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Yeah, that makes the most sense. Thanks. This next part is somewhat regretable but... When you check the car in for service be sure the service writer writes down that you only want the FACTORY RECOMMENDED REQUIRED NON-SEVERE SERVICE items done and only sign the service sheet once that wording is on it. Some dealer have written up their own recommended service items and most dealers will automatically use the SEVERE, ROUGH service schedule is you don't tell them otherwise. Anything to get deeper into your pockets. To be fair to these Lexus dealers the vehicles are reliable, in the EXTREME, and being a single marque dealership puts them at odds with being able to operate a service shop profitably. But don't let them make that YOUR problem.

The ES350 is FWD... Klhutch said: "..and AWD just makes them insanely overconfident...." Wow, couldn't have said it better myself. And THAT, in a nutshell, is EXACTLY what is wrong with FWD! Good, EXCELLENT, for initial get up and go, but DEADLY thereafter. As also is F/AWD, front torque biased AWD. And I might add, for the inexperienced driver, 4WD, and yes, even a 4X4 in 4-high. Note that neither RWD nor R/AWD are on my HAZARDOUS list. If a 4X4 driver doesn't have the good sense to take the vehicle out of 4X4 mode once underway at a goodly roadspeed then I would call them inexperienced. I currently own a 2001 F/AWD RX300 and let me tell you that you will not find me out in those conditions absent tire chains on ONLY the rear wheels. I cannot disable the HAZARDOUS AWD system nor the adverse safety effects of its front torque biasing but on a slippery roadbed I can certainly negate those effects via those rear tire chains. The old Ford Aerostar, R/AWD (fulltime...) did it best by far. 30/70 F/R normal torque bias and automatically switched to 50/50 F/R with wheel slippage, EXCEPT above ~10 MPH it always remained 30/70. The only improvement I might suggest is 0/100 F/R once underway. But then if I read the specifications on the newer 4runners' AWD mode it will remove engine drive/lagging torque from the front "incrementally" with increasing lateral, stearing, loads, loading. Light or no stearing loads, 30/70 F/R torque biasing, HIGH stearing loads, 0/100. IMMHO FWD and F/AWD purchasers/drivers should be REQUIRED to take lessons on handling charactoristics of those vehicles on an adverse, SLIPPERY, roadbed before being given the "keys".

1992... SOP, time and distance, normal failure mode...high rev the engine, a COLD engine (thermostat closed), coolant system pressure GROWS, weakest links BLOWS. Also possible excess coolant system pressure due to blown head gasket.

"have advice?" Yes, put a cookie sheet under the car.

Why bother at all. I wouldn't bother replacing that piece of junk plus which I have often wondered what it might take to have it automatically off with each startup rather than on. I learned by be fairly religious in turning it off each and every time I start my 92 LS.

This Lexus is my first one, and I need for it to last a long time. With other makes of cars, I have had timing belts break, and I just put a new water pump on my 1997 Jeep Cherokee with 75,000 miles. My mechanic warns me that if the timing belt breaks, the engine could be destroyed. (This same thing supposedly happens on Honda because the valves lose sync with the pistons and the wiggle stick pushes through the radiscold. Or something like that.) When I had a Chevrolet, the timing belt broke, and there was no other damage. I hope others will chime in on this topic. I'd really rather not spend $900 on a "checkup" if the money is wasted. I'm inclined to do the timing belt and the water pump, but as I said, this is my first Lexus. Maybe that's being overly cautious. In my realm of influence, brother, friends, employees, and my own 92, there are at least 6 91-92 (one 95) LS400s well over 150,000 miles with the original timing belt and water pump. Only one of those have had alternator problems.

They couldn't afford me.

