1990LS400

A lot of money and many hours - unless you mainly want the experience of doing it. Have you tried looking for a 1992 - 1997 SC300 that came from the factory with the manual 5-speed transmission?

Yes, it is very, very difficult to find a 98-00 LS400 with less than 75,000 miles although I happened to "run into" someone last week who recently bought a 2000 LS400 with around 60,000 miles. 1998 is 18 model years old - almost qualifies for an antique license plate where I live. Let's do the math. 2016 - 2000 = 16 model years old for a 2000 LS400 According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the average number of miles driver per year by all drivers is 13,476 miles. 16 model years X 13,476 miles = 215,616 miles. That will be typical of what you will find in a used 2000 LS400. I bought an off-lease 2000 LS400 with 38,000 miles in 2003. I bought it directly from a friend of a friend. When I sold it in early 2014, it was at 179,500 miles. I drove it almost exactly 10 1/2 years. (179,500 miles - 38,000 miles) / 10.5 years = 13,476 miles. I hit the national per year mileage average right on the head! In my opinion, the best places to find low mileage luxury cars are warmer climates populated by affluent retirees who sometimes drive these cars only in the Winter - e.g. South Florida and Scottsdale AZ. Even in those places, low mileage luxury cars are often sold privately. I couldn't believe the cars and prices I saw advertised on a Scottsdale private country club bulletin board. Almost all the cars we have parted with over the past 40 years, including my 1990 LS400 and 2000 LS400, were sold privately to friends and relatives. They never hit the newspaper or Internet. My next door neighbor sold his LS to his brother and his Porsche with less than 20,000 miles went to another family member when he passed away a couple of years ago. The nicest older cars never hit the market.

www.vaistech.com has been selling interface products for Lexus vehicles longer than any other company I know about.

I have no experience with them but there are several companies that repair Lexus navigation units. Here is one: http://www.hitechserv.com/electronics-repair/oem-navigation-dvd-cd-changer-repair/78

If you cannot clean the corrosion from the bulb socket, it might be necessary to splice in a new one. According to http://www.toyodiy.com/parts/p_U_2000_LEXUS_ES300_MCV20L-BTPGKA_8103.html , the front turn signal bulb socket part number is 99159-10332 There appear to be lots of online sellers of this bulb socket: https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=99159-10332

If you use spray silicon, spray it on paper towel and then wipe down the door seals with the towel. Let it dry with the doors open and then wipe off the residue with a dry towel. I've been doing this since the 1970's and have never had any paint deterioration from it and we have kept a lot of vehicles over 10 years. I used silicon grease that came in a tube in the 1970's per the owners manuals of the Mercedes and Volvo junk I drove back then.

Now that I'm home, I checked for you. Tire Rack does not show any steel wheels for your RX330 - only aftermarket wheels. Wheels and Caps has refurbished OEM 17" RX330 wheels at less than what Tire Rack wants for aftermarket wheels: http://www.wheelsandcaps.com/p-20952-aluminum-alloy-wheel-rim-17x65-74170.aspx The refurbished OEM Sienna wheels I bought from them were absolutely like new and still are in their second winter. I'm not a fan of aftermarket wheels. If one gets trashed, a replacement may not be available a year or two later.

What are "regular winter steel rims"? Steel or alloy, the rims have to have the appropriate bolt pattern and offset and designed to clear the RX brake calipers. If you really want steel wheels, maybe check Tirerack.com where we bought steel wheels for our Prius to use with winter tires. I now wish I had bought refurbished OEM alloy wheels for our Prius winter tires. I bought a set of refurbished OEM alloy wheels for our Sienna from Wheelsandcaps.com and they might have refurbished alloy wheels for your RX.

I have to wonder about either the skill levels of the technicians or the integrity of the Toyota dealership. These guys should have all the skills and tools they need to quickly diagnose a problem like this without guessing. The same V6 engine your RX has is in numerous Toyota and Lexus vehicle models. I had very similar problems occur multiple times on two Lexus LS400's over a 24 year period. The engines would just sputter and die and the cars would cost to a stop with all the dash lights on. The engines could usually be restarted but would die again after driving a while. Most of these occurrences were due to a failing battery - the connections between cells would fracture and reattach as bumps were encountered. The last time this happened on my 2000 LS400, the cause was a failing starter. If there is a Lexus dealership near the Toyota dealership where your RX is now and if it is under separate ownership, consider having your RX taken there. I certainly would not have it towed 700 miles.

