1990LS400

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

Yes, buying a car on E-Bay, from someone you don't know, without research, etc. can lead to disaster. Fortuately it is not too difficult to reduce the risk. My 2000 LS was a little over three years, three months old (based on the original delivery date of 7/31/2000) when I bought it last fall. It was turned in by the lessee at 36K miles. The small dealer (a friend of a friend of mine) from whom I bought it drove it as his personal car for 2,000 miles. It had 38K miles when I got it and nine months of the 4-year basic warranty left under which the chrome wheels (pitted) and A/C control (tiny bit of debris in display) were replaced. As of today, a little over 22 months of the drive-train warranty is left. By the way, the terms of the lease required the car to be sold at auction. The Lexus dealer did not have the option to buy it directly from the leasing company. My car was leased and driven by someone I happen to know. As required by the lease, he had the car serviced every 5,000 miles by the dealer. Knowing the above, having bought an LS new in 1990, having driven it 183,000 miles and knowing what to expect, I viewed buying my used 2000 LS as a low risk proposition. I paid exactly $9,000 less than the local Lexus dealer advertised price at the time for a less well optioned CPO 2000 LS with about the same miles. I don't now about you guys but $9,000 is quite a bit of money to us and we have lots of other things we like to do like ski, scuba and travel. Heck, $9,000 was more that the total we spend on our last four trips (total 9 weeks) to Europe. $9,000 is a lot to give as a "gift" to a Lexus dealer. If I want a service warranty, I can buy one at "dealer remit" for much less than CPO warranty retail price. That is something I can do because I work in the insurance industry. Buying a used LS also meant we did not have to move any money around and I could just write a check and drive it away. The 2000 LS handled wonderfully last winter when we had a 10" or so snowfall that just about closed down Kansas City. I was completely amazed. With "snow mode" and Blizzaks I blasted by a whole lot of 4-wheel drive SUV's struggling in the snow. It was fun to take curves a little too fast and watch the VSC kick in! The 2000 LS got around a lot better than our front wheel drive V6 Camry (with traction control but no snow tires). Of course I've always loved to drive in the snow and was a master of "hand brake turns" when I was young. And Toby, my co-worker and participant in this forum, got to buy a really nice 1990 LS400 from someone he knows and trusts (just like I did when I bought my 00 LS) - at least I hope Toby still trusts me after driving the 90 to about 200,000 miles. And I get to "visit" the 90 LS almost every day. Above all, guys, avoid debt. Focus on building net worth (which I conservatively define as "non-depreciating assets minus liabilities"). And if I start giving lectures on the effects of the increasing rate of economic globalization, we'll have to move this discussion to the General Topics area and/or I'll have to start charging a fee. ;)

Eric, I suspect that the Japanese version of the ES could be quite different from the U.S. version - besides the fact the the steering wheel on your car is probably on the opposite side. I follow the problems of people on a U.K. Lexus Owners web site who have imported Toyota Celsiors (LS) directly from Japan and they have lots of problems because of the many differences between the Japanese market (Toyota) and U.K. market (Lexus) vehicles - even though both are right hand drive. A co-worker of mine in the U.K. (Portsmouth) has a U.K. spec. LS400 - we have sometimes tried ordering parts and accessories for each other. We gave up doing this after too many compatibility issues. One of my brother-in-laws and his family spent quite a few years in Japan and he and his wife have lots of stories and photos of the Japanese market cars they drove. I should remember the Japanese phrase they use to describe their cars there (my sister-in-law taught English to Japanese housewives) but the translation was "garbage car". They seemed to indicate that the Japanese market cars they drove were pretty bad compared to similar cars sold in the U.S. market. I suspect that this has changed quite a bit since they moved back to the U.S. about 10 years ago. Do Japanese cars have side impact beams yet? That was an issue for a long time. Do your headlights flash or horn sound when you exceed a certain relatively high speed?