New, re-formed, theory... Okay, "teacher" will take a different tact, tactic. Do you know how many things in a car simply waste energy....??? A) Power stearing hydraulic pump when there is no "stearing" to be done. What, 98% of the time? And yes, I do know that PS pressure helps "hold" the stearing in a "set" position, but just how much energy does that require in comparison to the HUGE losses? The PS must have the pumping capacity/volume/displacement to help, SERIOUSLY help, turn the wheels at or near a dead stop(parallel parking...), all the while with the engine turning only at idle, of maybe slightly above. So, 2200 RPM and driving straight down the highway at 65MPH guess how much pressurized PS fluid is simply being bypassed back into the sump. Is it any wonder that many cars are converting to electric power stearing, even at the risk of having the solid state electronics overheat and therefore automatically going into a sub-standard power assist mode? B] Gear-type engine lubricating pump. Again, pumping volume/capacity/displacement must accomodate full pressure and flow even with the engine at idle. So as engine RPM rises the EXTRA pumping capacity must be bypassed back into the sump. Either BMW or MB, don't remember which, has already gone to a variable displacement engine lubricating oil pump in oder to reduce these losses and thereby reduce the engine heat load and also increase FE. C) A/C compressor. Here again, the compressor pumping capacity must be such that it can provide FULL cooling capability at engine idle on a BRIGHT and SUNNY 100F (or above) day. In this case the A/C clutch along with a reasonably sized liquid refrigerant storage reservoir has been used for "eons" to ammiliate the effects of continuous engine loading by the A/C compressor. So why do you suppose so many new vehicles are coming out equipped with the new variable capacity "swash plate" type A/C compressor, and the compressor clutch? Because it is better design practice, overall, to have a continous ~2HP load on the engine rather than an intermittent load of ~7HP. Getting the picture..? D) And just what is the deal with the torque converter (hydraulic TURBINE pump, slush pump, etc.), just how lossy is that sucker? The slush pump, torque converter, is really required ONLY to act as an automatic clutch. At low engine speeds, idle, the losses are so high that virtually no torque is coupled to the transaxle input shaft. NONE would be ideal, but nowadays you need a clutch pedal for that. The nice thing about the torque converter is that it also acts as a reduction gear ratio at low torque loading. But, that's where the torque converter lockup clutch comes into play. In OD it is highly desirous to have the engine operate at the lowest speed at which it can produce "just" enough torque for the current load factor...roadspeed. So at low engine RPMs the HIGH LOSS torque converter is bypassed by the lockup clutch. E) This one is slightly off point but I bring it because if I don't someone else will. The engine coolant water pump. Almost all engine coolant water pumps are of the centrifical, turbine, type and thereby self limiting insofar as pumping volume is concerned. Obviously there is some "needless" loss involved here otherwise the water hoses would not "swell", balloon, as engine speed rises beyond the point wherein the thermostat will accomodate the pump volume. Other than the current crop of hybrids, all equipped, to my knowledge, with electric water pumps, other manufacturers have already converted to electric pumps, if not altogether then at least apartially so, for the cabin heater. Get the picture..? No...? F) And finally.... The gear type ATF pump. Like everything else above the most critical situation insofar as determining base pump volume occurs with the engine at idle. Hmmmm.. Let's think this over a bit. Just what "work" does the ATF pump have to do with the engine at idle? Shifting from park or neutral to drive or reverse is clearly not critical insofar as pumping volume