1990LS400

Early U.S. specification LS400's had a button on the left side of the steering which toggled the automatic tilt/retraction feature on/off. Does your Celsior have this button and could it have been inadvertently pushed to the off position? Or could this button/switch be defective? Later LS400's like SK and I have do not have this on/off button.

Replacing the odometer on a 90 LS at 125,000 miles I used to have stopped the ticking. I don't remember the total cost (part + labor) but it was relatively inexpensive. This is a very common problem. I drove the car to 183,000 miles and the ticking never returned.

I would not recommend using a sharp tool like Y2KLS400 recommends. Instead use a well taped screw driver or wide blade putty knife to spread the force on the wood trim. Like Blake I've removed the wood console trim quite a few times with no problems. Here is one of the best tutorials on removing the console trim and radio - it applies to 95-00 LS400's but the procedure is not all that different for 90-94 LS400's: http://carstereohelp.com/stereoremovalLexusLS400str1.htm

Checking the water level in your battery once a month should be enough. I keep a specialized battery filler bottle (similar to the attached photo) filled with distilled water in the garage on a shelf with all the other "top up fluids" - oil, premixed coolant oil, windshield washer fluid, etc.

Hey Blake, I think "dogboy" made a phone interface for his own car but I don't remember if he said he did. He seemed to know a lot about the LS factory phone system. I'll probably replace our Nokia CARK-91H car kits with BlueTooth car kits when when one of the Nokia phones die - perhaps kits from Parrot. I've been worn down by cellular providers (Cingular for us) offering a continually changing line of phones that require completely different phone kits or holders for car use. Bluetooth may not provide all the features of the old Nokia car kits, but I guess it is going to have to be close enough. Jim

According to his profile, dogboy was last active on this forum "21st December 2004 - 02:22 PM". Here is an old thread that includes information about a phone conversation I had with dogboy (a.k.a. Jeremy) in early 2004 --> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...opic=6247&st=15

One idea is to position your ski rack as close to one side of the car as possible and loop a plastic coated cable lock through the front and/or rear ski rack and/or the ski bindings and around the permanently mounted side rail. Would it be possible to substitute a different type of bolt to make it more difficult to remove the "extenders"? On one roof mounted ski/bike rack I had, I substituted bolts with large curled knobs (that were meant to be removed without tools) with bolts that required an Allen wretch to remove them. At least a thief would have had to come well prepared. Anybody who really wants to steal skis can probably defeat any locked ski rack. I've always looked at locks on ski and bike racks as devices to slow down a amateur thief or simply discourage someone from even trying. I've always been paranoid about having skis (and bikes) stolen and I have rarely left skis on top of an unattended car for very long. Lots of people don't lock their skis to their racks at all - I've counted on thieves to focus on them.

Just going over a small bump is enough to momentarilly jar a connection between battery cells loose on an old battery and and make the car die. The engine on my 00 LS died a couple of years ago when I made a low speed turn into a parking lot and hit a small pot hole. The battery was just under four years old. I barely got the car running and drove directly to get a new battery. It has not died since. But yes, it could be the alternator - especially if a defective power steering pump has leaked fluid on it - a very common problem on the gen 1 LS. It definitely pays to make a fluid shield for the alternator out of a plastic bottle. Search this forum for information on how to do this. I should have done this on my 90 LS. I went though several alternators and several power steering pumps over the 14 years. And it was on its 5th battery - they failed like clockwork every three years - even with closely monitoring the fluid and using only distilled water.

It sounds like the battery to me. Is it over 3 years old? I had very similar symtoms several times over the nearly 14 years I had a 90 LS (and once on my 00 LS) and it always turned out to be the battery. Do you have a battery (specific gravity) tester? Consider buying a cheap charger and see if the battery will hold a charge.

The rear seat in my 00 LS takes a lot of force to remove using a pry bar - I thought I was going to break something. The rear seat in the 90 LS I used to have popped out very easily by pulling the two tabs at the front of the seat. I took the seat out of the 90 LS many times to haul stuff. The two metal tabs should have plastic covers to protect the legs of rear passengers.

Great work, Rich! The importance of having an electrical diagram can not be over emphasized. Personally I spent way too much time searching forums for information on how to connect our phone kits until I found out that the electrical diagrams gave the wire colors for the functions needed. If a car is under its basic warranty, it could be an issue to cut into the audio/nav system wiring harnesses. My Lexus dealer told me that the warranty on the audio system would be voided if I cut into its wiring harness so I went to great pains to find a way to tap into the OEM phone harness without cutting or even splicing into any wires. Would that really have been the case if the audio system had failed during the warranty period? I don't know but it sure scared me off. Likely the main reason that installers want to use a "junky external speaker" is that they don't want liability for frying a multi-thousand dollar audio/nav system. Who can blame them. Besides, the sturdy little external phone speakers on our cars provide crystal clear sound - certainly no worse than on any OEM phone system I've heard. But my opinion might be different if there were no good places under our dashes to mount speakers. Your SC430 project proves still again that one just has to "dig in" to a problem to come up with a solution.