I think my favorite aspect of hybrid and all-electric vehicles is that they are dead silent when stilling at a traffic light. From the Lexus website, here is the hybrid warranty: "Hybrid System Warranty coverage is for eight years or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first, and covers the following components: Hybrid control module, Hybrid battery control module, Hybrid battery and inverter with converter. See your Lexus dealer for complete details on the Lexus Powertrain Warranty." It's hard to say how long the hybrid batteries last. Even when they start to fail, the gasoline engine will simply run more. When we bought a new Toyota Prius v wagon in 2012, we were told that the hybrid batteries are usually good for at least 10 years. It will be interesting to see how long its hybrid battery lasts since my wife says that she plans to keep the Prius 20 years and drives it only about 5,000 miles per year. A failing hybrid battery doesn't necessarily have to be replaced with a brand new battery - salvage and refurbished batteries are often available.

You are a brave soul. My suggestion is to purchase an extra fob, have it programmed and see if it works better. If it does solve the problem, I would suggest that you buy still another fob so that you have two fully functioning ones. I would be / have been totally paranoid if I had only one key for a vehicle. I misplaced the key to my last LS a few years ago and then found that my wife had lost hers months earlier but never told me. I was lucky and quickly found my key but I was at the Lexus dealer the next business day to buy two keys - gave one to my wife and put the other in a fireproof safe.

Your car came with two "fobs". Have you tried the other one?

I'm not expert in this but vehicles that can store two sets of TPMS ID's are apparently rare. Maybe the tire shop that did the work for you had not previously encountered a vehicle like yours. And some tire shop employees are simply following a script when they program TPMS ID's. For example, before I bought the ATEQ Quickset, I had planned to have a nearby NTW tire shop do the summer/winter changeover on our vehicles. When I asked multiple NTW employees to pull the original ID's from the ECU in one of our vehicles, I was told that they didn't have instructions on how to do that - only instructions on how to upload TPMS codes to the ECU. If you get an ATEQ Quickset, ignore the CD that comes with it and download the software from the ATEQ website. The Quickset's PC software may look a little crude but it is easy to use once you get the hang of it. There is also the Carista phone app but it requires buying a separate Bluetooth OBD2 interface and buying the app. The Carista's TPMS programming feature has been in "beta testing" for what seems like a long time so I don't know how viable it is. Last time I checked (a few months ago), the ATEQ Quickset worked on a far larger range of vehicles than Carista.

Does the 2006 IS250 ECU hold two sets of TPMS ID's - for both "winter" and "summer" wheels? I know that some European vehicle ECU's can store two sets of TPMS codes and have a dash mounted switch to switch between them but I don't know about the IS250. My understanding is that most vehicles made by Toyota can store only one set of TPMS codes which means that they have to be overwritten in the vehicle ECU each time winter and summer wheels are switched. Do you have the TPMS codes for all your wheels? If not, you will probably have to have a tire shop use a specialty tool to read the codes from your wheels. I really like my ATEQ Quickset. It paid for itself the first day I used it. It can both "pull" the TPMS codes that are currently stored in the vehicle ECU and "send" the codes for another set of wheels to the vehicle ECU. But it cannot pull the codes directly from the TPMS sensors on the wheels. If you need to do that, have a tire shop do it since there is no point in buying another tool that you will probably use only once.

I would start by finding other similarly equipped 2014 ES350's - CPO or not - on Autotrader, eBay Motors, non-Lexus car dealers, etc. to get a feel for asking and actual sale prices. That might give you a place to start. Lexus dealers sometimes ask huge premiums for CPO cars. In 2003, I paid $9,000 less for the non-CPO 2000 LS400 that I bought from an auto broker than what the local Lexus dealer was asking for two CPO 2000 LS400. The car I bought was far better equipped than the cars the Lexus dealer was offering and in the color I wanted. Mileage was about the same. The CPO cars were at about 36,000 miles. The non-CPO car I bought was at 38,000 miles. When you compare cars, be sure to account for differences in packages and options. It is possible to load up a 2014 ES350 with well over $10,000 of packages and options. And if you liked your Prius, maybe consider the ES Hybrid or its "twin", the Toyota Avalon Hybrid - both get about 40 mpg on regular fuel. I test drove a 2014 Avalon Hybrid and liked it a lot - very fast and nice handling.

If you want to see a Lexus dealer employee do some "dancing", ask that the requirement to use only the Lexus dealership service department be put in writing on the Lexus dealer's letterhead and signed by the general manager of the dealership. Quoting page 25 of the 2013 RX Warranty and Services Guide which you can view online at http://drivers.lexus.com/t3Portal/document/omms/L-MMS-13RX350/pdf/MY13_ Lexus RX 350_WSG_lr.pdf "When maintenance and repairs are paid for by you, these services may be performed by you or by any automotive service provider you choose. Lexus will not deny a warranty claim solely because you used a service provider other than a Lexus dealership for maintenance and repairs. However, any failure or noncompliance caused by improper maintenance or repairs is not covered by this warranty." I have to assume that the CPO warranty has similar verbiage but I suggest that you read it. Car manufacturers and dealers would love to require use of dealer facilities for maintenance and repairs but gave up on that idea many years ago after losing lawsuits. There was a lawsuit not that many years ago when one or more vehicle manufacturers refused to provide diagnostic information to independent repair shops. Vehicle manufacturers lost that one too. I've sometimes found it difficult to sit in the local Lexus dealer's waiting room watching service writers attempt to sell services that are not in the maintenance schedule and services that are not yet needed. I have to remind myself that services writers often have sales quotas to meet and are just trying to make a living. Even when they don't have quotas, their performance is measured largely by the amount of revenue generated. Also recognize that there is no such thing as a "free" loaner car while a vehicle is serviced. One way or another, a visit for service will generate enough revenue to cover the cost of the loaner.

