rickatups

The subject of the steering rack solenoid filter is at times huge here ..... if you dig really hard you can find some great photos of it .... anyway .... please check this out on your car ... you might be really glad you did .... OK .... so the solenoid body is visible on your steering rack especially so if while parked on a level surface, you can turn your front wheels all the way to the right ... then lift up your car a little and you will see the solenoid body as you look under the car from the area of your driver side wheel-well area .... It is a round cylinder shaped object on your steering rack that faces toward the ground at a slight angle .... You will notice some wires that go to it ..... it takes a pretty large wrench to unscrew it. You will see the solenoid body just above your steering rack boot on the driver's side .... actually lifting the car is not needed, but it would provide you a little more room with which to view it ... I just have my independent Mechanic do mine .... he charges me about $110 for the whole service ..... The filter is small ... and FRAGILE ..... you clean it with a soft tooth brush (compressed air would ruin it in a nano-second) ..... but by taking the filter out and then re-install the solenoid body, you can then flush the whole system ... then take the solenoid body back out and re-install the little [ now clean ] filter and put it all back together ..... I think you could spray the filter screen with starting fluid as another way to clean it .... that is an old trick I learned while working on a farm once as a kid .... starting fluid evaporates so fast .... and it is a great degreaser / cleaner .... it is good to also clean the filter screen inside the power steering pump as well .... but you now have a new one, right? So that should not be an issue for you ..... guys in the past with this vintage LS 400 would sometimes develop a power steering leak at the pump and the fluid would leak into the alternator! You can imagine what that would be like!! So .... if you do not service this solenoid filter ... then the root of the problem has never been addressed, thus more trouble is ahead of you even after spending all this time and effort on other components ...... I am going to retire in about 2 months .... I think I just might take some time and do some new pictures and do a good write up on this subject and make the posting available here to future [new] vintage LS owners ..... THANK GOD for this web site .... this is how I learned about all of this in the first place ... this club has always been a fantastic resource and has saved me tons of cash .... !!! anyway ..... In the 1998 model LS400 and beyond, a design change was made to address this situation ..... so if you get a 1998 or newer LS some day .... you will not find this issue on those cars ..... let us know how it goes ..... !! (^-^)

I heard a wise man once say .... " it is never too late to stop smoking ... AND ... it is never too late to do a transmission service on your car. I do not know what it is ... but most people I know seem oblivious to this subject .... consequently, I have the feeling that most transmissions just never get the service they need in most cars ....... gotta do it ..... gotta do it .... !!!! I think every car I have ever bought (all used) needed most every fluid serviced .... every single time, which included my LS400. The differential had been done about 30,000 before I got it .... and the trans had probably been done maybe 2 times in the cars lifetime .... I got it with 110,000 miles and it was ready for a service then ..... anyways .... yeah .... what does that fluid look like?????????? I hope you get back with us .... it would be interesting to know what all happens here with your car .... good luck .... !!

Ummmm ...... not sure about your question ... but I do know some things about the power steering system ..... I am so curious to know ... if you know about the little, small, fragile filter/ screen that is located inside your power steering rack? It is located inside the solenoid. If it becomes dirty or clogged, you will still have problems even if you have changed out your power steering pump .... this is why I mention it .... It is fairly easy to service .... basically you take the steering rack solenoid out and carefully remove the filter screen .... then put the solenoid back in, minus the little screen .... the idea is to do a total system flush .... clean the screen (very fragile so you have to be very careful) ... then re-instal the screen inside of the solenoid body and put it all back together .... then re-fill the system with OEM fluid .... you are good to go. Many Toyota / Lexus mechanics are not aware of this service item. It does effect those of us that drive this series of LS 400 .... The reason this is important, is because the system pressure will become too high and start a leak somewhere eventually if the solenoid filter is not cleaned .... usually the boots on the steering rack will start sweating .... things like that. My filter had never been serviced when I bought my 95 LS with about 110,000 miles on it .... so ... my power steering system was leaking a little when I first got my car. After doing this filter service, my system stopped leaking! That was about 2 years ago .... today my system leaks just a very, very small amount ... mostly from the high pressure power steering line ..... I am just waiting to put together a few more $$ before I work on it ...... anyways ..... if you are new to all of this .... it is something that you REALLY need to know about ..... hope it helps ....

