1990LS400

Some aftermarket hitches are not as integrated and hidden as dealer installed hitches but the aftermarket hitches I see for the RX450 on etrailer.com where I buy most of my hitches and towing supplies look better than most. Sure, Uhaul installs lots of hitches although some I've seen aren't pretty. You might compare the ones on etrailer.com to the ones the Lexus dealer and Uhaul sells. Installing a trailer hitch is a pretty easy DIY job - the estimated install time on etrailer.com is 40 minutes for an RX450h. I recently installed a class III hitch on my new Sienna van and have installed hitches on several other vehicles. You would need a socket set, jack stands or ramps and a torque wrench and perhaps a few miscellaneous tools like screw drivers and a utility knife. A "complete towing package" from etrailer.com would run about $225 to $250 including shipping depending on which hitch you buy. This would include a 2 inch receiver hitch, the drawbar, two interchangable hitch balls and a neat heavy duty storage bag. Etrailer has instructional videos on their website. I watched the video for the Sienna on my tablet computer as I was installing the hitch in my garage. My understanding is that the hybrid RX and Highlander have a lower towing capacity than the regular gas-only versions - I think it's 3,500 pounds vs. 5,000 pounds. Many small travel trailers will bump up against a 3,500 pound limit when loaded. What additional equipment, if any, you will need will depend on what kind of recreational trailer you tow and whether the trailer has electric or surge brakes. You may need a brake controller and additional wiring if the trailer has electric brakes. I don't know if the tow package on your RX is wired for a brake controller but I know that a friend's 2013 Highlander with the tow package is not.

According to www.toyodiy.com , the same transaxles were used in the 2006 Highlander and the 2006 RX400h. To make it more complicated, three different transaxle part numbers were used in the 2006 models: one for the first four months of the model year, a second one for only one month, and then a third variation for the rest of the 2006 model year through the 2008 model year. I would supply the exact URL's where this information is located but "paste" has been deactivated on this forum. One has to register on www.toyodiy.com in order to see the diagrams.

Have you owned your SC since new and know that the glass in one of the mirrors has not been replaced with aftermarket mirror glass? Also, "electrochromic" automatic dimming exterior mirror glass tends to turn blue as they age and fail but usually the blue is usually blotchy and not even. Sections of the exterior mirror glasses on the 2000 LS400 I sold last Spring were starting to turn blue/blotchy. The mirror glass is pretty easy to replace - takes a couple of minutes to pop out the old glass, unplug the connector from the old glass, plug the connector into the new glass and then snap the new mirror glass into place. I've done it twice.

"Taut"? Have you driven other 1994 LS400's that are different? By 1994 the LS400 had gained a substantial amount of weight due to more standard equipment and larger tires and wheels and was not as fast as the earlier 90-92 LS400. I had a minimally equipped 1990 LS400 for 13 1/2 years and it was much faster than the 93-94 LS400's I test drove. The 95-97 LS400 got a little faster due to a 200 pound weight reduction and the 98-00 got a lot faster due to a very substantial engine power increase. So ... the easiest way to get "powerful acceleration" is to get a newer LS. The 2000 LS400 I recently sold was dangerously faster than my 1990 LS400.

The brakes on a 99 GS300 should have excellent stopping power - like throwing out a boat anchor. My suspicion is that the car was not as well maintained as you think it was. Even at its low odometer reading, the brake fluid should have been replaced at least five times since the car was new - every three years or 30,000 miles, whichever comes first. And perhaps the brake discs are rusted or the calipers are not functioning properly. Ultra low miles on an older car is not necessarily a good thing. My suggestions is that you treat the car as if it has 90,000 miles on it and do the full 90,000 mile service including changing the water pump, timing belt, idlers, tensioner and ancillary parts. How old are the tires? Replace them if they are older than six years even if they look good and have lots of tread left. You should be able to identify the tire ages by codes on the tire sidewalls but if they are the original tires they may be too old to have the currently used code system. If you don't know the coding system, you can find it on www.tirerack.com .

Are you following the car's maintenance schedule? "Tune up" on a 96 LS400 is every 90K miles and involves only replacing the spark plugs. That "Tune up" price is completely ridiculous. The prices for the fluid changes are also extraordinarily high. Are the filters gold plated? The fuel filter is not a commonly replaced filter. Your transmission requires only a drain and refill - never a flush. What kind of business are you dealing with? When was the timing belt last changed? The change interval is every 90K miles or 6 years - whichever comes first.

