GKLCPA

I've opted to replace this temperature sensor to see if that fixes the problem before I spring for the pump. The pump and the sending unit look like the run about $ 350.00 + labor to put in. I suppose I could go ahead and do it, but I'd hate to spend that money and it not be the problem. Let me know what you wind up doing to resolve.

Maybe coolant temperature sensor. If it is faulty your ECU could think the engine is cold when in fact it is warm. The ECU then would send too rich a fuel mixture possibly flooding the engine so it won;t start as you experienced. This could also explain your poor gas mileage you've been complaining about. Its a simple thing for the dealer to check and the part isn't that expensive. I'm having the same issue and I've been getting poor gas mileage too and it seems that started happening at the same time I stated having the intermittent starting problem. I had a problem that my fuel was running too lean which generated a code on faulty front 02 sensors, which I replaced. I bet that may be the problem and that sensor is way cheaper than the fuel pump. I had the car shudder one time during this period with the intermittent starting problem as well--as if something was wrong with the fuel. Would a faulty sensor cause that?

I'm having this exact same problem which I posted in a string a few days ago. I suspect it's either the fuel pump or the sending unit. I'm getting the exact same symptoms. Plenty of juice, but just won't fire. Mines is a 1996 also with 200K on it. It will do it again. This has happened to me at least once a month over the last 3-4 months. I wound up getting stuck 100 miles away from home with the problem. I had to stay in a hotel overnight because I couldn't get a tow and arranged a tow for the next morning. While waiting on the tow, I tried it and it started right up. This is too intermittent for the mechanics to figure out because they can't reproduce it and I've just resolved myself to replacing the fuel pump and the sending unit to see if that fixes the problem.

Thanks for that tip Landar! Until I get this thing fixed, I think I'll keep some starter fluid around just in case in addition to being able to isolate the problem.

Thanks for the response. I'm nearly certain that the fuel pump is the problem.

I have a 1996 LS with about 200K miles on it. Over the last three months, it has developed an intermittent starting problem. When this occurs, the car turns but the fuel will not fire. If I let it sit awhile and come back, it will start up normally. It's almost like the fuel is bad. Lexus and Toyota can tell me nothing unless the car arrives in the non-starting condition. The first couple of times it did this, I was on my last quarter tank. The last couple of times it did this, I had a half tank of gas. Also, my fuel mileage has declined about 2 mpg, but I have one of the front cats to replace and that may be affecting that. Here's what I've done in an attempt to solve the problem: 1) Changed all plugs, wires and rotors. 2) Installed a new fuel filter. 3) Changed front 02 sensors. On one occasion while driving, the car seemed to be having an issue firing the fuel as it seemed to be skipping, but that was before I did the stuff listed above, Before I changed the front O2 sensors I was getting a code indicating that the fuel burning was too lean. Please help me out here. What is it that I should focus on in trying to solve this problem? It's been suggested that the fuel pump might be bad. Thanks in advance.

Christ on a crutch!!!! How did you put that many miles on it in 3 years?! I drive a lot. I put on about 30-40 k miles a year just in regular driving and commuting. Add in a few long distance trips on top of that and the miles can stack up quickly. That's the main reason I got the car as I knew it would stand up to the amount of driving I do. BTW, since my last post in December, I've put on another 20K miles and I'm now at 172K. I plan of driving her until at least 300K and then I'll see what happens from there. If she's running well, I'll keep her and if not, I'll upgrade to the 430 or the 460 and run up the miles again! For the most part, I've had to do nothing other than basic maintenance. I'll be putting on some rear shocks shortly and she'll be due for another timing belt in the next couple of months.