is concerned... Upshifting once underway always involves engine RPM well above idle.... Aha, DOWNSHIFTING.... So, when does an automatic downshift with the engine at idle or nearly at idle. Not for passing, kickdown, certainly... But then how about just before coming to a full stop...? Or during coastdown periods with the throttle fully closed...? In both of these latter instances if the transaxle is to downshift lots of ATF pressure/flow will be required to ascertain the downshift clutches are quickly and firmly seated. Otherwise, with low or marginal ATF pressure these clutches would undoubtedly incur some serious level of slippage and the wear associated thereto. So, the engineers say to each other, if we could eliminate just these two instances the ATF pump FIXED capacity could be a LOT lower and that would undoubtedly inprove FE overall while reducing the heat load and clutch wear rate. Say, what does a stick shift driver do in these instances. Well as the cars coasts to a stop the driver would normally disenage the clutch and slip the transmission into 1st. Well, we can't disenage the clutch....Can we...?? Sure can, simply "upshift" the transaxle a few notches, no substantial level of engine compression braking, NO transaxle clutch wear. Who cares if the upshifted clutches don't quickly fully and firmly engage...! But what about coastdown periods at 40-30MPH with the engine at idle...? Why not upshift then too, who's to notice? ________________________________________ The theory behind the above dissertation arose because I noticed a seeming abiguity between my earlier theory, "protect the drive train using DBW to prevent engine compression braking.' Owners have been reporting that while in cruise control the engine/transaxle ECU will actually command a downshift to !Removed! roadspeed going down a hill. Me..."What? Downshift a FWD or F/AWD vehicle and actually take advantage of engine compression braking?" NOT...! Or so I thought at first. In cruise control the vehicle MUST be traveling ABOVE 35MPH. Engine speed is NOT at idle so the ATF pump volume is quite reasonable for supporting the downshift. Additionally with the cruise control engaged no serious level of engine compression braking will result. Once the downshift occurs the cruise control will raise the engine RPM just enough to HOLD the set speed. So, what does all this rethinking mean..? Not much. Toyota, seemingly, first implemented this new upshift technique along with a significantly lower volume, HIGH EFFICIENCY, ATF pump in the 1999 RX300. We all know by now, I hope, about the many reports of premature transaxle failures in the '99 RX300 that resulted. Drivers still wanted quick kickdowns, downshifts, during, or worse, immediately after, those coastdown "upshifts". Or maybe even a quick "GO" downshift/kickdown if that traffic light suddenly turned green. But the new lower volume HIGH EFFICIENCY gear tyep ATF pump did not have that level of pumping capacity. The rest, the '99 RX transaxle failures, is now history. So by '00 the ATF pump volume was edged up a might but the upshift technique remained. By the '01 RX model year Toyota knew they had a darn serious problem. They could not drop the upshift technique and still maintain the FE level they were touting and the EPA had published. So they raised the ATF pump volume yet again. But since the RX300 transaxle was never designed to handle the resulting level of heat load all products were shipped with the towing package, external ATF cooler included. By the time the RX330 was brought to market the engineers had incorporated DBW "to protect the drive train". Prevent the driver, regardless of need, from being able to "command" a quick, FAST, transaxle downshift in the aforementioned circumstances. I fully expect that very soon we will see the "final" fix for this MESS. The new Ford Edge uses a variable displacement ATF pump (To improve driver train efficiency, so says Ford). I suspect Toyota will soon follow their lead.. Ford, LEADING...??!!

