WJA

Scott, Thank you for the bulletin. This is very helpful to understand what is causing the problem that has been around for many years. WJA

Sweetls, Can you purchase a brakie pad shim kit separately or does it just come with the pads when replacing?

nc211, Sometime back I received the following reply. I think it is right on. When I contacted Lexus Corporate, they told me to take it to a dealer - well the dealer could not diagnose the issue. This reply is self explanatory. A couple of weeks ago I had rotated my tires and inspected the amount of linig on the pads. There is still plenty but when it gets close to I will replace the pads and have more feedback to respond to Ross's comments that follow. Hope this helps. Vince Ross W. Today, 12:25 PM Post #12 Club Member Group: Regular Member Posts: 38 Joined: 5-April 06 Member No.: 24,684 Car Model:1994 Lexus Ls400 Location:Los Osos, CA My car made that noise before I did the brakes (new pads & drilled rotors); what I found was that the backing plate for the for the pad's friction material had become worn where they slide on the caliper. So, when the brakes were applied, the pads would close the gap to the caliper with a loud pop! When I fitted the new brakes, the pads fitted much tighter in the caliper and the noise went away. The dealer found a bad tie-rod end a couple of years ago that made an almost identical noise under the same conditions as the sloppy brake pads. Check out the fit of the brake pads in the calipers, and check the tie-rod ends. Those could be your culprits.

Hray: I am curious about updating th eNav system on my 2002 LS 430. Recently acquired and believe you can do this without taking to dealer - correct? Looking to determine Nav version on how to acuire the latest disk to update

I had some email correspondence with Kexus corporate customer service regading the several posting about "popping soiund comeing from the front of the vehicle." I am a bit disappointe in their response 'casue as recognized form this forum, there are several folks that have expereinced the same issue. Following is the response from Lexus Customer Service: From: Lexus Customer Satisfaction [mailto:Customer_Satisfaction_Inquiries@lexus.com] Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 Subject: Popping in front wheels when braking Discussion Thread Response (VWendelstadt) 05/08/2006 11:44 AM Dear Mr. Kroening: Thank you for contacting Lexus Customer Satisfaction. We are dedicated to providing superior service. Intermittent conditions are very difficult for the technicians to diagnose. We recommend that you discuss the back plate brake lining with a dealer and contact us again after you have had your vehicle diagnosed by a Lexus dealer. We would be very happy to review the issue and determine what assistance we could provide to you at that time. We apologize for any inconvenience you have experienced and have documented your concern at our national headquarters for Lexus management review. If you require further assistance, please respond to this e-mail, or contact Lexus Customer Satisfaction at 1-800-255-3987, Monday through Friday, 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., or Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Pacific Standard Time. Sincerely, Vaughn Wendelstadt Lexus Customer Satisfaction *********************************** Customer (Vincent Kroening) 05/08/2006 09:55 AM Vaughn, Again thank you for your attention to his situation. As noted by my experience and that of many more who posted a similar experience on the Lexus discussion board, the popping noise isn’t always apparent and happens unexpectedly. I wish the intensity of the sound were more pronounced so it could be heard each and every time but unfortunately not. As diagnosed by many a mechanic, everything in the breaking system looks fine and it does perform well – the only problem is the noise and slightly delayed compression and, causing the popping sound. By the sounds of your response, it looks like I am on my own as were the many others with similar issues. That too is unfortunate but if you remember from the discussion board, it sounds like someone figured out the problem – faulty back plate lining on the brake pads. Maybe look into that for future customers. Regards, Vince Kroening -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Lexus Customer Satisfaction [mailto:Customer_Satisfaction_Inquiries@lexus.com] Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 10:20 AM To: vkroening@comcast.net Subject: Popping in front wheels when braking [incident: 060504-000034] Subject: Popping in front wheels when braking Discussion Thread Response (VWendelstadt) 05/08/2006 08:19 AM Dear Mr. Kroening: Thank you for contacting Lexus Customer Satisfaction. We are dedicated to providing superior service. You may wish to test drive your LS 430 with the technician. You can then point out the noise and once the condition has been duplicated, the dealer is better able to diagnose the cause of the noise and propose a repair to eliminate the noise. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. If you require further assistance, please respond to this e-mail, or contact Lexus Customer Satisfaction at 1-800-255-3987, Monday through Friday, 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., or Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Pacific Standard Time. Sincerely, Vaughn Wendelstadt Lexus Customer Satisfaction Customer (Vincent Kroening) 05/06/2006 05:40 AM ************************** Vaughn, Thanks for the note and your suggestion to have the dealer look at this. The previous and original owner of this vehicle (personal friend) did and frequently had this vehicle serviced by Highland Park Lexus of Illinois. [He] was told there was nothing the matter. I think maybe the service records are unclear or undocumented. But, last week I was communicating on a Lexus blog and coincidently 3 other folks have experienced similar conditions. And several folks had their cars checked out by service centers and nothing was discovered. I have attached the related postings (they are brief) but I am surprised Lexus has not responded to this earlier. Please take a moment to read this document and I would be very interested in your feedback. Thank you. Regards, Vince Kroening -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Lexus Customer Satisfaction [mailto:Customer_Satisfaction_Inquiries@lexus.com] Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 5:43 PM To: vkroening@comcast.net Subject: Popping in front wheels when braking [incident: 060504-000034] Subject: Popping in front wheels when braking Discussion Thread Response (VWendelstadt) 05/05/2006 03:43 PM Dear Mr. Kroening: Thank you for contacting the Lexus Customer Satisfaction Department regarding the concern you are experiencing in your 2002 LS 430. I apologize for the noise you hear in your vehicle. Our national service records do not indicate that you have brought this concern to the attention of a Lexus dealership. Please contact the service department at an authorized Lexus dealer to have your concerns diagnosed. I am sorry for any inconvenience this situation has caused you. If you require further assistance, please respond to this e-mail, or contact Lexus Customer Satisfaction at 1-800-255-3987, Monday through Friday, 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., or Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Pacific Standard Time. Sincerely, Vaughn Wendelstadt Lexus Customer Satisfaction

