branshew

I read heard on NPR this week that according to JD Power - American cars are about even with the !Removed! in first year reliability, but everything falls apart shortly after. It's good to see tht they are getting better in terms of reliability. Now if we could just get an American company to come up with an appealing design idea or two.....

Can't say for sure, but there is probably a ground connected to the power antenna somewhere. I would also think that you could ground straight to the body somewhere.

I have found a decent OEM alloy replica for $600 shipped so I'd prefer to keep it @ that level.

Is that thing for real? I am assuming that it is just a bad translation in the post and links. Seems to play on the "grounding kit" type of mentality. Philipe Stein's "Teslar for Cars"

I am looking for a new set of shoes for my car. The old chrome is flaking off of mine and I need some new ones. I want Lexus OEM or OEM replica rims for my LS. I don't mind used if they are in good shape. They don't have to be original design for the LS. ES, GS would work, but trying to stay in the Lexus design arena. Preference is for 16" alloy so I don't have to get a set of new tires, but I may also consider chrome and/or 17" if the price is right. Anybody have a set of spares or something that they are willing to part with? Feel free to e-mail me at nospambrandon22@cox.net w/ Lexus Rims or something to the like as a topic. Pics would be appreciated if you have them (remove the nospam from the beginning of the e-mail address). Brandon

That S55 is a sweet ride. I had the chance to drive one on a closed course at the VIR race track a couple of years ago (along with an SL55 and E55) for the MB "On Track" event. That thing threw me against the seat and never let up until I took my foot off the gas. The power was incredible, but the handling was only OK - primarily due to the size and weight of the car. I still prefer my "sports" cars to be small and more agile. In some respects the horsepower is wasted in that car unless you want to go straight really fast. (theoretically you could say it is wasted in the US overall since our speed limits top out at 75 MPH but we don't need to get into that argument). As far as the AMG sedans are concerned, I thought that the E55 handled much better, was quicker and you were able to maximize more of the AMG package on it when compared to the S55. To me the S Class was always more of a cruising machine and less of a sport ride. Still a sweet ride though, but as some suggested - It would have been wise to have been introduced to the Service Writers at your local dealership - you'll be seeing them alot (and kicking yourself while your tooting around in a C-Class loaner). Tell your son to take care of the Lexus - as he has a nicer car than most kids do at 16 (and some at 56 too).

Not to get too technical, but the CD changer in the 1st gen LS can't read MP3 formatted CDs.

I don't know how mechanically inclined you are so the hooking up of the battery charger and running of the A/C vents for several nights may not be an option for you. Do what the others said and turn on the car, Cut the A/C on high, open the hood, and spray a mold killer / disenfectant spray into the vents just below the windshield. If it is food odor and not moldy smell then you may want to use an aerosol version of Fabreeze or Lysol - just pick something you can live with as the residual odor may linger a while. Temp reading on the A/C controller or on the engine temp? If it's the engine temp - you'll have to take out your instrument cluster and put in new bulbs. If it's the A/C temp then you'llhave to remove that unit and replace some bulbs. Both can be a bit hairy if you don't know what you're doing and may best be left to a pro.

Agreed! - Especially w/ 130K on it. If I were you I would find out what the dealership would offer him in trade and then go from there. No Lexus dealership would put a car w/ 130K on it on their used lot so they will have to wholesale it out or send it to the auction. Don't go by the NADA trade-in as most dealerships use the (less well known) Black Book auction prices on cars that are over 5 years old or 100K miles. Chances are he'll be lucky to get $8K in trade on it.

I doubt there is a conversion kit. I haven't compared side to side, but I would imagine that the newer ones are swept back into the body panels further and that it would require a body modification.

I can't stand new country either. I will listen to the calssics though (Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Hank Sr., Patsy Cline, Willie, etc..) Here's what's in my CD player right now. 1) Radiohead (The Bends) 2) St. Germain (The Tourist) 3) Miles Davis (Kind of Blue) 4) Steely Dan (Aja) 5) Cake (Fashion Nugget) 6) J.J. Cale (Troubadour) If my tape deck was working I'd have the iPod hooked up w/ 7 GB's of music going strong.

Tires on the LS can be hard to balance properly from my experience and others on the board. Usually when you feel the vibration in the steering wheel it is in the front tires and when you feel it otherwise it is on a rear tire. Bad balancing usually shows up at certain speeds and goes away at others. If your vibration changed the speed at which it appears after you got new tires & wheels then I would almost say for sure that it is in the balancing.

Some bonehead in a Wrangler ran into me on Friday AM in Norfolk. I was sitting at the stop light when all of a sudden I hear squealing tires and felt a push from behind. Damage wasn't too bad, but the bumper will need to be redone and he broke my rear passenger tail light. If he didn't have the toughguy pushbar bumper, the damage would have been minimal. I am waiting to hear from his insurance Co. today to see what will transpire. It may be time to upgrade to the red/clear tail lights on USAA's dollar. Kewlguy - how do you like yours? How do they fit & were they fairly easy to install?

Seems like you got the info you needed on the outdoor sink so I'll chime in on the inside one. If you are getting granite - get an undermount sink. These are much better IMHO as they don't have the lip over the countertop to trap all of that grime. It's a nice clean sweep of the sponge to wipe the counter top into the sink.

