1990LS400

OK, I understand now. I've never seen an aftermarket kit wood kit that includes parts to replace OEM wood - only parts to match existing wood. There have been threads on car forums including Lexus forum in which refinishing OEM wood has been discussed and photos of the results shown. I suppose you could look for used replacement parts. Replacement new OEM wood is pretty expensive - retail over $2,000 for the wood on the dash and doors. If your wood looks like crap, maybe you could "wrap it" with fake carbon fiber - I've seen a number of forum threads about that but not sure if there any on this forum.

It's too big to attach to a thread on this forum so look at the instruction manual for installing the Lexus Europe towing hitch wiring kit on a European market gen 1 RX300. It shows the "Lexus way" of running an electrical wire from the rear of the vehicle, through the interior of the vehicle and into the engine compartment. http://www.lexus-tech.eu/aimuploads/%7BFFF1A2E2-C805-4D7D-B165-1883C86C1320%7D/Extension%20kit%20PZ417-K2562-00%2012STOWBWH.pdf

Any of these work? http://www.carid.com/1992-lexus-sc-wood-grain-dash-kits/item-246420.html

Sorry, I can't help you on that. The only way I would know to find which wires are which is to expose the left rear speaker and use a battery powered continuity tester to probe the wires at each end. When I've done that, I've sometimes had to add an extension wire to the continuity tester so I could reach both ends. Be sure to disconnect the car battery if there is any chance that any of these wires might be powered.

Yes, failure of the hood supports is common. I had to replace the ones on both LS400's I've owned at about the six or seven year mark. If I keep driving my 2000 LS400, I will soon be replacing the hood struts for a second time since they are starting to fail again -- more noticable in cold weather. Aftermarket hood struts are often available but fit is sometimes a problem. Replacement hood struts are very easy to install - perhaps five minutes per side. I bought the last set from Sewell Lexus. You may have to register on Sewell with a car forum member name to see the best price - I registered using a ClubLexus forum member name and I don't know if they take member names for this forum. I see a price of $89 each for 2004 LS430 hood struts at: http://lexus.sewellp...-2004/4538.html If you are looking at a 2004 LS430, verify that the transmission was replaced or rebuilt under the recall. ALL 2004 LS430' transmissions had a defective "parking pall".

Craiglist, salvage yards, specialty wheel shops, ebay? I see OEM RX350 wheels on ebay in both standard and optional sizes. I once bought a set of new "take off" wheels from the local Lexus dealer for peanuts. You might be able to assemble a set by buying them one or two at a time.

Unlike for some other 1999 Lexus models where there are multiple audio system diagrams on the ARRC website, there is only one for the 1999 RX300. I would be surprised if the diagrams are the same for the standard and Nakamichi systems but it is possible that the wire colors for the speakers are the same. I checked and saw that the wire colors to the speakers are the same on the 00 LS Nakamichi system like I have and the 00 LS standard Pioneer system. 1999 RX300 sound-systems-1-of-1.pdf

Discounted price of $119 not including shipping from http://lexus.sewellparts.com/accessories-catalog/interior/RX350-2011/4690.html Maybe less if you register with a car forum member name. I don't know if they accept member names from this forum. I buy from Sewell using a ClubLexus forum member name.

If the ES300h really is that "hot", maybe wait until the supply is better. I actually find it fun to deal with car salesman but a friend once called me "a salesman's worst nightmare"! It seems to drive some salesman a little crazy that I am unemotional when buying a car and treat the transaction like I was buying a piece of equipment. Consider using a buying service. Like I said, you'll pay a bit more but it can remove all or at least most of the "B.S." and stress from the transaction and get you a better price if you are not comfortable negotiating. It's a big plus that you don't need or want a car immediately - salesmen can sense when people do like sharks can smell blood in the water. Have you considered the new Toyota Avalon Limited Hybrid? Formerly the ES and Camry were based on the same mechanicals but now it's the ES and Avalon - same wheel base, same interior demensions, same drive trains including the hybrid system.

You might as well shoot for invoice or below. You can always bargain upward if you start low but you can't bargain downward if you start high. If you are not comfortable bargaining, consider using a buying service but you will likely pay more than if you do the negotiating yourself. It's much easier if you are a cash buyer with no trade-in and if you can resist the evil F&I salesman. And don't forget that many dealers allow putting a large percentage of the purchase price on a credit card - my wife got a butt-load of frequent flyer/hotel points by charging much of the purchase price when she bought a new Prius v wagon last year which, having all available options, had a list price almost identical to a base ES300h. She paid substantially less than invoice for her Prius.