Based on the parts cross reference at www.toyodiy.com , it looks like your 2003 Harrier MCU30 key is not used on any Lexus models - only on the Harrier and on the Land Cruiser sold in Japan, Europe and some other countries that do not include the U.S. and Canada. I encourage you to verify this for yourself.

Show your photo to someone behind the counter at an auto parts store and he will show you applicable tools. Mine is like a screwdriver with a flat Y-shaped tip that can slipped under the heads of these and similar friction fasteners to pry them out.

Maybe those wires are for the optional hood mounted missile launcher. The last car I saw with an engine compartment light was made in the 1960*s. I always carry a huge flashlight in the trunk - the kind that police use and which double as weapons! Edit: Are you sure that the wires you see isn't the supply to the windshield washer nozzles? I don't see electrical wires running up the hood hinge in the diagrams.

You might be able charge your iPhone with the USB port but you will have to stream the Pandora audio through Bluetooth or a 3.5mm aux-in.

Any LS460 would be much better in snow than a 95 LS. All 98-up LS cars have a "snow mode" transmission setting that makes a big difference and VSC is helpful too although trac/VSC sometimes has to be turned off to get moving when stopped in deep snow. I drove the 2000 LS400 I just sold through about 10 inches of fresh snow last year past hundreds if not thousands of abandoned cars and SUV's. I used Bridgestone Blizzak WS70's on it and will buy WS70's (and extra wheels to put them on) for the Toyota Sienna I bought recently to replace my 2000 LS400. I think the FWD Sienna will do OK in the snow but my RWD 2000 LS400 was the best "snow car" I've ever owned - and I love to drive in snow for some demented reason. The LS460 will do even better with true winter tires - the ones with the mountain/snowflake symbol on the sidewall ... e.g. Michelin X-ice.

Very, very (did i say "very" enough times?) few parts are interchangeable between the 94 and 95. There's a part number cross reference on TOYODIY.COM.

Thanks guys. I'm planning to drop by occasionally to keep you all in line. :whistles: I keep discovering features in the Sienna I didn't expect. Not only do the third row seats stow flush with the floor, they also have buttons on the front corners of the seat cushions that electrically recline the seat backs - very cool. And I discovered the deep "hidden" storage compartments below the arm rests of the third row seats - they contain headphone jacks and volume controls and plenty of space to store headphones. I installed my Curt class III trailer hitch and wiring harness yesterday -- instructions said it should take less than two hours but I took about six hours. I'm too old to be laying on my back under a car - I hurt all over today.

The EPA ratings are identical to the revised ratings for my departed 2000 LS400 but on regular gas: 18 City / 25 Highway / 21 Combined. My wife would have liked for me to have bought a vehicle that gets better gas mileage. We had planned to get a 2014 Highlander Limited Hybrid which is rated at something like 27 mpg city/highway/combined but my night vision is too bad to go back to halogen headlights. PCS and radar cruise control are also available on the Highlander Limited Hybrid. PCS was my #1 on my "must have" list but getting it meant having to buy the most fully optioned Sienna which pushed to retail price, including a few accessories (hood film, door edge guards, mudflaps), to a hair under $50K. We purchased the Sienna through the Costco Auto Program which made the purchase especially simple. The participating dealer had already ordered a Sienna Limited from the factory and was able to modify the order to get the color, equipment and accessories we wanted. Getting the accessories installed at the factory was far less expensive than having the dealer install them - about 60% of the accessory retail price with no installation charge. On top of that, we got a $1,500 rebate that was offered in six midwestern states from April 1 to May 5. The only "problems" in the purchase was that our Sienna does not have the promised Entune and arrived without the trailer hitch and harness we ordered. Toyota has suspended installing or selling trailer hitches for the Sienna for unknown reasons. I had confirmed with the dealer salesman that our Sienna would have Entune on the day I ordered it and several times before it arrived. The salesman was even stuggling to get the non-existing Entune to function while I was taking delivery when he finally gave up and I drove away after their normal closing time. It turns out that Entune is available on the less expensive Siennas and not on the the top of the line Limited with the 10-speaker JBL audio system. Entune isn't all that great a product but I subscribe to Pandora and am used to leaving my phone in my pocket while listening to Pandora through the Entune in our Prius and through the aftermarket Kenwood in the LS400. The Toyota dealer is supposed to be looking for a solution that will provide Entune in our Sienna but I don't know how it could be done without replacing the audio system - which I doubt that Toyota would warranty. I don't really understand the division of the features between PCS and the adaptive cruise control. When using adaptive cruise control and the car ahead in the lane slows down, the Sienna's brakes are automatically applied - sometimes forcefully - but the seat belts do not tighten. It seems to be a two-stage system where automatic braking happens first and then the seat belts are tightened just before the moment of collision. Regardless of how it works, PCS and adaptive cruise control were the reasons I wanted a new vehicle. Replacements for the "missing" trailer hitch and harness should arrive from etrailer.com within the next day or two since etrailer is just 300 miles east of me - same place I bought the hitch for my 2000 LS400. The class III Curt hitch I'm getting is probably better than the one Toyota was selling and has a larger 2-inch receiver.