My 1996 LS now has 156,000 miles. I purchased 3 years ago with 37K miles. Just took a round trip from eastern PA to CA and back in Sept. Car was magnificent on the road. I've only had to do basic maintenance prior to this year. I had to begin replacing suspension parts this year. The best vehicle I've ever had and I'll get another one after this one goes, which doesn't look to be anytime soon

That's a great find, thanks for posting the link! That's even cheaper than I've seen them on ebay (all 4 are $325 shipped). You're quite welcome! I'm usually pretty good at sniffing around and finding the rock bottom price. As I mentioned, the same company owns both sites and apparently the price differential is tied into what warehouse they ship the parts from. I'm not sure why that would make a difference considering that they bill you for shipping

Hatcher, An update. Parts train did not actually have OEM Lexus struts but aftermarket KYB GR-2's and I would up returning them because I found a better price at their sister site: http://www.discountautoshocks.com/shop/?PN...ory:Suspension) I picked up the front shocks (KYB's) for 68.67 per and the rears are 71.03 per. I just put the fronts on and they're fine and I'll do the rears later. They ride just fine. Slightly stiffer, but I'm ok with them.

If it were me, I'd keep what I have and pay it off rather than incur more debt even if the interest rate is less. The best interest rate is zero and the best position to be in as far as debt is concerned is to owe no one. Just my opinion and, of course, I have a bias!

I need new struts all the way around on my LS. I had been searching around and looking at posts here and had settled on getting the aftermarket KYB GR-2's. I'm going to replace the front one's first then hit the back one's in the next couple of months. My concern on the aftermarket KYB's was the fact that some folks found the ride stiffer with these vs the OEM KYB's that came with the car, but I didn't want to spring $ 175 per buying from mylexparts.com, which was the cheapest OEM source. Well, today, I found the OEM fronts and rears at a site named www.partstrain.com . I got the fronts for $ 94 per and the rears for $ 101 per, which saved me about $ 200 versus the mylexparts.com price. Apparently www.partstrain is buying parts from dealerships who are closing and are reselling them at deep discounts. I feel pretty good about my deal. I should have them in my hands within the next few days.

I'm a former Maxima owner (1998 GLE) and you can't really go wrong with those cars. I gave my Max to my daughter and she's still driving it at 200+k miles on the clock. That car is an excellent value for the money and is a good compromise if one is looking for a car that's cheaper to maintain than the LS. I never did much to my Max other than basic maintenance. Check out the Maxima.org for euthusiats forum.

Well, I completed the first portion of my cross country trip from eastern PA to Palm Desert California. That was about 2800 miles one way and I've got to do the return trip in the next few days. The car was superb on the road with absolutely no problems. After all that distance, I had no body fatigue whatsover. This car is built for the long road trip. I spent the bulk of my time in the midwest and on the east coast, so this is my first time traveling extensively in the western US. This area of the country is stunningly beautiful. I drove through the Mojave today to get to Palm Desert and stopped in AZ to see the Grand Canyon and the meteor crater. We have mountains and beauty in the east and in PA, but the things I saw out here are really wonderful. I'd really like to do that Pacific Coast highway drive, but time does not permit it on this trip.

I've always dreamed of driving coast to coast and next week I have the mother of all road trips. I'm trekking from eastern PA to Palm Desert CA and back; about 5000 miles round trip. I've changed all my fluids and did some suspension work in preparation. She's in good shape and I look forward to this trip. This looks like it will take me about 3 days each way. I've not seen much of the west before so I plan on stopping by the Grand Canyon on the way there as I don't know when I'll be doing this again. I'm looking forward to this trip in my LS. I can't think of a better road car to be in.

Glad to hear you're okay and sorry about the car. You always have to be careful at the wheel. The minute I get sleepy, I just pull over rather than take any chances. There was a time where I was nearly at the end of a 900 mile trip and just an hour away from home and I was just to sleepy to make it, so I pulled over and just slept for eight hours and knocked out the last hour fully rested.

Got 145,000 on my 96 LS now. I bought the car with 37.5K miles on it in October 2006. I just had to do some suspension work (radius arms, bushings ), other than that, it's just been regular maintenance. I'm very happy with the car and will drive it until it drops, which based on everyone's experience here, will probably be never. I'll be taking her on a 5000 mile round trip excursion from PA to CA in the next three weeks. I'm looking forward to that trip. Road trips in this car are always something to look forward to.

