1990LS400

My understanding from the independent Lexus repair facility that I have used for about 17 years and trust is that the horn pad / air bag mechanism is not repairable. When I had a problem with the horn pad on my 2000 LS400 about three years ago, the solution was a used assembly from a salvage company - around $500 not including around $200 labor if I remember correctly. A new part was far more than that. Removing the horn pad is not as bad as Paul made it out to be. I've not even sure that the steering wheel had to be removed and it certainly isn't necessary to get into the steering column, turn signal and wiper stalk mechanism. The salvage horn pad assembly came with the cruise control switch. You might even be able to find a used steering wheel including the horn pad and air bag on eBay. Apparently salvage companies sell the air bag with the horn pad although the repair shop used my original air bag with the salvage horn pad.

Automatically leveling headlight systems on vehicles made by Toyota are incredibly reliable so I doubt that you will find an independent repair shop that is familiar with the system. If you don't like your current Lexus dealer, I recommend that you try another one. The problem could be caused by something as simple as a defective auto-leveling motor but it could also be something more complicated such as a headlight ECU. I'm looking at parts diagrams and retail price lists for your headlights and see prices of over $5,000 for only one complete headlight unit!

It is not necessary to register to view owners manuals.

It is not necessary to register to view owners manuals.

Billy, the telescope is the problem here - not the tilt.

But PCS and adaptive cruise don't seem to be available on the AWD version of the GS350 which was what I wanted if I were to buy another four door sedan. The only AWD Lexus sedan with PCS and adaptive cruise seems to be the LS460L and I neither want to spend that much or buy a car that steers like a cruise ship. If Toyota can put PCS and adaptive cruise on our lowly $37,000 (retail price) Prius wagon, I don't understand why they can't offer it on all their more expensive Lexus and Toyota models.

I felt immediately at home in the GS350 I looked at ... probably because it has exactly the same wheelbase, and nearly identical interior dimensions, trunk space and engine power as my 2000 LS400. It felt just right and much better than the bloated LS460/LS460L. I'm not understanding, however, why Toyota cannot not offer PCS and adaptive cruise on their less expensive all-wheel drive vehicles like the GS. But if I was going to buy another RWD 4-door sedan, a GS350 with PCS and adaptive cruise would be at the top of my list.

Who told you that your RX can't be equipped for towing? A tow hitch could have been added as a dealer installed accessory so I don't know why you could not add it now if the accessory hitch is still available. If it is not available, you can buy a hitch from the same company where I bought a hitch for my 2000 LS400: www.etrailer.com Etrailer currently has three 3,500 pound hitches for your RX but I should tell you that the much more expensive Lexus accessory hitch looks a lot better and comes with a wiring harness which would have to added if you bought a hitch from etrailer. I doubt that you would need a transmission cooler for your RX. I don't think a transmission cooler is part of the 3,500 pound towing package being factory installed on the Toyota Sienna I ordered last Tuesday and it's drive train appears to be the same Camry-based drive train that the RX350 has. I wonder what type of can opener a bear uses to open a pop-up camper? Have you ever stayed in any of the National Park lodges built during the 1930s? We have and think they are really cool.

I would past a link to another thread but copy/paste on this forum has been deactivated for now and the other thread doesn't have photos anyway. A common problem has been that some people have put links to photos on services like "photo bucket" instead of uploading them to this forum where they continue to be available. What I found in another thread was that there was a TSIB (service bulletin) about a cable in the harness under the steering column being strained when the column was telescoped completely outward causing an electrical circuit fault in a connector. The fix was to un-tape a small cable for a larger cable so that the small cable was no longer under stress. I can't find a TSIB about it on my favorite service bulletin website so I'm only going by what others have said about there being one.

First of all, you need to calculate your exact fuel mileage over a number of tank fill-ups - at least four or five. You don't need to know or care about your tank capacity to do that. That a "good portion of my gas is gone" doesn't mean anything. Calculate your fuel mileage manually - ignore what your trip completer says. Or post the number of gallons you add and the odometer reading at each fill-up and maybe we can help you calculate. It helps make the calculations more accurate if you run the tank down to below a quarter full before you refill the tank. If the weather is good and I am driving locally, I'll even run my tank down until the low fuel warning is displayed. Regular air in your tires is plenty good enough. Just make sure that the pressures are at least those shown on the door jam and remember that pressures rise and fall about 1 psi per 10 degrees of temperature change. If you check your tire pressures in a warm garage when it is cold outside after your car has been in the garage for a number of hours, you will need to raise the tire pressures above what is shown on the pressure gauge to handle the colder outside temperatures. For example, if someone sets their tire pressures at 30 psi on a 90 degree August day, the pressures will be at a dangerously low, and fuel economy crushing 21 psi on a zero degree winter day. Off hand it sounds like your Toyota dealer is "blowing smoke" and trying to sell you needless services. Flushing a power steering system seems to be one of the latest scams and that certainly doesn't have anything to do with fuel mileage. I've never had a power steering system flushed or a throttle body cleaned in the 462,000 miles we have driven four Toyota/Lexus vehicles with fuel injection since 1990. The revised EPA ratings for your 2007 ES350 at www.fueleconomy.gov are 19 mpg city; 27 mpg highway; 22 mpg combined. If you commute is a mix of city and highway driving, then 22 mpg would be typical. Finally ... have you had your ES350 a long time or did you buy it recently and are finding that its gas mileage is not what you expected?

Have you had the problems diagnosed by a Lexus dealer or by an independent repair shop familiar with or that specializes in repairing Lexus vehicles? My guess is the "ECU reset" the tire shop did was really only plugging in a special device that allows them to wipe or register the TPMS codes. Was the tire shop able to successfully read the TPMS code directly from the sensor at each wheel? I hope that the previous owner didn't mess up the nav through the hidden menus.

