LC6529

2002 SC430 I have owned since 2006. Recently the GPS began having issues and kept saying "Cannot read DVD", I would take it out and re-insert it and for a while that seemed to work until finally it just quit working entirely. While it was being serviced at a Lexus dealership I mentioned the issue to the manager and when I came back he said they had managed to remove TWO dvd's which surprised me as I didn't think the unit had two DVD's in it but they showed them to me. Since that time the system would not load the DVD's and calls to the dealership resulted in nothing but frustration as no-one there seems to know how to work on the SC430. I then found a mechanic through a friend of mine who owns a luxury car lot and he said the original unit was bad and found a replacement unit for $80. He installed it for free while servicing the AC but the unit would not load the DVD's. I found an original 2002 SC430 GPS DVD but each time it loads the system says "Insert Map" Does anyone have any advice because I am thoroughly stumped and would like to get the unit working again as everything else on the 90K mile car works just fine. Is there a special DVD it needs? Is there a special load order? Any advice would be helpful.

Update - I took the SC in to Lexus due to a safety recall on the passenger side airbag, while they had the car they agreed to run a diagnostic at a reduced fee and the problem turned out to be a bad wheel sensor which they replaced. Total bill was $200. I didn't like the price but at least the annoying light is off.

Follow Up - I did check and it does not have a spare. I bought the car with 19K on it and it had the original run-flats which i replaced with Michelins (what a difference in the ride!) . It is now on it's second set of Michelins

To be honest I don't know for sure but I don't believe it has a spare, I'll check it out. Excellent thought!

I recently had my tires replaced on my 2002 SC430 (80K miles), the dealer used a 'rebuild' kit on the sensors and all seemed fine. After a few months the tire pressure light went on so I took it back to the dealer (Toyota) who contacted a Lexus dealership and they did a procedure which (according to them) required them to deflate all the tires and then inflate them again. All seemed fine for a week and then the light came on again though the tires were fine. The dealer tried the procedure again but the light stays on. They have admitted this is beyond their skill set and have suggested I take it to the Lexus dealership but the problem is they want $200 just for a diagnostic fee so the recommendation is to just put a piece of black tape over the light. I am just wondering if anyone has any suggestions other than 'black tape'. I admit to being OCD about warning lights on the dash so I would like to get this light off without dropping a couple of hundred bucks.

2002 SC430, 75K MIles Over the past two weeks I have had something strange happen twice. Right after braking the car, a loud audible BEEP has been heard in the car. It is not coming from my phone, the radio has been off, no lights appear on the dash - just a beep. The car runs great and has never had any issues. The ony service has been It has recently (less than 300 miles) had new brakes installed all the way around and new tires.

The defroster light on my 2002 SC430 seems to want to stay on all the time. I had the top down and I noticed the light was on though I had the AC/Heater system completely off. I pressed the button once and the defroster kicked on so I pressed the OFF button and everything turned off but the orange light is still on. I am clueless as to wthy this is going on.

Well, the system is now working again and the dealer cannot get it to fail again. This was quite strange as it had stopped working two weeks ago. The only theory I have is this: It has been raining a LOT here in the SouthEast, we have had over a foot of rain in my area in the last 20 days. My particular area is VERY humid and "Lexi" has been sitting in the garage while I drive my spare car as I don't like to drive Lexi in the rain. When it stopped raining it was still very humid and the nav just wouldn't work. I took Lexi to the dealer and he verified it wouldn't work and then parked Lexi in the sun where it climbed to 100 degrees on a cloudless day. I think that between him removing the DVD to check the system and the car sitting in the hot sun which baked any existing condensation out of the system - it began working. That and the prayer I sent up.... :)

For some reason the navigation system on my 2002 SC 430 decided to quit working. If I turn the car off when the nav on and then crank the car - I can see the Lexus logo on the screen and then it goes dark so this tells me the display is good. The dealer says the unit in the trunk has gone bad and says a replacement will be 2K. Even though I love my SC430 this is not an option. Does anyone have any ideas on a 3rd party unit that could work? I found a company that says it can do a repair for between 250 and 500 so they may be an option. http://www.hitechserv.com/electronics-repair/oem-navigation-dvd-cd-changer-repair/78

Try googling on SC430 Turbo I did and found this one hit but boy is it pricey! http://www.ttcperformanceproducts.com/sctwtuki.html

Both of the front speakers in my 2002 are blown but as another poster said, I can put up with a lot so I just adjusted the fade to use the rear speakers. So the speakers are 6x9" - 8 Ohm? Maybe I will try and replace them myself... Where can I find the diagram?

I can tell you with certainty it is probably the phone. I used Verizon for several years and bought a 'parrot' device for my wife to use and I had a very difficult time getting it to work with my LG phone. Finally, after they raised rates on us...again...I got mad and switched to AT&T and bought my wife a iPhone. It worked with the parrot right out of the box.

