1990LS400

I don't understand the benefit of using a pump to remove the engine oil since the oil filter must be changed from below. I've changed engine oil and filter over 60 times on LS400's over a 24 year period and only had to raise the right sides of the cars a few inches to have enough room to drain the oil and replace the filter.

No, the ATEQ Quickset cannot read the sensor ID's directly from the wheels. That requires a separate and usually much more expensive tool. A good tire shop should give you a printed page showing the ID codes and/or the boxes the sensors came in which always show the codes. The sensor codes have to be entered exactly right when entering them into the tool used to program the vehicle ECU. If they entered them manually, it is possible that mistakes were made. The Quickset allows the codes to be entered in either hexadecimal or numeric format and I learned that it has to be done precisely. The tire shop should have the appropriate tool to read the sensor ID's directly from the wheels. If they don't, they shouldn't be doing this type of work. I thought about having a nearby NTB do the installation and programming of the TPMS for the winter wheels/tires I bought for our Sienna and Prius until I discussed it with an NTB employee who knew only how to follow their defined procedures and did not understand much about how TPMS works or how sensors are activated on various vehicle brands. I have been assuming that the TPMS on your 2006 GS is of the same technology used on current vehicles made by Toyota. My Quickset software shows it working on the 2005-up GS so that is an indication that that it is the same.

Did the tire center program the ID's for new sensors into the car's ECU? Are the new sensors known to be compatible with your Lexus - not all are. It can take a few minutes to an hour of driving for TPMS warning light in the dash to go out. TPM sensors used on Toyota-made vehicles are activated by tire rotation. A popular inexpensive tool for programming in TPMS sensor ID's and retrieving existing sensor ID's from the vehicle ECU is the ATEQ Quickset - mine was about $140 on eBay or Amazon.

I don't know if it is what you have now but Tirerack.com shows "Dunlop Grandtrek Touring A/S" as being an OEM Tire on the 2012 RX350 with 19" wheels. Its "Ride Quality" rating is 6.7 on a scale of 1 to 10. Tirerack.com also lists the "Michelin Latitude Tour HP" as an OEM tire for the 2012 RX350 with 19" wheels. Its Ride Quality rating is 8.3 on a scale of 1 to 10. I don't know how anyone can assure you that using tires with a higher ride quality rating will provide enough improvement to satisfy you. The RX is the best selling Lexus worldwide so it must be very acceptable to most buyers. To some extent I think it is a matter of what you get used to.

If you page back through the RX sub-forum for your model year range, you will find a number of threads about similar issues with ride quality. The 2010-2015 RX350 is ... ahem ... a rather firm riding vehicle - something I noticed a lot when I test drove a 2014 RX350 F-Sport last year. (Maybe the local Lexus dealer shouldn't be near a bunch of bone jarring railroad crossings!) One of the threads from not long ago said that excessive bounce in a particular RX350 turned out to be caused by leaking rear shocks. Another thread mentioned that Michelin Latitude tires provided a smother ride. One thread had a complaint about the ride quality with 18" wheels and tires. I noted in one of these threads that the RX has a relatively short wheelbase that can cause a bit more forward and backward pitching on bumps than happens with a longer wheelbase vehicle. I've had a number of RX loaners over the years and the first thing I noticed is the back and forth pitching compared to an LS. I've read on this forum and in the media that this series RX is known for reacting harshly when "over steered", i.e. turning too sharply - especially from a stop. The first thing I would check is that the tire pressures are at the values shown on the driver door jam. Just a few excess pounds of pressure can make a big difference in ride quality. I can usually feel two pounds too much or not enough tire pressure in the seat of my pants. I use an electronic tire gauge at least once per month to check pressures or more often if outside temperatures change by much. I don't know offhand if your RX shows individual tire pressures on the dashboard display like some Lexus models do. So ... check your tire pressures, check your shock absorbers and maybe see if you adapt to the ride qualities. And maybe head over to Tirerack.com and check the ride quality ratings for various models of tires and choose a more compliant riding tire for eventual replacements.