I am using synthetic in my 95 LS just because I know the synthetic oil is better technoloogy .... and I want my Lex to go as far as possible .... I change the oil regardless of cost when I feel the oil looks too dirty and not based on the miles driven ... but I do tend to be a fastideous maintenace nut ..... all my neighbors think I am crazy just for how much time I spend detailing my cars ... well ... I do not play cards, or go fishing, or am into sports ... but I do like my cars! (^-^) clearly the technology that synthetic oil represents is better ... and your Lexus engine is so cool, it surely would be justified to use synthetic in that car, you know? I say do it just for the peace of mind you will get ....

ummmmmm .... I think if you want the job to come out perfect ... better find a guru in this field that has a passion for his craft. that is what I would do .... I would want my leather looking perfect ... you know?

Well ... you are comparing two totally different animals, for sure ..... I think it depends upon what you want out of a car. If all you can think about is economy, then you are going to be unhappy with the fact that the Lexus requires Premium grade fuel. If you are in the Lexus and you have a bad accident, you are going to fair much better in the Lexus than in a smaller, lighter car ..... passive insurance, you might say .... you will not care at all about Premium fuel at that point .... In the Lexus you will travel safely and when you arrive at your destination, you will do so with dignity. Only problem is ... if you are meeting some people for a meal at a restaurant, they might expect you to cover the bill ..... ( they have no idea what you REALLY spent to get the Lexus ) .... My best friend is a mega-tight-wad .... he would NEVER buy a Lexus .... but he gets REAL HAPPY if we go somewhere and I drive [ us ] there in my LS400 ..... but he is the kind of guy that would complain every time he had to pump Premium fuel into the tank ... I promise. We both have the same job and both make the exact amount of $$ each week .... yet I could care less about buying Premium fuel ... I am a connoisseur of all things that are cool, from the $5,000 watch I wear, to the car I drive ... he, on the other hand, is a hick and could care less. He drives crap ... and I do not. He does not wear a watch at all ... and thinks I am a dope for wearing something like that (it is a bland looking diving watch by IWC ... no flashy Rolex or something) .... He just thinks differently ..... totally ..... why we are such friends sometimes seems a mystery .... I do not think it is the cars you need to figure out, but YOU that you need to figure out .... I say that with respect and if you could hear my voice, you would know I am being polite .... I offer this up to you as food for thought ...... I just FEEL better when I drive the Lexus ..... I am a car nut, and more specifically, a Lexus nut .... and this car is what makes me happy .... and since we have no promise for tomorrow, I think that if possible, we should live to the fullest .... so this is how I keep a smile on my face ... I am enjoying life ... and ... of course, this is only but one small element of my life .... but it is FUN !! I must say .... I do respect Honda and Toyota and their products .... I like them also, actually .... but I am most happy when driving my Lexus ... If you do get the Lexus ... do your homework here and buy it right .... us club members can help you a lot and it is all free .... all the best to you .... ! (^-^)

definitely do that solenoid screen in the power steering rack as suggested earlier ..... that is not that difficult and it can save you tons of trouble .... I think only Lexus Owners Club Members know about that little secret .... These cars are so great .... I dread the day mine dies ..... it is like a great swiss watch .... how can you really junk it, you know? It makes me sick to even think about it .... but obviously .. nothing can really last forever .... meanwhile, I do oil changes and fluid changes sooner ... not later ... and I drive my car lightly most of the time ... my neighbors think I am crazy cuz they see me out in the drive way waxing my car ..... quite often ..... truth is I am seriously thinking of an upgrade ..... I am in a 95 LS today .... and I am starting to look at 2004 LS cars these days that are very low milage .....

