1990LS400

Did the Lexus website indicate a high degree of capability with the other phone you tried? What is the brand, model and carrier?

The 98-00 LS400 Nakamichi has different speakers, more power (280 watts vs. 195 watts), at least one less feature (ASL = automatic sound level), and different shaped tone, fader and balance control knobs. I don't know how rare Nakamichis are on the 98-00 LS400. Of the four 99-00 LS400's I've been around on a varying basis, two have the standard Pioneer and two have Nakamichi. I have been told by the owner of one of the larger car stereo repair businesses in the U.S. (Car Stereo Repair in Florida) that repair parts for Nakamichi systems are no longer available. Nakamichi tanked long ago and the current Nakamichi is not the same company. I assume parts are still available for the standard Pioneer system but I have not confirmed that. New or rebuilt components for both the standard Pioneer and the Nakamichi are no longer available from Lexus but used components pop up on eBay and these car forums from time to time. It has been explained to me that the internal designs of the Nakamichi and Pioneer are very different and that some functions performed in the Pioneer head unit and amp are done it the opposite components of the Nakamichi. The wiring harness for the 98-00 LS400 Nakamichi and Pioneer systems are different including a different number of connectors (four vs. five) on the amps under the front passenger seat. The CD players for the two systems don't have the same part number so they may or may not be interchangeable. I liken the sound of the two systems as being like the difference between digital and analog stereo systems with the Pioneer having a bit crisper digital sound and the Nakamichi having a slightly "fuzzy" (for lack of a better word) warmer analog sound. The Nak in my 00 LS sounds great but I haven't spent all that much time in 98-00 LS400's with the standard Pioneer system. My Nak can play incredibly low, loud base notes with zero distortion as I've sometimes demonstrated to amuse/frighten people by playing Joni Michell's "Love is Gone" during which the lowest base notes can be felt though the seats and steering wheel even at half volume. My Nak CD changer has no problem playing music CD's I burn on my PC in "cda" format but it won't play MP3. I assume the Pioneer CD changer can do the same. I didn't go looking for the Nakamichi and probably would have been happy with the Pioneer. The Nak just happened to be on 2000 LS someone found for me back in 2003.

The 5-speed in the 98-00 LS has a "feature" that inhibits shifting until the transmission warms up a bit. Mine does the same thing ... sounds like yours is behaving normally.

There was an interesting segment on NPR (likely Lenore's favorite radio network ... :whistles: ) about cities in the past few days that mentioned the increasing gentrification of D.C., it's plummeting minority population, and the movement of minorities to less expensive housing in the suburbs around D.C. The segment also included a brief interview with a man living in a Brooklyn NY house that his parents bought in 1970 for around $70,000 and which has a current valuation of about $2,000,000. The thrust of the segment and other similar recent news reports is that many larger cities, particularly central parts of cities, have done much better over the past several decades and are doing much better in this recession than suburbs and rural areas. Maybe U.S. cities will become more like some European cities I've visited (Paris is a notable example) where the affluent live in the inner city and the less affluent and poor live in the suburbs.

This being U.S. part of the forum there is little information specific to the diesel IS sold in the U.K. Have you checked the larger higher amperage fuses in the engine compartment fuse box? On U.S. models, some of the high amperage fuses control whole systems and the low amperage small fuses are more like "sub-fuses". And you could pull the fuse box (after disconnecting the car battery) and check for corrosion. "56plate" doesn't mean anything here in the U.S. since our plates are not tied to year - I looked it up and am assuming "2006".

Thanks for the follow-up. I sure would like to know why your mechanic thinks directional tires don't work well on an LS. Directional tires generally provide better braking and traction - particularly on wet roads. My last bout with suspension vibration last fall made me a believer in road force balancing. I had Costco install four new Bridgestone WS70 directional winter tires on my 00 LS just before Thanksgiving. After the install there was a slight and irritating vibration at highway speeds. I took my car to a Lexus dealer where they road force balanced the tires and eliminated the vibration. The Lexus dealer found that one of the new WS70 tires was marginal and difficult to balance but that it could be adequately balanced with road force balancing. Costco couldn't tell that the one tire was marginal since they do not have road force balancing equipment. Amazingly, I found that a Costco tire technician - his tire tech school diploma was on their wall - had never even heard of road force balancing. Costco can be a great place to buy tires at low prices but I would not recommend paying for the installation package which includes balancing for the life of the tire.

I randomly picked the 2008 model year and attached the maintenance manuals that cover the IS350 and RX400h which I downloaded from https://secure.drivers.lexus.com Owners, navigation and maintenance manuals may be viewed and downloaded there without registering. I see that a transmission fluid change is normally done on an RX400h at 60,000 miles only if the the vehicle is used for towing. Changing it regardless of whether or not you tow certainly doesn't hurt. 2008_ES_GS_IS_LS_SC Maintenance Manual.pdf 2008 RX400h Maintenance Manual.pdf

Not sure how this is a pirated DVD copy question. The original questions was how to identify what generation nav system you have. Now I have an additional data point which is a Gen 2/3 10.1 DVD works fine in my system. So two gen 3 DVDs work and a gen 4 DVD does not work. That would lead me to believe I have a gen 3 nav system in a 2005 LS430 which is contrary to everything I have read and the reason for the original question. There must be a way to identify which gen nav system is installed by physical inspection or some other means. Something more definitive than a list someone published. OK, this is weird. You said previously that all the documentation you had found said that your 05 LS has Gen 4 nav. Then you say that a website provided by Lexus that tells you which nav version you have is not reliable because you need "something more definitive that a list someone published Did you buy this car new? If you did not, have you considered that the original nav may have failed and that a previous owner may have replaced it with a nav unit from an early LS430? If your nav supports a Bluetooth phone, then it is gen 4. If it does not, then the nav is either a gen 2 out of an 01 LS430 or a gen 3 out of an 02-03 LS430. Consider pulling the nav and checking the part number on the sticker attached to it to confirm which generation it is. It takes only a few minutes to jerk the nav unit out of the dash.

http://www.lexusnavigation.com/what_to_order.php says Gen 4. Are you using a genuine Gen 4 DVD? If so, have you asked a Lexus dealer?

