1990LS400

The minimum recommended wheel width for 245/50-16's is 7 inch and you can verify this using various tire size calculators including the one at http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp Benefits of using somewhat narrower wheels is that you have less clearance issues and it is much harder to "curb" your wheels since the tire sidewall of wider tires provides more protection to the wheels.

Well, last year Tire Rack assured me that 245/55-16's could be used to replace the OEM 225/60-16's on my LS OEM rims so my guess is that you could do something similar on your SC. You might try giving them a call to verify. I stayed with the OEM size however since I know from experience that a larger treadwidth would make the ride quite a bit harsher and noisier (really irratated the wife) and didn't seem to make a previous LS handle any better. Sure improved the braking though. You would at least have a fairly large selection in the 245's you are looking for. Tire Rack has about 30 models in 245/50-16. They have only one choice in the 245/55-16 for my LS. I'd say "go for it" if the larger size will fit with no clearance issues and you don't plan to use these tires in the snow this winter. Wider tires can be a real problem in the snow. This is the best time of the year to buy summer tires - lots of special offers out there. Spring, of course, is the best time to get good deals on snow tires.

I have had that yellow stuff splashed on to at least three cars including my previous LS. I was told that the yellow substance was adhesive used to hold down the tape stripes at intersections. I always put mudflaps on cars now to reduce this kind of damage but Lexus recently deleted mudflaps from their parts catalog in the U.S. - I got a set for my current Lexus from a Canadian dealer last year. I have used tar remover and a cotton cloth to remove the yellow adhesive but it is very tedious work - I could pop some of the hardened droplets off with a fingernail. I never did get if off one car after the adhesive hardened and it looked especially bad since the car was dark blue. On the Missouri side of Kansas City, the highway department routinely reimburses drivers for road damage - particularly caused by potholes - if one can document when and where the damage occurred. Maybe your highway department would pay for the repair since you can document when and where the damage occurred. It doesn't hurt to ask. And the comprehensive coverage of your insurance may pay for a professional repair if the highway department does not pay. If all else fails, contact a body shop or a detailing company and see what they say. Good luck.

You might want to review old posts since this has been discussed many times although sometimes with inaccurant statements. My understanding is that anything before the VVT-i engines are non-interference engines. I think the first year for VVT-i in the LS was 1998 and that 1999 was the first year for VVT-i in much of the rest of the Toyota line. I know that our 98 Camry V6 is not VVT-i or interference. When the timing belt broke in my 1990 LS, no damage was done. The best course of action is to replace the timing belt as recommended for the particular year in question.

I think something that is being missed here is that later LS cars with VSC, ABS with more channels, and "snow mode" transmission settings handle snow completely differently and far better than the early LS. There is very little similarity between how my 1990 LS drove in snow and how my 2000 LS drives in snow. Go too fast around a corner in snow in a 1990 LS and you will spin. Go too fast around a corner in snow in a 98-00 or newer LS and VSC intervenes like magic. Early and late LS400's are different in many other ways. Seating positions, space, noise level, ground clearance, overall height, materials, handling, braking, and accelleration are all very, very different. About the only thing they seem to have in common is the model name - LS400 - and that a few of the switches work the same way.

Arthur, There are alternatives to spending thousands of $ to install a factory Nav in a three or four year old car. What part of Wisconsin are you in? Having difficulty finding your way from cow to cow? (Sorry, I couldn't resist - it was all in fun.) You could instead spend $400 - $700 and buy a Palm or Pocket PC based Nav that you could take from car to car (including to rental cars when you really, really need Nav while travelling) while also using it for e-mail, video, MP3, names and addresses, and surfing the Internet via those free hotspots that are becoming so common in the midwest. Some of the limo service cars we use to get to the airport have PDA based Nav systems and the drivers tell me that they are very effective. They have maps and voice prompts similar to factory Nav and some can connect to mute the car radio during the voice prompts. There are lots of available PDA based systems from Garmin, PalmOne, etc. including this one from Dell ($556 including GPS) which interfaces with the GPS antenna via Bluetooth: http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/f...s=19&l=en&s=dhs All the nav information for almost half the U.S. will fit on just one removable 1-gigabyte SD card which slips into the slot at the top of the Dell. I have the Dell Wi-Fi/Bluetooth X30 624 MHz Pocket PC part of this system but have been too lazy (or cheap) to order the Bluetooth GPS kit which is currently $224 as a standalone option.