welcome to the club !! .... this club can save you soooooooooo much time, energy, and most of all, money $$$$$$ !!!!!!! I also have a 95 LS ..... I am lucky to have a great independent mechanic who is a Toyota guru .... however ... he had never heard of something I learned here at the club: you have a small solenoid filter screen in your power steering rack that might be very dirty, or clogged. If it is dirty, your power steering will start to leak (due to higher system pressure). The solution is to simply remove and clean this little screen ..... if I were you, I would plan on doing this little service item some time soon just to be sure about it ..... You can find more information about this subject here, of course ..... basically it works like this: locate and remove this fragile, small little screen ..... then put the solenoid body back together again minus the filter screen ... then flush your power steering system. clean the screen very carefully (very, very, fragile) re-instal the screen and then refill your system using the correct OEM fluid. by doing this service item, it will be insurance against a power steering problem later ..... my independent mechanic charges me about $110 for this entire process. He thought it was pretty cool to learn about this ... it helped another customer of his who also owns an older LS .... you are good to go! hope this helps ....

...Mirrorfinishman is that you?? Mirrofinishman? No ... sorry ... not me (but that sure is a clever name!)

Gentlemen ... I have been detailing cars for about 30 years ..... I think I know the definitive solution. Try Zaino "PC Fusion" .... just look up ZAINO.COM ... you will find it. If you live closer to Los Angeles, please try LAZAINO.COM ..... ask to speak to Ira, who is a Zaino guru ..... and while you are at it, PLEASE make sure to buy the correct towels that you will need (from LAZAINO) ... IT MATTERS. Just ask Ira and he will explain it to you ...... I thought to buy the towels they suggest was just hype and another way to extract $$$ from me ... BUT IT IS NOT. They are trying to help you get the results you truly seek, and the towels are HOW to do it ...... it is like baking a cake; you do not have to use sugar, but the cake will suck if you do not use it .... anyways ... Ira actually makes the towels, and they are not expensive ..... it will make sense when you try one ... I promise. The other thing I would use possibly, would be 3M rubbing compound that is suitable for machine use. With either of these products, I would use a Porter Cable 7424 buffer .... you will not damage anything with it. You can see short video clips on how to use it at AUTOGEEK.COM I would suggest that you use either Zaino or the 3M product with an ORANGE pad on your Porter Cable machine. PC Fusion is a miracle in a bottle, in my opinion .... you can take off bad over-spray and even take the haze off of headlight bezels FAST .... and the whole time you will never scratch your paint ... it is totally safe ..... Here is another secret .... if you choose to buy a Porter Cable 7424, you can get one that comes with a longer, heaver electric cable installed ... but a 7424 with this modification are hard to locate. I think you might have to call the guys at Autogeek to get one ... I think they charge about $25 more for this ... but it is worth it, as you really do need the longer cable ..... Autogeek is where I bought mine ... as well as my pads. If these ideas do not work, I would really like to know. Seriously. If you live close enough to me, I would even like to attempt to solve this problem personally if it came right down to it (no charge) ..... ( i live about 3 hours north of Los Angeles) ... I have detailed cars all these years, yet I still love a challenge and I try to keep myself open to always be in "learning mode" ...... but as far as water deposits .... I have fought with them for ever here where I live ..... so that is how I know what to do about it ...... Yes ... even on glass ... these ideas will still work perfectly for you ... I hope this helps you .... truly ..... please update your progress ... I would love to hear about it .... Best regards ... Rick

I have a 95 LS400 ... and this winter I started having the same problem everyone else here is talking about ..... my problem only started to happen to me after the car had been sitting for most of the winter in the garage not being started at all or driven ..... I thought I should fire it up cuz it had been sitting so long ..... so when I did, the heater did not work, as per what everyone else has said here .... exactly the same thing. At idle, it starts to blow cold, even though the engine is at normal operating temp. Then as I start moving and come up to about 35 mph, the heater starts to give me hot air .... in my case, my coolant reservoir is perhaps too full .... I have been thinking about lowering the fluid level just about an inch ..... I also got a new fluid reservoir coolant cap, thinking perhaps the old cap (original and never changed before) is not working correctly? it is interesting to see that other owners have also been having the same issue .....