Ok, so I was able to fix it pretty quickly. I studied the PDF scans from the post I attached earlier this week and first moved the drivers seat up as far as it would go and then knelt down for a closer look with the top retracted. I found a small black Philips screw underneath the seat which I realized must be the missing screw. I looked around but could not find another one so I went to my 'misc screws' glass jar and found an exact match except it was silver. I then attached the screw the end of my screwdriver using scotch tape to secure it. I found a pen light I could jam up behind the seat. I contorted myself in such a manner that a circus acrobat would have been impressed and found (to my surprise) I was able to replace both screws within 10 minutes. I decided to treat the back of both the passenger and drivers seat to a quick buff and when I went to the passenger side I noticed that seat back was loose. I took a look and found the passengers seat was missing a screw. I moved it up to see if it had fallen and could not find it so I once again found a match and replaced that screw in the same manner. I think I know why the screws were missing - I read somewhere there was a TSB of some sort requiring the seats to be disassembled, the dealer I bought the car from told me the previous owner brought the car back for every TSB issued so my theory is the seats were worked on but the mechanic got lazy and did not replace these screws. One thing I have noticed, the drivers seat is now quiet. Prior to the back coming off which led to me discovering the issue the seat was NOISY! The noise was akin to someone moving around constantly on a leather couch while wearing leather clothing. The noise was so annoying I really could not enjoy the car with the top up. I had decided the noise was the back of the drivers seat rubbing the front of the (useless) back seat as I have the drivers seat pushed way back due to my 6'3" height. I placed a towel between the seat back and the back seat hoping that would remove the noise but it never did. Now the car is quiet so that hard plastic back must have moved around just enough to make that annoying sound.

I did a little digging and found a PDF drawing here: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-430/390993-front-seat-diagram-broken-part.html In fact, the post references the bottom two screws so it looks as if I was correct that two screws hold the back on. Looks like I will have a fun Saturday...

Will do so on Saturday...thanks!

Today when I went to my 2002 SC430, I noticed the plastic back of the drivers seat was askew, I pulled and it slid off in my hand and I could see the inside of the back of the seat. Now, nothing was broken and this car is garage kept and maintained the best way a type A anal retentive person can so I thought this was unusual. I examined the back of the plastic part and saw two 'hooks' on the top and some plastic pieces on the bottom with holes drilled in them. With little effort I got the piece back on but the bottom is still loose. Are screws supposed to attach the plastic piece to the seat? I looked and did not see any screws lying around.

I ran across this while looking for some parts for another car, anyone ever try this? http://www.superchargerswarehouse.com/Lexus-SC-Superchargers/ I can't believe an electric supercharger would actually give much of an improvement...

In my experience with my 2002 SC430, people either love the body style or hate it. I have never seen anyone in the middle on this topic. As others have stated, the ride quality GREATLY improves once the run-flat tires are ditched. I recently had the original tires replaced with regular tires and it was if I had a different car. Driving performance is ok, the SC430 handles well in normal driving but don't expect it to be a pocket rocket. The SC430 is incredibly reliable, other than an O2 sensor and normal wear items my SC430 has always started up and run silky smooth. The power is good and delivers decent acceleration but again don't expect to blow a mustang away.. Personally I love my SC and have been pleased with it since I bought it in 2006

Is there anyway to make the rear windows go up when the top is down on the SC430? I like to ride with the top down and all windows down but my wife prefers riding with the windows up when the top is down...

I recently replaced the original Run Flat tires on my 2002 (they lasted 43K miles and then began falling apart with dry rot!) with Good Years. Anyway, the non run flat Good Years turned my SC430 into an entirely different car! I have always enjoyed the car since purchasing it in 2006 but have always felt that it rode like a go-cart. With the new tires it is a pleasure to drive and while I can't say it rides as nice as a bigger car it is MUCH smoother on the road and it feels as if it is gliding down the road. I am not concerned with flats, I purchased AAA insurance and my daily commute is only 24 miles one way so I should be fine. Note: Good Years were not my first choice, I tried really hard to get the Continental DWS tires but they seem to be on permanent back order.

I researched these and they seem fantastic, unfortunately they seem to be on permanent back order. I tried several stores in town including my local Lexus store and no-one seems to be able to get them.

Has anybody read this? http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/28/autos/toyota_sequoia_recall/index.htm?hpt=T2 > In vehicles without the upgrade, the VSC system could, in limited situations, activate at low speed (approximately 9 mph) for a few seconds after acceleration from a stopped position and, as a result, the vehicle may not accelerate as quickly as the driver expects," Toyota said in a written announcement. > This describes what happens with my 2002 SC430 (42K Miles) when I accelerate, the car starts off then acts sluggish and then continues on just fine. Once moving the car accelerates very nicely...

Just a quick question to the mechanically savvy out there. Exactly what does the ECT switch do on the SC430? I have figured out that if you switch it to PWR the car seems to have better pickup which is pretty nice while on the highway. The gas mileage seems to suffer a bit though.. Just exactly what does the switch do? Also, where in the world can I find 3rd party exhaust for the SC430? I love the car but am so jealous at the Camaro's that have a big rumbling sound from their exhaust....

In the several years that I have owned my 2002 SC430, I have never done anything to the top mechanism. Do you ever have to spray anything on the top mechanism to keep it performing smoothly? Just curious...

Congratulations on your SC! I bought mine three years ago and really love it. I can't answer many of your questions but can share the following. So far, the only repairs mine has needed are an O2 sensor and trunk struts. Power mode seems to change the shift points, giving it a bit more pep when accelerating. 18 MPG? That's odd, mine averages 24.3 and I can get 30 if I drive at 60 with the top down and AC off. I am envious you can fit everyone in yours, I am 6'3" and my head rubs the top...