I may be one of the guys 99lsguy is talking about with my Blizzaks on inexpensive Mille Miglia wheels from Tire Rack. My 2000 LS with this setup seems to get around substantially better in heavy snow than our front wheel drive V6 Camry with traction control and ABS. I have passed a whole lot of stuck SUVs in my life while driving a rear drive car with four snow tires. My 00 LS seems to get around a lot better in heavy snow than my 90 LS which had less ground clearance.

Not that it matters to you since you already have a set of 215/65-15's, but 225/60-15's also work well on the 90-92 OEM wheels and do not introduce speedometer error. There are no clearance issues and the 225's extra width provides much better braking than those little 205/65-15 tires.

The glass sunroof of my 90 LS cracked a year or two before I sold it to ylekiot1 last November. It took only a few days for the crack to spread from edge to edge. I assume the crack was caused by a stone kicked up by another vehicle although I never heard an impact. There seems to be a lot of debri on roads and this was far from the first glass damage I have had on a car -- one reason I keep the deductible on comprehensive coverage low ($0) but the deductible on collision coverage high ($2,000).

For the 13 winters I had a 90 LS, I put one 25 pound bag of sand into the nook on each side of the trunk. I wrapped each bag of sand in a heavy trash bag and secured the bag with duct tape to make a neat package that would make it through the winter without spilling. The main thing is to have four good quality snow tires and would especially recommend snow tires that have the mountain/snowflake symbol on the side wall. I use Blizzaks on my 00 LS and they seem to work much better than the light duty snow tires I used on my 90 LS. My 90 LS did not have "traction control" but the early Lexus traction control system was not seen to be particularly effective anyway. Oddly, the early traction control was on by default unless you turned it off. On my 00 LS, traction control is called "snow" mode and is off by default unless you turn it on.

You probably already know this but Toyota and Lexus V8's use the same oil filter. A local Toyota dealer included 10 oil plug gaskets when we purchased a 10-pack of oil filters for $40 which is of course is only $4 each. A Lexus dealer parts department once charged me over $12 for just one oil filter and plug gasket.

My understanding was that cars sold in the Japanese market also have a speed alarm. However, my information is from quite a few years back and I do not know if this is still the case. You might try posing your question on a U.K., Australian, New Zealand, etc. forum where right hand drive cars from the Japanese market are more likely to be imported. The U.K. Forum of this web site has an "Import" section just for the purpose of exchanging information cars imported from right hand drive countries in Asia. http://lexusownersclub.com Have you located the source of the sound? Using an automotive stethoscope can make it easier. The one I have looks like this: http://www.easyautopart.com/automotive_stethoscope.html

Bluetooth just became available (included with Nav) on U.S. spec RX330's so you might not find many people on this forum with experience with Bluetooth in the RX. That will probably change very quickly as more new RX330's are sold.

craigamuir, There was at least one other TSB (or TSIB) that I am aware of that covers the 2000 LS and also the 98-99 LS. The "miles since refuel" can reset itself before a trip to the gas station. By the 2000 model year, the fix was to replace the entire instrument cluster which meant having the current odometer reading "burned" into the new cluster before it was shipped to the local dealer and being without the car for a few days. I think the fix for the 98-99 LS also involved a sensor at the fuel tank. This problem happened on my car only once or twice so I did not bother to have it fixed before the basic warranty expired two months ago. I've communicated on other forums with several other owners of 98-00 LS and early LS430's with the same problem and most have not bothered to have this problem fixed. It does seem odd that a dealer would deny the existance of a fix for a problem when he could be making money making repairs. My local dealer was quite willing to apply all TSB's before the warranties on both my LS's expired. An alternative to alldata.com for TSB's might be the TSB section of Clublexus.com. I found the TSB on the above trip computer problem there but have not looked for TSB's there recently.