The Dunlop SP Sport 5000 is the current version of the tire that came as original equipment on my 2000 LS. The ones I bought last year to replace the original Sport 4000's are "Z" rated but I think they also come in a lower speed rating. They seem very quiet to me which is probably saying something since my wife thinks I am wacko overly sensitive to and buzzes and rattles in cars. They are also reasonable inexpensive from Tire Rack and are widely available if you have to replace only one. I also like that they are not "directional" tires. The Sport 5000's have a maximum pressure rating of a whopping 51 psi should you want to increase the pressure for fast driving in the wilds of Nevada or to cope with a heavy load. One name brand European tire I saw last year had a maximum pressure rating of only 35 psi - not enough even to cope with the temperature variations of the desert Southwest.

Sorry Eric. I just now noticed the "HK" under your name. Does HK represent Hong Kong? If so, you might have a quite different variation of the ES than that sold in North America. An automotive stethoscope is very useful for finding the source of noises. I paid only a few dollars for one many years ago. Here is a link to a picture of one which is identical to the one I have: http://www.mikeogara.net/tools/engine-driv...tethoscope.html

"FLiP Sp33d" has a good point. Why spend $30K + or so for a new IS or ES when you can have a like-new several year old GS or LS for the same price or less? The supply of excellent condition, used Lexus - and used cars in general - is incredibly large. We've bought lots of new cars in the past - Mercedes, Volvo, Lexus, Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen - but will probably not buy a brand new car again if used car prices continue to stay this low. Last year, for less than the price a well equipted new ES or IS, we bought a well equipted 2000 LS400, one of the last 208 built, original retail over $60K, just after it came off a 3 year / 36,000 mile lease.

I spent a day with an ES330 loaner from the dealer in May and I was surprised, if I ignored the wood and leather, how similar the ES330 is to our V6 Camry in its driving characteristics. I expected far more of a difference even though I know the two are built on the same platform. The ES really is a nice car and in the long run might be less expensive to own compared to the IS since you could probably get by without extra wheels and snow tires and the ES will get better mileage. (Better than you think since you might not drive the ES as hard as an IS.) And the ES interior really is a work of art. Like iammikey said ... there are far fewer aftermarket parts for the ES. With the ES, you wouldn't be tempted to buy stuff for it. The IS is sold in the U.K. and Europe while the ES is not which is probably why so much aftermarket stuff is available for the IS. I get to spend a bit of time in Albany at my "adopted" company regional office - I really love the area. Which car would this old guy like to be driving when I drive from Albany to Lake Placid / White Face to ski? That would be the rear wheel drive IS300 Sportcross Wagon with E-shift. Has much more luggage space than the ES too. And if you are looking for a parking place in NYC, just think of how many more spots the 14 inch shorter IS Sportcross would fit in!

My suggestion is to first check your backup light bulbs to see if they have an aftermarket beeper module. I've seen them for sale in catalogs targeted towards families with small children.

Regardless of which oil you use, the best thing you can do to preserve your car is to change your oil yourself and keep you car out of the hands of repair shops and dealers who may have their least skilled employees change fluids. It is hard to believe how much damage I've seen done to cars by repair shops and dealers. My "favorite" act of stupidity was a "grease monkey" making calls on a customer's cell phone in a 560SL in the lube bay at a Mercedes dealer back in the 1980's when minimum local cell phone rates were 50 cents a minute -- Prestige Motors of Kansas City was virtually ran out of town by its dissatisfied customers.

http://www.mobil1.com/index.jsp I know the above is on the Mobil 1 web site but you can find lots of independent studies that show synthetic oil performing well at very high change intervals - intervals far higher than 7,500 miles. I am always amused when I read how people who own cars with oil quality sensors (e.g. Porsche owners) refuse to believe their car's oil quality sensors which can recommend oil changes at intervals of 10,000 to 15,000 miles. I changed the oil in the LS400 I purchased new in 1990 every 5,000 miles (Mobil 1 synthetic starting at around 50,000 miles) sold it at 183,500 miles, and I think that its new owner (are you reading this Toby?) will agree that it is still doing well at about 200,000 miles. I suspect that how long an engine lasts has more to do with engineering and manufacturing quality than anything else.

