1990LS400

I would be surprised if a deer hit would affect your rates -- it's not like you swerved to hit it. Your deductible might not apply when hitting an animal - mine didn't when I hit a deer when my current LS was about seven years old. Insurance is mean to be used when appropriate.

No insurance? A deer hit should be covered - no out-of-pocket on mine.

See the following for information about the tire size for the 03 GS300: http://www.lexus.com/contact/pdf/2003/2003GSspecs.pdf For about 20 years, I bought all our tires from Tire Rack but have bought the last 12 tires from Costco: http://tires2.costco.com/?srchKeyword=tires Easy for me since a Costco is very close. Have a Costco near you? They are running another $70/set off deal on Michelin tires.

There is nothing wrong with getting the Package Package - could be difficult to find one without it. I wouldn't reject 18" wheels outright. You could always put 17" inch wheels on later. The only LS430's I would probably not consider are those with the Ultra Luxury Package. The "UL" has air suspension which can be quite troublesome as they age. But I might not reject a "UL" either if I found a very nice low mileage one. The LS430 navigation system is holding up well and updates are still available for all model years. I wouldn't reject an LS430 that has navigation - particularly since the 05/06 LS430 I think is the most preferable variation always has navigation .... the Custom Luxury package with PCS (Pre-Collision System).

What you found is a typical low specification LS430 with the $1390 (retail) Premium package, the $220 (retail) 18" wheel option and the most common ivory leather interior. LS430's without the Premium Package seem to be quite rare. The value of the 18" wheel package is questionable at best due to it mainly getting you a bit harsher ride and substantially more expensive to replace 245/45-18 tires. As LS430's go, this one is an "entry level" car but is still very well equipped compared to most other cars of it's era. It is certainly a car to consider.

Yes, failure of the nav can remove all the features you mentioned. Unfortunately, the "few thousand dollars" you will save in buying an 05/06 LS400 without navigation may also be due to the car not having other optional features normally installed on cars with navigation. LS430's without navigation are usually fairly "barebone" cars. Here is a link to the option packages for the 05 LS430 (I think the 06 was the same): http://www.lexus.com/contact/pdf/2005/2005LSspecs.pdf If I was looking for an 05-06 LS430, I would consider only ones with PCS. 2005 was the first year PCS was available on the LS430.

Look for another car and don't even think about trying to retrofit radar cruise and PCS. Toyota almost never installs the infrastructure for options not already on a vehicle. It's does seem strange that radar/PCS is not standard on the LS600 and many other of the more expensive Lexus models when it is a somewhat inexpensive ($1,750) option on the Toyota Avalon and when there is discussion at the NHTSA about requiring a PCS-like system on all cars. Radar cruise/PCS is my favorite feature on my wife's Toyota Prius wagon. I will never buy another car without PCS or a similar system.

Yes, CarFax can occasionally can show some interesting stuff but I regard it as essentially worthless.

I don't have complete confidence in Gates.com but it doesn't list your 99 ES as having an interference engine. If that is true then no damage will be done if the timing belt "breaks". However, it is not the timing belt to worry about. Failure of some other part in the timing belt system is usually what causes a belt to be ruined - water pump, tensioner, idlers. There are really no visible signs when a timing belt should be replaced except maybe if there is obvious noise or the water pump is weaping coolant.. Just follow the maintenance schedule and replace the timing belt and all the ancillary parts I mentioned above every 90,000 miles or 72 months. If there is ever a sign that that the water pump is about to fail, replace it and the timing belt ASAP. I had barely 60 seconds warning when the water pump on my first LS failed and took the timing belt with it.

Oh, how spoiled we have become .... the idea that we would have to use a key to unlock a car door. But I would miss remote unlock too. I was lucky my 90 LS had it since it was optional until the 1991 model year. There is a diagnostic procedure for the remote and security system in the 1993 LS400 repair manual. I doubt if the problem is the chip or the key. Replacement key/chip sets aren't all that expensive = $274 from http://lexus.sewellparts.com/accessories-catalog/Keys/LS400-1993.html if you register with a car forum member name to get a discount. Do you have two remote keys that both stopped working to unlock the doors? If you do, both key's would surely not die at the same time. Plenty of people have reported on forums that they have put aftermarket security systems with remote unlocking on the early LS400 -- must not be too hard. Can you unlock the doors using the button on the drivers door? If you can, that would indicate that the electrical system is working enough for you to add an aftermarket system.

My understanding is that all you need to do is install a new DVD. Thie instructions on how to do it have been posted in the past or you can view/download them from http://lexus.sewellp...-2007/4970.html I don't remember ever reading about a separate firmware update for a Toyota/Lexus DVD based navigation system but I'm not an expert. It would seem that what one might call firmware updates are included on the DVD. For example, the latest update eliminates having to press the "I Agree" button on generation 5 systems and up. Your 07 RX is gen 5 so the update should cause the "I Agree" message to disappear after five seconds unless you already have an update that eliminated it. $169 for updates may seem high but at least that is less than they used to be. In my opinion, having a current POI database is more important than having exactly current maps. But who needs a up-to-date POI database on a nav system anymore when just about any smart phone can give you that - as long as you have good phone service where you are driving. What I especially like about having a portable Garmin Nuvi in my aging 00 LS and an Android phone is that I can get a POI location from an app on the phone (Yelp, Yellow Pages, Google, etc.) and press a screen button on the phone to wirelessly send the location (via Bluetooth) to the Garmin using the Garmin SmartPhone Link app running on the phone. Very cool - makers of in-car navigation systems are finally starting to catch up by including applications like Yelp in their navigation systems .... e.g. Lexus Enform on current Lexus vehicles. The current Toyota brand Entune and Lexus brand Enform both can communicate with Toyota/Lexus apps running on a SmartPhone - Android, iPhone and maybe others.

