1990LS400

If my forecast of the U.S. economic environment for the next 20 years is correct, not having additional distribution channels for its more expensive vehicles could be a benefit for Hyundai. And if Mercedes dealers like the one a couple of miles from my home can display $12,000 Smart cars a few feet from $200,000+ S65 sedans, I don't think it is going to be a problem for Hyundai to do something similar. The world is changing in ways 99.999% of people don't understand. Sometimes I wish I didn't understand. Ignorance is bliss!

Lexus was considered a complete joke (Thank you, Jay Leno) when my next door neighbor bought an LS400 the first week they were on sale in 1989 and Lexus was not faring much better when I bought my LS400 a few months later in early 1990. Did my next door neighbor and I care what other people thought? No. And, by the way, the only car that saved Hyundai from being the most unreliable cars sold in the U.S. in 1990 was the Yugo. Hmmm ... and now Hyundai is near the top of the heap in reliability ratings. I got a great deal on my cheap "joke" 1990 LS400 and I laughed about it for 13 1/2 years. Now I'm very much looking forward to buying a low mileage two or three year old off-lease "joke" Hyundai V8 Genesis or Equus in 2004 or 2005. Maybe the late Steve Jobs said it best even if he didn't know an adjective from an adverb: "Think Different"

These removal instructions might work for you: http://carstereohelp.com/stereoremovalLexusES300StrR.htm

Then use another method. I've given you other options and you will find more if you do some research.

Isn't the oil change amount listed in the gas station information section of your owners manual? The amount of oil that is changed is always less than the total capacity so there are likely two figures listed in your owners manual as there are in the one for my LS. However ... since you may not get a full drain of the old oil, first add less new oil than the stated amount. Verify that the oil level on your dipstick is between the add and full marks and then idle your engine for a few minutes. Shut the engine off, wait a few minutes for the oil to drain into the sump and then check the dipstick again. Add more oil if necessary. Repeat this process as necessary. I sometimes drive a few miles before I check the oil level for the last time and add just a bit more to bring it to the full mark on the dipstick. It does not hurt if the oil level is a little below the full mark. A Sunday ritual of mine is to check the fluid levels in our vehicles and to correct if necessary - engine oil, radiator coolant, PS fluid, brake fluid, windshield washer fluid. Every few weeks I check tire pressures - more often than that if there has been a substantial temperature change or if I am going on a longer trip. As we move into Winter with colder temperatures, air has to be added to keep tire pressures correct since tire pressure change about 1 psi for each 10 degrees of ambient temperature change.

The navigation in your RX uses a hard drive instead of a DVD and the update for it comes on USB flash memory that plugs into the nav system during the update. If my memory serves me, I think Lexus policy was that only dealers were "allowed" to do the update or that having the dealer do the update was highly recommended. You might check the Sewell Lexus parts website to see if they have instructions on how to do the update: http://www.sewellparts.com/ I distinctly remember that they have instructions for updating the DVD based nav systems in all Lexus models but I don't remember if they have instructions for the hard drive based nav systems.

Professional installers sometimes use spade-type adapters that they push (i.e. force) into a fuse recepticle right next to the fuse itself. That's how an installer powered an aftermarket (non-portable) fixed phone he installed in my first LS way back in 1990. Depending on how many amps your Escort draws, you might be able to tap into the wires leading to the cigarette lighter or accessory power port - that's what I did to power the portable GPS I mounted on a bracket by the radio in my current LS. My LS has a power port in the center console so tapping into the wire leading to it was particularly quick and easy. Depending on where you are going to place your Escort, you might also be able to tap into the overhead light cluster - doing that seems fairly common.

I don't see a replacement drain plug "crush washer" on your list. (Assuming they are used on the RX as on most vehicles made by Toyota.) I buy OEM oil filters by the 10-pack and the Toyota dealer parts guy I buy them from always throws in 10 crush washers. Some people reuse the crush washer but they are not meant to be reused. I reused a crush washer only once and got a drip ... drip ... drip of oil.

The attached diagram makes it look like the switch module snaps into place like many similar switch modules. I'd start by dropping the underdash garnish panel and looking at the back of the switch assembly with a flashlight. It might be necessary to compress some tabs for the switch assembly to pop out.