What could this possibly have to do with the life of the timing chain/belt? ← The double roller timing chains for the three overhead camshaft engined Mercedes I have owned were enclosed in the block and heads and lubed by engine oil. I know this because I completely rebuilt one of the Mercedes engines myself and I did my own valve adjustments and could see the chain when I removed the valve covers. Aren't all OHC timing chains are lubed by the engine oil? Does Toyota do it differently?

I don't mean to be rude but there are many past threads on this forum on how to program the opener buttons - I have contributed to several of them. Some of these threads discuss the typical mistakes people make when doing the programming. Please try the search feature of this forum.

I have about 20,000 miles on the Dunlop 5000's I have on my 00 LS. Exactly what do you mean when you say that "their performance on wet pavement is very poor." Although I think the dry pavement noise is too high, the Dunlop 5000's perform as well as any other all season tires I have put on an LS over the past 15 years. 290 hp on our cars is quite a bunch. When it is wet, it can be difficult to keep from spinning the rear wheels when taking off from a stop. By default, "traction control" on the earlier LS was on by default - this reduced the amount of wheel spinning when moving away from a stop. Beginning in 1998 (somebody please correct me if I am wrong!), "snow mode" (the "new" traction control) was off by default. This change can mean more rear wheel spinning in the wet if you are not gentle with the throttle or turn snow mode on. I sometimes move the selector switch to "snow" mode when it is raining just to keep rear wheel spinning down. "Snow" mode doesn't have to be only for when it is snowing. I have winter wheels and tires and have decided that my next set of summer tires will not be all season tires. Instead, I am going to focus on noise level.

Blake, Like Grand_LS_4 said, it may have been the 1998 model year when the HVAC system was changed to sense outside air quality and switch between outside air and recirculated air accordingly. Unless your owners manual describes adjusting your HVAC system for outside air quality, I suspect your system is automatically switching back and forth between outside air and recirculated air just to keep your interior cool in that steamy Louisiana heat. Thanks for the PM!

I will never forget picking up a Toyota Camry rental car from one of the major rental companies at the Sea-Tac airport in the early 90's and seeing several LS400's parked in the rental company's parking spaces near the Camry. Wow, I thought it would be really nice to drive an LS - just like the one I left back home - while on vacation - that is, until I checked the rental rate. Whoa! The LS rental rate was far more expensive than the Camry and completely out of line with the value of the LS over the Camry. The Camry turned out to be just fine for a couple of weeks. That was the only time I have ever seen Lexus cars available as rentals from a major company at an airport. I usually try to get Camry rentals when traveling since many of the controls (window switches, cruise control, etc.) are exactly the same as on Lexus cars. Camry rentals are usually hard to get since they are so popular.

Regarding the phone in your 98 LS, I suggest searching past posts for "Portable Plus". I think it was made by Qualcomm although I have read on ClubLexus that the identical looking old Qualcomm branded phone would not work in the 98-00 Lexus phone system. Both "Blake918" and I have installed a bit newer (although now discontinued) phone kits in our LS400's. It is fairly easy to hook a phone kit, including a Bluetooth kit, so that it automatically mutes your audio system when a call is received or made. Your 98 LS has a phone antenna imprinted on the inside of the rear window. The imprinted antenna on my 00 LS seems to work well with my GSM/TDMA/analog phone.

After catching someone switching license plates in a parking lot some years back (it's done to disguise stolen cars), I've since used hex head (Allen) bolts to secure license plates to cars. I'm assuming that people who steal license plates are going to have only screw drivers with them and are going to steal plates that are easily removed. The way I keep license plates from rattling (and eliminate damage to the cars) is to put a length of small rubber hose (e.g. windshield washer hose) between the perimeter of my metal plate frame and the car. The hose eliminates all contact between the plate/metal plate frame and the car.