92Lex, There were some small sections of my stripes missing on my LS too before I took them off. Is the stripe on each side a "double stripe" with an "L" Lexus logo somewhere along the stripe? If it is, my bet is that it is a tape stripe. I've seen these same tape-on stripes on Lexus cars all over the U.S. so they must be widely available. If your stripes do not have the Lexus logo, then I agree that it is more likely a painted stripe.

Yes Steve, I like especially like the headlight design of the 95-97 more than the 98-00 although I would have liked it better if the fog lights were below the bumper as on Euro and U.K. LS models. And the tail lights of the 95-97 do not have the sharper edges and surfaces of the 98-00 and look more integrated to me. I even think the 95-97 had the best looking wheels that have come on an LS - nicely understated. I think Lexus got way too carried away trying to make the 98-00 LS evoke the look of the Mercedes S-class of 92-99 which was derisively called "der Panzerwagen" by Mercedes enthusiasts. My neighbor two doors down has a late 90's S500. It is pretty weird to see the styling similarities - especially the headlights and front turn signals - when our cars are parked in our driveways. But if Lexus is going to copy another company's styling, I would rather it be Mercedes than just about any other company - just as long as Lexus does not copy Mercedes reliability.

I removed the dealer installed Lexus logo tape pin stripe from my current LS last fall in about 30 minutes with a hair dryer and polished off the glue residue with car wax and a soft cotton cloth. A repair shop wanted $150 to have a subcontractor remove it with a heat gun. Try using a hair dryer on it to see if the stripe comes off. If it is tape, the glue will soften up very quickly. I think I easily found instructions on removing tape pin stripes on this, another Lexus forum or with Google. The main thing is the wiggle the hair dryer nozzle back and forth on two or three inches of the stripe at a time - do not try to heat up too much of the pin stripe at once. I remember that some of the stripe came off in two to three foot sections. My opinion is that pin stripes look better on the rounder 90-94 LS than on the more sharply defined body of the 95-up LS400. (The 95-97 is my favorite LS style of all.) But it is all personal preference.

It does seem odd that the DRL's can be turned off on the ES330. Is this a feature or is there a malfunction? Regardless, DRL's have not been required in the U.S. thanks to the lobbying of U.S. auto companies. There may be some legal/economic reason for Toyota to do it this way - maybe it allows them to reduce the number of configuations for the various sales markets. The ES is sold in very few countries compared to the LS,GS,IS,LX,RX models which are sold almost everywhere on earth where Toyota/Lexus sells cars.

Being in the insurance business for the past 30 years, I can't respect the argument of someone wanting to defeat an important safety system like DRL's. DRL's have a provided a dramatic reduction in crashes particularly in winter months, early morning and late evening time periods, northern lattitudes and in heavily forested areas. I am not responding in this way to disrespect your wish to not hear any arguments supporting DRL's. I am responding to ask others to not deactivate their DRL's and to give other drivers the extra margin of safety that DRL's provide.

I'll do some rambling too. My guess is that the crack is from an impact since OEM wood on modern cars seems to be very well sealed and resistant to sun damage. I can't say the same for aftermarket wood kits - I saw an aftermarket, dealer installed wood kit on a six or seven year old Toyota Avalon a few months ago that was looking incredible faded and worn. I have been in the drivers seat of at least five 99-00 LS400's, including my own, in the past few months and have not noticed any cracks. With that said, damage at the 10 or 11 o'clock is consistent with sun damage on a car with an all leather steering wheel. The leather on my 90 LS was quite faded between the 9 and 11 o'clock by the time I sold it last year. I sure wish I had tinted the side windows much sooner. Regarding impact damage, the wood (or the wood finish - I did not know which)in the center console of my 90 LS was cracked a few years ago when I was rear ended ($10,000 damage). Very odd since rear of the car did not look all that bad after the crash and it was amazing to me how the force of the impact traveled all the way to the console wood. My point is that it does not take all that much of a jolt to crack wood or the finish covering it.