Those of you who use the Club Lexus forum may have already seen some of these photos. After 10 1/2 years of driving my beautiful white 2000 LS400, I bought a fully optioned 2014 Toyota Sienna Limited to replace it and sold the LS400 a few days later to the same former co-worker who bought my 1990 LS400 in 2003. The photo of the LS400 was from when I stored it in a friends garage to make room for the Sienna in mine. The Sienna is shown beside the 2012 Prius v wagon my wife drives. I've ridden in and driven a lot of "minivans" and our Sienna seems far from those. Let's call the Sienna an MPV (multipurpose vehicle) which is what vehicles of this type are often called in the rest of the world. It's like the "Lexus of MPVs" with radar cruise control, Pre-Collision System (PCS), memory driver seat, a 10-speaker JBL audio system with subwoofer, CD changer, DVD player for front and rear video screens, ottoman rear seating, power stowing third row seats, power rear side doors and back hatch. roller blinds on the four back side windows, rain sensing wipers, automatic dimming HID headlights and on and on. This is definitely a vehicle I can live with. I'm not going to go screaming around curves in it like I sometimes did in the LS but it handles quite nicely and rides at least as well and probably better than the LS. A 119.3 wheel base makes a big difference. There you have it. I may occasionally hang around here but I'm already on the Sienna Chat forum with member name "Geezer1". Thanks to all for your help over the years.

The lens on the bumper lamp/reflector is not available separately. The entire unit is $80.07 at http://lexus.sewellparts.com if you register with a Lexus forum member name. You might need a few other minor parts if they can't be salvaged from the damaged lamp unit. $650 sounds like a bargain if that includes the entire repair.

Over 40 aftermarket grill listings were displayed when I searched for "LS430 grill" on eBay. IMO, a metal grill isn't a great idea since they show dents and don't "rebound" from impacts like plastic does. I speak from the experience of replacing the metal grill slats in my last Mercedes sedan (dented by road debris) but at least Mercedes made the metal parts replaceable so that replacing the entire grill wasn't necessary.

The product description on eBay states: "Fit Models With Factory Halogen Headlights Only". Sewell appears to have a $2,000 kit that will work on your car at: http://is.sewellparts.com Look in the exterior accessories section for your model year.

I drove beside another 2014 GS350 AWD for about five minutes on the way home in stop and go traffic tonight - must have been "deep sea mica". Just ahead of it was a 2013-14 ES350. The back ends of the two cars look more similar than I remembered. There haven't been many RWD GS cars around here since 2006 when AWD was first available. I would bet that an AWD version of the ES would be popular if it was available. Why is the ES the only Lexus sedan not available with AWD? I'll try not to hit any concrete trucks in the new Sienna. The Sienna's safety ratings were a factor in the purchase decision.

Steve, would you have been "excited" if it had been an RX350? We have spent quite a lot of time in Sienna rentals and a lesser amount of time in RX loaners and the two vehicles seem amazing similar in many respects. Could it be because they are both made by Toyota? The FWD RX350 and Sienna share the same drive train and have exactly the same EPA fuel economy rating. According to the specs the RX350 is a few tenths of a decibel quieter at 70 mph. I don't notice a difference in build quality and the quality of interior materials between the RX and the Sienna Limited and I am fairly obsessive ... but I have not inspected them side by side. I tried to consider an RX but its abbreviated rear space and poor rear/side view from the driver seat were the main aspects that put me off. The much longer (11 1/2 inches) wheelbase of the Sienna seems to address the forward and backward "pitching" on bumps and road undulations that I dislike in the RX. I have wanted a third row seat ever since I attended a family reunion in southern Ontario where I packed a Sienna with newly met cousins and drove around for several days visiting family historical sites. It was like a rolling living room. I've been driving the past 24 years with Toyota license plate frames on my Lexus LS cars. Maybe I'll put a Lexus license plate frame on the Sienna.

