1990LS400

2001 was the first year that the LS was available with a factory 17 inch wheel option and a "Euro-tuned Sport Suspension System" option - see: http://www.lexus.com/cpo/model_detail/ls/430/2001.html

The 17" wheel option came with a warning that "Your riding comfort may decrease and road noise may increase during driving." If your car has the 17" wheel option, you can likely find someone who would gladly swap their 16 inch wheels and tires with you since larger wheels seem to be the "in" thing with the younger crowd.

The easiest way to find out which size your car has is to check the tire side wall for the size. Factory 17" wheels came with 225/55-17 tires. If, heaven forbid, someone put 18" inch or larger aftermarket wheels on your car (which would really trash the ride quality), you could still find some kid who would gladly swap wheels and tires.

I would think that a Lexus dealer could "look up" your car in the Lexus on-line system to see if was sold with options that would degrade ride quality.

I suspect that almost any 16 inch Toyota or Lexus wheel will fit your 95 LS. The first year 16 inch wheels were used on Lexus LS400's was 93. I once swapped the wheels between an LS and a Camry and they fit perfectly. Tire Rack used to sell Avalon wheels in their snow tire packages for LS400's so that might be an option too. Hopefully you could find one at a salvage yard and "try before you buy".

My understanding is that having the wheels on the correct side was important for cooling the brake rotors but I doubt if it is an issue in everday driving. I noticed that the buyer of my 90 LS has the wheels on the wrong side (he didn't notice that they are directional) and I mentioned it to him a couple of days ago. The brakes on the early LS are pretty poor compared to ones starting in 93 (?) when the rotor size was increased and the tire width was increased from 205 to 225. I was a little shocked after I bought my LS in 1990 when Road & Track listed it in its "Road Test Summary" section as having just about the longest stopping distance of any car and far worse that all its competitors. Although ride harshness is increased quite a bit, changing from 205/65-15 to 225/60-15 tires dramatically improves braking and there is almost no impact on speedometer accuracy. If you try this switch, stick to the bottom range of inflation (30 psi) to keep the ride harshness down.

If you are intent on using larger wheels (an "upgrade"?), I agree that the wheel and tire size that you have chosen will cause the least damage to comfort and tire longevity. What are you trying to accomplish? The 98-00 sold in the U.S. was not designed with 17" wheels in mind. The 17" wheel option on the 2001 LS430 came with the following caution:

"Optional 17 x 7.5-in wheels with 225/55HR17 tires are expected to experience greater tire wear than the standard equipment tires, 225/60HR16. Tire life may be substantially less than 15,000 miles, depending on driving conditions. Your riding comfort may decrease and road noise may increase during driving. Please consider all this when selecting an LS 430 equipped with this option."

Gosh. I love the comfort of my 00 LS on its 16x7 summer and cheepo 16x7.5 winter wheels. And my wife hated the ride harshness of my rather conservative experimentation with wheel/tire sizes on a previous LS.

Personally, I think an LS looks better with more conservative wheels. (IMO, the best ever were the chrome wheels - not the Coach ones - of the 97 LS.) But heck, you're in California so anything goes.

I tend to agree with VBDenny except for the reason that people sell their older LS's. Both my next door neighbor and I bought early, he in late 89 and I in early 90, and we both kept them for over 13 years. We both kept our cars in top condition and drove similar miles per year. It didn't bother me at all that I spent about $4,500 in the final two years of ownership since it was a wonderful and comfortable car, looked and drove like new, and the repair costs were far less than I would spend on an annualized basis to buy and maintain a new car. What finally drove both of us to sell our old LS's was simply the wish to move on to something different and more modern - the repair costs were not an issue at all. He sold his LS to his brother. I sold my LS to a coworker and I get to see it almost every day in the company parking lot. A 90 LS is a great car but I would not recommend one for a 17 year old unless the 17 year old does not mind spending a couple of thousand per year on repairs and maintenance.

Tire Rack has a nice selection and you can "see" all their wheels on a GS of your color at http://www.tirerack.com To preserve my chrome wheels, I bought a set of four 16 inch Milla Miglia Bello wheels and 225/60-16 Blizzak snow tires for about $880 for my LS before last winter. Look for the "mountain/snowflake" symbol if you want true snow tires and not just all season tires.