Modify the URL I gave you for the 2005 LS430 information to see similar information for 1990-2004 LS model years including the 1998 regular and 2000 Platinum series LS400. There are three different Platinum Series LS400's: SE (basic with 01 LS430 wheels, "lizard leather", maple wood, floor mats, etc.), SF (same as basic + Nakamichi and heated seats), SG (same as basic + the horribly obsolete navigation and heated seats). I've got the "SF". Some Platinums SF's and SG's have air suspension - don't go there! I've been in on several discussions on the ClubLexus forum about how crazy-high the prices of used LS cars are in California. The two best areas I've seen where prices for used LS cars are more reasonable are in Phoenix/Scottsdale and south Florida. $12,000 seems incredible high for a 2000 LS400 even with fairly low miles. I've seen a couple of very nice early LS430's with fewer miles than that with asking prices about the same where I live but the sales were by private parties.

Lenore, please do NOT tell us about your "feminine side" - T.M.I.!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm remembering a recall or "service campaign" on the IS250/350 brakes that included the 2008 model year. Anybody else? You need to find the minimum thickness specifications for your rotors -- better get it from an OEM service manual or online Lexus Techinfo rather than rely on a car forum since it may depend on whether you have a RWD or AWD car. Some have said that the minimum thickness is always stamped near the middle of every rotor but I've never noticed it. The "lip" on the rotor is perfectly normal and is polished off when rotors are resurfaced. The minimum acceptable brake pad thickness on most Toyota and Lexus models is only 1mm. Many dealers and repair shops will try to get you to do a brake job far, far before it is really needed. 1mm is really tiny and almost looks scary but you might as well let your pads wear down the minimum and get your money's worth out of them. Always resurface rotors if you are going to reuse them -- not good to "cheap out" unless you like vibrations when you slam on the brakes.

See if this guy can repair your radio. He just replaced the display backlight bulbs in mine and installed an aux-in port: http://factoryradioservice.com/index.php

As much as I like my 2000 LS400, the 2001-up LS430 has huge advantages over the 98-00 LS400 besides having more value that might keep it being totaled by a rear end crash. Here is a summary of what changed year-by-year up to 2004: http://www.lexls.com...enerations.html Equipment available on the 2005 LS430 can be viewed at: http://www.lexus.com...2005LSspecs.pdf Equipment available on the 2006 LS430 can be viewed at: http://www.lexus.com...ry/LS/2006.html If I was going to buy a late model LS430, I would consider only a 2005 or 2006 with the Custom Luxury Package and PCS (Pre-Collision System). Radar Cruise control was used on the 2005 and 2006 LS430 with the Custom Luxury Package. I would avoid any of the earlier LS430's with the more troublesome laser cruise control. I will not buy another car without PCS or its equivalent. The Ultra Luxury package of the LS430 sounds fun and is wonderful but its air suspension and rear seat toys can make it more expensive to maintain and it can be quite a bit more expensive to buy as a used car. All LS430's have an audio system that can accept a variety of interface products for iPod, sat radio, etc. The navigation system in all years of the LS430 is still viable and can be updated. The navigation system of the 98-00 LS400 was horrible and no updates were available after 2004 -- avoid it like the plague. Good luck.

The gas mileage of the 98 Camry V6 my wife drove for 14 years averaged only about 3 mpg more than the 2000 LS400 V8 I've driven since 2003. Gas mileage of the 04-06 LS430 with its 6-speed automatic is at least as good as it is in my older LS.

Me too ... I'd rather go to the dentist. If you can take your time, I think you could find a very nice 2006 Lexus LS430 with similar or lower miles for the same price as that E350. But if you have never owned a Mercedes, maybe it's your turn in the barrel. As my forum signature says: "Lexus LS owner since 1990. Mercedes owner 1969-1990, reformed!"

I think the distortion when the ground loop isolator is attached to the Samsung Infuse charging cradle audio-out port is due to the cradle's somewhat sloppy construction ... but the cradle still seems a bargain at $17.50 including shipping from AT&T if all it does is charge my phone and hold it so I can see it's screen and control apps. I don't remember any of the much more expensive non-Samsung cradles for the Galaxy S III having an audio-out jack but I will check to see any new ones have introduced now that the Galaxy S III has become so popular. I suspect that the ground loop isolator suppresses low audio frequencies a bit as some have reported but I can compensate by cranking the Nakamichi base control up a notch. It's hard to tell. Steaming audio from a phone may not be as good as from a CD but the quality seems substantially better than audio from commercial music cassette tapes. Maybe at some point I'll use a splitter and plug a Bluetooth adapter to the aux-in so I can either stream via Bluetooth or through the cable. Like I said previously, there doesn't seem to be much point since I have to control the streaming from my phone ... can't do it like you can from your Parrot remote control. The Garmin 2595 is working well enough for handsfree phone conversations although I miss the radio auto-mute -- just bought another Garmin 2595 for my wife to use in rental cars. I like how address information can be sent from my Android phone to the Garmin ... would be nice if Garmin came out with a SmartLink app for iPhone which my wife uses. Jorge, thanks again for the suggestion on the isolator. I really like my old LS and these gizmos are satisfying enough to make me want to continue driving it a while longer.

