1990LS400

Have any of you read about the bottom feeding scumbag journalist who went out of his way to make Tesla look as bad as possible during a long term test for a NY Times article a few months ago? Fortunately, Tesla had installed a data recorder in the test car that completely exposed and refuted the "journalist's" falsified and negative report. The whole episode makes me what to buy a Tesla - if they offered a station wagon! (Take that, Paul!) The new leader for replacing our 2000 LS400 is the redesigned much more station-wagon-like 2014 Toyota Highlander Hybrid - now available for the first time with Pre-collision System (PCS) and radar cruise control.

It seemed bizarre when it happened but I've had halogen headlight bulbs fail within a day or two of each other. Have you owned your RX since new and know that aftermarket shorter life (e.g. Silverstar) high beam bulbs have not been installed? I would first replace both high beam bulbs - a two-pack should cost maybe $20 at a discount store. If they still don't light up, the problem cause could be many things including corrosion on a fuse block. An automotive electrician should be able to quickly identify the problem if it's not the bulbs.

Whoa there! There is no practical limit in how many times plastic headlight lenses can be refinished and made to look and perform like new again. I've refinished the lenses on my 2000 LS400 three times since I bought it in 2003 - once after someone rammed and badly scraped the right lens with a shopping cart. Each time the lenses came out looking and performing like new or so close to like new that I can't tell the difference. Tell your son to go to the nearest auto parts store, Walmart, etc. and buy a headlight lens refinishing kit - price should be between $20 and $30. Some kits require using an electric drill and buffing pad - I don't care for these - too easy to get carried away with a mechanical device and grind through a lens. I've used a Crystal View kit each time I've done it. I've probably more comfortable with the Crystal View kit since it involves hand wet sanding the lenses to remove the crud - similar to wet sanding automotive lacquer between coats. I can exactly gauge my progress with my fingertips. The most important part of the process is a chemical sealer that prevents the lenses from fogging up again or at least slows down the deterioration until the restoration process has to be repeated a year or three down the road. The following thread has photos from the last time I stored headlight lenses: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/74083-headlight-cover-oxidation/?hl=crystal#entry456058 Refinishing headlight lenses is easy. Now that I've done it a few times, I've got it down to about a 10 minute job.

Your profile says that you have a "2004 LS430 Ultra, black/black with ipod adapter." If you have the Ultra Luxury package then you already have ML with Bluetooth phone capability. No LS430 audio system, ML or standard, had A2DP Bluetooth audio streaming. What exactly is your LS430 - year, packages, options? The ML system doesn't seem to get particularly good reviews on Lexus forums. I've seen many threads on replacing LS430 audio systems with something else but I don't remember seeing anyone installing an ML system into an LS430 that didn't have one.

You might be able to view the pad thickness through your wheels. One trick is to break off the end from a wire coat hanger to use as a measuring tool. My fancy coat hanger wire measuring tool is 2mm thick. Does your RX have brake wear sensors that trigger a message in the instrument cluster display when the pads are worn to the recommended replacement thickness? The recommended replacement thickness on my LS is only 1mm - so thin it looks scary to the uninformed. Dealers will often try to get people to do a brake job when pads aren't even half worn. If your RX has brake wear sensors you might consider letting the pads wear down to the minimum. It can be cheaper to replace a $50-$60 brake wear sensor and make the pads last as long as possible. I recently had the "last" brake job done on my LS. I had the first front brake job done at about 73,000 miles. The rear brake pads were replaced for the first time at a bit over 120,000 miles. The front brake pads were replaced a second time a little before 150,000 miles. The car is nearing 165,000 miles and I will likely part with it long before the front brake pads need replacing again.

I think I've read that adapters from http://www.vaistech.com/dev/home.php work on U.K. models but you should check for yourself. You might prefer a 3.5mm aux-in over a USB so that you can connect your Android phone: http://www.vaistech.com/dev/sl2u.php It is also possible to connect a Bluetooth receiver device to a 3.5mm aux-in to allow A2DP wireless streaming from your phone to your car radio. Are Internet music streaming services like Pandora and Slacker still unavailable in the U.K.? The attached photo shows my phone streaming a Dido song from the free (in the U.S.) Pandora Internet service to a 3.5mm aux-in on my radio. I also have a number of complete music albums stored on my phone's micro-SD card.

You've been scammed and the service writer got a cut of your $250. Their job is to sell, sell, sell service. I've had dealer service writers try to sell me needless and sometimes ridiculous services many times. Some have even told me that these services are required by the car maker. Showing them the car's maintenance schedule usually shuts them up. The most common scam I've seen is early brake jobs - which is why I measure the remaining pad thickness myself each time I rotate the tires which is every 5,000 miles.

The following has a great summary on what changed on the LS400 over the years: http://www.lexls.com/info/lsgenerations.html There are substantial differences in specifications and features among what the various LS400 "series": 90-92, 93-94, 95-97, 98-00. There were a number of options available in each model year. If you change the model year in both places in the following URL, you can see what options were available in each model year: http://www.lexus.com/contact/pdf/2000/2000LSspecs.pdf "Asking prices" can be fluid. If I was selling my perfectly maintained, mechanically excellent, visually nearly perfect, highly optioned, 164,000 mile 2000 L400 Platinum Series (SF package) today, my target sale price would be ... (drum roll, please) ... $6,000.

