LinuxFan

How do they hold up in a car wash?

YUP! Got rid of the 91 -- moving on up... next might be a 2000 in about two or so years. Happy so far, except that lock in Drive feature is not there like I was told it was. So we working on rectifieing on that :) NO WIRES??? So that means all you do is change the pluges when you do a tune up?

Personally, I am not aware of any chip that one can add to the prior model years, so I would have no clue about the 2004+ years. All the same, welcome to the Lexus haven... we love it here, I bet you will too.

My 98 LS looks better and display more class than that does. You couldn't give me something that looks like that.... try me and see.:)

Well say what you may, I am more concerned about being jacked than anything else -- and it does not matter where you live either; evil/moochers are everywhere. You make some good points still -- never the less; I WANTS WAT A WANTS! So, yous got any idea of how I might be able to do this in my fancy, schmancy 98 LS400? I am thinking maybe one could tie in the circuit or whatever the button activates when you push it to either the reverse light or to the brake pedal with a type of delay relay or something similar. Since the shifter has to pass the R before it gets to the D, then it would lock the door when the reverse light gets the power. Or since we have to press the brake to put this beauty into Drive, then that would possibly work as well. What you say? Any Electrical Engineer out there wanna dabble and give some suggestions, before I start digging/take it to THE MON? :D

Thanks for being that kind of guy. It is much appreciated.:-D

The option to lock when put in Drive is what I want most of all. I can unlock it when I put it in Park, plus that might not be safe -- depending on where you are when you put it in Park. I asked the dealer service manager four times and he said no it cannot be done. So can it or not

Yes, that 650 rules if you are in the US. Want something better -- you MUST pay big bucks and maybe even more to have it unlocked so you can use it and features that are normally locked away from us like children. Anyway -- want a new and better phone than what your provider offers? I use Sprint and they are certainly behind the 8-ball when it comes to offering phones I want so I buy it overseas. Try: www.gsmarena.com and if you use Sprint, you more than likely will need a quad band phone because they operate on the 850 band and most others use 900 or 1900. With a quad band you can operate the phone on all the aforementioned bands -- just change the chip and bingo. I love it, bet you will too.......

Whatever! I still think and say they are blood/money suckers, like that detestible thing that does the same -- who in fact (as any medical doctor can confirm) can serve a benefit. Not those speed cops however, their main purpose is to suck money out of y(our) pockets. After that, then they pass us on to our insurance companies who for three years in most cases, suck us some more. You can be sympathetic if you want -- to me they are what they are and do; money vacuums pointed at our wallets. Whether or not it is their job does not matter to me.

I have tried three times to get this setup done at the dealer and they say it does not have it on this vehicle, yet I read here a few times that the option to say lock the door when I put the gear shifter in Drive or unlock the door when I put the gear shifter in Park does exist on the 98s. So who is right? Them or LexusOwnersClub members? thank in advance

Dealer said it was the Idle Control Valve... so far so good -- it starts strong/quick, and runs fine and the RPM shows steady idle speed at a stop light; all problems I had before they changed out this part. I thank them. Now I can start enjoying my new ride. Waiting to get the tint and then we shall have some pics for the club.

Sad to say it, but I cannot see any competition for these two for ages. The devices in the sky, of which both have two, cost 1 billion dollars so I cannot see any competition coming anytime soon. I have Sirius in my LS via the plug and play option and would not trade it for anything out there. I think I get more than what an XM user would because I get to listen free via the net -- something that XM charges extra for. Also, the plug and play option offers me more choice than the built-in system does, so I will stick to that in my LS. Still, I will give Sirius a ring about the availability of their service in a Lexus vehicle.

OK. If you have the time please scan it. I know it will help me and possibly others who come after me. thanks I had hoped to get a look at it over this long weekend, but you know how that goes -- the wife wins,

Thanks... That is what I figured as well that it is limited some how -- if not then I can hardly believe that no one has thought of doing/has done this before. I will check it out as soon as I get a chance. Let me know what you find -- I will take a pic or two of it and post it so others can see where it is in the 98 LS400 and how to take it out at a minimum. :-)

And you are still driving it? Brave soul you are... when you first heard this you should have pulled off the road then and checked it out thoroughly. I experienced this before -- once it was the lug nut not being tight enough and the next it was a bad wheel. It could be a lower ball joint also. It could be anything. What is worth noting is that it should not be doing this and since it is doing it, something is not right -- so have it checked out ASAP by a certified mechanic. Yours and the car's health depends on it.

