Smokey

Looking at possibly purchasing a new rx350 in the chicago area. Just looking for feedback on good dealers and bad ones. I'm not from the area so thats why i'm asking. thanks!

Ok more update... I dig some digging and found the master key. I turned it over and it kind of ran and stalled out for about 10s again. Cranked again and no luck so its not the security system. I think I was checking the camshaft sensor. I couldn't actually get at the plug it was showing me in the picture but I could see on the plug and it had blue/yellow wire. I followed those wires up to a different plug with 4 wires which had a corresponding blue/yellow wire. I metered the blue/yellow wire and got 0.749Mohm. I looked around and didn't find any other blue/yellow wires in the general vicinity so I'm assuming that is the camshaft sensor I metered and it is bad (just low for cold range). I guess the next step is to get an OBDII reader to verify any error codes. So 2 follow up questions. 1) I was lazy so I didn't want to crawl under the car tonight and check the crankshaft sensor. Maybe tomorrow I'll do that but could both of those go bad? or more likely just one of them going bad? 2) How hard is it to replace these two sensors? is it DIYable? Is there a camshaft sensor on the passenger side bank? az735i, you wouldn't happen to have the instructions to get at these sensors would you? THANK YOU az735i for the diagrams and everyone else for the tips/ideas/input. At least I have a better feeling about whats going on now even if I end up towing it in :( Oh I forgot to answer the other questions. I did one plug at a time so there is no issue with mix ups. The coil pack can't be plugged in wrong. It only plugs in one way with a snap to confirm its in all the way. I didn't tug/snag any wires. I generally am pretty careful when working on electrical wires etc. The only hick up was the spark which probably threw me off.

Well I think all my fuses are good. I checked with a DVM and have continuity and 12V between the fuse terminal and the ground(short point). Unfortunately the master key won't be home for a few more days so until then I'm stuck unless there are more suggestions or any tips on where the crank position sensor is. thanks again!

Thanks guys. The car is a 1998 LS400. The initial reason I thought a plug or two went bad was because of the rough idle but it would run pretty smooth with a little gas (higher rpm). Talking to my uncle he said its probably just a plug gone bad so I attempted to replace them. I've done many plugs before so I figured it'd be easy. Reading through the forum and talking to another car guy it sounds like i essentially shorted the battery. And now the 120A alternator fuse is in question since it usually blows first with a battery short. I'm looking at the fuse (white body,clear top) and its two metal bands coming together with a little fat spot in the middle. How do I tell this fuse has gone bad? How do I get this fuse out to test if its good. Its stuck in there really tight and my fingers are in pain from pulling. Good tips guys! I'll try to just check to see if i still get 12V between the short circuit point.. I'm pretty sure coil packs/wires were plugged in right. I removed/replaced them twice. The only thing I noticed was the coilpack sure seamed alot easier to put in than pull off the old plugs (I assume due to length of time being in there). Tank is over half full. OH I was using the Valet key too maybe that was part of my issue??? What is this crank position sensor? My friend said that could be that too. I have no idea what that is. Is it DIYable? Or will I likely need to tow it in? Thanks again for all the help/tips/ideas. I was ready to have it towed in this morning after being so frustrated with it last night. I'll stick it out this weekend and continue to trouble shoot.

My problem started about 2wks ago. One morning I started up the car and it ran really rough and died. I took a different car to work and tried again the next day to find the same result. What I noticed was that if I gave it gas it would run pretty smooth but at warmed up idle it was rough. I searched around online and a few people mentioned its probably bad plugs (100k on oem plugs) so tonight I go pick up some NGK iridiums. I start with the drivers side bank (easiest access) and replace the 4 plugs. While I was pulling out the front most plug my ratchet contacted the terminal on the fuse box and sparks flew. I was startled but finished the drivers side and tried to start the car and the car started for about 10seconds stumbling then it died. Now it wont start. I checked all the fuses I could see (clear top) and theres a couple block fuses I don't know how to check. All the fuses look good, nothing burnt and the elements look intact. Trouble shooting so far: I've cranked the engine for a few secs and checked the drivers side plugs and they're all wet. This leads me to believe none of the plugs are firing anymore(even the front most plug, whose coil pack was out). My thought on this was that I could've killed the coil packs from that spark? I'm confused since the motor did start up for at least 10seconds or so. Is there a fuse I'm missing that is causing the plugs not to fire? I'm assuming that spark killed something or blew a fuse that I dont know about. BTW which fuses should I be looking at? The none of the abreviated descriptions make sense to me. I may go borrow an OBDII scan tool this week if I can find one. I really don't want to tow this to the dealer but I suppose I am due for my yearly raping. Last year was the timing belt. The year before was the starter. etc etc. thanks for any help in advance.

I know this is an old post but i need to do some work on my 98 ls400 before winter comes and the diff is included. so there is no LSD additive correct? if so I will just use some sythentic gl5 gear lube. I tried talking to the lexus service dept and a) no one knew or B) they kept telling me to talk to so n so. after about 5 people i decided to jump online.

Wondering if you guys have any tips on changing the oil before i crawl under my '98 ls400. I'm going to pick up a filter from lexus today after work then its off to walmart for some mobil 1 10w30 synthetic. thanks for any help you guys can offer

Lately I've been having problems with the VSC in my 98 ls400. I just went to the dealer today for the second time on this problem. Today they said they found a code for the yaw rate sensor. It was intermitently working. Okay but they wont replace it because it wasnt a fail code. They reset everything and said it checked out normal. I took the car home and tonight while I was driving home the Check VSC red dot came back on. I am going to talk to them tomorrow about it and see what they will do. I was curious though looking through the posts I saw the following. DEAD BATTERY post. This guy said replacing his dead battery fixed his VSC problem. Is that a common problem with low battery and VSC. I do remember the service guy saying the battery could be low but then he said they checked the alternator and it was charging at normal rates but I don't recall him checking the battery voltage. Anyways I am calling them tomorrow to see if they will replace the yaw sensor but I just wanted to see if anyone had had any problem similar and know of an other solution. Thanks Smokey :(

I posted this in the UK forum as well but I was curious if anyone knew here as well. The GS400s have yellow driving lights while the LS400s have normal white lights. Are they the same blubs? If so can anyone tell me what the model is and where I can get some because I think the yellow with HID looks really nice compared to white with HID and the white isnt quite as white as HID so it looks funny. How difficult is it to replace these bulbs on the down there? Do i have to get under and behind the front bumper to get at these lighting asseblies? thanks smokey