Probably not anything to worry about. Look at the debate of Plasma TV vs. LCD TV. One of the big pros to LCD over Plasma initially was that plasmas will burn out over time. (Plasma burn out time is now 60K + hours which equates to about 7 years of watching TV 24/7). Both types of displays will lose some of their brightness over time, with LCDs losing more than Plasma over the same amount of time. When compared to a home theatre display, in car screens are also subjected to more heat and cold extremes which is not good for them. Even with those considerations, I'm guessing that LCDs shouldn't ever burn out in the average lifespan of a car.

In making the conversion from Dino to syn I have gone through 3 cycles of the Mobil 7500 extended mileage synthetic blend (although I haven't pushed it past 5K miles). I plan on switching to Mobil 1 100% synthetic next time since I haven't noticed any leaks. I use a Purolator Pure One filter - gotta love the microfiltration. Regardless of filter manufacturer, I wouldn't leave it in and just change the oil as recomended above. Your filter is critical in the flow department and if you leave it in too long then eventually it is going to get clogged and cut back on your oil flow. I suppose it's possible that, like their air filters, K&N oil filters let larger particulates pass through so they don't clog as readily, but I prefer more filtration and to change the filter.

Analog vs. Digital No stereo is ever truly 100% digital. If it was then you couldn't actually listen to the music since the human ear can only hear analog sound waves. Somewhere along the line the digital signal has to be converted to an analog signal so you can hear it. You are correct. The info on your CDs is digitally coded (1's & 0's) on to the disc. The laser reads it and sends the digital signals through a D/A converter. This converter turns the 1's & 0's into an analog signal. Sometimes the D/A converter is in the CD player and sometimes it is in the head unit so the cable going to the head unit may carry an analog or a digital signal. In my Benz it was a fiber optic cable that carried the digital CD player signal to the D/A converter in the Bekker head unit. Don't get caught up in the digital vs. analog debate. The Nakamichi is a good stereo and was light years ahead of most other stereos made at the time. I wouldn't replace it unless you are having problems. Aftermarket radios look way out of place in the large opening anyway.

On rare accosions I would put 89 Octane in my '95 ES (like when the station was out of 93 octane) and I never experienced the problems that you describe. I don't think that it's necessarily related to the gas. Could be a couple of things: Sounds like a possible clogged injector. I would fill up 1/2 tank w/ 91 or 93 Octane if possible. Run a full bottle of Techron or other high quality fuel system cleaner through the car in the 1/2 tank of gas. That may help, but chances are you're going to need to have your injectors cleaned. Alternately you could have fouled plugs. When was the last time you had the plugs replaced? What color is the smoke coming from the pipe?

Is the LF-Sh the potential replacement for the LS?

Me too. Although the RL has a few more ponies then the M35, both are available w/ AWD. Although Acura's interiors have gotten better, I still think that they feel too cheap compared to Lexus and Infiniti. Having had the chance to sit in the new M, RL and GS - the M gets my vote for best interior hands down. Haven't had the chance to drive them yet so that's a different story.

KYB makes the OEM struts. Why pay more for the EXACT same thing? Shop the discount places online and you should be able to find them for a good price. Might as well replace the mounts while you're in there. They're cheap.

Here's a quick thought - SUVs ARE NOT AS SAFE AS MINIVANS! If you are buying a vehicle for safety only then you don't want a SUV. I was in your shoes a little over a year ago. My wife just had our baby and I wanted her to be in something safe - something that could withstand an impact on collision. I bought her an '02 Pathfinder LE with all the bells & whistles. I had my car in the shop one day and I was driving her truck to work. I hit a patch of unseen standing water on the interstate, slid into the jersey wall and rolled over three times. I was fortunate to walk away w/o a scratch, but the vehicle was completely totalled. The car seat that would have held my daughter was thrown to the back of the vehicle due to the forces in the accident - fortunately she was not in it at the time! I don't doubt that had I been in a car I would still have wrecked. I just would not have rolled over which made the accident much worse and way more dangerous. After the accident I started doing a little research into car safety in general and discovered some interesting things: NTHSA tests and accident data show that more fatal injuries are sustained each year by drivers of SUVs than Minivans. This is due largely in part to the higher center of gravity of the SUV which leads it to roll over more often than other vehicle types when they do get into a wreck. These numbers from the NHTSA made me think twice about ever buying a SUV again: - In 2002 rollovers only accounted for 3% of crashes, but 33% of fatalaties. - SUV's have up to a 45% higher roll over rate in accidents when compared to a standard car and 25% higher compared to a minivan. - 75% of rollover accidents involve serious injury or fatalitles. Minivans have a much lower center of gravity, but they still maintain truck like size and will stand up to an accident as well as an SUV with much lower rollover risk. After doing my homework I ended up buying my wife a VW Passat Wagon of the same year and it is a much safer vehicle. BTW 2004 versions of the Tahoe & Yukon failed the NHTSA rollover rating test. '99 versions were not rated & neither were 96-97 LX or Landcruisers.

You can also try Billy's Used Toyota & Lexus parts in Alabama. Not sure if they were affected by Katrina, but worth a shot. I'm sure they'd appreciate the business if they were. Just google Billy's & Lexus and you'll find them.

You mean "was" a friend.