I think you're getting ripped. I usually just buy my own parts and take them to an independent mechanic to install them. This sort of stuff is not what you want to take your car to the dealer for. Looks like the mounts are going to run about $ 136. http://www.mylexparts.com/partlocator/inde...20&model=LS 400&year=1996&graphicID=8906155&callout=1&catalogid=2&displayCatalogid=0

I had mine done at my local dealer Toyota for $ 1039.12 which included everything. Lexus was wanting $ 1600. I'm due again in another 60K miles.

Thanks guys! I'm not a diy'r mainly because I don't have the time or tools, so I'll go the Jiffy Lube route because they're cheaper and bring my own OEM fluid. Lexus wants about $ 200 for the flush and fill, while Jiffy is at half that price.

A quick question here on flushes versus a drain and fill. I had my transmission flushed around 50k miles and it's now past due at 138K miles. Lexus is telling me that I should not flush it while some other guys are telling me I can (jiffy lube). Moreover, Jiffylube is saying that they can use a fluid that's the equivalent of the Toyota type IV that will last longer. Two questions: 1) Should I flush and fill or drain and fill? 2) Would you recommend any fluid other than OEM? Thanks.

Perhaps so, but that's still a pretty steep discount even at that mileage. He got a hell of a deal. My indie was trying to get a 05 Ultra from the local dealer here late last year and they wouldn't budge off of 50K according to him, so he went for a $70K 460 instead and is now crying about it due to the amount of money he paid. Apparently he financed a good portion of the purchase and now regrets being in debt. Just goes to prove that letting one's emotions get in the way of buying a car ensures that you'll overpay or just do something that you might regret. The guy who sold it to me inherited (sp) a 06 BMW 750 so the LS sat in his driveway...for about 2 months. He just got board with it. His list price was 20,900 on it in cars.com, then I saw an ad on craig's list for 19,500 or so. When I looked at it on Sunday. he told me all he wanted was 500 over wholesale price...basically, he wanted it moved. Trust me, the car was dirty. The good news it wasn't beat. The inside had surface dirt, the engine area dusty, and the outside was not shiney. Super nice guy though but he just lost interest. I called my local lexus dealer to see what work he had done as well as run a autocheck report 50% of the cost of carfax. Once I brought the car home, I took out the vaccuum, bucket, cleaning supplies (Tuff Stuff works great on removing stains on fabric) and went to work. Took a few hours to do the interior alone. In fact the grime was so deep in the leather, I had to get a little more aggressive cleaner to pull the grime out. Once done, I deep conditioned the leather and it came out great. So yes, I got a deal, but an 05 with 85,000 miles on it requires a special buyer when you are asking 20,000 dollars. This is my third LS, so I know I can get 150,000 - 175,000 car free miles from it plus it provides a certain status driving it. Enjoy your ride... GDF Post up some pics when you get a chance

I have the same problem and have ordered a new antenna mask so I can replace. I was just looking at that tutorial last night to determine if I'm going to try to do this myself. Looks a bit involved, so I'll have my mechanic do it instead. I ordered the mask from www.mylexparts.com. Cost me $ 70

Perhaps so, but that's still a pretty steep discount even at that mileage. He got a hell of a deal. My indie was trying to get a 05 Ultra from the local dealer here late last year and they wouldn't budge off of 50K according to him, so he went for a $70K 460 instead and is now crying about it due to the amount of money he paid. Apparently he financed a good portion of the purchase and now regrets being in debt. Just goes to prove that letting one's emotions get in the way of buying a car ensures that you'll overpay or just do something that you might regret.

Man, used LS prices have definitely dropped substantially. That car was worth at least 30K+ a year ago. Did you get it from a dealer or private owner?