Gee ylekiot1 (Toby), I should have been bringing the old LS to you for service all those years before I sold it to you - except you might have been in grade school or jr. high when I bought it in 1990. Guys, when "ylekiot1" speaks, you might want to listen to him. He has found solutions to several nagging problems on that 90 LS that neither dealer or independent repair shops could figure out. Toby, should I bring my 2000 LS to you for its next service? ;) Jim

Lexus cars with radios that can be protected with security codes do not arrive from the factory with a security code programmed. The owner has to do it (or have the dealer do it) and the owner can pick any three digit code he wants. I never bothered to program in a code since I was never really concerned with theft. "exacting tribute" for a repair or diagnosis is how one pays for employees' salaries, health care, vacations, and the facility they work in. But sometimes a repair shop or dealer will treat you to a freebie if you are really nice but mainly if you have a long term and friendly relationship with them. I've brought a lot of new customers to my favorite repair shop and that is probably one reason the owner treats me so well.

I have had very good experiences with bulbs from Wagner and GE that use a halogen / Xenon gas mix. The ones from Wagner are sold under the model name of "BriteLite" - my spelling could be incorrect. The ones from GE are sold with the letters "HO" (stands for "high output" at the end of the model number (e.g. 9004HO). Neither of the bulbs have a blue coating - the glass is clear. Both operate at standard wattages and have lasted about two years in our cars. The bulbs from both GE and Wagner produce a very white light with no blue-ish tint. The whiter light seemed to fill in the low beam pattern of my 90 LS and was more pleasant to drive behind. I tried using one of each brand in the 90 LS and could not see any difference between the GE and Wagner in output or color. Both are quite inexpensive - I have paid as little as $15 for a 2-pack. I have not seen the GE HO's in discount stores recently - Silvania seems to be prevailing in Wal-Marts and the like. I have purchased the Wagner BriteLite bulbs from auto parts stores and have noticed that they are available on the Internet. Here is one site that sells them: http://www.brandsport.com/wagnerlighting.html#Brite I previously tried higher wattage bulbs but they generally lasted only a month or two. One 80/100 watt bulb exploded (when the outside temperature was 100 degrees) and made a mess on a reflector and lens that was very difficult to fix.

TallTimber, I have to assume that the foglights are hooked to the low beam curcuit because it is required that way in at least some European countries - front fog lights are considered to be auxilary lights. Certainly in theory, it should be possible to attach the fog lights to the parking light curcuit. Similarly, the cars I have had with a rear fog light have always had the rear fog light wired into the front fog light curcuit so you could not turn on the rear fog light without the front fog lights already on. I have been a little surprised that Lexus doesn't equip its North American cars with a rear fog light but of course the rules for rear lights are very different in the U.S. that in some some European countries where, for example, at least two rear brake light bulbs can not also be tail lights). I've installed manufacturer's optional front foglight kits on several Hondas and a Volvo and, when I followed the installation instructions, the front foglights always worked only with the headlight low beams.

Here is documentation on the 98 LS (options, etc) that was formerly in the Lexus.com CPO model library. It is too big to attach to this post, so I uploaded it (for about 10 days) to a folder hanging on one of my web sites. http://home.kc.rr.com/colchester/public/98%20LS.doc

There are probably lots of good models of snow tires and my opinion is that the key is to look for true snow tires instead of all season tires that have a "M + S" on the side wall. The "real deal" has a "mountain / snowflack" symbol on the side wall. There is a huge difference in performance in snow. Last November I bought a set of four Bridgestone Blizzaks mounted on Mille Miglia Bello wheels from Tire Rack last year for $880. I normally buy winter tires in the spring and summer tires in the fall to get the bet deals but had to skip that routine this time since I had just bought the car. It was hard to believe how well the 00 LS handled a 10" snowfall. I powered right by a whole lot of SUV's spinning their wheels in the snow and barely able to move. But the Blizzaks were brand new, and the "snow mode" traction control and VSC were continually kicking in. If you buy snow tires mounted on wheels balanced with tape-on weights, remind the sellor of potential clearance issues between tape-on weights and the front brake caliper. I found out the hard way. Also, it is may not be good to have better snow tires on the front or back since you could end up having better traction and put the car into a spin. Better to have tires of similar mileage and model on both ends.

