90LS400Lexus

I have heard it was very easy to replace the bulbs. The Lexus dealer just put installed a new "airbag" warning light bulb in my car, as the previous owner had disconnected the system and removed the bulb, because they were obviously scared of the airbag. They said they were going to charge me $30. to test the airbag system, as they did not know what the problem was. They went ahead and fixed it after the problem was found (installed bulb & reconnected airbag) and only charged $1.50 for the bulb. I wish I had of known they had it out, as my "door open" light is also not working. That is no big deal though. All of my other warning and instrument lights work fine. I guess if you did not want to do it yourself, that the dealer would probably do it for about $10-$20. or less.

My car also has the "gold" package- which includes gold antenna nut, gold grille, gold "LEXUS" badge on left side of trunk, gold emblem on the trunk, as well as gold emblems on the wheel centers, but still does not have the "LS 400" badge. Perhaps it was an addition with the "gold" package in 91 or 92, because as mentioned- I saw a 1990-92 LS 400 at the dealer today and it had the "LS 400" gold badge.

AIRBAG LIGHT REPAIRED - UPDATE Well, I am glad to report that my airbag light works again. I was at the Lexus dealer for almost two hours and just shortly returned. It turned out that the previous owner decided that they did not want a airbag to operate, so they had it disconnected and had the bulb removed. The tech discovered that it had been disconnected at the steering column. Reconnected and still no airbag light. Then they proceded to check the bulb only to find it had been completely removed. Tech installed a new bulb after reconnecting airbag and all is fine. Service counter lady said that the tech checked the system (sensors, etc) and all is fine. As mentioned, they charged $30.00 to check it. They charged $1.50 for the bulb. With tax- the total was only $34.50- which I thought was very fair. I also got her to run me a service report- which showed that the A/C was tested a few months before I bought it. Evaporator clogged - approx- $1000 parts, $300 labor repair. Was not repaired. Thanks again for all of the replies and advice.

It is strange. I too seen something interesting today. I took my car to the local Lexus dealer for service and there was a 1990-1992 LS400 there that also had the "LS 400" badge on the right side of the trunk. I guess that they also installed it, or perhaps was a option?

Has anyone ever thought that it was odd that Lexus never put "LS 400" badges on the 90-94 LS 400s? I have not noticed ANY exterior "LS 400" badges on any 90-94 LS. 1995 was the first year I have seen with the badge. Did Lexus have a reason for this? You would think that at least by 1993, when there was a ES 300 and a GS 300 and even the SC 300 and SC 400, in the Lexus line-up, they would have put "LS 400" on the LS 400. I searched E-Bay and did not see any exterior badges (other than the "LEXUS" on the left side of the trunk and the Lexus emblem in the center of the grille, trunk and wheels) on any of the 90-94 LS400s. I do not understand their rational.

They are very safe cars. The 95-99 LS400 had top ratings in the IIHS off-set crash test and I think that the 90-94 has the same chassis. I think the main difference is that in 1995- the wheelbase was stretched. Someone correct me if I am wrong. You can tell that they are solid, well built cars, as the sheetmetal seems very strong. Also, the late 80s and early 90s was when cars really started gaining safety features. The standard airbag and ABS brakes are big pluses. The safety cage of a car is one of its biggest safety features and I am sure that the 90-94 LS400 has a very strong safety cage. So you can rest assured that these cars are very safe. I am sure there is someone here that may have actually had a crash in a 1990-1994 LS400 and will be able to comment on how well the car held up.

I agree. Some timing belts will last a long time. For example: My father has a 1988 Nissan truck, with the bullet-proof Nissan 3.0L V6. My uncle bought it brand new. My dad aquired it in 1999, when the truck had 205K. My uncle told him after he bought it that he had never changed the timing belt, despite the 90K mile interval recommended by Nissan. My father changed it. Needless to say- it was getting to be in very bad shape. My dad changed it himself in a couple of hours. Still, the truck has never had any problems at all. It now has 260K and the only thing he has had to do aside from the belt is new brakes. Really impressive. I also understand that the 90-94 LS400s have non-interference engines- which means the engine will not be destroyed if the belt breaks. On many cars- if the belt break, the engine can be severely damaged.

