1990LS400

I sure hope not ;) ← You don't like lower prices and excellent quality7 :whistles:

A Toyota branded vehicle visually indentical to the GX is currently being assembled in mainland China. Likely, most Lexus vehicles will be sourced from China soon.

Personally I am very happy with Blizzaks on our 00 LS - makes it get around like an SUV - a small price to pay for 3 months. Keep the pressure near the minimum (30 psi) for comfort and best handling and do not exceed 70 mph. In Aspen answering on a Dell Axim wireless PDA...

I agree that the average person oould get confused on which companies provide good glass. My recommendation is to discuss this issue with your insurance agent, Lexus dealer, or a trusted independent repairshop. I have bought lot of aftermarket glass over almost 40 years and got only one bad windshield - in 1976 on a VW Rabbit. Even this one distorted window was replaced at no cost within 24 hours.

SK, did you know that the same major glass makers that supply OEM glass to Toyota-Lexas also supply glass to the aftermarket? Except for not having a Toyota-Lexus logo, it is the same product. Also keep in mind that, like most automakers, Toyota manufactures few components in its own factories. Car companies do not "make" cars - they design, assemble and market cars. Long held beliefs are sometimes hard to let go.

The quality of most aftermarket glass is equal to OEM. In fact, glass is probably the highest quality of all non-OEM parts. With that said, my recommendation is to use only name brand non-OEM glass - just like my local Lexus dealer does. Plus using aftermarket glass helps keep insurance rates down. We replace windshields when they become worn and we do not bother to have our insurance carrier pay since the reason for replacement is "wear and tear". I ask our insurance carrier to pay only for broken glass - again to keep rates down. Of course working in the insurance industry for 28 years has definitely colored my opinion!

Aftermarket is fine - even the local bodyshop (owned by the Lexus dealer) uses aftermarket glass and that is what they installed on my previous LS. My current LS will get a new aftermarket windshield at its 5th birthday. Glass replacement is covered under compehensive coverage as are road damage and vandalism.

The concept of model years seems to be mostly a U.S. thing. Month and year of manufacture or 1st registration is often elsewhere.

Why don't you just pay the fine and then get legal tints? Or, if you get legal tints before your court date you may avoid a fine.

It is not possible to increase wheel diameter by even one inch without sacrificing ride quality unless you keep the tire section height the same which then trashes speedometer accuracy. I've heard complaints about ride quality from people who have gone from standard 16's to only 17's - including complaints about dramatically reduced tire life. Tires provide much of the "shock absorber" function. I saw a teenager driving an early LS400 with fancy 19's or 20's on a rough small town street in northern Missouri a few weeks ago. He was driving like a 90 year old - probably to keep from jarring his brains out (and from bending his wheels). Although the street was rough I just comfortably blazed past him on my standard size wheels - I didn't have to worry about damage to my standard size wheels. When I was at a wheel shop last November having my wheels balanced, I was shown a bunch of 18 - 22" wheels that were bent by potholes. Why do people put up with all this trouble? IMO the silliest thing of all is to see cars with aftermarket wheels that cost more than the car is worth!

Actually, the mudflaps Toyota supplies for Lexus cars are barely noticable and really help reduce tar buildup and damage from rocks and paint spills. Photos of how muds look on my 2000 LS are in my gallary. Mudflaps were standard on LS400's in some markets outside North America. I don't remember seeing any LS400 in the U.K. or Europe without them. A couple of nights ago on BBC TV I saw a U.K. spec LS430 with molded color keyed mudflaps - looked very nice.

I added mudflaps to both my previous 90 LS and my current 00 LS. The first ones came from a Lexus dealer in London (they were not available in the U.S. until 1991) and I bought a set for my 00 LS from Metro Toyota/Lexus in Victoria, BC - real close to Kirkland! Mudflaps were removed from the Lexus accessory catalog several years ago according to my local Lexus dealer. I don't know if mudflaps are available for the GS - give Metro a call or send them an e-mail for a quote. They offer fast service, discounts from retail and are licensed to ship directly to the U.S. I usually deal with Paul in their parts department.

John, I hope you find a good pro installer. We've had more bad installs than good ones and have had interior damage and components positioned in unworkable places (speaker blocking the action of the service brake, microphone blocked by sun visor, phone holder blocking air vent, etc.). Be sure to verify capatibility between your chosen Bluetooth kit and your phone - some kit providers like Parrot (www.driveblue.com) have compatibility info on their web sites. Howard forums can be a good place to see if there are issues with particular phones and Bluetooth kits. Installing a kit is an interesting DIY project and is not all that difficult if you plan well and especially if you have the service manuals for your car (or do a one day $10 subscription to Toyota/Lexus on-line techinfo).