pressing any button should flash the light. i tried on rx and gs. Thankyou "secretdude" I owe you one.....but it's disenheartening, to say the least, that over 60 others read this post and couldn't take the time to press a few buttons on their remote. You don't even have to go out to your vehicle, for goodness sake. No wonder the Lexus dealers get to take advantage of us, we won't even help each other...... I may have been, probably was, one of the sixty. But my remote doesn't have any light at all.....

I think the roof rack has a 75lb weight limit, probably more against increasing the potential for rollover vs mechanical strength.

Personally I would simply change the oil and filters (oil, air, & pollen) and tell both shops to go to HE...............! Back when "rubber" timing belts were a new "thing" a reasonably conservative suggestion was to change them out at 90,000 miles. Many dealers lined their pockets inordinately by changing them out at 60,000 miles. And just how many water pumps have been changed out needlessly in the last, say, 15 years? Modern day water pump designs are no more prone to failure than the engine itself, so why not simply change out the engine while they're in there. Water pump failures, traditionally, historically (no current "records"), were the result of the rear bearing seal failing, exposing the single shaft bearing to coolant. I wouldn't be surprised to find that many dealer's were (perfectly ethically) replacing that rear seal on removed water pumps, painting them, and then selling them as "rebuilt".

You are extremely lucky, both batteries may have EXPLODED before you could get them disconnected. Surprised that the "HOT" one still had enough energy to start the car after having been reverse connected.

