90LS400Lexus

Before I bought my 90- it had a miss at idle. He said they had just had it tuned up, but it still missed at idle. I told them I would check back after the miss was fixed. I called later and he said they took it back and it turned out being a loose plug wire that they did not properly attach.

My 90 is also attached to the floor board, just like everyone else's. Perhaps the Canadian models are different?

90LS400Lexus,

I also share your grief with the ride.

A few questions...

Did you ever get that tranny flushed?

What kind of tires do have?

Does your notice specifically shake all over but is heard (low frequency) from the rear of the car?

Have you done something that I have not? ( see prior post) such as bearings, axles, torque converter?

While there at the Lexus dealer did you ask them to look into your problem?

I have sunk a considerable amount of time and money in this car but am still looking at a good payback if the engine and tranny stay sound for about 2 years.

pachocco1

I did have the transmission "serviced", which according to members here- is only a drain of about 3-4 quarts and a refill. I had that done because they told me when I had my oil changed that it was dirty. I was also experiencing that "vvvvert" sound when I would rapidly shift out of lock-up mode at 35-50 mph speeds and someone said that theirs did that and it was because of old fluid. That problem has seemed to have went away. Just the vibrations continue.

I have BFGoodrich Touring T/A tires ($99. each) on the car. They only have about 3500 miles on them. I have noticed an occasional "wobble" at 1-15 mph speeds if I accelerate slowly. Perhaps a bad wheel or tire - which is also cause of 35-up vibration? Between 16-34- it is smooth. The vibration starts at about 35 mph on the dot and evenly vibrates the entire passenger cabin. At times it is worse than other times. It seems to vibrate the whole car the same. I can feel it in the steering wheel and when I touch the door panel I can also feel it. It does not have a side to side vibration in the steering wheel. I do not recall it doing this until I had the rear struts changed and then it was so gradual, I did not even realize it until it was annoying. I have heard that they should have done another alignment, but they did not, because they do not have that capability. I have been planning on taking it to the other place I take my cars (other than dealer) and have them check the alignment. I really can hear a faint rumbling type sound I think at times, when the vibration is going on, but really cannot say for sure. I have even shifted it to "N" at about 55 mph when it is vibrating to see if it stops vibrating, but it does not stop. Shifting to "N" while moving is probably a no-no, but I have to figure out what is going on here. It seems to do it the worst at 55 mph.

Here is something I noticed today. When I first start my car of the mornings- when it is idling fast- it will have that "out of round" feel to it, as if the engine is "out of round". When holding the steering wheel while it is doing this- it feels IDENTICAL to the vibration I get when I hot 35 mph- that lasts up to about 70 MPH. That is why I was thinking possibly bad motor mounts, but someone here said that they doubt that. Hopefully we can figure this out soon.

I have heard many say that the 1990, 1991 and 1992s are the best, as well as the 1993-1994s. I seem to see a lot less topics about electrical problems (guages and lights) on the 90-92s, than I do on the 93-up. I have no idea however. My 1990 (1st year) seems to be a excellent, high quality car- aside from my vibration at speeds above 35 mph, but I guess it could be my tires or alignment. TYpically, many "first year" car designs have flaws, but with the LS400- this does not seem to be the case. The 1990 seems to be as reliable and trouble-free as any other year.

At 126K, your car is considered to have very low miles, if the car has been maintained and not abused. My car has nearly 228K and I have seen several nearing the 300K mark and heard of a few at 400K to as high as 700K.

Robert- will the lights dim when you turn the switch when the headlights are turned on? On my 90 LS400, the lights will not dim, even by the switch, unless the parking or headlights are on. This is a safety feature I guess. Let us know if this works.

BTW- nice car. It is not even yet broken in at 60K. My 90 LS has 227,750.

Very common problems with these buttons. Someone here was talking about them a while back. These also give trouble on the Toyotas and even Hondas of the 80s and early 90s. What does not come on in your car- the interior lights, or the "door open" indicator on the instrument cluster? If only the light in the cluster does not illuminate, it could be a bad bulb. More than likely the button however.

I do not have a problem with the button not turning the lights on, but rather turning the headlights off. When I leave the headlights on and open the door, sometimes it does not go off and I have to either open the door again and close it, or wiggle the button.

When I first got my 90 LS400- I was only getting about 200 miles per tank. Perhaps bad gas? Now, I get much better. Currently I have exactly 1/2 tank of gas in my car and I have put 199 miles on it since i filled it up. I am hoping to get 200 more out of the other 1/2. The miles are mixed- city and interstate. I am guessing most are city miles. Still seems like poor MPG since the tanks are so big on these cars.

That is my problem. I do not want to put any more $$$ into this car and still have the vibration. If I cannot soon get rid of this- I will probably sell the car and buy a Mercedes-Benz. :whistles:

If I wanted a car plagued with vibrations, I would have bought a Yugo.