Here is the list for a 91 LS from http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/A...LRG-Results.htm 1991 LEXUS LS400 High & low beam headlamp 9004 9004ST Silverstar High Performance Lighting: the whitest and brightest Halogen 9004XV XtraVision Halogen Upgrade: Up to 20% Brighter 9004CB Cool Blue Halogen Upgrade: White Hot; Super Cool; 100% Street Legal 9004LL Long Life Halogen Upgrade: Lasts two and a half times longer Parking light 168 Front turn signal 1156 1156LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp Rear turn signal 1156 1156LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp Tail light 1157 1157LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp Stop light 1157 1157LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp High mount stop light 921 921LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp License plate 168 Back up light 1156 1156LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp Front sidemarker 168 Rear sidemarker 168 Glove box 161 Dome light 194 194LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp Step/Courtesy light 194 194LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp Trunk/Cargo area 194 194LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp Instrument-general 194 194LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp

The compressor on my 90 LS was replaced in about 1992. I think the replacement was supposedly an improved version and it lasted until about 2001 or 2002 when I had the compressor replaced and the system converted to R-134a. The system worked very well on R-134a - I once ran it for about an hour on a 100 degree day while parked in KC Royals stadium parking log and it could have frozen the four of us out of the car - the coolant temperature gauge never rose above normal while doing this. The current owner of the car said the system has a minor leak and he has to top it up about once a year - probably not bad for a 15 1/2 year old car.

There have been a few posts in the past about turning off the DRL's. I see this is only your 2nd post so you may not be aware of the power of the search feature of this forum. Try searching for DRL. Turning off DRL is not one of the CBES (Custonmized Body Electronic System) settings in my LS - I just now checked my list - and I would be surprised if it is on your LX. I'm always curious about why someone would want to turn off the DRL's. I've driven with headlights on during the day since about 1970 after I read studies about the reduction of accidents in northern Europe associated with the introduction of DRL's. I've done quite a bit of driving in upstate New York the past few years and have been surprised at how many dark heavily forested areas I've driven through on winding 2-lane roads. I had never realized that New York was like that. I'd really appreciate it if you would leave your DRL's on so I don't hit you the next time I drive in upstate NY. :( But turn them off if you must - I don't think they are required by law.

The chrome wheels on my 00 LS were badly pitted after three Kansas winters. My chrome wheels were not exactly "OEM" since they were Lexus Platinum Series wheels that the dealer had chromed by a California company and sold as a new car option. However, my co-worker's 99 LS really did have the official Lexus chrome wheel option and his wheels were incredibly pitted even sooner than mine. When my chrome wheels were replaced under warranty I bought a relative inexpensive set of Mille Miglia wheels to use with the snow tires. After almost two years of non-winter use the replacement chrome wheels are still like new. I suppose that, if you wash and wax chrome wheels like "SK" says, the chrome might last a lot longer. But that is really hard to keep up in the winter if you live where gets very cold. You could probably easily keep chrome wheels clean in the winter in warm Vancouver but it could be difficult in (Siberian) Ontario where my mother's family came from.

We are hoping that Toyota will sell wagons in the U.S. again. Our ideal wagon would be fairly large and based on the Avalon but we would buy a Camry wagon if Toyota ever sells them here again. I've ridden in Toyota Avensis Combi wagons (not the Avensis van) a few times outside the U.S. and I like them more that the similar size Camry they replaced: http://www.toyota.is/?PageID=11 I wish they would sell them here. As much as we want a wagon, I can't bring myself to leave Toyota for another brand - we keep cars a looong time. For now, I'll continue to rent a truck or use a delivery service when we need to haul something that won't fit in one of our cars. "Toyota, would you please build an Avalon wagon for us?"

artseattle, I hate to tell you but I have to agree with your dealer. If your warranty specifically excludes chrome, that means that the warranty company will not pick up the tab and the dealer will be stuck with the full cost of replacement. That five year warranty you bought (you paid for it in the purchase price) is really just an insurance policy. (Shuush - we aren't allowed to call them "insurance policies".) An item has to be covered by the policy before the warranty company will pay. If the chrome had been covered by the warranty, the premium for the warranty policy would have been higher - the dealer would have had to include this additional cost into the price you paid for the car. I'll bet there are several specialty wheel shops in Seattle that can remove the chrome from the bead seal. You might even find one that will rechrome your wheels for a lot less than the dealer quoted you. Love Seattle - great city! Been there many times. (Even climbed Rainier twice.) Good luck.

If you can not write off lease payments as a business expense, a "personal lease" is always a financial disaster. Even as a business expense, leasing is a questionable proposition and used only by businesses that are "cash poor". Do some research. But yes, if you think you have to have a car every 2 - 3 years, then a personal lease may not be that much worse than an outright purchase. Whether you purchase or lease, you pay a very high cost if you have to have a new car every 2 - 3 years. As I have said before on this forum, the greatest economies are achieved by keeping a car as far past its depreciable life as possible - for personal cars, we (including my CPA wife) aim to keep a purchased car for at least 10 years. Regardless of if a car is used for personal or business use, the lowest cost way to drive a car is to save up the money and pay cash. Paying cash puts you in the strongest position in the negotiation process and tends to moderate the cost of cars that are purchased. It is a very sobering act to write a check for an expensive car - it really makes you think about what you are doing and the choice you are making. If we can do it, anyone can.