Here are some instructions on removing the radio/climate controls. They are for 95-97 but the procedure is the same for 98-00.

http://carstereohelp.com/stereoremovalLexusLS400str1.htm

I found that a 1 or 1 1/2 inch stiff blade putty knife well taped with electrical tape words very well. (A screwdriver can put too much pressure on a small area of the wood trim.) I've had the radio out of my 00 LS two or three times. One caution: the wood trim is thinner and more fragile than the early models. Work your way gradually and it will pop right up. Be sure to protect the vinyl around and below the radio with a towel or similar - it is easily scarred as I found out on a previous LS.

Darn, I left out the link to the thread containin my doc on my Nokia kit install in my LS:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...?showtopic=7791

I checked the Dashmount site http://www.dashmount.co.uk/ and they do not appear to offer mute leads for any of the RX cars sold in the U.K. I wouldn't be so certain that Oz and U.S. audio systems are similar even if they look similar. For example I found that the Dashmount mute leads that fit the U.K. spec 98 Toyota Camry and the 00 LS would not work in our U.S. spec cars - both our Camry and LS have radio upgrades that are incompatible with the leads.

I'd say check with a local phone installer or your Lexus dealer. Even if your audio system isn't designed to plug in a phone, it is possible that there is a mute point on the head unit or amplifier.

As for brackets, ones for left hand drive cars probably would not work for your right hand drive RX. But Dashmount appears to have one for a right hand drive RX:

http://www.dashmount.co.uk/june03/71140.htm

It's not all that tough to install a car kit. Here is a link to a PDF on how I did it in my LS and hooked the mute wire to the existing phone harness. I hooked up the mute wire in the Camry by attaching it, via a Soundgate harness, to one of the pins on the 9-pin data port.

One thing you could try is to pull the parking brake pedal all the way up with your toe while pulling the release lever out. The mechanism on my 90 got a bit gummed up over the years and I occasionally had to lube it to get the pedal to come all the way up on its own.

If your IS300 garage door opener buttons still do not work after following Steviej's instructions, your openers probably use a "rolling code" security feature. Follow the next set of instructions in the owners manual which require pressing a button on the garage door opener motor housing (it might light up a diode or bulb on the housing) and then pressing the opener button on your car. This 2nd set of instructions is also in the owners manual which you can also view on-line at www.lexus.com after registering.

I noticed this morning that the same chime sounds, but at a different rate, when the ignition key is in the off position and the driver's door is open. I'll listen today and see if I notice any other functions that set off the chime. You might try locating the chime module itself to see if there is a connection problem there. It sounds like it is under the driver's side dash. I used tried using a stethoscope a few minutes ago but all I can tell is that the chime sound is coming from the area above the underdash panel and in the area to the rear of the underdash fuse box.

The panel under the dash is easily removable. I've had it off twice this week to reposition my phone speaker. Only two screws have to be removed before popping out the two friction thingys - that's a technical term - which also hold the front edge of the underdash panel to the dash. Watch out for the metal bracket that fits into a slot at the rear of this panel to hold it in place - especially when reinstalling the panel. Once you remove the two front screws and the two popout thingys, slide the underdash panel rearward out of the metal bracket and it will drop down into your hands.

I was surprised that I couldn't find the information about location of the chime in the two volume repair manual set - I must be missing it. The manuals are a bit spotty in the information they provide - they sometimes leaveg real important stuff but include useless information about the power rear seat sold in the Taiwanese market.

The only chime-like sound in my similar 2000 LS that I can think of right now is the "seat belt unfastened" chime. Does the "seat belt unfastened" chime sound when you start the car without fastening your seat belt? You might try checking the electrical connectors for the driver's seat belt receiver to see if there is a loose connection. The act of plugging the belt buckle into the receiver must depress a switch (and open or close a circuit) in order to make the chime sound. The problem with my theory is that there is also a dash light which I would think would be flashing if there is a problem with this circuit.

What ever it is, it must be something pretty darn loose to make the chime sound on a bump or a curve.

Raymore, Missouri Grandpa? Heck, no one down there has a Lexus... ;)

I thought O'Reilly's interview of Michael Moore was absolutely hilarious. O'Reilly looked like an idiot and appeared panicked and overwelmed by Moore's intellectual superiority. I think O'Reilly shouldn't have given up his gig on that syndicated entertainment show he used to be on. What a lightweight...