1999 LS 400 (base model) Hey guys ... I hope someone can help with this .... I had to change out my weak battery today (did not have enough energy to crank the engine, but the lights came on when I had the door open) I changed the battery correctly ... I did not screw up and put the positive cable in the negative terminal or anything like that .... so ... the car starts right up as it should now with the new battery in it ... I made sure to clean the battery connections really good before putting things back together again as well ... Now my VSC LIGHT is on (indicating the VSC system has been turned off), but when I push the little VSC button to turn the VSC back on again, nothing happens. The information display indicates a message that says "CHECK VSC" None of this was going on before the battery failed ...... so I am kind of mystified. Has this ever happened to you???? Is this major surgery to repair? What did I do wrong????? If you have any thoughts about this, I sure would love to hear it ... THANK YOU !!!!

my car is a 95 LS400 .... with about 127,000 miles ... I really keep the fluids/filters clean ..... and I drive conservatively, as I like to save gas and get great milage, if at all possible. I have to climb long grades where I live .... I get in the truck lane and go about 55 ... see what I mean when I say "conservative"? (^-^) I am in California and right now they are feeding us "winter fuel" right now ... that stuff sucks ... I always get 1 to 2 miles LESS milage in the winter. with "summer grade" fuel I can get about 26 to 27 MPG on the highway ..... not bad considering the size and weight of the car. I owned a 1999 LS400 for a while also and with that car I was able to get about 27 MPG on the highway ..... remember ..... in your Camry you did not need to run Premium Grade Fuel, but in a Lexus LS you do. Yes ..... it is not that your LS will not run on regular grade fuel .... but the requirement is for Premium Grade Gas.

I have looked into this problem a great deal (here) ..... it is my opinion that this problem all starts because of the small, delicate solenoid screen in the power steering rack. This little filter is REALLY small and delicate .... when it gets so dirty that it becomes clogged, the entire power-steering system develops far more internal pressure than it should .... leaks develop .... power steering pumps can be affected ..... and so on. Until that little solenoid filter is serviced, the problem is not dealt with at its root. My car started leaking like this also about the time I first bought it (it had 101,000 miles on it) ..... but I found all this info here and cleaned the solenoid filter first, before I started messing around with everything else. Turned out that my solenoid filter was VERY clogged and dirty ... in fact, the whole system was really quite a mess. After we had cleaned the solenoid filter and flushed the system, all the other power steering system leaks suddenly stopped. My power steering lines were sweating ... that stopped. My steering rack boots were sweating fluid ... and that stopped. My power steering pump had not started leaking or making noise yet, however. I am sure my car has the original power steering pump and it now has 127,000 miles on it. Works perfectly. I am not so sure it would still be working this well today, had I not become aware of the power steering solenoid filter situation .... and serviced it. Anyways .... my independent mechanic had never heard of this problem until I told him about what I had learned here at the "club" .... but now he knows about it .... and consequently this is now the first thing he checks when anyone else brings in a LS 400 like ours to his shop that has power steering problems. He told me that virtually ALL the LS400 cars he has serviced since have ALL had dirty, clogged power steering solenoid filters. He charged me $110 for remove the filter, clean the filter and flush the system. Perhaps I should also mention that the best way to flush the system is to remove the solenoid filter ... then reinstall the solenoid body (minus the filter) ... THEN flush the system .... then re-install the [cleaned] filter. Again .... the solenoid filter is DELICATE and must be treated with great care ..... I am lucky enough to have an independent mech. who will take enough time to not brutalize the filter, but rather clean it with a gentle touch. Thank God for the Lexus Owners Club ... and all the wisdom contained within these pages ... hope this helps.

just curious .... how many miles did you get out of your compressor ... assuming it was an original part ??