No, it is not supposed to be lighted. Blue exterior lights on vehicles are illegal.

Here is a link to a Google search of Prius performance parts: https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=prius+engine+performance+parts The CT200h has the same drivetrain as the Prius. Our Prius v wagon seems quite peppy to me - at least up to about 45 mph.

I retired from an insurance company that sold extended service warranties through franchised auto dealers. Employees could buy these warranties at "cost" - a fraction of retail price - but very few did. I don't have the statistics but I can tell you that the percentage of people who recover the cost of an extended vehicle service warranty is extraordinarily low. Regarding the pre-paid maintenance ... nothing says that you have to have maintenance done by a Lexus dealer. I drove Lexus vehicles for 24 years and used Lexus dealer service departments only for warranty repairs or when the independent repair shops I normally used were busy or did not have appropriate tools like those needed for alignments. Any shop that repairs and services a Toyota Highlander can do the same for an RX350. It should not cost any more to maintain an RX350 than it does for a Highlander. I was particularly fortunate that there have been two independent repair shops here owned by former Lexus dealer employees and staffed by former Lexus dealer mechanics. Their waiting rooms were not as plush as the one at the Lexus dealer but prices and quality of service were better. You might try asking other Lexus owners where they have their vehicles serviced. Also consider that the value of pre-paying for an extended warranty or maintenance can be derailed if a vehicle is damaged in a collision to the extent that it is a total loss for insurance purposes or if you decide to sell the vehicle prematurely.

If no one responds with an answer, maybe take your vehicle by an auto glass replacement company such as Safelite. Those guys remove and reattach rain sensors every day.

The Safety Connect portion of Lexus Enform is available separately for $139.95/year and there are discounts for multiple year subscriptions: https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/lexusenform/subscriptions.do Safety Connect is the service that includes using the emergency "S.O.S." button to speak to a real person at the response center, automatically notifies the response center with your GPS location if you crash, and provides Stolen Vehicle Location service in cooperation with law enforcement agencies. We have multiple year subscriptions to Safety Connect for our two Toyota brand vehicles and will subscribe as long as we own the vehicles. An aspect of Safety Connect that I particularly value is that it has it's own backup battery that can allow it to function even after a crash disables the rest of a vehicle's electrical system. My wife and I have AAA (and Medicare!) cards but we do not regard AAA as providing anything like the automatic and "one button push" services that Safety Connect provides.

I think it would be unlikely that all seat motors would stop working all at once. I suppose it could be a switch problem but it could also be an ECU problem. Have you checked underneath the seat to verify that a connector has not become unplugged or damaged?

There should be a fuse for the power seat circuit but I think it is for both front seats. The fuse if probably in the fuse box behind the coin box on the left side of the steering wheel. Were there any warning signs before the power seat failed? Do all power seat functions not work? There should be a diagnosis procedure at techinfo.toyota.com but it's a subscription based service.

Turning off the warning alarm is not in the list of customizable features nor would I expect it to be. In theory, it should be possible to interrupt the circuit that senses that the door is open and put the circuit into a permanently closed position ... maybe even splice in an on/off switch that could be installed in reach of the driver. But I suspect that doing that could introduce all sorts of other issues such as interior lights not coming on when the hatch door is opened. My suggestion is to use a "hitch cargo carrier" such as one from my favorite trailer supply company: http://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Hitch_Cargo_Carrier.aspx Hitch carriers take only a couple of minutes to attach and some of them fold upward. Maybe hang it from a garage ceiling or a barn beam when it is the folded up position to make it easier to plug it into your hitch receiver. If you have rear park assist, you might have to turn it off to keep it from beeping while you use a hitch carrier.

That's wonderful! I had been thinking how this problem has come over and over but I don't remember anyone coming back to tell us their resolution. Now get an extra key! We haven't been getting extra "keys" lately since our current vehicles are "keyless go" but we used to have three master keys for each vehicle and keep one master key for each vehicle in a fire-proof safe that could likely be recovered even if the house was destroyed. This paranoia all stems from my then 3-year old nephew breaking my only car key in 1975 while I was in a rural area 200 miles from home.