Hornig, the OP has a 2007 RX350. It has a DVD based navigation system which is easily owner updated. The instructions you posted are for the later 2010-up RX hard drive based navigation systems.

Map updates have gotten pretty cheap: http://www.lexusnavigation.com/what_to_order.php What you call "firmware" is usually part of the update. Updating your maps may not make those new roads show up - it can take from years to "never" for them the show - but an update should help quite a bit - especially for POI's - if the one you have is the original one.

If you bought your 05 LS from a Lexus dealer, a condition of purchase could have been a full set of keys. You could ask your local Lexus dealer to contact the previous owner and ask if he has the rest of the keys. The local Lexus dealer did that for me when I bought a used 2000 LS400 in 2003 from an auto broker. In my case, the rest of the keys finally turned up -- eventually forwarded from an auto auction to the auto broker who passed them on to me. I still bought a full third set of keys from the local Lexus dealer which I keep as a backup. I don't know how the keyless entry "keys" are programmed. A Lexus dealer service writer took maybe 2 minutes to program the master and valet keys I bought in 2003 and didn't charge extra for doing it.

How many miles are on this beast? Replacing the entire throttle body seems a little drastic if only the TPS is failing. The TPS is not a real expensive part when new. TPS failure is common on the 98-00 LS400. Here is a thread that includes me telling about how mine failed in 2008 at about 115,000 miles:

On the U.S. specification LS430, the automatic "Tilt and Telescope" is turned off using a "Lexus Diagnostic Tester". I posted this information earlier in this thread. I have no idea if the same method is used for U.K. specification LS430's.

Mobile version of this website is back. Thanks!

So you are telling us that you have NOT had the problem diagnosed and that you are guessing that the ballast is defective? A leaking headlight can sometimes be fixed by resealing it but I can't believe that your headlight units don't have vents.

I would not bother with a carfax report on a 20 year old, low value car. Current condition is what is most important. Ask for maintenance history and receipts. How many owners has this car had? How many miles does the odometer show and does its reading seem consistent with the car's condition? Are you prepared to have a mechanic inspect it before buying? But like Steve said, $30 is a small price to pay -- even if provides only some interesting information.

Have you had a Lexus dealer or other knowledgeable diagnose the problem following the diagnostic procedures? "Assuming" can be very expensive - the problem may be something simple. And the condensation problem could be only a spider web in a vent tube. Toyota/Lexus wiring harnesses are usually VERY - I repeat VERY - specific to the options on a car. You can't just drop halogen units in a vehicle that came with HID. Have a professional diagnose the problem and then decide what action to take.

Try cleaning the battery terminals and cable clamps until they shine like new and then tighten the clamps VERY securely. Use a battery terminal / clamp cleaning tool - a few bucks at an autoparts store. I had an even worse problem with my 00 LS until recently - battery wouldn't start the car after sitting overnight. Cleaning the terminals and clamps and making sure that the clamps made perfect contact with the battery terminals solved the problem and the car now starts after sitting for days unused. Be sure to apply a thin coat of corrosion inhibiter (e.g. petroleum jelly) to he terminals/clamps after cleaning and tightening the clamps.

I'm loving all these gizmos and I'm not sure I care who's driving. Your 560SEL was a huge step in automation above the 450SEL I had with it's automatic climate control, ABS and air bags. Your 240D that you have and the 240D I owned way too long are/were essentially "doorstops" (no, doorstops have better 0-60 times). I would just as soon have the choice of driving or have the car drive itself while I crawl into the backseat and relax. I'm not above having my wife drive on long trips, running the front passenger seat all the way forward into "limo mode" and stretching out in the back seat while reading and/or listening to music. If my backseat reclined like the one in your LS430 UL then I'd probably get a chauffeur's cap for my wife and put diplomat flags on my front fenders. Or if I had a car that drove itself, my wife and I might both be in the backset enjoying a class of wine. But then ... I remember the "boardroom" scene from Robocop:

OK, now I got it. You meant the "FIRST" LS400's - not the "FIST". Sales brochures and commercials can be viewed at http://www.toyotareference.com/lexusls/1990-1994 Check out http://www.lexls.com/ Specifications for the 90-05 LS can be viewed at http://www.lexus.com/contact/pdf/1990/1990LSspecs.pdf by changing the model year in both places in the URL (1990 to 1991, etc.) Based on its VIN, my 2000 LS400 appears to be about 205th from the last LS400 and was manufactured about four months after LS430 production started.

There are two parts bins at the factory from which the the HomeLink modules are taken as cars are assembled. The HomeLink module for your girlfriend's car came from the "Nice" bin but yours came from the "Naughty" bin. Or ... could illumination of the HomeLine buttons be tied to one of the other customizable interior light illumination features described in your owners manual but is not specifically labeled as affecting the HomeLink buttons? You might ask your Lexus dealer to check both cars to see if any of the interior light illumination features have been customized. From past threads on this forum - particularly about the RX - it has seemed as if HomeLink button illumination is random.

Some may do but our insurance cards do not show our address. If a thief is going to be patient enough to go through all the crap in our glove compartments to find the registration - especially my wife's glove compartment / toxic waste dump, then he deserves an award!