I can now confirm after installing the "PAC Ground Loop Isolator for 3.5 MM Applications" that "jainla" suggested that it completely eliminates all interference from the engine and/or electrical system when I stream audio stored on my phone or audio from the Internet (e.g. Pandora) via my phone while also charging my phone. For some reason, this little miracle device also allows streaming audio when the the audio cable is connected to the aux-out port of my Samsung phone cradle ... very odd since this couldn't be done directly from the cradle's 3.5mm port. Unfortunately, there is a tiny bit of distortion when I connect the ground loop isolator to the phone cradle so I will connect the ground loop isolator to the phone's 3.5mm jack. I sure would have liked to avoid manually plugging the audio cable into my phone each time I want to stream audio from it but this is still great. The next step is to hide the PAC ground loop isolator box inside the leather Kuda phone console. It's getting awfully crowded in there with the Garmin's traffic receiver antenna and all the cables that are already crammed in the small space. Thanks, Jorge!

91.2% of RX drivers are women and the remainder are !Removed! males. OK, I made that up. But seriously ... I've personally known a number of RX drivers and only one has been male - he was in his mid-50's when he bought it to replace a GS300 that he also bought new. It's about the same with the ES ... have met only one male ES driver (Sorry Paul, you're the one). I know a number of guys who drive LS and a handful who drive GX or LX.

Ouch! ... makes my October $7,700 rearend crash repair to my 2000 LS400 look like a fleshwound. What was the damage repair estimate and the insurance value of your car? The value of a car for insurance purposes is often (usually?) substantially higher than its market (Bluebook) value. If you want it repaired, nothing is stopping you. When I thought my 00 LS might be "totaled" due to the damage, I found that I would be able to fund the repair myself, avoid a dreaded salvage title and that after the repair my insurance company would have insured it as if nothing happened as long as it was repaired to their standard. As it turned out, the damage repair estimate was well below the threshold of being totaled so I didn't have to go that route. My point is that you have options if you don't want to walk away from your "best car". My 00 LS came out better than new after the repair. I had a 90 LS rear ended in 1999 at least as badly as your ES - $10,000+ repair way back then - and it was repaired perfectly and was good for another 175,000 miles.

Follow the instructions in the customization section of your owners manual if your GS350 does not have navigation or in your navigation manual if it does. Edit: Nevermind ... I now see that it is marked as something that only a Lexus dealer can do ... or probably anyone else with a scan tool and appropriate program card.

It's never to late to do a drain and refill - ignore the urban legends. Have you checked the Lexus website with your VIN for maintenance records? --> https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/registration/register.do?src=serviceHistory

According to http://www.toyodiy.com , the part number is 42627-24010 . Google the part number or "SC430 wheel cover hex screws" or similar and you will find photos. They look common - I'm guessing 8mm. You might remove one and take it to your local hardware store. The hardware stores where I live have a wide selection of metric hex screws. Sewell Lexus in Texas ( http://lexus.sewellparts.com ) sells them at a discount if you register with a car forum member name - see attached. Kind of expensive but maybe they are chrome plated. I didn't find any gold ones. Edit: Whoops. I actually found gold valve stem caps under SC430 exterior accessories on the Sewell website. The wheel cap hex screw/bolts are also shown in the same section but I see no gold ones.

There are a variety of names for the strut bars/rods including "semi-longitudinal tension rods" -- the premature wear issue is discussed at http://www.autospeed...ms/article.html The bushings can be purchased separately but the labor cost of having the old ones removed and the new ones pressed in can equal the cost of the whole assembly. I've read that there is an "up" and "down" side to the bushings -- be sure they aren't installed upside down ... maybe that's why some people have reported continued noise from pressed in bushings. If I remember correctly, the bushings have not always been available separately. Now that I think about it, with a full load of passengers and a full trunk, my trailer hitch sometimes scrapes on curbs when I leave or pull into driveways - but its frame hangs below the car and the scraping is not a routine occurance.