I was hoping it was a good chance it was the motor mounts, so I can put an end to this annoyance. What in the world would cause the engine to have that "out of round/balance" vibration at 1500 rpm when it is cold? After it warms- that goes away, but I still have that vibration on that seems to be mostly on acceleration.

I have posted other replies throughout the forums about my problem on other folks' vibration problems. We have discussed that it may be tires, but it seem like it is something with the actual car causing it. I drove the car today and it was not doing it nearly as bad as before. It was near 70 degrees here today, so it seems like the warmer it is outside- the less it does it. Does anyone have any additional ideas, based on this observation?

I am guessing motor mount. Reason why- when I first start the car of the mornings, when the car is idling at about 1500 rpm, and the engine is cold, every few seconds- it will have a "out of balance" feeling throughout the car.- every second or so, as if something it out of round on the engine. Could this be a sign of a bad motor mount? If so, I was thinking this could be my vibration problem at 35-65 mph speeds. I know on the older cars- to check the engine mounts, you could open the hood, place the car in gear and press on the gas a little to see if the engine moves excessively, or if you felt a "clunk" from the engine compartment, that could be it (motor mounts). Any other ways of checking hte mounts on these cars? What is the sign of a bad transmission mount? Thanks.

Have you tried new plug wires and/or plugs? My 90 LS400 had a miss at idle when I test drove it. I told the seller if they fixed the miss- I would buy it. Turned out that it was bad plug wires. Perhaps this is your problem? Good luck.

OK. I just went out and looked at the tires and it has BFGoodrich Touring T/A tires. Treadwear - 400, Traction A, Temperature B. As mentioned- I think that the previous owner paid $99. EACH for them. Anyone have these tires?

All of my lights illuminate when the switch is turned on, but go out after the engine starts. Like 93LSOwner, my "door open" light does not work at all and I have decided that my "low fuel" warning light does not illuminate either, because I have had the guage near "E" before and the light never illuminated. I am not sure if "OD on/off" or "cruise" light comes on or not when the switch is turned on, but do when they are in operation. The "antilock" and some other lights come on for a few seconds along the bottom of the cluster, and the "oil, battery, airbag, seatbelt, check engine, etc., also illuminate for a few seconds.

hey thanks jzz for the infor. Luckily, I haven't had that problem but I don't like beating the problems and you gave me a great heads up. Thanks.

90LS400 - I just have to believe it is your tires. I know you keep your car up because I've seen many of your previous posts. I know I have been wrong on tires in the past.

Denny

May be. The tires are BFGoodrich and they have about 4000 miles (if that) on them. I know that they were $95. each and the previous owner had them installed 1000 miles before I bought the car. I do not recall it doing this when I first bought it however. I have noticed what feels like a broken belt in the tire, because sometimes when I pull out- up to about 20 MPH- I can feel that "wobble" effect. Could it possibly even be a bent wheel? I would think if it was that though- that it would have done it when I first bought it. It seems strange, but I do not recall it having the vibration before the rear struts were installed. Someone said possibly out of alignment, because they did not re-align it after the rear strut installation. It did not start doing it directly after the rear strut installation, but I noticed it about 2 weeks after. As mentioned- it is getting worse and I have no idea of where to take it. I have heard that it could be anything from motor mounts, transmission mount, tires, wheels, out of alignment, driveshaft, wheel bearings, etc. If I replaced all of these items, I would have more in that than the car is worth. :) I do not think I have the warranty with the tires either. I only remember seeing the receipt for them, where they were bought and installed in Kentucky at the owners 2nd home there. They lived in Florida, but also had a house in Kentucky. Thanks again- perhaps I will find something out.

Thanks. So that is why it did not take that long to change the fluid. I did not know that it had a drain plug on the transmission pan. I have had several Toyotas and Hondas in the past and I do not recall even the Toyotas having the plug. Perhaps just a Lexus deal? I do think I recall hearing someone mention that Mercedes also has a drain plug. About that screen- my car has 227,300 miles, but it still shifts perfectly, so I am assuming that it is OK? If I had of known there was simply a plug there to drain it- I should have done it myself. I sometimes think it is better to pay someone to do it, as I always seem to be busy. If I can just get rid of that vibration I will be happy with this car. Thanks again!!

That is what I was thinking. It seems crazy however- changing out the fluid and just putting a few quarts back in. About the gasket- shouldn't that be replaced after the one on there is pulled away? I know on some older cars- when the pan is removed- the gasket has to be replaced, because it breaks. If it starts leaking- I will take it back to them. I have no idea what was in there before. I have never seen transmission fluid that color either. One interesting note- when they told me that my fluid was dirty and needed changed- they mentioned nothing about it being an abnormal color. All of my previous cars used Dextron or Dextron-Mercon II, or the very few Fords I have owned used Type F. Those fluids are red and turn dark red or dark brown with age. The fluid in my car smelled like new transmission fluid and my transmission has always shifted perfectly and smoothly. It may have had a red tint to it, but it did not seem as red as the fluids I had seen before. Oh well. Thanks for the reply.