Paul, per "Toyota broadens sludge-repair program" at http://www.autonews.com/article/20020408/ANA/204080776/toyota-broadens-sludge-repair-program , Toyota changed the engine design to allow oil to drain into the sump faster while still maintaining that the sludge was caused by owner neglect. I have noticed that maintenance manuals for vehicles made by Toyota have since included verbiage that lack of following the maintenance schedule can lead to oil gelling or words to that effect.

I think it is extraordinarily unlikely that Toyota would cover any portion of the repair six or seven years after eligibility for assistance expired. The first thing I wonder about when I encounter a vehicle that isn't driven very many miles per year is whether or not the manufacturer's maintenance schedule has been followed. For a 2000 RX300 used in normal service, the oil change interval is 7,500 miles or 6 months. The engine timing belt is to be changed every 90,000 miles or 72 months and its failure or the failure of a related component like the water pump, idler or tensioner can also cause the engine to "seize" since the RX300 engine if of the "interference" type. We owned a 1998 Toyota Camry with essentially the same 3.0 liter V6 engine that was in the RX300 - we bought it new, passed it to a nephew at 125,000 miles in 2012 and it is still in daily use. I have assumed that the reason our Camry V6 never developed a sludge problem was that its oil and filter were always (and I mean always) changed every 5,000 miles and that only Mobil 1 5W30 synthetic oil was ever used except for the oil that was put in at the factory. I think your best course of action is to sell your RX300 for salvage. I would not expect a 15 year old RX with a seized engine to bring very much for salvage but you could check around.

As far fetched as it sounds, you may have to buy an LS to get lighted memory buttons. I'm 99% certain that the memory buttons on the driver door of the 2000 LS400 that I sold last year were lighted. I was surprised when I bought a new Toyota van last year that the seat memory buttons are not lighted since all the other buttons on the doors are lighted and the dash, overhead console, center console and steering wheel look like an overdone Christmas tree of lights. Toyota is known to play "button light give and take". Forum users complained vehemently about how overhead console buttons and/or buttons on the inside mirror were lighted in some model years of the Lexus RX and then not lighted in later model years. I suppose you could visit your Lexus dealer at night to look at another 2015 GS and verify whether or not its memory buttons are lighted. But your car is new and it is not as if there is a separate electrical circuit or a separate physical connector that supplies light to the buttons that are lighted. It's interesting how lighted buttons and switches have become so common and desired. I'm trying to remember the car company (Porsche?, Ferrari?) that had dashboard lights with two modes - one mode was full lighting and the other mode lighted only the critical buttons and switches with the idea that lighting everything would be distracting when driving fast.

Shawn, I think you are right about the VAIS SL3B not being able to display track information on the nav screen of the 2005 SC430. I looked at its 2005 SC430 owners manual and its navigation and audio are not much like other Lexus cars of the era. What SL3B may do is to display limited information from the portable Bluetooth player or phone on the SC430 radio screen and allow limited control (e.g. skip tracks) using the steering wheel controls and the buttons on the radio that are normally used when playing CD's. The SL3B uses CD emulation for the 2005 SC430 and may show on the SC430 radio screen as something like "CD2". VAIS interfaces for most other 2001-up Lexus models with navigation allow artist, album and track information to be displayed on the navigation screen just like on newer vehicles from Toyota. Edit: Per the VAIS SL3B user manual, it looks like "CD1" will be displayed on the 2005 SC430 radio display when the SL3B is in use. Edit again: The SL3B application chart says Text = No for the 05 SC430 so there would be no song information displayed on the radio screen. It still might be nice to at least use the steering wheel controls to skip songs, e.g. while streaming from Pandora, assuming that it can do that.

The clown may have the winning answer on this one!

Which fuse is for the door locks is shown in the owner's manual and on the fuse box covers. The problem could be that the electrical servo function of the trunk latch has failed since neither the remote nor the interior switch will open the trunk.

If I am understanding the capabilities of the two products correctly, the SL3B allow the display of song information on the nav screen and the use of the channel up/down buttons on the steering wheel to control music streaming from the phone. I don't think the SL3U with a Bluetooth receiver can do any of that. Please correct me if I am not understanding the capabilities.

Have you tried rebooting your phone and restarting the Enform app on your phone? I assume that your iHeart app account is still properly linked to your Enform account since you can sometimes see your favorites.