I noticed on http://www.lexus.ca/brochures/pov_brochure...300_English.pdf that the 97 ES was in fact prewired for a phone. If your car has a male 6-pin connector (two rows of three pins) under the center console box, it my be like the one in my LS. Search for my user name "1990LS400" and "phone" on this forum and you will find a link to a doc I wrote that has a photo of this plug with my phone kit's mute wire connected to it. I think this plug is for the Lexus Portable Plus phone but I don't know the first year Lexus cars were wired for it. If you find an unused female connector nearby, it is likely for the Lexus fixed phone -- I did not find a mute point in this connector.

I hope someone with personal experience with phones in an ES responses. I have hooked up phone kit mute wires only on a 00 LS and 98 Camry. Was the 97 ES prewired for a Lexus phone? Check the left side of the steering wheel hup for a removable plastic blank where the phone "command module" would go. My opinion is that it is safest and easiest to hook a phone kit's mute wire to a mute point on the car's OEM phone harness. Look at the electrical diagram for your car's audio system. Mute points on my 00 LS were labeled something like "TELMUTE" on my car's diagram. If your car is prewired, you might find a mute point on a plug under the armrest like I did on my LS or on a connector in the trunk where I also found a mute point on my LS. Our Camry was not prewired for a phone so I attached the phone kit's mute wire to one of the pins on the "data port" on the back of its single-DIN radio. But I know these data ports are on many Toyota branded cars beginning with the 98 model year. I had to plug a $15 Soundgate adaptor harness into the data port to get access to the radio's mute pin by scotch-locking the phone kit's mute wire to the appropriate wire on the Soundgate harness. FYI, Soundgate or similar harnesses and additional adaptors can be used to add Sat radio, MP3 players, etc. to Toyota vehicles with the 12 pin data port. But if you car is pre-wired for a phone, that is the way to go in connecting your Bluetooth kits mute wire. PM me if you want, I have not been visiting this forum as much recently.

Testy? I really am quite "warm and fuzzy"... The point I am making is, if I can sense that you are undecided by reading a few of your posts on an Internet forum, then a professional car salesman will size you up in a heartbeat and not consider you to be a serious customer. Salesman didn't call you back? Of course not. He isn't interested in your "thrill of the hunt". He wants to make a living. If you are going to buy a used car, you will likely have to be either be somewhat flexible in your requirements or you will have to expend most of the energy yourself in finding your "perfect car". The sales commission on a used Lexus, even a fairly new one, just isn't all that much. I'm not a salesman "type", but I appreciate what they do. Our wonderful sales force allow me to make a very nice living. Hey, I've been called "a salesman's worst nightmare" because I apparently understand "the game" so well that I can, if I want, "toy" with salesmen and "make" them do deals they can't afford to do. But I don't do that anymore. As I have gotten older, I have grown to appreciate that everyone has to make a living and I don't mind giving a salesman or dealer a decent (or even generous) commission or markup for finding something I want. I look at a salesman as a partner - not as an advasary. So my advice is to figure out what you want before you do much more shopping. Until then, when entering a dealership, it is a nice gesture to tell salesman that you "are just kicking tires for now and not buying today". I love to look at cars and I do this often -- I notice that at least the smart salesmen appreciate my being upfront with them. When you finally figure out your minimum requirements, take your checkbook and your wife (or significant other) with you and be ready to deal. And if you happen to find your "perfect car", by all means don't let a few thousand dollars difference between asking price and your offer stand in your way when spending $30+ for a used or new car. It's a "nit" and who knows how long it will be before another "perfect car" comes along. I used to hear that the only sound deal was one in which both buyer and seller were equally unhappy. I don't believe it. The best deal is when both buyer and seller are happy with what they received. But forget about cars. It is January! Depending on what is allowed in your tax bracket and your employment situation, it is time to fund all allowable IRA's, Roth IRA's, 401K's, Keough's, etc. as quickly as possible to get the biggest bang for your investment buck. Investing for the future is way more important than buying a car.

I wish we could meet up Steve but I'm heading north for two days of packed activities in Baltimore - now beginning on Feb 18. But at least it is a "fun" trip with my wife this time -- I used to get the feeling that my 2nd home was the hotel across from the running track at Johns Hopkins. Best wishes!

Sure, installing Nav in a non-Nav LS has been done before (spending thousands of $ to do it) but why would you want to do this on a relatively new car when there are lots of used LS430's with Nav available? ECUPirate, you've been surfing here for at least a month. Why are you having such a hard time finding an acceptable LS430 at a reasonable price? On lexus.com, there are eight pages of CPO LS430's within 250 miles of the DC 20001 ZIP code and probably far more nice (and lower priced) used LS430's available at non-Lexus dealers and from individuals nearby. The asking prices on some of the CPO cars even seem reasonable and some (probably most) can likely be purchased for a lot less if a serious offer was made. If the LS430's are really too expensive, consider stepping back a few model years. I'll be arriving at BWI on Jan 28th. Do I have to help you choose a car? :chairshot: ;) (Sorry ... love to give the kids a hard time...)