Head to your local auto parts store and see what they have. A number of companies offer headlight lens cleaning kits and most seem to do the job. Most involve sanding or buffing the crud away before applying one or more chemicals that restore the lenses and keep it from fogging up again - at least for a while. I have been refinishing my headlights about every two years with a Crystal View kit. The kits from 3M work at least as well ... maybe better from reports on forums. There are a number of past threads on this forum about refinishing headlights - I've contributed to some of them. You might find them by searching but here is one: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/74083-headlight-cover-oxidation/?hl=crystal#entry456058

The setup section of your nav manual says it can be done but it doesn't go into detail on how to do it. Try going into "setup" and looking - that's where I found similar resets on my wife's Toyota nav but hers doesn't allow resetting the "crumbs". Be sure to check under your car for a GPS/cellular tracking device. Your wife may be using one of those to find out where your girl friend lives. :whistles:

Among places you can find part numbers: http://lexus.sewellparts.com/ and http://www.toyodiy.com/ Register with Sewell to get healthy discounts.

Are either or both of you having the problem with multiple phones of different brands? Based on what I've seen, this type of problem is commonly due to a problem with the phone or a non-vehicle component about 99.99% of the time. For example, some phone holders and "skins" have been found to interfere with Bluetooth.

There are companies that repair Lexus radios. This is the last one I used: http://factoryradioservice.com/ Besides adding an aux-in, they replaced the bulbs in the LCD display. I realized later that I didn't have them look into the clicking issue the cassette tape player has but I haven't played cassette tapes in years.

Ideas? Buy an aux-in adapter, convert your tapes to MP3 and stream everything through the aux-in. The "best" VAIS aux-in adapter is only $150.

Using an automotive stethoscope can help locate a noise source but be very careful while using one around moving parts. I bought mine at an auto parts store 20 to 40 years ago - it looks like this. Don't remember what it cost but I do remember that it was cheap. The screech might be a pulley bearing going out. Valve related ticking was common on the gen 1 LS400 but don't remember anyone reporting it on the 98-00 LS400.

The PDF's on https://techinfo.toyota.com are exactly the same as what is in the official hard copy manuals. I've never done it but some have reported downloading what they needed with a $15 2-day subscription.

My suggestion is follow the instructions on page 129 (Section 4.Setup) of the 2013 RX350 navigation manual and make appropriate changes to the "Driving Speeds" settings. I think this will fix your ETA issue but remember that the "E" in ETA stands for estimated. It is not all that unusual for a street or road to be missing from map databases used by auto makers or Garmin. My street was put in over 30 years ago and my address still does not show on GPS systems or in Google Maps, MapQuest, etc. - might be confusing that I live near the intersection of 85th Terrace, 85th Terrace and 85th Terrace. Also, you might want to check that your RX GPS system has the latest map updates - it might be one or two releases behind current.

I've had work done at the Lexus dealership for which there was never a public service campaign or TSIB. It's as if there is a multi-tier service campaign system - one only the dealer knows about and the other which is for the public. For example, I never found a TSIB for the LS400 trunk water leakage issue but each time I took my LS400 in for service a "reseal trunk" no-charge item would appear on the invoice. Sometimes work performed under warranty was encoded on the invoice and the nature of it was not disclosed. This was in the early 90's when the LS400 was getting hit hard by Jay Leno jokes. I don't remember any of this "secret work" being done on my 2000 LS400 but it had only one year of its basic warranty left when I bought it used. Is that Lexus dealer mechanic still participating in this forum? Might be a good question for him if he is.

Give your local Toyota dealer a call to see if they have mud flaps for the 2013 Avalon in stock - shown at http://www.toyota.com/avalon/accessories.html It should take only a couple of minutes to hold a front and rear Avalon mud flap against your ES to see if they are shaped correctly and if the mounting holes line up. Formerly the Camry and ES had the same underpinnings but starting with 2013 it is the Avalon and ES. I tend to doubt that Avalon mud flaps will fit the 2013 ES but I didn't expect Scion IQ signal mirror covers to fit perfectly on our new Prius wagon either ... which they did. Interchanging parts among Toyota brands/models has always been dicey. I checked Lexus websites for several regions where the ES is sold - South America, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Asia - and did not see mud flaps as standard or optional. If the ES was sold in the UK or western Europe, mud flaps would likely be standard or a least available since they are generally expected in those regions.

Yes, the 98-00 navigation sometimes dies - but might last "forever". One solution is to obtain the HVAC controller from a non-nav car (pretty cheap on eBay) and either install an aftermarket radio via an interface harness or a used standard Pioneer audio head unit for 98-00. The Nakamichi head unit is not compatible with the nav system audio amplifier or connectors. And of course you can go the salvage route and buy used nav components. Make sure that the nav ECU under the false floor on the right side of the trunk isn't getting wet from trunk lid seal failure! The nav unit in the dash isn't all you have to be concerned about.

Can a Toyota dealer know about or be able to implement service bulletins and other warranty repairs on a Lexus? I've been down that path. The Toyota/Lexus organization has built a pretty good "firewall" between Lexus and Toyota dealers unless things have changed. I had a constant stream of free and sometimes undisclosed work performed at a Lexus dealer on one new and one 3-year old Lexus while the warranties were in effect. Lexus dealers are paid for doing this work while your vehicle is under warranty so it can be a lose situation for both of you if this work doesn't get done. I'm not saying you can't use a Toyota dealer or other shop to maintain your Lexus but only that should might want to have at least some dealer contact to ensure that all service bulletins are applied.

It is unlikely for a "computer" to be involved. It's contact list phone setting. But try dialing with voice commands - so easy.

Why aren't you using voice commands to make calls while the car is moving?

The only Toyota vehicle I've replaced the shift indicator bulb on is a Camry but I suspect the routine would be similar. On the Camry I had to slide the shift indicator assembly up the gear shift shaft after removing a few screws. Not fun. Bulb was still difficult to replace. The attached diagram shows the bulb in your RX.

Maybe CA is more expensive but a 30K service costs far less than $550 at the indie shop I use here in Kansas - owned and staffed by former Lexus dealer employees.