If it works at all it might be useful if you ever have to call 911 in an emergency - no activation is needed to call 911. It is probably analog only and not worth messing with. If it was an integrated Lexus phone it might be worth trying to activate it but this can't be done everywhere - some people have been able to have an analog phone activated if there already have service on a more modern cell phone.

Your question has been asked many times on this and other Lexus forums and the answer seems to be "no". Here is a link to a recent thread that includes a reply I made: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...topic=10064&hl=

I see that you have a 98 LS and a Nokia phone although you didn't mention the phone model. If a car kit is available for your model Nokia, it is fairly easy to install and attach it to the phone antenna imprinted on inside of the rear window and to a connector under the armrest to mute the radio on a call. There is probably an antenna coax cable that you could use under the console/armrest like in my 2000 LS. Nokia kits can be purchased directly from Nokia on their website and, if I remember correctly, most are less than $175.

If you have a standard Pioneer or Navigation audio system, it is possible that one of the "mute lead" wire harnesses from a U.K. or European company would work to interface a Nokia car kit so that it plays the call through the radio speakers, mutes the audio system on a call and picks up power and ground for the car kit from the amplifier located under the front passenger seat. At least it looks like it would based on comparing the mute cable connector to the diagram of the Pioneer/Nav amplifier in my repair manual.

I've got a Dashmount U.K. mute lead in the basement - found out that it would not plug into my Nakamichi amp (same number of wires but different plug format than the Pioneer/Nav). I might be willing to part with it for what I paid if you want to try it. Or you could call Dashmount in the U.K. and order it like I did.

I prepared a reference manual on how I installed my Nokia kit in my 00 LS. It is a rather large Word document with photos and is at: http://home.kc.rr.com/colchester/phone/Nok...H%20install.doc

How well a car kit works depends on what features your phone has. The "give-away" Nokia phones have relatively few features but ones that are a bit nicer like my 6340i have an incredible list of features - even more when used with a car kit.

Feel free to ask here or PM me if you want more information.

Happy Birthday, Craig! Next time I'm in Victoria I'll show you what "old" is! Hmmm, I used to make it to Vancouver Is. fairly often but the older I get the less time I seem to have. When young, time seems to drag by but when older, time flies and there is never enough of it.

Sounds very strange. A coworker has been looking for a 98-00 LS and has been frequently asking advice the past few days. The only 99's he's finding near your price have very high mileages or a questionable history. A funny one today (no offense meant to those with limited English skills) was that the sellor of an LS he was looking at could barely speak English and could not answer questions about the car.

If you can verify mileage and service history, either through Lexus or receipts, and car does not have a salvage title or has been in serious wreaks, mayble it's for real.

I don't know the situation but sometimes bargains are for real. I bought a nice used Mercedes 450SEL in 1979 for $4,500. The V8 450 sedan was often called the best sedan of the 70's. The sellor had just bought a new toy (Porsche 928) and just didn't care what he sold the 450 for.

The only fairly common problem I've heard about on the 2000's is that the "Miles since Refuel" on the trip computer sometimes resets to zero. It only happened once on mine and apparently can be caused by parking on a steep hill. The Lexus TIB for the 2000 LS says the solution is to replace the gauge cluster but I and most others I have spoken to about the problem have chosen not to have this done. Some who have had it done said that it did not fix the problem.

Otherwise there have been no problems since I bought the car at 38,000 miles about 9-months ago. I had the climate control module replaced because of a tiny bit of debri in the display but I wouldn't have bothered had the car been out of warranty. The 4-year basic warranty on mine expires next Saturday so I've been going over it with a fine tooth comb looking for issues.

Strangely, the door speakers in the Nak get fewer watts of power than the door speakers of the std Pioneer but the Nak speaker in the back window gets about 90 watts more than the one with the Pioneer. Personally I wish my car didn't have the Nak. I bought a telephone interface harness from Dashmount in the UK but found out it only works on the std Pioneer and Nav audio systems.

If I had the Pioneer or Nav, I could completely interface my Nokia car kit - mute the radio on a phone call, play the call through the door speakers, even power the phone kit from the amplifier under the front passenger seat - its "plug and play". I should sell the interface cable on "Buy and Sell" - somebody might like to use it.

Yes, there are a few car models with HID that have neither manual or automatic leveling HID lights and unfortuately I find it painfully easy to identify them. The DOT is considering changing the U.S requirements for HID and solicited information in a recent survey in which I participated.