Okay, "teacher" will take a different tact, tactic. Do you know how many things in a car simply waste energy....??? A) Power stearing hydraulic pump when there is no "stearing" to be done. What, 98% of the time? And yes, I do know that PS pressure helps "hold" the stearing in a "set" position, but just how much energy does that require in comparison to the HUGE losses? The PS must have the pumping capacity/volume/displacement to help, SERIOUSLY help, turn the wheels at or near a dead stop(parallel parking...), all the while with the engine turning only at idle, of maybe slightly above. So, 2200 RPM and driving straight down the highway at 65MPH guess how much pressurized PS fluid is simply being bypassed back into the sump. Is it any wonder that many cars are converting to electric power stearing, even at the risk of having the solid state electronics overheat and therefore automatically going into a sub-standard power assist mode? B] Gear-type engine lubricating pump. Again, pumping volume/capacity/displacement must accomodate full pressure and flow even with the engine at idle. So as engine RPM rises the EXTRA pumping capacity must be bypassed back into the sump. Either BMW or MB, don't remember which, has already gone to a variable displacement engine lubricating oil pump in oder to reduce these losses and thereby reduce the engine heat load and also increase FE. C) A/C compressor. Here again, the compressor pumping capacity must be such that it can provide FULL cooling capability at engine idle on a BRIGHT and SUNNY 100F (or above) day. In this case the A/C clutch along with a reasonably sized liquid refrigerant storage reservoir has been used for "eons" to ammiliate the effects of continuous engine loading by the A/C compressor. So why do you suppose so many new vehicles are coming out equipped with the new variable capacity "swash plate" type A/C compressor, and the compressor clutch? Because it is better design practice, overall, to have a continous ~2HP load on the engine rather than an intermittent load of ~7HP. Getting the picture..? D) And just what is the deal with the torque converter (hydraulic TURBINE pump, slush pump, etc.), just how lossy is that sucker? The slush pump, torque converter, is really required ONLY to act as an automatic clutch. At low engine speeds, idle, the losses are so high that virtually no torque is coupled to the transaxle input shaft. NONE would be ideal, but nowadays you need a clutch pedal for that. The nice thing about the torque converter is that it also acts as a reduction gear ratio at low torque loading. But, that's where the torque converter lockup clutch comes into play. In OD it is highly desirous to have the engine operate at the lowest speed at which it can produce "just" enough torque for the current load factor...roadspeed. So at low engine RPMs the HIGH LOSS torque converter is bypassed by the lockup clutch. E) This one is slightly off point but I bring it because if I don't someone else will. The engine coolant water pump. Almost all engine coolant water pumps are of the centrifical, turbine, type and thereby self limiting insofar as pumping volume is concerned. Obviously there is some "needless" loss involved here otherwise the water hoses would not "swell", balloon, as engine speed rises beyond the point wherein the thermostat will accomodate the pump volume. Other than the current crop of hybrids, all equipped, to my knowledge, with electric water pumps, other manufacturers have already converted to electric pumps, if not altogether then at least apartially so, for the cabin heater. Get the picture..? No...? F) And finally.... The gear type ATF pump. Like everything else above the most critical situation insofar as determining base pump volume occurs with the engine at idle. Hmmmm.. Let's think this over a bit. Just what "work" does the ATF pump have to do with the engine at idle? Shifting from park or neutral to drive or reverse is clearly not critical insofar as pumping volume is concerned... Upshifting once underway always involves engine RPM well above idle.... Aha, DOWNSHIFTING.... So, when does an automatic downshift with the engine at idle or nearly at idle. Not for passing, kickdown, certainly... But then how about just before coming to a full stop...? Or during coastdown periods with the throttle fully closed...? In both of these latter instances if the transaxle is to downshift lots of ATF pressure/flow will be required to ascertain the downshift clutches are quickly and firmly seated. Otherwise, with low or marginal ATF pressure these clutches would undoubtedly incur some serious level of slippage and the wear associated thereto. So, the engineers say to each other, if we could eliminate just these two instances the ATF pump FIXED capacity could be a LOT lower and that would undoubtedly inprove FE overall while reducing the heat load and clutch wear rate. Say, what does a stick shift driver do in these instances. Well as the cars coasts to a stop the driver would normally disenage the clutch and slip the transmission into 1st. Well, we can't disenage the clutch....Can we...?? Sure can, simply "upshift" the transaxle a few notches, no substantial level of engine compression braking, NO transaxle clutch wear. Who cares if the upshifted clutches don't quickly fully and firmly engage...! But what about coastdown periods at 40-30MPH with the engine at idle...? Why not upshift then too, who's to notice? ________________________________________ The theory behind the above dissertation arose because I noticed a seeming abiguity between my earlier theory, "protect the drive train using DBW to prevent engine compression braking.' Owners have been reporting that while in cruise control the engine/transaxle ECU will actually command a downshift to !Removed! roadspeed going down a hill. Me..."What? Downshift a FWD or F/AWD vehicle and actually take advantage of engine compression braking?" NOT...! Or so I thought at first. In cruise control the vehicle MUST be traveling ABOVE 35MPH. Engine speed is NOT at idle so the ATF pump volume is quite reasonable for supporting the downshift. Additionally with the cruise control engaged no serious level of engine compression braking will result. Once the downshift occurs the cruise control will raise the engine RPM just enough to HOLD the set speed. So, what does all this rethinking mean..? Not much. Toyota, seemingly, first implemented this new upshift technique along with a significantly lower volume, HIGH EFFICIENCY, ATF pump in the 1999 RX300. We all know by now, I hope, about the many reports of premature transaxle failures in the '99 RX300 that resulted. Drivers still wanted quick kickdowns, downshifts, during, or worse, immediately after, those coastdown "upshifts". Or maybe even a quick "GO" downshift/kickdown if that traffic light suddenly turned green. But the new lower volume HIGH EFFICIENCY gear tyep ATF pump did not have that level of pumping capacity. The rest, the '99 RX transaxle failures, is now history. So by '00 the ATF pump volume was edged up a might but the upshift technique remained. By the '01 RX model year Toyota knew they had a darn serious problem. They could not drop the upshift technique and still maintain the FE level they were touting and the EPA had published. So they raised the ATF pump volume yet again. But since the RX300 transaxle was never designed to handle the resulting level of heat load all products were shipped with the towing package, external ATF cooler included. By the time the RX330 was brought to market the engineers had incorporated DBW "to protect the drive train". Prevent the driver, regardless of need, from being able to "command" a quick, FAST, transaxle downshift in the aforementioned circumstances. I fully expect that very soon we will see the "final" fix for this MESS. The new Ford Edge uses a variable displacement ATF pump (To improve driver train efficiency, so says Ford). I suspect Toyota will soon follow their lead.. Ford, LEADING...??!!

