1990LS400

Per Randy's lame comment, the condition of suspension components has virtually nothing to do with fuel economy - unless your car is bouncing all over the road. I'm a scientist and I'm not seeing much good data here. Fuel economy can be accurately calulated only over a substantial number of miles and tank fulls. And 23 mpg on the highway is right at the EPA revised estimate. Those with 98-up LS cars have the advantage of having an instant mileage readout which can show how horrible fuel mileage can be for these cars. I watch my fuel mileage range between about 5 mpg and 15 mpg when in stop and go traffic but that's normal. I'd be more interested in what your gas mileage is over 1,000 miles. If it is in the 18-19 mpg range, that is normal.

I assume this car is new to you based on the questions you are asking. The wallet key is mainly for getting into the car. If yours doesn't unlock the doors, it probably doesn't go with your car. One way to get a replacement cheap is from one of the online discount Lexus parts suppliers like Sewell Lexus in Texas. The best way to keep from locking yourself out is to NEVER use the inside lock buttons to lock the doors when getting out of the car. Always use the remote or lock the door with the key from the outside. I haven't heard of anyone hiding a key under their car for at least 30 years.

IMO, 17 mpg in combined city/highway driving is pretty good for a 97 LS in summer driving. I drive with a light foot and get barely 18 mpg in combined city/highway driving in summer. The 98-00 LS400 like mine with the 5-speed tramsmission generally gets a bit better mileage than the 4-speed 95-97 LS. I'd be more interested in what your gas mileage is over five to ten tank fulls. Don't fill your tank until the fuel gauge is below 1/4 and then manually calculate. Try to fill you gas tank the same way each time ... i.e. fill slowly and stop with the pump automatically turns off to be consistent. I've tracked every gallon of fuel that has gone into my cars for 46 years and have found a high degree of variability with mileage being better in Spring and Fall and worse in Winter and Summer.

As you are finding, the TPS and/or PPS can fail erratically and gradually. Works sometimes, doesn't work other times. Mine (on my 2000 LS400) failed gradually in 2008 at a bit over 100,000 miles. I don't remember mine making a noise when it was failing. I was mainly glad to limp the car home and then to a repair shop.

Billy is usually very accurate ... but the the last LS400 model year that bulbs in the rear fender mounted light housings were replaced via the trunk was 1994.

The amplifier under the front passenger seat in my 2000 LS400 drives all the speakers including the sub. I am guessing it is the same in your 97 LS.

One option although not a wireless one is a Parrot 9000 series Bluetooth phone kit and harness adapter from http://www.quickconnectproducts.com/Find/find.php Edit: I forgot that the Parrot 9000 series kits do support A2DP audio streaming without using a cable to connect an A2DP compatible phone.

There have been many past threads discussing the merits of OEM vs. non-OEM and experiences vary widely. Here is a pretty good article about the types/grades of windshields: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Windshield-Replacement---The-Difference-Between-Dot-Certified--oem-Glass--And-Aftermarket-Glass/1231565 I doubt if many insurance companies would balk much at you requiring a DOT certified replacement windshield instead of a lower grade aftermarket windshield. Getting a real Toyota/Lexus original equipment windshield is not a guarantee that all will go well. I found out on Monday that the Toyota/Lexus logo windshield on the 2000 LS400 I bought in 2003 was a replacement that had been hilariously badly installed. There was never a sign of problems (e.g. wind noise or water leaks) during the last eight years but it is costing $700+ not including a rental car to fix the damage before the new windshield goes in. I've been a proponent of high quality replacement windshields from OEM suppliers like PPG. The PPG windshield I had installed on a previous Lexus LS over 10 years ago was just fine. But this time I'm having a Toyota/Lexus logo windshield installed - one exactly like the one installed when the car was manufactured. My car is just over 11 years old and my insurance company is paying for the windshield - well over $1,000 under my zero deductible comprehensive coverage. A friend has a 99 LS400 same color as mine and his insurance company also paid for an original Toyota/Lexus windshield in either 2007 or 2008. I watched the installation. If your insurance company is trying to make you accept a low grade windshield consider escalating the issue through your agent. You don't have to accept junk.