Must be a Canadian thing, eh? U.S. versions of the 98-00 LS came from the factory only with white fog lights and my 00 LS has white fog lights. My first LS did however have yellow fog lights.

When your headlight switch is in the "Auto" position (and it is dark of course) and your car pointed towards a wall, start the car. If it has HID, the headlights will go through a little up and down autoleveling dance to compensate for the weight in the car. You will see the beams move up and down on the wall in front of you several times. I am fairly sure that the cars without HID do not have the autoleveling feature since HID was usually marketed as "HID with autoleveling". There are probably lots of other ways to tell if it has HID such as looking for the ballasts. I would have to check my repair manuals and will if the above doesn't work for you. Of course the light should have a slight blue-ish tint (not nearly as blue as BMW HID though) but that is not a reliable way to check for HID since the blue tint could be the non-HID system with coated H4 bulbs. And of course HID spreads a very intense blanket of light in front of the car. I would be surprised your car does not have HID since it has all those other options. The two or three 98 LS's I've seen without HID were very basically equipted. I remember a Lexus salesman complaining in 1997 that not all the new 98 LS's coming in his door had HID. He was not happy about it since everyone wanted the HID. HID was a $500 option on 1998 models and later was available on 99-00 models in various option packages. It was never standard on 98-00 LS400's. $19K for a 98 with 52K miles sounds OK to me. And 52K miles is quite low for a 98. A co-worker paid $20K a few weeks ago for an early 99 LS with just under 70K miles but with more than the average number of exterior cosmetic flaws. His is equipted like yours and has the Nakamichi audio system and Lexus chrome wheels.

Bob, Do a Google search on "tire cupping cause" you will find lots of documentation about tire cupping being caused by "unbalanced tire condition, faulty wheel bearings, loose parts, fatigued springs or weak shock absorbers." Or check the tech pages on the various tire sellers web sites. Of course wheel balance is the usual suspect on a fairly new car. (I could never keep the wheels balanced on the Mercedes cars I've owned and constantly fought cupping issues.) Here are my experiences ... According to my logs, the original Dunlop SP4000 on our V6 Camry were replaced at 66,581 miles when almost down to the wear indicators. The OEM SP4000's on our current LS were replaced after going 39,720 miles mainly because the chrome wheels were being replaced under warranty and it was not cost effective to install the OEM tires on the new wheels to squeeze out another few thousand miles. I check and correct tire pressures (fluid levels, etc.) on our cars "religously" (a little car humor there) every Sunday morning - a ritual of nearly 40 years. I rotate the tires per the car manufacturers instructions. Almost any tire will provide good service if you pay attention to pressure, balance, and rotation - and don't drive like a maniac. Look for the least agressive tread for the quietest ride. I shop the European name brands and choose mainly on price and availability. Personally I don't care which I buy - Dunlop, Continental, Michelin, Perelli, etc. (Got to keep that CPA wife of mine happy with the price!)

Steve, I paid $30,900 for my 2000 LS. I might have been able to get it for less but maintaining the long term relationships involved was more important. The LS had more options than what I asked my friend to find and was mostly on target with the specs (no Nav, no air suspension, white exterior, low miles, minimal flaws) that I gave him. I didn't particularly want the chrome wheels or the Nakamichi - I have to admit that audio sounds very nice - but I could have better integrated my Nokia phone kit using the integration cable I bought in U.K. if it had the standard or Nav audio. I know my "speaches" on being financially conservative may be getting a little old. But I have seen some very highly paid people lose their jobs and businesses (and cars and houses) over the several years due to the economic downturn, outsourcing, and way too much personal debt.

Eric, No, No, No. The Japanese do not call Lexus "garbage cars"! That is not what I meant. I meant that some cars sold in the Japanese market were not nearly as nice as those sold outside of Japan and did not have the safety equipment available outside of Japan. My sincere apologies. I am certain your Windom is a very, very nice car!!! Jim