steve2006

Hi and welcome to the club even though you are only using a Lexus engine that's good enough for membership. I guess you are not using the original fuel pump? Have you checked the fuel rail pressure?

What makes you think the heads are gone?What are the symptoms?There are 2 heads on the engine it is unlikely both have failed at the same time unless the engine has over heated very badly. Please provide some more details,is the engine turning over,is it firing at all.

You are right,they are mounted under a plastic cover attached to the drivers side of the engine compartment and welcome to the LOC.

The ignition coil on the passenger side is a common cause and also check the lead from the coil as it passes through the plastic cover there should be a grommet to protect the wire but this commonly gets missed out as it is not easy to fit,this can result in the wire being damaged.

Yes 5mm are the norm,you can fit thicker after market leads but you will have to modify/cut/remove some of the clips that route the wires so using the thinner ones makes changing them easier. On the passenger side make sure you refit the grommet where the lead from the coil passes through the plastic cover. Good tutorial below. http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/ignition/sparkplugs.html

I googled "Lexus LS430 remote key problems" and found loads of possible causes and solutions here is one to start you off. http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=53139

Does the window not go back up using both the drivers panel switch and the switch on the rear door or just the rear window switch?

Got to agree, if you had gone to the Lexus dealer in the first place they may have been able to replace the key from the chassis number then reprogram it to the car. With the original data removed it's going to cost big $$$$$

You could try on eBay for an LS400 being parted or we have a guy on the UK club who may send one out to you.

Hi, When you removed the original faulty alternator did you check for power steering fluid contamination as this is a common cause (leaking O ring seal on the PS reservoir)of alternator failure. If you have a digital voltmeter check the voltage with the engine off,then at tickover and then at higher revs the voltage should increase across the battery terminals as the revs rise if it remains the same you have no charge.(see info on the link) Did the replacement come with a warranty? If so take it back for testing and if proved faulty have it replaced again. Recheck all wiring including the main engine to body ground points and battery connections. Is the battery in good order? There have been cases with similar symptoms that have been due to the battery being on its way out. There is a 100 Amp fuse in the engine compartment fuse box sometimes these blow during battery/lead replacement unlikely as it worked for a day but it costs nothing to pull the cover and check. This may help you http://www.aa1car.com/library/charging_checks.htm

Welcome to the LOC straight in with a question eh! When you say the battery won't hold charge is it losing charge slowly say overnight or does the car not start minutes after tuning the engine off after a long run. Is the alternator warning light coming on? If you have a digital meter check the alternator output voltage at tick over then with increased engine revs just google alternator testing. Is your serpentine drive belt in good order? Are all the body to engine earth (ground) points good? Finally you may have two faulty batteries/alternators?

With the amount of bad publicity Toyota/Lexus have had over the last few months you would have thought they would have been more positive in their "Customer Service" attitude,why not contact Lexus USA yourself and mention this?

Same here, the last thing you want is brake fade caused by overheating,the transmission will be happy to do the braking for you with no ill effects.

Something went a bit wrong with the posting. I would ditch the original sub and replace it with an earthquake!!! lol. Seriously there is very little choice on a direct replacement mainly due to the physical size of the stock sub,the lack of space where it fits and the fact the impedance of the stock sub is only 2 Ohms so this could upset the amplifier should this be altered. Follow this link for a possible solution http://www.lexls.com.../subwoofer.html

I would ditch the original sub and replace it with an earthquake!!! lol. Seriously there is very little choice on a direct replacement mainly due to the physical size of the stock sub,the lack of space where it fits and the fact the impedance of the stock sub is only 2 Ohms so this could upset the amplifier should this be altered. Follow this link for a possible solution http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/audio/subwoofer.html My sub cracked and I needed a replacement. The first shop I went to said "no problem" and that he would fit something in there for a couple hundred. He had no concerns about the box size or ohm requirements. ........ The second shop owner was honest. He said he had a lot of exprience with early model LS 400's. Unfortunately, he had no luck with his products and the resulting sound. Everything he tried just wasn't quite right and he recommended just a factory fix which I eventually opted to do. I've had no regrets and the system sounds remarkably good for a 20 year old system. May I ask what the factory fix was ,where you got it and the cost? yes, i am also interested. I should also mention the bass im looking for is no where near the stock setup. For the record my last vehicle, the sub use to shake the rear view mirror out of place.