Is the lamp in the attached diagram what you are referring to? The lamp assembly looks very much like the ones on my 00 LS400 which are removed from behind by removing a couple of fasteners holding the front of the wheel well liner in place and then and reaching behind the bumper cover to remove the bulb socket and then the nuts or screws holding the assembly to the bumper cover. The diagram is from http://lexus.sewellparts.com/

The LS460 SE-L was a model designation/variation sold in other countries. Toyota/Lexus has many model and variations within models that are not sold in North America.

The price from Sewell Lexus ( http://lexus.sewellparts.com/oem-catalog/7101710444E-Body-LS400-1995.html ) is $195.55 if you register with a car forum member name. Sewell is in Dallas Texas by the old airport. Compare overall costs including shipping and handling. I've found Sewell to be less expensive overall than parts.com but I live due north of them in Kansas. Even if Sewell was slightly more expensive I'd buy from them anyway since I'm usually dealing with the same person instead of with the faceless parts.com website.

The credit card key is only for unlocking locks such as your doors, trunk, and glove compartment - same as the "mechanical key" that slides out of your electronic key housing. The main difference is that if you lose your electronic key, you will probably also lose your mechanical key since it is stored inside the electronic key housing. The credit card key will be in your wallet so you probably wouldn't lose it and your electronic/mechanical keys at the same time unless you lose your pants! The mechanical key that is in the electronic key housing is likely supplied in case the battery in your electronic key dies. You can start your ES with an electronic key even if the key's battery is dead by following the directions in your owners manual - but you have to get inside your car to do that.

I randomly picked 2005 since you didn't give your model year and checked the part numbers on http://www.toyodiy.com which seems to indicate that the radiators on the 2005 GS300 and GS430 are the same. However, http://lexus.sewellparts.com shows different part numbers for the entire radiator assembly. GS300: 1640046570 GS430: 1640050260 But, Sewell shows the part number for the radiator "core sub-assembly" as being the same. Take a look at the diagrams on Sewell's website and see if the exact part you need is the same on the GS300 and GS430.

I check Sewell's website and verified that they sell a credit card key for the ES350: http://lexus.sewellparts.com/accessories-catalog/Keys/ES350-2008/2696.html If you buy from Sewell be sure to register to get discounted prices.

Probably not as long as you don't tend to drive through tall, dry grass. I had one of these things come lose many years ago - don't remember which car. I reattached the shield with straps or clamps I bought at an auto parts store. I may have used really big hose clamps.

Are wallet "credit card" keys available for newer models with electronic keys like your 2008 ES350? The wallet key for my 2000 LS400 does not have a transponder, cannot start the car, and is for unlocking the doors. I've carried a Lexus "credit card" key in my wallet for 21+ years and I think I have used one only once -- and that was not an emergency. I've probably carried the wallet keys out of habit ... like wearing a wrist watch which I sometimes no longer do. Features of the wallet keys are that the key number is stamped into the plastic key holder along with instructions for use and phone numbers to call "for key replacement". I doubt if you will be worse off if you lose your electronic key than if you were to lose a regular transponder key like my car has. But if you can get a wallet key for your ES it might be nice to have if you don't mind carrying it. At least carry your key number in your wallet so you could more easily get a replacement electronic key.

To what "recalls" are you referring. Normally work under Toyota/Lexus "Technical Service Information Bulletins" (TSIB) is done at no cost only during the basic or power train warranties depending on the nature of the issue. This car is out of warranty on both. The maintenance requirements, including for the 90,000 service, may be viewed without registering at https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/info/my-lexus/resources/owners-manual-search.do The IS350 has a timing chain.

Consult your maintenance manual to see if extending the oil change interval is allowed under the 6 year / 70,000 mile power train warranty for your model.

Actually, I suspect that pulling the connectors from your phone ECU is what fixed the issue. In my friend's 99 LS400 with Nakamichi, the radio fuse in the engine compartment fuse box kept blowing until we unplugged the phone ECU. His Nakamichi audio was restored by unplugging the phone connectors from the ECU. A defective phone ECU causing the audio system to go into permanent mute is a very common problem on the LS400. I've gone through this routine with lots of other LS400 owners. If two of the phone ECU connectors plug into each other then plug them together after removing any corrosion from the pins. Tuck the connectors up and out of the way so they don't get damp. On late model LS400's without dealer installed Lexus phones the phone connectors in the trunk are attached to a plastic bracket attached to the tool kit receptacle. Maybe throw the phone ECU away but don't cut or remove any of the phone wires or connectors. If you still have a phone handset/cradle, do some minor console disassembly and unplug the handset/cradle. Again ... don't chop wires!