The following web page seems to indicate that Coastaltech's "Lockpick 1" will allow the use of your nav while in motion but doesn't say anything about Bluetooth: http://www.coastaletech.com/APPLICATION%20GUIDE%20REV2.htm Maybe some other company has a device that would enable dialing from the nav screen while in motion. Have you tried other Bluetooth phone's with your GX to see if they work better? Compatibility varies. Have you checked the capability level of your current phone? Compatibility level can be checked at http://www.lexus.com/models/GX/accessories/bluetooth.html

The following web page shows you what you need: http://www.lexusnavigation.com/what_to_order.php Genuine navigation disks have become pretty cheap. I guess Toyota/Lexus decided it wasn't in their interest to charge the silly high prices they used to charge.

True failure? According to my understanding of history, people have been forecasting the failure of the U.S. ad nauseum since the country was founded in 1776. Calm down. The current state of affairs is just another bump in the road and not nearly as serious as some of the bumps of the past.

Well, then ... don't change the brake fluid in your Lexus either if you would rather apply your Ford truck's maintenance schedule to your Lexus. Some of us, however, choose to follow automobile manufacturers' maintenance schedules. If you choose not to, fine but please don't SHOUT because it only makes you seem weird.

You can't. You search for something else that might be in the threads you are looking for such as "gasoline" or "change" (as in "oil change") -- anything with four or more characters. You can also search for threads containing multiple strings, e.g. +gasoline +change My understanding is that purpose of requiring longer search strings is to improve website performance and limit search results to a manageable amount. If for example, one could search for 2-character strings, every thread post containing a word with those two characters would be returned.

Yes, the mandatory use of electric riding golf carts is to speed play. The decline of golfing that was predicted several years ago either didn't happen or at least not to the degree forecast. Golf courses here seem quite busy and are perhaps helped by the increasingly numerous promotions such as discounts available on websites like http://www.groupon.com I stopped playing golf and other sports requiring binocular vision over 20 years ago but I always preferred to walk when playing golf regardless of what John Feinstein said in "A Good Walk Spoiled" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Feinstein The previous owner of your car must have been (almost) as obsessive as I am. Finding a golf bag carrier to fit in that slot was probably not easy.

I'm not defending this forum but a minimum search string is common on the forums I use - automotive and otherwise. The owner of this forum for a while used Google search to allow 3-character string searches but it had far more drawbacks than the search provided by the forum software. Personally, I great appreciate the forum owner abandoning the Google search and restoring to OEM search. Thanks Steve!

I agree with your wife -- don't challenge the dealer. You would look like a fool. It's up to the owner to have recommended maintenance performed and dealers do not intervene. It is not uncommon for owners of low mileage cars to have maintenance performed only on miles and ignore the time element. I myself waited an extra year - to 7 years - to have my timing belt and related parts replaced at 90,000 miles. It was your responsibility to verify maintenance history before you bought the car. Sounds harsh but that's the way it is.

Yes, there is a fuel filter in the fuel pump in the tank. It looks like more of a screen to me ... to keep larger pieces of junk from getting into the fuel line. Change it if your maintenance schedule says to change it. What does your maintenance schedule say? Do you have the maintenance manual that came with the car?

Dang! I'm going to try that. Thanks!

Have you tried using a basic test light to see if power is getting to the taillight pin of the bulb sockets? If power is getting to the tail light pin in the bulb sockets, the problem is likely a bad ground and you would then check the ground wire connections in the trunk.

I have never seen a diagram of the internal workings of any Lexus radio or amplifier on the Internet but attached is a diagram of the 2001 standard audio system from the ARRC website. 2001 RX300 std radio diagram.pdf

I searched the ARRC database and found no TSIB's about increasing the engine oil fill above what is specified in the owners manual. The attached page is from the 2002 LS430 owners manual.

Check http://www.lexus.com/models/GS/accessories/bluetooth.html to see how much compatibility your Samsung pone has with your Lexus GS Bluetooth system. I just now randomly checked several Samsung phones for compatibility with the 06 GS Bluetooth system and none of them will ring though the audio system -- maybe a poor implementation of Bluetooth on the part of Samsung.

Not sure I'm understanding. What does "we had it checked" mean? Was something repaired? If so, did the mechanic perform the VSC reset procedure?

Jump starting, properly done, usually does not damage an alternator -- got me wondering if current day car electronics have become more resistant since my perception is that alternator damaged used to be more common. I was aware of so many cases of alternator damage back in the 1970s and 1980s that I made it a policy to never jump start other people cars unless I used my own jumper cables and the other car owner agreed to stay completely out of the way so I could do it properly. Even then I tried to avoid it. When I was in the Army forty years ago, injuries from battery explosions from improperly jump starting vehicles in the motor pool were so common that it was deemed a punishable offense. My jumper cables hit the trash many years ago. Now when we have dead batteries, I either put the battery on my battery charger or, if pressed for time, call a motor club to jump start a car. My wife did just that a few months ago. Her car had set unused in the garage for a week with a door cracked and the dome light on so she called the motor club to jump start her car.