I "think" that the VAIS SL3B will provide A2DP audio streaming on your 2005 SC430: http://www.vaistech.com/site/sl3b.php There may be other companies that have products that will work but VAIS has been around time and their products were commonly offered by Lexus dealers before Lexus vehicles came with similar interfaces from the factory. I suggest that you contact VAIS and inquire before you buy. They may have other products that would be more appropriate for you.

Having owned a 1990 LS400 from new until 2003 when I sold it at 183,000 miles and a 2000 LS400 from 2003 (38,000 miles) until I sold it in 2014 at 179,xxx miles, I've pretty much decided that 150,000 miles and 10 years since new is going to be my new limit for keeping cars. Too much went wrong with these two cars between 150,000 miles and when I sold them. And way, way, way too much went wrong with my Mercedes (purchased new in 1979) between 150,000 and when I sold it at 210,000 miles in 1990 - it was a rusted through hulk at the end. Both LS400's looked and mostly drove like new when I sold them but a variety of problems were arising - some electrical and some mechanical although neither used a drop of oil between oil changes when I sold them. I pretty much allowed at least $1,000 per year for repairs and maintenance after 150,000 miles. The new starter alone for my 2000 LS400 in around 2012 was something like $800. The LS430, like all LS400's, has a timing belt that is schedule for replacement every 90,000 miles or 6 years - currently about a $1,200 - $1,700 job depending on whether it is done by an indie shop or a Lexus dealer. One thing we have missed by keeping cars as long as we have done is new technology - especially safety features. Personally, if I was going to buy an LS430, I would want only a 2005 or 2006 with the "Custom Luxury Selection" with Pre-Collision System and Radar Cruise Control which seems to be even rarer than LS430's with the Ultra Luxury Package with Pre-Collision and Radar Cruise Control. The Custom Luxury Selection provides everything that the Ultra Luxury provides except for the reclining climate controlled rear seats with audio controls and massage, air suspension, and cool box. The Ultra Luxury loses a lot of trunk space due to the rear A/C. I actually did try to find a used low mileage (< 36,000 miles) 2005 or 2006 LS430 with Custom Luxury, PCS and Radar cruise about seven or eight years ago and was unable to find one in an acceptable color. Also be aware that replacement parts are not necessarily available as a car ages. For example, several years before I sold my 2000 LS400 last year, replacement seat belts in some colors were no longer available. And for the 2001-2003 LS430, annual navigation system updates have been discontinued. I hope I didn't paint too gloomy a picture for you. The LS430 is a wonderful car but nothing lasts for ever. Even today I might consider buying one if I found a "CL" like I mentioned above in perfect condition and with very few miles ... if I had another garage space. You can see the specs and available options for the 2005 LS430 at http://www.lexus.com/contact/pdf/2005/2005LSspecs.pdf

Excellent! Thank you, Khoa. I never realized it was so easy. I checked the diagrams for a number of Toyota and Lexus models at http://www.toyodiy.com and all the parking sensors looked the same although the part numbers are sometimes different. A Lexus dealer charging $700 to do this seems pretty close to robbery. It is necessary to remove the bumper covers of some vehicles made by Toyota in order to replace the parking sensors but that usually takes only a few minutes to do. I was surprised that this can be done without removing the front bumper cover of the RX350. Thanks again!

It wasn't just the Japanese and American manufacturers. My most favorite car I've ever owned was the 1973 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL that I sold in 1979. It was one of the fastest sedans of it's day and lauded in a 1979 Car & Driver article titled the "Best Car in the World". It's tires were 205/70-14 and were completely adequate for going VERY fast (and stopping too).

I would tend to agree with your mechanic - wait until the problem becomes more serious unless the vehicle is unsafe to drive. Which wheels seem to be locking? One? All? Front? Back? Is this a FWD or AWD RX300? If it is AWD and the all locking is at the rear, it could be a "transmission" issue as the "viscous coupling center differential" can act up. And like your mechanic said, the problem could be caused by a defective wheel speed sensor. Is the mechanic able to reproduce the problem when he drives it? And is this a Lexus dealer mechanic or a mechanic who is familiar with the older Lexus RX?