Hi .... another consideration might be the "90,000 mile service," which on my older LS involves a TIMING BELT. Has this service been done on this car? It is pretty big bucks if the dealer does it ....... if it were me, I would request that the "90,000 mile service" be done as part of this deal, if it has not been done already. If Lexus actually did this service, they typically put a sticker in the engine bay indicating that this notable service point has been addressed. It should be obvious and near the battery location. Another thing you can do, is take the VIN number to the service department and have them run the number ... they can pull up any service history that has actually been performed by Lexus ....... a good resource to determine the history of the car you are looking at. hope this helps ........

Hi ...... well .... we will see who answers here, and there are many Lexus gurus here, for sure ...... but in the event no one really pics up on this, I think I know a person who truly would know the answer to your enigma. Problem is, you might have to be pretty desperate to talk to him as we are talking abut a phone call to California at the correct time of day ..... about 7:55 am Pacific Standard Time, to be exact. Yes .... you would really need to call at that exact time ....... The ultimate Toyota Guru in my area is a guy named Troy. His has his own shop in a small town out in Southern California where I also live. He is NOT a "shade tree mechanic" by any stretch of the imagination whatsoever. He is an "independent" and has invested multiplied thousands of $$$$ on tools and equipment. He is a "one man show," if you will ... but he is good about answering the phone. Thing is ... you gotta catch him BEFORE he is under a car on the rack. PLEASE offer to pay him for his time on the phone, ok? Seriously. Buy him a cheeseburger, or a Domino's Pizza ... or something, ok? He is worth it. He has seen every problem with these cars you can imagine a hundred times. He is honest. He is cool. He has nearly 30 years on everything Toyota and Honda ...... yes ... he has worked for Lexus before as well .... Hmmmmmmmmmmmm ...... in fact ... now that I think about it ... if 12,000 people read this thread ... and they all start calling Troy becasue of me ....... oh crap! He will hate me FOREVER. Hmmmmmmmmm ... tell ya what ........ contact me instead, and I will have his phone number ready for you, ok? rickatups@hotmail.com I really hope this is a help to you .... and ...... bet ya this works.