There is only a replacement for the ones that are in the 98LS, there is no update per se. It is required that we swap the hard drive out with the new one. I don't see any where that they require you to send the old one in (like a core) so I might be able to fiddle with it. I am thinking, if we can figure out the connections we might be able to leverage it to our benefit; meaning we might be able to seperate the new software from the new hardware and maybe have a backup so if the drive goes down we still have the software backed up, like smart computer people do. What you think? Is the hard drive propriatary or can I just get it from someplace else, connect it to some hardware and transfer the data to the new hard drive. I hope it is possible... some who has done it needs to confirm my thinking. one way or another. thanks

What year is it? They claim it cannot but I am sure everything can be stolen and every security system can be bypassed. Maybe they did not drive it away. That would not require a key.

Yes... and maybe not a lot of people here have navigation either. Anyway, this did not answer my question. Maybe I will ask Lexus, if they plan new updates for the 98 model year LS400 navigation systems, or are they done updating that. On that issue -- and I maybe should start a new thread: but are you aware that Lexus is giving free DVD updates on the latest models? There seems to be some error that this new update corrects. Ask your dealer about it. Back to my nav now. I hear it is not compatable with the 98 -- the DVD ones that is, so I was not thinking of doing it myself, I don't have the know how. It would be interesting to see the hard drive though and maybe figure out a way to change it or something.

Anyone knows? The one in my 98 LS400 vehicle shows a date of 1998 and I would like to (don't really need to) update it to the currently available update but don't want to and then find out the day after that a newer update is available. Are they still updating these hard drive based systems anyhow? Or is the 2003 the last and final year? With the price and size of hard drives these days, it should not be too difficult to get the DVD on a hard drive -- but who will do it? Any business minded people out there want to jump on this? For Me?

WOW! All god stuff... I am an advocate of no tickets and therefore, for having redar detectors -- my heart aches for what those in Canada and in the US states that restrict these devices must go through. It would drive me nuts and in fact it used to until I got a ticket for having a detector in Canada (the only time I have gotten a ticket while going the speed limit): I just was not paying attention, busy talking with the wifey -- these guys used an airplane to relay my location to a patrol vehicle that nabbed me. Talk about overkill (how much is airplane fuel) -- but they want them off their roads so they go for those people who have detectors everytime, as opposed to the speeder... I know. Anyway, to add some value or confirm what others have said; it is best to know the roads that you travel regularly as you will know the where these leach's hide as they wait to suck your money from your wallet. It never fails, and tire tracks will confirm it since they are like sheep/cattle -- they eat at the same place everytime. This principle alone has saved me countless times. I had one of those expensive Cobra (9700 -- I think) brands with the compass and ignition sensor, voice as opposed to beep alerts, one that adjusts the sensitivity to the speed (really RPM) that it senses. If I am going say 10MPH (or 1600RPM) in the parking lot or in slow traffic, it detects that RPM and does not display any radar signal it detects. I loved that thing... stupid OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) cops. yeah -- all good stuff

OK... Thanks. If I do end up having to do it, I will most certainly take some notes and shoot them your way. Maybe you can use it.

Impresssive -- really, impressive. It really shows your appreciation and care for that car. Not too much a fan of that dark color, but it still looks nice. Have you ever thought of changing the front turn signal lights from the orange to the white ones? Or do you just like the original look -- the tail lights are nice already. Anyway, I think the white turn signal lights would look really nice on front -- but that is just me and my opinion though.

I have seen the instructions for the 91LS... how is the 98 compared to that? Can I use the same instructions/how to? Car would not start this morning -- had to crank it about 5 times. My prevous LS never did that. thanks

The lights look similar -- why would they put that turn signal below the bumper? Well, maybe because it is not a US car, we don't like that at all. I should say, I don't. Anyway, looks more like a Crown Vic to me. Gotta hand it to Hundai though, their quality is up on their JD Power reports and they are trying to make stylish cars. Good... for them.

True words... this place is second to none. I am finalizing a deal now on a 98 and getting rid of my 91 LS with 108k on there. Best car I have had thus far -- not for long though, if all goes well with my move to a 98. Anyway, what I did when I got first got her was a thorough inspection of things that needs a little attention. I don't know what shape yours is in, but I had a bad antenna and the CD player would not work. Lucky for me -- I found this place and it turns out the antenna was just a problem with the mast, and the CD issue was just the problem with me inserting it label side up like normal cars are instead of label down, the way that Lexus does it. In a nut shell my friend -- if something goes wrong, don't panic. Simply fire up your Firefox web browser to this space and you will never go wrong. cheers!