The central, CORE, idea for hybrid vehicles is to provide STELLAR FE vs non-hybrids. If the designers provided what you ask, seem to be asking, it would not only bring FE down to unseemly EPA level estimates, it might also prove to be too high an attraction for boy-racer mentality types, and then the insurance cost for the specific vehicle would likely SKYROCKET. Additionally it might actually be the VDIM system that has "learned" to limit the torque levels at the speeds you mention. All it would take would be, might be, a few wheelspin/slips here and there, maybe not even noticeable at the time by the driver. "not giving out full power until you reach a speed where it's not all that usefull." Not all that useful.... And then just HOW did you reach that speed...? Sounds as if you are complaining about not being able to do "burn-outs" as in driving a dragster....

well, for this kind of usage i would stay on standard (sumer) tires and use "real" snow chains (not the textile ones). i was driving for 3 month with the standard tires in winter time and we had a lot of snow that year and i had to use the snow chains only once. some people here use the yokohama winter tires all year round, but for the high temps in spain i would not recommend doing so. and don't be so concerned about the VDIM it is much better then comparable systems from the competition! Mine is a 2001 AWD RX300 so much of the following may not work. For non-hybrid RXes if you unplug the MAF/IAT module connector while the engine is running, idling, the engine will die, plug the module back in, start the engine and drive away with VSC/Trac disabled. For the next few drive cycles you will have a CEL & VSC/Trac diagnostic icon displayed and because the "failure" was intermittent it will extinguish within a few drive cycles. If you wish to restore the VSC/Trac sooner then disconnect the battery or ECU fuse for 30 seconds or so. VSC/Trac is most DEFINITELY a desired asset for safe driving, period, but especially so on wintertime adverse roadbed conditions. The PSM on the car pictured to the left NEVER gets turned off, but then its AWD system is most definitely REAR TORQUE biased, R/AWD. There is a wireless relay available in the market if you should wish to do this from the driver's seat. I used one to "open" the GPS/Nav DVD door in the spare tire storage well and thereby disable (no "I agree") the nav system unless/until I want to use it. Rarely, since I now have a portable Garmin which provides STELLAR performance in comparison. Tire chains, of any type, cannot be used on the rear due to poor tire/suspension clearance. As the RX driver's manual itself states, higher traction on the front wheels vs the rear will often lead to loss of directional control on a slippery roadbed. Think tractor/trailer rig jack-knifing absent drag chains and selective braking on the rearmost wheels of the trailer. My 2001 AWD RX300 has 1.5" wheel spacers all around, +1 17X8 wheels and is shod with "summer only" Bridgestone Turanza tires. Wider stance, more stability against rollover, more tread on the road, nice and quiet, comfortable ride. Plus the ability to use tire chains on the rear, SAFELY, FIRST, when the need arises, and add the fronts if required. I suspect tire chains on only the rear of the RXh might work especially well since that might lead to the VSC/Trac, VDIM, "thinking" the front is slipping and therefore bias the hybrid drive torque toward the rear drive motor. IMMHO in the situations wherein tirechains are to be used it is a good idea, a DAMN good idea, to dedicate the front tires to directional control and the rear tires to "driving" the vehicle forward. By-the-by, Ford has been awarded a US patent for two techniques involved in making the hybrid Escape and Mariner FRONT WHEEL DRIVE and FRONT torque biased AWD (F/AWD) vehicles much safer in wintertime adverse roadbed conditions. If the OAT declines to near, at, or below freezing the level of regenerative braking, braking that the anti-lock system cannot control, is reduced dramatically. Additionally if actual brake application results in ABS activation the regenerative braking system is INSTANTLY disabled until such time as the brake pedal is released. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see those SAFETY aspects carried over to the FWD and F/AWD Toyota and Lexus hybrid vehicles very soon. That probably, might, result in reducing the FE aspects of many hybrid FWD & F/AWD vehicles so low during the winter as to make them useless.

Most modern day systems are designed to clear the CEL caused by a loss of vacuum in the fuel system within a few "drive" cycles. When you "reset" the engine ECU via fuse or battery it sets a code that tells the emissions tester that the system has not "endured" enough drive cycles, "history" has been cleared, to be able to report satisfactory, or NOT, operation of the emissions control system

I could be wrong but I don't think LED lamps are as yet up to the power required of backup lamps. So why not just pop the tail light fixture out and tap into that wire? Ultrasonic.... Do you have a dog that tends to get behind your RX when you're backing?

Depending on miles/years/wear rate the engine may not be able to produce enough HP/torque to move you forward at interstate speeds before descenting into the "lugging" zone. Are you may have fueled with an unusually low fuel grade, below tolerance, the engine started pinging and even before your ears detected it the engine ECU took over and said no overdrive.

Yes, almost all new cars, those with EFI, Electronic Fuel Injection, and knock/ping sensing, can use regular fuel. Even both of those pictured to the left.

If you're nearby Redmond I have a complete set of Lexus shop/repair manuals you can borrow.