Hey Roy, I had nothing to do with the diagnosis. The buyer of my 90 LS is a very bright (better say that - he may read this) amateur mechanic (and network security engineer) and is willing to take on some very complex diagnosis and repair tasks. On the 90 LS, the wireless receiver is on the left side of the trunk behind the trim panel. However, I checked the repair manuals for my 2000 LS just now and it shows most of the components being under the dash, with the "wireless door lock tuner" being in the area behind the front passenger side air vent. And of course most of the information about the wireless door lock system is in the manual just before the section on the rear power seat (with multiple motors controlling each rear headrest) sold in Taiwan - I have no idea why that made it into the manuals for US/Canadian models. Just got back from a weekend trip to Iowa City to watch the nephew play for the U of I Hawkeyes. The trip computer showed a tank average of 29.3 mph for the trip home! Never came even close to that in the old 90 LS. Take care! Jim

I'll answer my own question from from last year since the person that bought my 90 LS last November told me yesterday what fixed the problem. The ROM card was not seated in the slot in the keyless entry module in the trunk. The current owner told me that he had to press fairly hard to get the card to snap into place. He also said that he could see that the card was not fully inserted by comparing the size of the card with the size of the slot. Not coincidentally, the ROM card and keys were replaced several times shortly after I bought the car in 1990 when I found that the keyless entry would not work when near several shopping centers. The dealer finally gave up when none of the ROM card / key changes solved the problem. The keyless entry worked fairly reliably for about 10 years until it started working only in winter in about 2000. My guess is that hitting a large bump or being rear-ended very hard ($10,000 damage) in 2000 shook the ROM card loose. It was probably never properly seated in the first place. I still guess that cold weather caused the ROM card to contract which somehow caused the terminals to make contact. Very strange because I would have expected the opposite - that it would have worked better in warm weather.

LinuxFan, I avoided LS Nav for a variety of reasons. 1. Nav technology changes quickly and I keep cars a long time. The Nav in the 98-00 is hard drive based! The price and frequency of updates is unacceptable. I would not want to have to deal with replacing a Nav unit when it fails on an aging car just to use the radio? 2. I don't like controlling radio functions through a touch screen. It draws my attention away from the road and I consider it unsafe. I don't even dial the phone - even voice dial or speed dial - when driving. 3. I know where I am going most of the time - I've lived here 30 years and I rarely drive the LS on long trips. I fly and rent a car so having Nav in my LS would not help when I travel. I often copy and paste directions into my PDA from Mapquest. I read last week in a auto industry pub that Nav has one of the lowest returns of any option at resale time. Only 14% - 25% after three years depending on car model. I really do think Nav is a lot of fun and an in-dash Nav might be useful if I lived somewhere like NY city or didn't have a good sense of direction. And I am considering buying a Bluetooth Nav unit for my Dell Axum PDA to use when I travel.

I agree that $28K might be a bit high but what are the condition and options? I purchased my 2000 LS (one of the last 208 made) almost a year ago for less than $31K from a used car broker who specializes in high end cars. Mine had 38K miles when I bought it which gave me almost a year left on the basic 4-year warranty under which I had about $3,000 of warranty replacements (new Platinum chrome wheels, A/C controls, a few minor items.) Also be aware that it was possible to spend around $10,000 (retail) on options in 2000. Mine has everything except air suspension and Nav which I avoided. How well is the one you are looking at equipted? A co-worker purchased a nicely equipted 99 LS (Nak, HID, S/R) with 69K miles from an independent dealer a few weeks ago for about $20K. The only LS430's under $30K I've seen around here have had far more than 40K miles and have been completely out the seven year / 70K mile warranty. The only thing 2000's have over the 99's is "brake assist" and a smaller gas tank!

Here is a link to exactly how to fix the broken "white with black stripe" wire in the left trunk hinge. This broken wire also caused the transmission to shift erratically when it broke on my 90 LS - so erratically I almost had the car towed. The broken wire takes only a few minutes to fix. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...wtopic=1294&hl=