Yes, keyless entry was an option on my 90 LS although it was an inexpensive option. The service key should have a single button on it that is flush with the plastic part of the key. If the key does not have this button, then it is a valet key. The keyless entry on the early LS was not very sophisticated compared to later models and there is no audible beep when the doors are opened or close. I think the "beep" was added in 93.

There are lots of past posts on this issue. Look at this one and/or search for "Homelink" for other posts: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...052&hl=Homelink

Yes, the line on pricing will likely hold and prices may even go down as Toyota moves its assembly of Lexus vehicles to the Chinese mainland where labor costs are a fraction of those in Japan and the U.S. Toyota has for some time been manufacturing parts in China used in Lexus branded vehicles and assembling some of its more complex Toyota branded vehicles such as the Landcruiser Prado (in the U.S. called the Lexus GX470): http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/about_toyota/history/2000.html FYI, the retail on my 2000 LS was $61,770 including a supposedly $1,700 dealer installed chrome wheel option and before a $1,900 "Platinum MSRP Discount". Based on the prices in the autotrader.com archive it looks like the maximum retail with Nav and air suspension for a U.S. spec LS in 2000 was around $64,500. The top prices for the final LS400's were likely substantially higher in countries where power rear seats (with massage!), and rear seat A/C and audio system controls were available. Kind of funny how Toyota finally put all the rear seat goodies on a U.S. spec LS430 and called it the "Ultra Luxury" (in Europe, the "President").

It has been a long time since I replaced the drivers side light switch on the door jam on the 90 LS I used to have but I remember that it was quite easy to do and required popping off the sill trim and the trim covering the seat belt retractor to get access to the screws holding the switch in place. I remember that the old switch under the rubber cover sometimes got sort of "kinked" which prevented the switch from opening and closing. I could temporarily straighten out the switch but it would soon get kinked again. My 2000 LS does not seem to have these switches - perhaps the light switch function on later models is part of the latch mechanism in the door.

The Lexus website says that for the 1998 LS400: "One-touch open/close feature with pinch protection added to all windows " It may be a little more complicated that just exchanging switches. Lexus vehicles with the auto open/close feature also have a feature called "pitch protection". Pitch protection not only protects a person (mainly a child) from having a window or sunroof closed on an extremity but also prevents a child from being strangled by a closing window. The parents of a child who was strangled to death by a closing a closing car window have led a lobbying effort that has led to a regulation change that will require a feature similar to "pinch protection" on all cars sold in the U.S. with power windows/sunroofs. Last I heard, U.S. car companies have delayed the implementation of this requirement by several years. Personally, I don't find the auto open/close feature on our 2000 LS to be very useful. We had a 90 LS for over 13 years and I thought that having an "auto down" on the drivers window was enough. A related feature I really do value is being able to lower all the windows and open the sunroof with a button on the key as I approach the car on a hot summer day.

A variety of roof top carriers and cargo boxes, including both open and enclosed ski/snowboard carriers, are available from European and U.K. Lexus dealers. Here is a link to the Pan-Europe Lexus web page for the RX - click "Accessories Chooser": http://www.lexus-europe.com/showroom/rx_2003/index.asp I bought a variety of accessories and parts from a Lexus dealer in London in the early 90's when in London and later from the U.S. by phone. I assume that a U.K. or a European Lexus dealer would be able to help you although the prices will likely be quite high due to the U.S. dollar currently being in the dumper against the pound and the Euro. Shipping costs can get a bit high too.

Amazing, aren't they? I've got WS50's on my LS (for the 2nd winter) and they sure make driving (and passing stuck SUV's) in heavy snow fun. Of course VSC and the transmission "Snow" mode probably helps a lot too. I never expect a set of snow tires to last much more than 4 winters/20,000 miles, based on 5,000 miles use per year, since effectiveness in deep snow depends on having a lot of tread depth. The LS I sold in last year after 13+ years was on its fourth set of snow tires. My recommendation is to watch tire inflation on snow tires much more closely than on summer tires since winter temperatures often vary more - by 40 degrees here in just one or two days. And compensate for garage temperatures if you check tires in a warm garage, e.g. I'm going to add three pounds (1 pound per 10 degress) to the recommended pressure today since my garage is about 30 degress warmer than the expected high temperature for today. A great little device is a little inexpensive "Air Master 250 psi" 12 volt electric tire pump -- sure beats going to a gas station to check tires and it fits perfectly in the spare tire tray under the trunk mat.