Fantastic! I am a tech as well but I am on the diesel end. I bought a 93 LS400 and I am having some alternator issues (appears to be overcharging). I understand that the leaks from the power steering pump are responsible for early failure of alternators but what I want to know is...... 1) Do you know of any outfit who sells rebuild kits for these Nippondenso IR/IF units? I cant find one. 2) What is the deal with the power steering pump. What leaks and what do you guys do to fix it? (mine is leaking on the alternator....not alot but it is). Sweet car with only a few hereditary issues and it seems like I got em all LOL! What do you think? Thanks Dave Hi Welcome to the LOC, As you are new on here Q1) I don't know Q2) The cause is the O ring seal that fits on the PS fluid reservoir costs around $2.00 for the part,if you need instructions try here. www.lexls.com

Hi and welcome to the LOC,no I don't have a question just a welcome!now people know you are a Lexus Tech you'll get questions daily!

Nice article and well illustrated. One thing to remember which was not mentioned is the capacitors must be put in the correct way around (+/-) if you look at the close up picture of one of the capacitors you will see a + mark on one side this must be matched to the same polarity on the board. As Rice4eveR says even with 15 years electronic repair experience you can still have problems lifting the copper print especially removing components of this type (surface mount devices/ SMDs). If you are not confident with soldering/unsoldering leave it to the experts as you could create more problems than you had to start with. A option might be to buy the parts, remove the dash and disassemble it to the boards then get a local TV/Radio repair shop to fit the parts for you.

Owners have also had wheels replaced (sometimes twice) under warranty here in the UK,try another dealer. It's a very common problem and Lexus are well aware of this.

There are two coils on the LS if you have a digital multimeter you could compare readings from both of them, the most common to fail is the one on the passenger side opposite the battery,also check the HT lead from this coil to the distributor as it passes under the plastic covers and the can get damaged if not routed correctly. Other possibilities are the distributor caps and rotor arms. The burning smell from the rear of the engine is probably due to the cat overheating due to non burnt fuel entering the exhaust as previously mentioned. I would fix as soon as possible as the cats can be totally wrecked long term. I would go for the coil first for what they cost new.

I don't know about the USA but in the UK it is now illegal to refill AC gases without first checking for leaks and repairing if required. If as you describe the AC was OK then suddenly failed it could indicate a leak and refilling would result in the gas immediately escaping into the atmosphere wasting your money. I would therefore take the car to an approved AC dealer and have it checked professionally.

First thing is to check the engine idle speed when warm it should be around 650 RPM if lower it will cause problems like you have. Common cause of low idle is the throttle body needs cleaning,also check all vacuum lines.

Although for an earlier model this should explain the basic proceedures. http://www.lextreme.com/ascon.html

Mine is RHD so I would assume that your's is located on the passenger side at the rear of the engine compartment,there is an L shaped black plastic cover over the pump motor/accumulator to remove simply pull it upwards.

Hi, You don't state the year of your LS but even if there is no dash warning light for the engine management system I would read the fault codes to see if anything is coming up. The vacuum pipe does need attention but is unlikely to be the cause of the problem. The most probable cause is the TPS mounted on the throttle body,the electrical tracks in this do wear and the wear is normally at a constant cruising speed point. Symptoms of a Defective Throttle Position Sensor Following is a list of symptoms, either of or a combination of which, a car driver may experience because of a defective throttle position sensor: Bucking and jerking of the car Idle surging Sudden stalling of the car engine Hesitation while the driver of the car is trying to accelerate Sudden surge in car's speed while driving on the highway