blue06gs: I stumbled across your postings regading the DVD conversion of your vehicle. Do you know if this is also available for other Lexus models? I recently purchased a 2002 LS 430 from a friend and I really would like to do this conversion. Thanks, Vince

Ross, That's sounds appropriate. I am inclined to go that route. Thanks.

As eluded to before I also think I have too soft of a peddle. But whenI pump the brakes and then quickly pump again, they firm up like I think they should - especially a Lexus. In my uneducated opinion I think the twoissues are related. I was wondering what would happen if I had the brakes bled to assure the pressure is where it is supposed to be. Your thoughts?

Sweet.... I recently purchased a 2002 LS 430 (67K Miles) from a firend whose had the car since new. I have a very similar "popping" sound and cannot recreate when showing my mechanic. But i have narrowed the source of the sound. It started happening sonn after purchase but did also happen when my friend owned the car. After several inspections by the dealer they said there was nothing wrong. I disagree. My experience is; it happens when the car is almost to a complete stop. At first the noise came only form the left front wheel area and would happen when the car was in its first few miles. I then felt that the brake pedal pressure was softer than it should be (as compared to my Envoy and Passat) so I activated the emergancy pedal several times and did that for a few weeks thinking that the overall pressure was being compromised becasue my friend rarely ever used the emergancy brake which, I understand helps to keep the brakes adjusted. Well a few weeks later the sound returned but this time from the right front. It sounds almost like the calipers are not fully enaged and at the last moment they fully activate. Then...oddly enough I was getting a pop - pop! The right side would pop and then the left side. That has happend for about two weeks now. Most recently (last few days) it has alternated sides. My mechanic said sometimes the ABS magnets cause popping at the last second before the car comes to a final stop but he was unable to experience the noise and will not do anything until he knows for sure. I am really interested in your feedback and anyones if this can be pinpointed. Thanks. Vince

RFeldes, Thanks for your note. I will do that however I think my situation is going to require disassembly and re-assemble. The mirro is in the opn position and will only retract slightly when activated. Maybe the gear system is out of wack somehow but being unfamiliar with it, I'll have to do exploratory surgery on it. Any thoughts how to take off the inner access molding to get at it?

Just purchased a 2002 LS 430, 67K miles. After having it a few days the passenger door remote mirror was in the collapse position when I discovered it inoperable while viswitng the DMV. I tried gently working it open and it is fully open now but does not automaticlly retract. Do these mirros generally reset themselves after several uses? How to diagnose and repair?