Well, I took the car today and had the transmission fluid changed. It only took about 30 minutes. She said they had a lot of cancellations, due to bad weather. When I got in the car and started to leave- I noticed on the receipt that it showed "replaced transmission fluid , replaced all differential fluids". Total w/tax was $54.55. There was no mention on the receipt about the replacement of the filter. Was this not included? One would think that it would be - "TRANSMISSION SERVICE" to me means replacement of the fluid and filter. Maybe not- does anyone know? I thought that this may help to lessen my vibration problem- but no luck.

That is a good question. I think that may be the cause of vibration on my 90 LS400 at 35-65 mph speeds. It has gotten progressively worse over the past 2 weeks. It is really getting irritating! It is a steady, constant vibration. Seems to be worse on light accelerations at speeds between 35-65. It does not shake the steering wheel from side to side, but rather a vibration throughout the cabin. Not worse at any particular area.

In a few minutes, I am taking my car to the local Lexus dealer to have the transmission fluid and filter changed. Someone said that may be my problem with that "vert" sound I had when I would rapidly shift out of "lock-up mode" at 40-55 mph. The last time I took it to the dealer to have the oil changed- they said that the tech said that the fluid was very dirty and needed changed. I checked it when I got home and it looked OK to me. It was not the typical transmission fluid color (red) that I am used to using in my other cars, but it was a light color- about the color of fresh, new engine oil. It did smell like transmission fluid however and it did NOT smell burned. Could they possibly just be telling me this just to get an extra "sale"? What color does the fluid that is used in the Lexus transmission suppose to be? They also said that my "V-belt" was cracked and needed replaced, but me and my father looked at it and it looks fine to me. I did not see any cracks on either side of the belt. Also- when the previous owner had the oil changed 1000 miles before I bought it- the receipt from that repair shop stated that the owner requested all belts (V-belt) to be checked and replaced if necessary. The receipt then stated belt was fine and check 5000-6000 miles later at tire rotation. Looks like if it was indeed bad- like the Lexus dealer said- that the shop would have noticed it 3000 miles ago and replaced it then. Also- as I mentioned- I checked it and it looks OK to me. Any suggetions? Well, on my way to the Lexus dealership.....

Not sure. I know when I first got my 90 LS400- fuel mileage was terrible. I only got about 200 miles per tank. Now I am getting about 300-330 miles per tank of fuel- when mostly driving in city conditions. Not sure what happened. ??

Could be a problem with the airbag system, since the light is on. If it is on- chances are that it will not inflate in a frontal crash. I was told by my local Lexus dealer that "10 year" inspection really was nothing at all and it is not required. I guess back in 1990- they was unsure of how long the system would last.

I think that the covers are identical.

When driving on the freeway- are you sure that it is in "overdrive"? Make sure that the "O/D OFF" light is not illuminated on the dash. You can also tell by looking at the switch on the gear selector.

Has anyone here changed the "V-belt" on their LS400 themselves? The dealership told me today that mine was cracked and needed changed. I think they said the belt is $36 and labor is $76. Does this seem steep? How difficult is it to change yourself? I may call the shop where I usually take my car and see what they charge. They also said thay my transmission fluid was dirty and needed changed. Quoted me $56.95 for transmission service. Has anyone had this done elsewhere? Is $56.95 about the same price that all Lexus dealers charge? Any information appreciated.

BTW- my car is a 90 LS400, with 227,100.

My 90 LS 400 has 227K and it has no interior squeaks or rattles- even over large bumps. It does oddly however have an occasional "ticking/pop" sound from some of the interior plastic pieces- over small sharp bumps and expansion joints at lower speeds. Even this is not too bad, as I cannot hear them when the windows are down, or the A/C blower, or just radio is on. I think that a lot of my minimal noise is coming from the leather seats. No suprise considering the car is 14 year and 2 months old and has 227,100 miles. The sounds from my car is not from poor workmanship, but rather I think from where the car has endured 14 years of bright southern sunshine- which over the years has "shrunken" and hardened some of the interior panels. I have noticed that parts of the instrument panels that are padded and was originally soft are now somewhat hardened. I am sure that some of the hard plastic interior pieces (which are minimal on the LS400s) have also endured the effects of the bright southern sunshine. I am sure that the interior temperature changes also add to the problem. If a car is temperature controlled garage kept- this should not be a problem. I do not think my car has been stored indoors too much, but at least the original leather interior is still in excellent condition, with no cracking, but my car is a well cared for previous 1-owner car.

In reply to your problem, I would think that a 1998, with low miles should still be 100% noise free.