Hey Mike ....... The instructions you have read about Zaino sound complicated ... but work very nice ... if you have time to really do all those steps ...... meanwhile, here is my story: I started using Zaino last year ..... I love it! I have used sooooooo many products over the years. I am that guy in the neighborhood who, it seems, is always out washing and detailing his car .... like almost every weekend ... so all my neighbors think I am crazy ... know what I mean? (^-^) I also have the feeling they would rather drive my car most times .... if they only could ..... (^-^) Hmmmmm ..... Anyway .... you were asking about clay bar??? I know you can use clay bar ... and I have some from Zaino, but have yet to actually use it. From what I have read, you have to wash the car with Dawn first, then use the clay on a VERY WET surface ... and as you use the clay you must keep the car surface WET. I also understand that if you drop the clay bar on the ground just once ... it is toast. Did you know there is a guy in the LA area who is a distributor for Zaino? Try doing a Google search and simply search for LAZAINO.COM. He is easy to talk to and he knows everything. He turned me on to something new from Zaino called ZAINO PC FUSION. It is an 8 oz bottle of light green product ... and it kicks butt on water spots, paint over-spray, imbedded dirt, and oxidation like you can not believe! I swear this stuff is a miracle!!! So ... if I were going to detail a car that had not been done in a long time .... or if it had never had ZAINO on it .... I would wash it with Dawn (if you wish) ... dry it ... then start with FUSION .... then go Zaino All In One .. then go to Z-2 ... then finish with Z-6 Spray, and that is it. Finished. Zaino goes on so quickly and comes off so quickly ... and is so effective ( !!!!! ) it does not take forever to do your car with it. Sounds like a ton of work, and with any other product it might be ... but with Zaino, you can fly. I think they suggest going over your car with layered coats of Z-2 and Z-6, and all the others, because ... again ... they are assuming you are working on a dark color and need total perfection. "Layering" fills those really small light scratches and eliminates them ...... but it takes some time for that process, of course. I had some over-spray on my car real bad that had been there for a long time that I could never quite remove. I was trying so hard to NOT use too much abrasive [compounds]. I ended up using 3M rubbing compound very carefully ..... it works ... but it is real slow going and takes a lot of care and elbow grease. The problem is totally solved when you use FUSION. FUSION totally removed all the over-spray with so little effort. FUSION has no abrasives at all .... so it is completely safe. I have used it on glass and did not scratch it. I used FUSION with a Porter Cable 7424 Polisher on an orange pad ... and it worked GREAT to get off oxidation .... then I followed up with Zaino "All In One", then Z-2 ... and then I used Z-6 spray as a last step. My Lexus totally glows now. Do you really need to include "All In One"? No .... not really .... I just thought I would give it a shot ...... (layering concept). I have the light champagne color on my car ... it is not a dark color, so I can probably get away with not being as fastidious as I would probably need to be if the car were black, lets say. I have never done a black or red car yet. Anyways .... one thing I have figured out is ... the instructions Zaino gives you probably come with the assumption you are doing a $150,000 vehicle with black or red paint .... and you are taking your vehicle to an International Car Show ... hence their highly detailed procedures. I got to thinking .... heck ... my LS 400 is about 13 years old and is far from perfect today ..... so what the heck? I do not adhere to all of the advise in the instructions perfectly ...... and like I said ... I am working on clear coat and a light color as well ....... pretty easy stuff. I do use the Zaino Car Wash solution ...... and after I dry the car, I use the finishing spray (Z-6) as they suggest. I love it! The car looks and feels as if you just detailed it all over again ... yet the spray (Z-6) only takes a few minutes to do the whole car with. IMPORTANT: Zaino makes a big deal about the towels you should use ... right? It is true. Those towels DO make a big difference .... and the Zaino guy in L.A has them. They are worth it ... ohhhh man! Those towels are AWESOME .... I will never detail a car ever again with out those towels. They save so much time!! My wife figured out how hot the towels are also ... so now she is ripping off with mine! Oh man!! The small little, soft hand applicators Zaino gives you are great also .... although I will use my Porter Cable Polisher to save time ... and with Zaino products, it is totally safe. FOR LEATHER .... I have used the Zaino Leather Cleaner and Zaino Leather In A Bottle (Z-10) and I really like them a lot ..... they have worked great, as far as I am concerned. I think you will like them. I have found that Z-10 can go on very well with one of the hand applicators. See what you think ...... FOR VINYL ... yes .. I have used Maguires .... most recently with the Zaino hand applicator ... really goes on nice that way. I spray the product on to the hand applicator first ... that is how I get the Maguires on to the surface I am working on ...... If you are interested in a Porter Cable 7424 Polisher and you want to see one ... check out AUTOGEEK.NET ..... by the way ... you will have to hunt for it, but they do offer a 7424 with an extra long electric cord .... I got that model and have no regrets .... the extra long cord REALLY helps and is well worth the extra coin. AutoGeek is a good learning resource as well ....... Hmmmmm ... looks like I wrote a book! hehehehe!! Hope this helps ........ !!

I have 4 cars that I have done a complete system flush on ( 2 of them LS 400 ) ..... all of them were ready for a trans. service anyway ..... we replaced the standard fluid with synthetic, and all of the cars seem to be performing very well since. I have had no problems ...... I have noticed obvious improved performance from the transmission on each car we have done this to. I have a really good independent mechanic that did all these cars for me ..... he is one of those rare finds in the automotive business .... extremely knowledgeable and experienced and has all the best tools / equipment in his shop. He is honest as well. He does not cut corners. The down side is how much he charges ..... but he always gets it right every time. What ever method he uses when flushing a transmission has worked for me ...... I know he is doing the total flush and fluid exchange of the entire system, but what pressure level his machine is set at, I am not sure of .... anyways ... the point is ...... we have had no problems since .... soooooooooooo .... I would be inclined to continue this method with future system flushes ... not sure if this helps ... but hope so ....