The handling could get weird if you rotated the tires since the rear wheels are wider than the front ones. If you stay with 18" wheels and want to rotate them, you could get another two wheels that are the same size as the front wheels or two the same size as the back ones. An alternative would be to get a set of the 17 x 8.0 inch wheels that were the standard size front and back and then use 225/45R17 tires all around. I've seen posts from IS250 owners on forums who wanted to trade their 17 x 8 wheels and tires for the optional 18 x 8 (front) / 18 x 8.5 (back) wheels.

Someone needs to leave his cave more often. Sales of the short wheelbase LS600h and long wheelbase LS600hL hybrids started in 2006 and in some countries the petrol-only LS is no longer sold. The LS600h is not sold in the U.S.

It might be dangerous to try. People who have taken North American spec DVD based navigation equipped cars to Europe and tried or who have gotten into hidden menus and switched to another region have ended up with inoperable navagation systems that had to be replaced. I suppose you could cross check the navigation system parts between your LS460 and the model sold in Korea but it might not be that simple. It's probably safer to use a portable GPS. Toyota sells an endless variation of their cars around the world with an amazing amount of customization for countries and regions.

Navigation generations and current updates available are described at http://www.lexusnavigation.com One of the places you can buy them are from http://lexus.sewellparts.com/search.html Register with a car forum member name to get a discount. Since nav updates have become so cheap, my suggestion would be to buy the latest available new OEM disk. The attached document shows how to install a navigation update. Navigation_Update_InstallationGuide.pdf

korhan, are your rear shocks leaking or something? 55,000 miles is awfully early for shocks on an LS to wear out. And, yes, there are really good independent Lexus repair shops around. I've been using the same independent Lexus repair shop here in Kansas since 1996 - owned by a former Lexus dealer service writer and staffed by former Lexus dealer mechanics. It's so nice not depending on the local Lexus dealer where all they are interested in is "upselling" unneeded services and milking me for as much revenue as possible.

The following website describes available navigation updates: http://www.lexusnavigation.com/index.php

I just checked eBay and see a bunch of used LS400 window switches for sale. I didn't look far but on just the first page of results there was a 98-00 LS driver door master window switch for about $93 and a 98-00 LS rear door window switch for about $27.

The alternator failure on my 90 LS400 was a direct cause of the PS pump leaking. The alternator was drenched with PS fluid and both the alternator and the PS pump were replaced at the dealership after the tow truck got it there. This issue has been discussed on Lexus forums over and over since Lexus forums began. Based on your "opinion" you seem like a "newbie".

An alternator on the 90 LS I owned from new until 2003 failed in the early 1990's due to a fluid leaking from the power steering pump. I've known other people who bought LS400's when they first came out and who also had alternators fail due to PS pump leakage. I'm not understanding why you are doubting the information we are providing. I've retold the story several times on this forum but here it is again. The alternator failed all at once when I was almost 200 miles from the nearest Lexus dealer. I left my wife with the relatives we were visiting and immediately headed towards the Kansas City Lexus dealer. I made to within 5-10 miles of the dealer on the battery alone by turning off everything electric - radio, HVAC, console mounted phone. When the engine finally died after sputtering for a few miles, I was lucky to coast down the an I-435 exit ramp into a convenience store parking lot. I've forgotten how many PS pumps I went through in the 13 1/2 years with my 90 LS400 -- I think it was five ... some OEM rebuilt from Lexus, some new Lexus OEM, none were aftermarket. My 2000 LS400 is still on its original PS pump ... nice!

Absolutely Yes ... but you will have to use lower profile tires to keep the overall diameter the same and the ride will get harsher as wheel size increases.