As I said in my previous post, you can see the owners manual for your car at www.lexus.com Click on the Owner's Resources link, choose Manuals and Resources, enter your model year and model and what you want to search for ... i.e. "fuse". There is no need to register on the Lexus website to see the owners manuals. The fuse descriptions are also on the covers of the fuse boxes in both the engine compartment and under the dashboard.

What's wrong with it? There should be a "radio" fuse in the engine compartment fuse box and in the under-dash fuse box. If you don't have an owners manual that shows you that you can view it on the www.lexus.com website.

The weather has to be quite hot before the electric radiator fans turn on - at least it did on the 90 LS I had for 13+ years. I would be suspicious of the thermostat or even of an inadequately refilled cooling system. If you would provide your location in your profile, we would know what type of weather you are driving in.

There weren't many options on the SC430 - look at the "vehicle library" on the Lexus website. Newer is better - get a 2010 if you can find one ... the last year it was made. The main issues that have come on forums about the SC430 have seemed to be the run-flat tires, lack of a spare tire, and problems with the retracting top. Many have converted to conventional tires to get a more compliant ride and there has long been a discussion of which compact spare tires will fit in the trunk.

Yes, right side of the trunk per the attached diagram. Check for corrosion on the connectors first. See if there is any sign of water on the amp.

I suppose both radios could have the same problem. The right channel seems to die more often than the left - did that in my 2000 LS400 (Nakamichi) twice ... had the balance control resoldered to fix it the first time and went with an aftermarket head unit the second time. The diagrams I have show that the standard 1992 LS400 radio has a separate amp that drives only the subwoofer but that the Nakamichi (my diagram is for the 1993 Nakamichi) has a separate amp that drives all speakers. Some people have found that contacts on a ribbon cable inside the head units of later LS400 radios tends to fail and that cleaning the contacts gets the radio working again - but that's a long shot.

Aren't Lexus cars in California required to have chrome wheels? :whistles: There are plenty of 93-94 wheels on eBay but I'm surprised at the prices. There is always Craigslist - still kicking myself for not buying a perfect set of 01 LS430 wheels on Craigslist a few years back at only $250 for the set. It may be difficult to find 20 year old wheels in decent shape but there are wheel shops that will restore them at a price. I doubt that you are going to find a private owner who has excellent non-chrome wheel who wants to do an exchange with you. You'll probably have to buy what you want and then sell or discard your current wheels. If your chrome wheels are in good shape and not leaking, maybe you will warm up to them. I didn't go looking for chrome wheels when I bought my 2000 LS400 in 2003 but that is what came on it when originally sold in 2000. I like them. Here is a photo from 2007. The wheels were replaced in 2003 under the car's original warranty and still look like new.

Navigation updates for the 2010 GS350 are on USB flash memory and are applied by a Lexus dealer. It is not like the older DVD based Lexus navigation systems which could be easily updated by the vehicle owner.

The vehicle library on the Lexus website shows the original EPA mpg figures which were revised downward to the ones I quoted in my previous post. You can see the revised fuel economy figures for your car at www.fueleconomy.gov I also have an Escort detector - a cordless "Solo" model which has "lived" in a dresser drawer for something like 15 years. Geezers like me are dangerous enough at legal speeds! Yes, I've heard of the US Navy - it exists to provide transportation services to the Marine Corps. :whistles:

I've never understood how K&N could stay in business with the problems their products cause. The MAF is an expensive and sensitive item - I wouldn't do anything to endanger it. Aftermarket filters will not do much if anything at all to improve performance or fuel economy on a modern car like your GS430. Heck, I just got back from a 600 mile Interstate highway road trip on which my 2000 LS400 V8 averaged 26.1 mpg on OEM filters - cruise control was set on about 73 mph to get a true speed of 70 mph per my GPS and phone. The overall average might have been over 27 mpg if the trip had not included a little city street driving. Your GS430 might do as well if driven gently and working properly. Less than 20 mpg is about the norm when your car is driven mainly on city surface streets. The revised EPA fuel economy estimates for the 2006 GS430 are 16 mpg city; 23 mpg highway; 19 mpg combined. If your MAF has been damaged, you may need professional help to get it fixed or replaced.

Yes. You will used to it. You must have just acquired the car.

It seems a little odd that a 2009 has already had two owners but that may not mean that there is a problem with the car. Buy it if it is exactly what you want in color, equipment and condition. Been there, done that. It may just be me but I will never buy another vehicle that doesn't have self leveling HID or LED headlights - not just for the better lighting but also that bulbs almost never have to be replaced. My 2000 LS400 is still on the original HID bulbs. You might check to see if the car has HID if that is also important to you.

What is your concept of "fully loaded"? Does it have the optional panoramic roof, HID headlights with AFS and rear sunshade?

13 mpg seems bizarrely low for an RXh.. Does your RXh have remote start and, if so, are you using it? Are you running the engine for extended periods to warm the engine and/or interior? I wouldn't think that driving a slower speeds on snow should hurt fuel economy that much since hybrids usually excel at lower speeds. Is your RXh front wheel drive or all wheel drive. If it is all-wheel-drive, the rear wheel traction motor turning on more often while driving on snow may be a factor contributing to worse fuel economy. You might try manually calculating your gas mileage over a number of tank fill-ups if you are instead relying on your trip computer. The trip computer may not always be accurate. AZ is too hot in summer - I don't care if is a "dry heat" - it's too damned hot. Last time I was in the Phoenix metro was in July when it was something like 110 degrees every day. I'll take humid Florida any day as long as I don't fall into a sink hole.