No, military pay will not stop. I forgot the terminology but we who pay the military have been categorized as critical service providers. I've been too busy to mess with this thread but I sense a significant loss of contact with reality among some of the participants. Calm down everyone. All we've got right now is some Republicans trying to create an artificial crisis. There is a time for short term planning and a time for long term thinking. This is a time for short term thinking and raising the debt limit as in the past. Oddly, the Republican party didn't give a hoot about deficits or running up the national debt when they controlled the Presidency, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Frankly, as a socially liberal and fiscally conservative person, I'm tempted to hope that some of you get what you want - a default on the national debt. It's not going to hurt me and most of my ultra fiscally conservative family much since we have no debt and plenty of hard assets but I suspect that some of you are going to be sent off a financial cliff to crash on the rocks below. Sometimes I think that the only way people learn is through pain.

Unplug all the phone connectors in the trunk from the phone ECU. If there are two matching connectors - one male, one female - plug them together to complete a circuit. Being barely able to hear the audio can be a sign of a defective phone ECU as it was in a friends 1999 LS400 with Nakamichi. I use one of the OEM mute pins on my 2000 LS400 (also with Nakamichi) to automatically mute my radio during an incoming or outgoing phone call with my aftermarket phone kit but I can still barely hear the radio while it is muted.. Your 97 LS400 has an audio system mute pin in a connector under the center console and in the large phone ECU connectors in the trunk either of which can be used with an aftermarket (e.g. Bluetooth) phone kit. Report back to us and tell us how it went.

Send a PM to dcfish - the forum audio expert: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showuser=1634 He may be your best bet for a working replacement changer. The biggest indie Lexus radio repair shop I know about and have used myself quit fixing these long ago: http://www.carstereohelp.com/lexus.htm

The information on the following website looks correct to me: http://www.radarbusters.com/legalissuesarticle.cfm Being the grandson of a "frostback" I've driven all over Canada on numerous trips ... from BC to PEI. Provinces that prohibit radar detector have so many notification signs that it is impossible to miss them. If you have never/not recently traveled in Canada, understand the entry (i.e. passport) requirements: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1082.html#entry_requirements And leave prohibited items at home. The rules are sometimes enforced with vigor as my old-enough-to-know-better (almost 60 year old) cousin found out a couple of years ago when he got nailed at the Ontario border in his beer packed car while following us in on the way to a family reunion. I had similar "fun" when I tried to sneak a couple of cases of Washington state wine into BC in the early 1980's - detained and grilled like I was a terrorist - but I was a "kid" then.

I assume you mean "lights not working?" My first suggestion would be to use a basic test light to check the backup light bulb sockets or the the hot wire leading to the sockets to see if there is power. If you have power at the bulb socket, then you may have a corroded ground connection or a broken ground wire. Corrosion of electrical components can be a killer of older cars.

Wasn't there another thread from you on this problem? Didn't you buy an amp on eBay and it didn't fix your problem? Maybe the problem isn't in the amp. When I could barely hear the right channel of the Nakamichi in my 2000 LS400, everyone assured me that the amp was bad. It wasn't. It was a loose connection in the balance control of the head unit. When a friend could barely hear his radio with the volume cranked all the way up, he assumed it was the amp. He even bought a new head unit and amp from a member of another forum. His problem was not the amp or the head unit. It was a defective old phone ECU on the right side the trunk. Once we unplugged the phone ECU and plugged the car phone harness connectors together, his radio worked just fine. I wonder if your Lexus dealer really tested your amp since Lexus no longer supplies either new or refurbished Nakamichi components. There was another recent thread from someone in Washington state with a non-working Nakamichi in a 95 LS400. Maybe you two could get together and help test each others components. Here is his thread: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=70269&st=0&p=437730&hl=nakamichi&fromsearch=1entry437730