VMF

i recently purchased 04 LS as well. what are the procedures for update and where can i get the disk? how much is it? can i upgrade the software and maps and not just the maps?

mute would not stop hissing at full volume. did you try the test i suggested?

rotate the volume knob to the max and listen to the speaker. if you hear hissing it means that amp is functioning. if there is no hissing then the amp is dead.

i also dont really get what you are complaining about:) i would be happy that my cars would only have these kinds of problem when they reach that age. i also find it hard to believe that your other cars dont break. and also keep in mind that they are much less sophisticated comparing to any lexus of any year. even the first ls model has more chips that first manned spacecraft:)

correction to my post, i didnt mean sell, i meant send:)

there have been plenty of timing belt changes here. pretty much almost any member with first generation LS (like yours have gone through this procedure). even if your car still does not have 60k miles rubber has a thing of getting hard over years. i would inspect the state of the belt to make sure it does not have any cracks.

have it checked by the mechanic. might be a problem with your suspension. its hard to say more.

i remember there was a thread with a howto on how to fix the lights. i know http://www.lextech.org does it, but it requires to sell them whole unit and im not sure if it was for hvac along with the stereo. but one guy did it himself, he took it apart and installed new leds in place of the burned ones. but this is very complicated procedure. gearbox lights you prolly might want o play around yourself. take it apart and have a looksee:)

try to put higher octane fuel. but 17 mpg is a very decent mileage for the 16 year old car with a 4.0 engine. my friend with a year old infinity m35 gets only 10-12 mpg on a 3.5 engine and he is not foot heavy:) so i dont think you should be worried about the mileage. this kind of mileage is expected when you buy a heavy car with a moderately big engine. when i asked a service person same question few years back he said "people who buy lexus dont really care about the mileage" :)

i really think that your estimate is way too high. engine tune up parts would cost you around 500-600$ while suspension and brakes, including new shock absorbers, new brake rotors, new pads and new shims would cost you around 1k. since both engines are the same it should cost you the same amount for the sc as for the ls. not sure about the brakes and suspension but should be around the same price. labor charge to change the timing belt is around 400-500$. rotor and suspension change should not cost you more then 300$ per car. so total should not be more then 4k for both cars. if mechanics are estimating more then this, then they are trying to rip you off. get the parts yourself from an online store, then bring them to mechanic and only negotiate labor charge. this will def allow you yo save a lot on the maintanence:)

sounds like a pretty good deal to me. pls post pix if you can:) and concratulations!

try www.taprecycling.com or your local junk yards. these are the best sources of your lexus parts:)

thats what i did, i even bought those seals since they are dirt cheap, but then when i opened the engine and saw the amount of work that has to go into the procedure, i decided not to:) still got the seals in the glove compartment:)

first of all, rotors dont warp, when you overheat the breaks, residue from the pads gets accumulated on the rotors. there were many threads like this here before. many mechanics tell you that you have to change the rotors so they can make some extra money on you. just have them machined and the problem is going to go away.

well in my case i had it rebuilt since gears were FUBAR. im not much of an expert when it comes to trannies. and btw, gears problem was on my old chrysler, not on the lex.

are you sure that all your bulbs light up when you press the brake? ask some1 to stand behind the car when you press the brake pedal and check. as to the brake light on, is it the big red rectangle with the word brake in it? or is it the circle?

fuel filter change would also be nice

95-97 LS do not really have a leaking PPS problem, there are VERY FEW cases that have been reported here for these years. 90-94 was plagued by the problem on a much bigger scale. the cheapest place to get OEM parts that i have found is www.newlexusparts.com. not sure what other parts you might need for this repair since i cant find my factory repair manual that would show the procedure. misplaced volume 1 somewhere:(

did 122k on mine before changing, the reason i changed was not the belt but the pulley bearing. belt was in a very satisfactory condition.

once again, after you called and transferred the ownership to your name, go to the lexus.com, register there and request a manual. lexus will send you the manual for free usually they are in the glove compartnemnt, if they are not there then you are out of luck.

happend to me. reverse worked but D didint. what happend was teeth from gears got torn off and blocked other gears.

usually shaky engine after the t-betl change is the incorrect timing, but check the error code first before jumping into conclusions.

good thing to know that you suceeded. as i see my suggestion about the flywheel worked.

i got the same problem with my 96 LS:) somewhere in that area smth is squeacking, not always and not very loud but it is still annoying. didnt bother to check as to what it is but you def not alone there with this problem.

Thank You very much for your information. We all appreciate your input and if you have any more information with us you are more then welcome to do so.