I never said that the new vehicle has a full glass roof - only that both front and rear passengers have a view of the sky and that the front part opens and slides backward above the roof. Nor does the new vehicle have power closers on all doors. Yes (gasp!), it is a fully loaded Sienna which the dealer said was to arrive at Toyota's "port" in Indiana on April 8 (yesterday) where the accessories I ordered are/were to be installed: 3,500 lb. trailer hitch and wiring harness, door edge guards, protective hood film, mudflaps, etc. It's essentially a $27,000 (retail) 7-passenger Sienna with $24,000 (retail) of options and accessories - PCS, radar cruise, HID headlights, ottoman rear seating, dual screen video with remote and two DVD players, memory driver seat, upgraded navigation and audio, two sun roofs, rain sensing wipers, etc. Of course it has a white exterior - the only color we buy. There are a few features missing that I would like to have but which are not available - headlight washers, "Lane Keep Assist", a drivers seat memory that includes the steering wheel and seat belt anchor height, more adjustments on the front passenger seat including a lumbar support. The Sienna Limited purchase is part of retirement planning that includes eventually transporting our animals and most important possessions from Kansas to a new Florida home. Wife says that maybe I can get a fun car - I'm thinking of just one more 2-seat convertible. It's been 41 years since I had a 2-seat convertible and I've mostly forgotten how much of a PITA they can be. We had a deposit on a fully optioned $60,000++ Acura MDX AWD until my wife read about the rust issues of previous model years. And then I started reading about rust issues on MDX forums. And the delivery date kept slipping. I liked the MDX a LOT!!! It is incredibly fun to drive. My wife loved it. (It was to be white!) I was almost having an anxiety attack when I cancelled the MDX purchase the day after I committed to the Sienna. Did I say that I loved the MDX? Sorry for the let-down Steve and others. I was thinking my new vehicle was starting to sound like an Mercedes S-Class! If the 2014 GS350 was available as a "station wagon" ...

A previous thread that might help is http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/68293-interior-hvac-bulbs/ There are a number of other threads about replacing bulbs which you might find by doing a search. If you want to be able to use the same type bulbs you have now and they have little green covers - I call them "bulb condoms" - you may need to transfer the covers to the new bulbs. Or just buy LED bulbs in the color(s) you want.

We were behind a 2014 GS350 AWD in stop-and-go traffic yesterday coming back from an important shopping trip to replace my broken wine bottle foil cutter. My wife asked if I had considered buying one (the GS350 AWD - not the foil cutter) and I told her that I had. She then said something like ... "Well if you had bought one you would have to continue to deal with the (mild expletive deleted) Lexus dealer." The 2014 GS350 looks nice in photographs and in a showroom but it looks stunning on the road - especially from the back. I can't get over how its interior and exterior dimmensions are nearly identical to my 2000 LS400. And about my new "ride" which I should be getting in two weeks. The Hyundai Equus doesn't have a nice skyward view for both front and rear passengers with the front glass roof panel opening and sliding rearward above the rear panel.

OK, do you know your right from your left? :chairshot: You and my wife may have the same problem. You might have to remove the radio/HVAC control unit to remove whatever that is - I can see only a portion of it ... on the lower RIGHT corner of the photo. Does this "thing" look like a bracket that is inserted between the radio and the upholstered console "rail"? If it is, it is probably held in by one or more self tapping screws. I've used brackets like I am talking about to hold phone cradles and GPS units a bunch of times. Removing the radio/HVAC control unit requires first removing the center vents and the console wood. I don't think the center vents are held in by clips like the 95-up but look into the vents to see if there is a clip on each side. These vents are easy to break and expensive - $300+ The console wood can be CAREFULLY pried out with a plastic non-scaring trim removal tool - a putty knife or regular screw driver can also be used but tape up the blade to prevent scratching the wood. I almost forgot, the 90-94 has a separate ash tray unit that has to be removed - how to do that will be obvious once you have the console wood panel out. The radio/HVAC assembly is held in place by four 10mm bolts - two top, two bottom. You will see them once the vents and wood are removed. Don't drop the bolts when you remove them - you might not be able to recover them.

We certainly didn't want to spend as much as an LS460L with PCS and radar cruise costs. Wife is already talking about sitting with her legs up in the ottoman style right rear seat, closing the window shades and watching movies on one of the video screens while I chauffer her from KC to Des Moines and back over Memorial Day weekend. Power door closers will be nice - wife never seems to get a car door shut on the first try.