I have full coverage on my 90 LS400 and it is $41.00 per month (which is $246 every 6-months or $492 every 12 months. I also have my other cars on there as well, so they may offer a discount.

It was a company car before I bought it. It was on the highway constantly. Definetely a lot of driving in 5 years. Engine still runs like new. Really unbelievable. But like I said, that transmission in the Taurus is getting harsh.

A little over a week ago- I also bought a 1990 Lexus LS400. My car already has 225,500 miles and it still runs like new. 225K, 250K, or even 300K is not the stopping point for a LS400. The engine in my car is still so smooth and quiet- I have to look at the tachometer to see if it is still running. Since your car has 155K- I would say that it is just getting broke in- if it was cared for. That is the key for a long lasting car. Mileage is not that important. I would rather have a high mile, well-cared for car, than a low mile abused car. One of my grandfathers is a fanatic about mileage. He will not keep a car past 100K miles and when he buys a used car- it has to have less than 50K. I think differently, as I have owned very high mileage Toyotas and Hondas. I think you first have to have a well built car- and then make sure it has been cared for. I also have a 98 Taurus with 245K, with a perfect running engine, but weak transmission. My father has a 1988 Nissan truck (V6), with 260K and it has not had any mechanical problems. My uncle bought it new and it did not even receive good care until my father got it at 202K. My LS400 was a 1-owner car and it was very well cared for. The leather interior is still like brand new (including the seats) and all of the instrument cluster lighting still work perfectly (needles and backlighting), as does the "LCD" on the climate controls and my remote entry still works fine, as does the radio and all other electrical systems. My only problems with lighting systems is that my "airbag" and "door open" lights do not illuminate (taking to dealer Thursday to have checked/repaired) and some of the illumination lights on the air mode buttons on the climate control do not illuminate at night. My car is also still 100% squeak and rattle free- which is impressive for a car with 225K and 13 years of wear. In addition- my old 1993 Toyota Camry LE had 212K and it was also still rattle/squeak free. The only other problem with my car is that it has a slight power steering leak at the hose (which will be repaired) and I am going to have new Lexus struts replaced on the rear and do away with (sell) the "KYB" struts on the car now. Also, some say bad things about the brakes on the 90-92 LS400s - especially the 1990s, but the brakes on my car are about the best I have ever seen. They are very powerful and smooth. The main problems I hear about the 90-94 and even 95-97? LS400's are problems with the instrument cluster lighting & power steering leaks. Still with that- they are one of the best built cars in the world. So, if your car holds up like most of the 90-94 LS400s, that have been well cared for then at 155K, you should have at least 100K-150K before needing any major work, if you care for the car and keep it maintained. Good luck.

I have made an appointment with my local Lexus dealer to have my airbag light checked. They said it could simply be that it needs to be "reactivated". They are only charging $30., which I think is cheap way to find out exactly what it is- rather than changing out non-broken parts. I will post what the problem was.

I am guessing it would be the same as a LS400, or perhaps a Toyota Camry, since the ES300 is based on the Camry. If it is setup like the Camry- it is probably much easier. I think I read somewhere that the Camry reset is easier, but I am not 100% sure. Good luck.

I was suprised as well. They will probably make up for it if I decide to let them fix it. Seriously though- I have heard a lot of good things about my local Lexus dealer.

Thanks. To keep from having to remove the cluster and risk damaging something myself I have made an appointment to take it to the dealer on Thursday. He (service counter guy) called me back and said he had talked to his service manager and he said it could just simply need to be "activated", he said it could be other things, as well as a bad bulb. They are going to charge $30.00 to check it- which I think is a very fair price to find out for sure what it is- instead of removing and replacing this and that and still not have it repaired. I will post what I find out, as it seems to be a rare problem. Most complaints are of a airbag light that stays illuminated, rather than one that will not illuminate. Thanks again for all of the replies.