Fuel Economy...

You are having the same experience with 134 that we had with R12. The first time Lexus covered it. The second time Lexus didn't cover it. The third time he took it in the repair was not going to be covered. My dad bought all the equipment to do the job himself, got a license (or certification, or whatever it is) to buy R12 and spent weeks researching the issue. A car with (at the time of the last failure) less than 65,000 miles on it should not be on its fourth a/c compressor. I'm almost certain the problem was the "slugging" referred to in a prior post caused by not adjusting the valve (he replaced his and adjusted it - I know because he replaced *everything* and adjusted it), but I do know with a high degree of confidence that this was caused by some $100 thing the dealership was not-doing when they charged $1,200 or $1,400 to "almost-do" the repair. A letter was written to Lexus concerning this and the fact that a Lexus dealer's repair was lasting no-time. It was pointed-out to them that a car that needs a new a/c compressor every 8,000-15,000 miles is evidence that something is wrong. Lexus' response was essentially, "Gee, we're sorry about that," followed by a blurb about the standard warranty on repairs. In other words, nobody really read the letter, or they didn't care, or something. I'd have been in small-claims court. The compressor would whine and complain before dying. When he took it to the dealership he was told, "Yeah, a lot of them do that. Get ready to buy a new compressor. Nothing we can do." Amazing. Simply amazing. WHY do you need to take photocopies of the manuals with you and FORCE the mechanic to initial every step of a clearly defined procedure? Especially at Lexus' labor rates, you would *think* that something like that was being done and that you could count-on Lexus to perform the work correctly. It has been my unfortunate experience that *seldom* does my car go-in for expensive service that gets done correctly the first time. There's usually a return trip and it's usually because somebody didn't follow the procedure in the manual. This was true of two '91 ES250s (I've got a story about one of those ES250s involving a visit from some Japanese fellows I'll tell sometime - I raised hell, and Lexus responded), and now the '92 LS is following suit. I don't think it has been successfully repaired the first time, ever (two different dealerships). I have somewhat better luck with the 2002 ES. B I don't know, cannot tell you, about other LS400 MY's than '92, but there is a unique aspect of the '92 that will/can make them especially subject to compressor slugging. The '92 LS400 uses an EPR, Evaporator Pressure Regulator, valve downstream of the evaporator. I think I was told at one time that this was used to "quiet" the refrigerant evaporative process as it enters the evaporator core via the expansion valve. If I understand the operation of the EPR valve correctly its purpose is to not allow the full vacuum "pressure" of the suction side to be "felt" within the evaporator. Bacically it regulates the level of metering of the flow into the evaporator chambers by providing a back-pressure to that flow. I have often seen the inlet lines to the compressor covered with rhime ice up to a level of 1/4". That would be a clear indication that the refrigerant's evaporative process is continuing beyond the EPR and possibly all the way to the compressor inlet. It seems very probable to me that with refrigerant cooling capacity existing so obviously existing downstream of the EPR itself there would be an extremely high likelihood of the EPR valve freezing into position, shut, or almost shut. In that case liquid refrigerant would undoubtedly reach the compressor. While I'm here there is yet another anomally of the '92 A/C system. About the second summer, 93, we owned the '92 we made a trip to MT. On the return as we were climbing the pass West of Helena the system airflow turned quite warm. I fiddled with the controls a bit to no avail and then as we neared the top of the pass I pulled into a pull-out to check things over. Nothing seemed amiss under the hood or otherwise so I pulled out to continue on our way and immediately realized that the A/C was again operating properly. I think I reported this to Lexus of Bellevue and got a shrug of shoulders. About 5 years ago now I happened to be driving another '92 LS400 on I5 in northern CA, again, in the sumemr, headed home to Seattle. As we were climbing one of the Passes on I5 nearing the OR border the same thing happened. Pull over, stop, raise the hood, look things over, get back in and drive away and the A/C is again working just fine. ????.... A little background that may or may not matter. Some years ago now I owned a Ford Pinto Station wagon, I4 engine. My drive home wasa bout 25 miles, Bellevue to Federal Way. Almost like clockwork about 5 miles after I left work the Pinto engine would start stumbling, studdering and then die. It would restart, stumble, !Removed!, and then die. I could get out, open the hood, look things over, get back in and start the engine and drive away. What..WHAT...? I eventually discovered that the vacuum motor that moved the damper forcing the intake airflow over the exhaust manifold had failed. Apparently, starting out with the engine cold (remember that that I4 did not generate a lot of heat anyway) it would take about 5 miles for the fuel's evaporative process in the throat, venturi, of the carburator to freeze it shut. My carborator was icing up since there was no carborator HEAT. Shut the engine down, no more evaporative cooling, the ice melts and now the engine runs fine. See the parallel...?? But why, how, would elevation have such an effect on the LS400's A/C system? I assume the EPR was freezing shut but why only at higher altitudes?