Click on the Advanced Search icon to the right of the magnifying glass at the top right of the page. The page that will be displayed allows you to choose the exact forum you wish to search.

Your RX is eight model years old. Time as well as miles affect the cooling system. The water pump on my first LS failed at about 75,000 miles - about four years. It wasn't covered by warranty either.

If you don't read the manual, you might not know what you are missing. There may be features that you would really value if you knew about them. One of my roles in my "retirement gig" is to write instructional materials and to get supposedly highly educated technical staff to use them and other reference materials that would help them use technology to perform their tasks more efficiently. It's a lot like persuading car owners to read owners manuals!

Navigation systems are an aid - not a directive - and they get easier to use with practice. Review the route choices before selecting one - don't just press the "go" button and accept the default route. Perhaps review the turn lists. Glancing at the map while driving can help. If the navigation voice tells you to do something obviously ineffective, ignore it and it will automatically reroute you - often in a better way. I once had a portable navigation device (Magellan) tell me to turn on to a bridge over the Missouri River than had been removed several years earlier. I guess I could have driven through the barrier and into the water but I decided not to do that. Phones can be tracked regardless of whether or not you have turned off location services - even older phones before GPS on phones was mandated for 911 emergency services can be tracked via signal triangulation. Oh, poor Denny! I remember a blustery, cool day in May, 2006 when my wife and I were dining at restaurant on the Virginia Beach strip a stone's throw from the water. It really is true: A bad day at the beach is better than a good day at the office. It's funny how I often remember vacations by the cars we rented - that 2-week vacation was "Ford 500 Limited" trip.

Also be aware that the weight of much bigger wheels and tires will make your 90 LS400 seem slow and sluggish - 240 horsepower ain't much these days. I noticed this even when I tried only a "plus zero" setup on the 1990 LS400 I drove from 1990 to 2003. My "plus zero" setup was 225/60-15 tires on the original 15x6.5 inch wheels. This setup kept the speedometer accurate. The wider tires wrote harsher (wife hated it) but having more rubber on the road made the car feel like it braked better although I don't know if it really did. The 225/60-15 also made it almost impossible to "curb" the wheels since more of the tires stuck out and protected the wheels from curbs and I thought they looked better on the car.

I think most people and certainly most Lexus forum moderators would put forth a little more effort to explore the features of their new Lexus vehicles than you did. :chairshot: I've taken delivery of a number of brands of new cars (VW, Volvo, Honda, Toyota, Lexus, Mercedes) and none of the delivery "ceremonies" and overviews went into much detail. It was always something like: "here's your owners manual which explains everything". (The Mercedes delivery really was a ceremony - not sure if giving a person a glass of Champagne before driving away was a good idea but it was the 70's.) The annual cost of the "Enform Complete Package" does seem a little high - particularly when it is the same for a relatively inexpensive IS250 and a vastly more expensive LS600hL. It is possible to "unbundle" Safety Connect and subscribe to it separately: https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/lexusenform/subscriptions.do We purchased multi-year subscriptions to Safety Connect on our Toyota Sienna and Prius to get a lower per year cost and I assume that discounted multi-year subscriptions are available for Lexus since the single-year cost is the same for Toyota and Lexus brand vehicles. And maybe discounted multi-year subscriptions are available for the "Enform Complete Package"? Denny, do you have a cell phone? If you do, you are already being tracked! :chairshot: (How many "chairshots" can be put in one post?)

Well it certainly should be removing condensation on the inside of the windshield. Is the A/C working OK? The A/C should turn on automatically when the front defroster button is pressed unless someone has changed the "COMPRESSOR/DEFROSTER/OPERATION" setting to "NORMAL" with a scan tool. "LINK" is the default setting. Like others are saying, the cabin filter could be blocked but that would be affecting all HVAC modes - not just defrost. I've seen some hilarious photos of cabin filters that have never been cleaned or changed - totally blocked. I sometimes cleaned the filter with compressed air between services at which time my mechanic would change it. Be gentle when removing the cabin filter as some have damaged the little door in front of it - an expensive repair. But really ... there was never seemed to be a lot of air flow from the defroster vents in either of my LS400's but it was plenty enough to quickly clear condensation.