Sounds like an easy task to change. Perhaps since the airbag system is supposed to be checked after 10 years and every 2 years fter that- I guess it would be best if I let the dealer inspect the system? Hopefully, it is something even simplier than that. Does anyone know what they do to the car at this "10 year" airbag check-up? Also- I went out to check that fuse just the same. Its strange, as I did not see fuse for the airbag listed on the fuse box cover. Where exactly where is the fuse located for the airbag(s) on the 90-94 LS400? Thanks again.

Sorry I do not know the answer to your problem, but I noticed something interesting. My car reads "ANTILOCK", where yours reads "ABS". My car is a 90, which is the same car. Did they already make this change only after a year, or is it possibly because your car has "KPH" instead of "MPH". Perhaps that was an additional difference in the cluster. Good luck.

Just to verify- is the "CEL" the Check engine light? Would it illuminate indicating if any of the other warning lights are out?

Thanks for the information and the offer of the help of cleaning the switches. On the other Lexus forums- someone else said the same thing and I thought that may be it, but I seen that the interior light was working when I opened the doors. The right rear door light does not always light up and I have to wiggle the switch on the door and it works, but still the light on the dash does not illuminate. Could this still be the problem? The airbag light not illuminating is the one that really has me concerned. I guess I will have to shell out the big $$$ and let the dealer check it for me. Under the sunvisor- it states that it needs to be serviced after 10 years (which would have been the year 2000) and then 2 years thereafter. Could it simply be that it needs serviced? Thanks again.

Thanks. I was actually hoping that it was anything except the actual bulb, as I would hate to have to remove that entire cluster just to replace one bulb. I guess that would be very expensive. It also seems like this is a rare problem, as I have not read any other posts on this forum, or the other Lexus forums about a airbag light not illuminating. They only ones I see are ones talking about an airbag light that will not go off. It seems like one of the other warning lights that tend to be illuminated longer would go out before this one. According to the owners manual, it is only supposed to stay on for 6-seconds each time the car is switched on. Seems like it should last a lot longer than that. So, if the "airbag" fuse was bad, then the light should still illuminate? Thanks again.

When I turn on the ignition on my car, (90 LS400) I have noticed that the "airbag" light is not illuminating. Also, my "door open" light is not working. All other warning lights, cluster lights and "LCD" work perfectly. If it was a bad fuse, would this keep the airbag light from illuminating? Has anyone else had this problem? Any information appreciated.

Good to hear that the 90-94 are non-interference engines. I have no idea when the belt was last changed on my car. I will probably have it changed soon though. I agree about the Volvo engines. My uncle had a 1986 Volvo wagon, with 256K and the timing belt broke. He just simply installed a new belt and the car ran perfectly.

White smoke (steam) is normal upon start-up and may last a few minutes if it is cool or damp outside. All cars do this if it is cool/cold out. Did it smell like anti-freeze? It is kept steaming and/or overheated- I would say it is a bad headgasket. The engine "tick" is probably normal. My car has it and I have heard most other LS400 owners mention that their car has it as well. BTW- My 90 LS400 was a 1-owner car in excellent condition, but it has 225K miles. I just bought it the other day for $3800. Hopefully this information will help you.

I have been lucky with the lighting on my 90 LS400. All of the instrument cluster lights and needles still work fine, as does the "LCD" and its backlighting. My only problem is that some of the illumination lights on the climate control buttons will not illuminate at night when the lights are on. I have got used to where they are at however. It is a very common problem. Seems like the instrument cluster problem is more of a problem on the 1993-1994 LS400s.

Yes- it seems to be even more of a problem on the 1993-1994s than it is on the 1990-1992s.

I have the opposite problem. The "airbag" light on my car will not illuminate when the ignition is first turned on. I have no idea what the problem is. This is the first I have heard of one not illuminating at all. I am going to check the fuse tomorrow. Other than that- all of my instrument cluster and climate control "LCD" are still working fine. Just this airbag light problem.