Hi there, I've successful convert many R-12 system to R-134 with no problem. Many folks giving it a bad rep because they wouldn't take the time to do it right or lack of knowledge how the a/c works. This vehicle actually designed for R12 so it will work much better with R-12 but where can we find R-12? The gray market? We have seen 104 degree here in the Dallas, TX area the past week. I've convert a couple of them last week, air blows 28 degree out of the vents in 104 degree temp. Here are some tips: - Flush the system Flush the system, actually..?? Or do you really mean pump it down to a HARD vacuum..?They sell the flushing chemical at any a/c supply outlet. What do you mean why pump it down to a HARD VACCUM? Is this how you flush the system? I do not doubt that a flushing "chemical" can be purchased, but assuming this is a conversion, not a repair, is it really normal to do a flush? - Replace all the 0-rings and lube them up with oil Why...?? My seals have worked for 150,000 miles... And with what oil...??Once you open up the lines, It's wise to replace the 0-rings. We had a quite a few 0-rings after the convertion. "Once you open up the lines.." Why would you do anything other, more, than tap into the shrader valves? Again "this" is a simple conversion, not a repair. - Use the right oil for your a/c system Wouldn't the "right" oil for the system mean being compatible with the original R-12..?? Would be surprise what kind of oil people will put in the a/c system. - Replace the drier once the system is open up First pump it down to a HARD vacuum, undoubtedly removing ALL the H2O, and NOW remove the drier..? Why? Since you asked me this question, I don't think you ever work on an a/c system before Well, first, I'm pretty good at comprehending and understanding what I read, so I'm pretty sure I understand how the drier works and why. Second, I have had a good A/C specialty shop owner/technician tell me that once the system is fully pumped down the drier is restored to "like new" capability. - Recharge the proper amount of oil Doesn't the commercially packaged for retail R-134 come with the oil mixed in...??Nope Are you certain sure of this, ALL brands? - Recharge the proper of R-134(usually 10-15 less than your R-12 system) Or simply recharge to the level that results in the proper low side pressure, ~40 lbs, as directed in the DIY kit..! - Last but not least converting the system isn't cheap. Bring it to someone has the knowledge. Pay for the reapair Once not Twice!!! $50 for the DIY kit including 32 oz of R-134, ~$100 for a reputable A/C specialty shop to do it. Key words = REPUTABLE & A/C SPECIALTY SHOP...! JP Importz

Try this. Next time you're out on the fwy with no traffic nearby simply disable OD, hesitate just long enough, 1001, 1002,,, for the tranny to complete the downshift out of OD and then depress the gas pedal in about the same amount you would when feeling the shudder. You'll be giving the third gear clutches time to fully and firmly seat before you ask for acceleration toque. Let us know. Oh, if it were the torque converter, as is certainly possible, even probable, at 150,000+ miles, it would generally be much worse when cold vs fully warmed up to operational temperature. Your torque converter is "locked out", bypassed, in OD. So when you ask for a downshift out of OD the torque converter's turbine must begin "pumping" fluid.