.

It means only that there were no outstanding service "CAMPAIGNS" that were relevant to the vehicle. I wouldn't think there would be after all these years.

All I know is that the Best Buy installer did it on my LS even though almost everyone on Lexus forums said it couldn't be done. I supplied the installer with the complete audio system diagram. The installer was even an LS430 driver!