I have noticed for some years now that HID's without leveling are often blinding but those car models with HID with leveling cause me absolutely no problem. And this is very noticable for me since I, like many people in the 50's, am developing the beginning of cataracts. The reason the DOT gave for doing its survey was the very high number of complaints about HID - particularly from older drivers.

I just hope HID is not outlawed in the U.S. I sure love the ones in my LS but would never consider buying a car with HID that does not have manual or automatic beam leveling. I made a point of participating in the DOT survey not only hoping that properly designed HID will continue to be available in the U.S., but also with the hope that poorly designed HID without leveling will no longer be allowed.

Blake nailed it. The phone hardware in your car is probably worthless and you could remove it and have the vinyl patched. Dogboy seems to have dropped out of the forum early this year. He used to live a few miles from me and now lives near Seattle - I spoke to him by phone earlier this year.

A handsfree car kit for a handheld phone is nice but it has been quite well proven that a person talking on the phone while driving - handsfree or not - has an accident rate approaching that of a drunk driver. I'm probably even more biased since the last of several people who rear ended my previous LS was talking on the phone and in "la-la" land until the moment of impact.

But a handsfree kit is still nice to have to accept brief incoming calls, is often cheap (less than $150), easy to install (if you know how to do a bit of interior disassembly) and can often provide more features than OEM and dealer installed phone systems. Here is a pointer to a MS Word document on how I installed a Nokia car kit and hooked it up to mute to audio system in my current LS: http://home.kc.rr.com/colchester/phone/Nok...H%20install.doc

You've got a brand new RX330 w/o HID and now decided you want HID lights?

My suggestion is to cut your losses, sell your RX and buy a RX330 with the optional HID's which, by the way, include automatically leveling - an important safety feature and which is also entertaining to watch go through its initialization routine each time you start the car. Aftermarket HID's are just not the same as the OEM ones - do any of them have a leveling control? With lights mounted as high as on the RX, aftermarket HID's without automatic or manual leveling will likely really *BLEEP* off other drivers and be a safety hazard.

Automatic closing doors are not all that unusual and were available even on the higher trim level 2-door Acura (Honda) Legend sold in the early 90's.

Odd that Toyota waited so long to provide this feature in the U.S. market on Lexus branded cars since features like this and reclining rear seats, rear seat A/C and audio controls, etc., were available in Asia on the corresponding Toyota branded models (e.g. Celsior) since the beginning.

Even the late 1960's long wheel base 6-cylinder Mercedes 300SEL sold outside the U.S. had optional reclining rear seats. We don't necessarily get "the best" in terms of equipment levels from foreign car manufacturers here in the U.S. - they appear to be struggling just to keep their prices down.

The situation hasn't been helped by the weakness of the dollar over the past 20+ years. When I checked a couple of days ago, the "Euro" was at 1.23 and the Japenese Yen was at 109! Not all that long ago one Euro cost less than one U.S. Dollar and the Yen was over 145 per U.S. dollar. Scary...

17" inch wheels will fit on your 99 LS. Although 16" wheels and 225/60-16 tires were standard on the 2001 LS430, 17" wheels and 225/55-17 tires were offered as an option.

But here is an interesting disclaimer from www.lexus.com for the 2001 LS430:

"Optional 17 x 7.5-in wheels with 225/55HR17 tires are expected to experience greater tire wear than the standard equipment tires, 225/60HR16. Tire life may be substantially less than 15,000 miles, depending on driving conditions. Your riding comfort may decrease and road noise may increase during driving. Please consider all this when selecting an LS 430 equipped with this option."

Although 17" wheels were made standard on the LS430 in 2003, it is probably that suspension changes were made so that the ride quality would not deteriorate and the tires would last a reasonable mileage.

Your 99 LS is a really nice riding car and the standard tire size will last at least 40,000 miles if you watch inflation, alignment and pressure. And the handling is pretty darn good too with the standard wheels. Is the slightly better handling that larger wheels might provide worth the extra cost and loss of ride comfort? That is a choice only you can make.

I've "been there, done that". My wife was not happy with the harsher ride (and I really wasn't either) so I went back to the OEM size.

But if you really, really want to go to 17" wheels, maybe 2003 LS430 wheels would work for you. I would assume this would prevent the offset and other issues that have been reported on this forum.