Just curious .... what brand of wax do you use? I just did a total detail of my car today with ZAINO .... that stuff is the best, i swear .... anyways ..... your car looks great, man ......

hey guys ..... what is your take on this?? 95 LS 400 with 127,000 miles and original front end (as far as I can tell), including struts ..... I got the car with 101,000 miles on it ..... my tires in front are wearing sooooo bad on the outer edge, both right and left tires in front. I know I need to change out the struts for sure, although it is amazing how good the car still rides ....... and the lower ball joints seem to have a small amount of play, particularly the right side ...... sometimes if I hit a pot hole just right, you can hear a hard "clunk" sound ...... otherwise it stays quiet ..... As I go down the road, you can clearly hear the front tires whining loudly almost as if they are out of round. Actually these tires only have about 4000 miles on them so far. If you look at the outer edge of the front tires, you can see that there is cupping on the outer edges, thus the noise I hear when the car is in motion .... I am thinking that by changing out the struts and lower ball joints, everything will be ok again ..... but what do you think? The little voice in the back of my mind is telling me I should probably change out the upper control arm bushings / ball joints as well ..... what am I overlooking ? I HATE overlapping labor. I do not want to tear back into this front-end again because I did not change out some other part that I should have done the first time I had it all apart, you know? I should also mention, that my alignment is ok ... the car stays totally straight on the road and does not pull to one side or the other at all. what has your experience been?????? if you were me, based on what you have already been through ... how would you approach this situation? really appreciate a moment of your time ......... !! thanks!

I am also in the market for finding someone who could refinish my wheels perfectly so as to match the center caps with total perfection (95 LS400) ...... somewhere on this planet there is a guru who really knows how to do this .... I really wish I know who it was! I found as place on line tonight called wheelcollision.com (Wheel Collision Center) that maybe might have the correct equipment and expertise to take on this project .... perhaps I will call them about all of this ..... There is a place called Capital Wheel in Los Angeles that sounds like they are able to refinish wheels perfectly ... but in fact, they told me they can only get close-to- perfect on a silver finish .... therefore the factory center caps will not match flawlessly ..... AND ... the center caps cannot be refinished according to them. Why not just computer match the wheel color with a new factory center cap????? Like this is rocket science or something!!!????????? I think this CAN be done ... but .... by who????

As someone else suggested ... kinda sounds like the power steering pump ... BUT .... have you cleaned the Power Steering Solenoid Filter yet? You can do a search for that here .... that little filter is probably clogged, thus causing very high system pressure. It is fairly simple to remove and clean .... I found photos here at "the club" ... took them to my independent mechanic who did the work for me for about $100 which included an entire system flush ..... Up to this point in time, my high pressure line was "sweating" fluid ..... but after we cleaned the solenoid filter, all the sweating has stopped. My steering rack was sweating fluid also ... but that has stopped and my steering system has been working fine since servicing this little filter ..... you should really check it out ... hope everything works out for you on this .... (^-^)

UPDATE .... after another phone call and getting someone else involved other than the sales rep I had been dealing with ..... got put on hold for a minute or so ... then was promised a return phone call .... No phone call, but I did get an e mail about 15 minutes later indicating that my keys have been sent Fed-Ex ... tracking number also provided .... got the key the next day ... problem solved. strong possibility that it is more the fault of the sales person I had been dealing with more than anything else ...... I had contact with a few of the other people there with no problem .... all in all ...... my intuition is leaving me with a big question mark about the whole experience ..... in the future I will be going elsewhere ......

SolarIS ... as a follow-up to what I posted yesterday ... I am still looking into what kind of contact can be made with Lexus corporate .... I just heard from another Lexus owner that there is a Lexus Regional USA Representative that visits each dealer [in his assigned area] often .... like maybe every week (!!) ..... perhaps he could help?? the person who told me this info seems to have a real understanding as to of how things really work with the dealers and Lexus corp. Our problem is .. these dealers are actually independent owners who simply buy a product .... from Lexus. I have also been told that a dealer can loose 40 units [cars] in coming inventory if the dealer gets a complaint .... !! Hmmmmmmmm ...... perhaps THIS is the leverage Corp has with the dealership owners ..... makes sense. well ... got to run ..... hope this helps ....