Have you thought about having your wheels restored or buying a similar restored set on an exchange basis? Or just buying a set of non-chrome OEM 16" wheels and then having your chrome wheels restored for summer only use. My 2000 LS400 Platinum Series came with the same 16" wheels that were standard on the 01-02 LS430. Personally, I think they are the best design used on any model year in the LS series. Nicely subtle and understated. My wheels are chrome too and the replacements I got in 2003 due to corrosion have never seen winter. It is getting difficult to find new aftermarket 16" wheels that will fit a 95-up LS - companies like Tire Rack sell 17", 18" and larger wheels for our cars but no 16" wheels. In 2003, I bought a set of aftermarket 16" wheels from Tire Rack to use with snow tires on my 00 LS. I wish I had bought OEM since the aftermarket wheels with their lips are easy to damage and the lips can't take rim weights. Rim weights cannot be used on many aftermarket 16" wheels when mounted on an LS due to the brake caliper clearance issue. You might try eBay or a company like Phenix Wheel: http://www.phenixwheels-store.com/servlet/the-49415/2001/Detail Or try Craig's List - I'm still kicking myself for not buying a set of like new OEM 16" wheels from a 2001-2 LS430 a few months ago for $200.

I've noticed that local repair shops charge $75 to $100 to restore headlight lenses. As Blake showed in http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=53683&st=0&p=344940&hl=+crystal%20+view&fromsearch=1entry344940 , a Crystal View kit works nicely and does not require a rotary electrical tool. The headlight lenses on my 00 LS were almost opaque and in much worse that Blake's before I refinished them in 2008 - the attached photo shows how the driver side looked afterwards and is also in the above thread. Hard to believe that the lens was so fogged up that I could barely see the chrome reflector behind it. Lexus headlights - at least mine - have a urethane-like coating. When you sand the finish away, you remove this protective coating. What they don't do in the video Paul provided is to reapply the protective coating. All they do is use a polish. Why? Maybe they want you to bring your car back in another year or two to have the process repeated. The Crystal View kit and some other kits have a urethane-like coating that is applied in the final step of the restoration process. But even with the coating, the fix isn't necessarily permanent even if Crystal View comes with a life-time warranty. The passenger side headlight lens was badly scarred a few months ago when someone scraped it with a shopping cart. So ... I refinished both headlights and this time also the foglights with another $20 Crystal View kit a few weeks ago. Both the headlights and foglights look like new again. I'm particularly amazed at how much better the foglights work since I thought their lenses were scarred beyond repair - but they now look like new too and put out light that is actually useful on dark rainy nights. It took me less than 30 minutes to restore the headlights and foglights with a Crystal View kit - no additional tools are needed except a water spay bottle and paper towels. I used painters tape to make sure I didn't scatch surrounding surfaces while sanding. Don't be too gentle when sanding headlight lenses -- you want to get all the deteriorated finish off them. It gets easier to restore lens after some practice. And if you use a kit with a urethane final finish step, do the restoration process on a fairly cool day and in the shade. This stuff dries out fast and sets up quickly. The Crystal View website is http://www.myheadlight.com/ There are probably other good products but this works so well I haven't gone looking for anything else.

A bit of velcro? Actually, $230 seems pretty low. I spent something like that replace the front center overhead light cluster in my 00 LS when the passenger side light stopped working several years ago. I think it boils down to whether or not you want to keep your car in tip top order. Some people let little issues like this pile up until they seem like a mountain of problems that make them dissatisfied with their formerly nice cars. Fixing issues like this can make an owner feel better about keeping a car a long time while wringing the value out of it. The 04-06 LS430 is a really nice car. I'm not the only one who considers these to be the last desirable cars in the LS series and worth keeping in good order as long as feasible.

Are you simply attempting to transfer contacts from your phone to your Lexus Bluetooth system? The reason I ask is that many phones and even some extremely popular ones are not fully compatible with Lexus Bluetooth systems or the Bluetooth systems in vehicles made by other manufacturers. Some phones are compatible to the degree that calls can be made and received through the Lexus Bluetooth system but they cannot transfer their contact list or contacts can be transferred only one at a time. What phone are you using.

The Toyota Soarer was a Japanese market car the third generation of which was sold in some countries as the Lexus SC: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Soarer

Bulb replacement instructions were removed from Lexus owners manuals about 15 years ago. The owners manual for the LS I bought in 1990 had instructions for many bulbs and all the exterior ones. The attached diagram of the rear vanity light from http://www.toyodiy.com might help. I think it shows only two screws or bolts holding the assembly to the roof. I am guessing that the screws/bolts will be exposed if the lens is removed. Does it look like the lens can be pried off with a thin tool such as a putty knife blade? That's usually the way interior lenses on Toyota vehicles are removed. As for your other question ... did you buy the Lexus !Removed! wipe warranty?