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Ok.. now, simple test. With the engine fully heated, idling in the driveway, temp controls set to "hot" and no heat condition, put your foot on the accelerator pedal and nudge the engine RPMs up to around 2500 and hold it there. Does any heat start to appear shortly thereafter?

First off, WELCOME to the club, brian! As Jim mentioned... where is the temp needle pointing when you are sitting in the driveway trying to defrost? Is the engine fully heated? The needle should be about in the middle or slightly below when the engine is heated. Maybe you are just not waiting long enough? Kevin, have to agree about the A/C. Seems like good old heated air does the defrost trick just fine. Always did on my old 60's vintage cars.

Thanks for the info, Mile_High_Flyer. I notice that the tilt motor in my LS430 is whisper quiet as compared to my 98 LS400. There is a very interesting video on the a 94 LS tilt motor that Steve2006 made(post #3). -> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=65822&st=0&p=416138&hl=tilt&fromsearch=1entry416138

I know this is dredging up an old thread and subject but wanted to let anyone interested know that we (my son and I) replaced the blacked out temp/clock display in my 92 LS400. Got the new display off of ebay for $45 including shipping and extra LED backlight bulbs (which were also burned out). Here is the link if interested -> http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170447204098#ht_500wt_1182

Paul, glad to hear that you got her fixed. Thanks for following-up with the solution to your issue.

Have you checked the trunk wiring for the notorious broken/chafed wires? You should also check your alternator and battery for proper operation. See this site -> http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/lighting/bulbout.html

Just wondering if anyone uses brake fluid test strips, like so -> http://www.denlorstools.com/home/dt1/page_3743_401/phoenix_systems_brake_fluid_test_strips_100_pk.html Or brake fluid testers -> http://www.denlorstools.com/home/dt1/page_5490_161/electronic_brake_fluid_moisture_tester.html I know some shops carry these strips or testers and can check it for you. For the price, I think it may be cheaper to just flush the system and be done with it.

roumieh200, The only really sure way to know is to actually try the rims on your car. I know that is not the answer you may be looking for but even tire shops have trouble with fitment when ordering wheels. Intially, it looks like bolt pattern is right but the offset is in question. If you are a reasonable gambling man, you can buy the wheels but understand that you may putting them back on the market IF they do not fit. Bid/buy accordingly. Who knows, you *could* make money on them.

Yes, this certainly is an interesting thread on ECM's. The mysterious and intermittent problems are difficult to troubleshoot and just smack of bad connection(s) somewhere. I am wondering if the ECM is really bad or the connector has developed some high resistance (ie: corrosion, tarnish, etc). The ECM is an embedded computer which runs a program. The program would not suddenly and intermittently fail per se'. However, the signals feeding the ECM could come and go and be erratic thus causing the problem(s). Perhaps some bad solder connections within the ECM? I have not yet seen where someone solves the problem with a "new" ECM, then puts the old one back in to re-verify that it was indeed the problem. It is entirely possible that the new ECM has cleaner contacts and that is all it was. Has anyone knowledge of the actual fault within the ECM (ie: which component fails)? Would love to get my hands on a detailed ECM schematic. Perhaps, as a start, you cold pull the ECM connector(s) and try to clean them(both ends)? Radio Shack sells a contact cleaner for this type of condition.

My tranny pan had a leak too from where I had pried when taking it off. Bent the sheet metal ever so slightly on that corner. Not bad but unacceptable. What I did to fix it was take a rather large coal chisel that I have and tap around the pan where it was leaking. That got the sheet metal bent back into place and with a little more tightening of the bolts around that area, the leak stopped. If that had not worked, my next step would have been to drop that side of the pan slightly and work some RTV into the leaking area and retighten. Happy Thanksgiving to all...we have been blessed (despite the leaky tranny pans) :P

micah, I removed the pan on my 98 and I did remove the exhaust vibration "snubbers" (or whatever they are called). When putting the pan back on, I used a gasket rather than RTV (got the gasket at auto store). The worst part of putting the pan back on was getting the fill tube, which is actually two sections, mated back together. Due to the angles involved, I found it impossible to snap them back together with the upper tube still in the car. I had to unbolt the upper tube from the block, put the pieces together outside the car, then manipulate the entire tube and pan back into place. The bolt holding the upper tube is in a very awkward spot and not really visible. I had to go mostly by feel and use a swivel socket. Royal pain. In retrospect, I never would have removed the pan to begin with. You may have an easier time with it. Best wishes.

Make sure the mechanic does a thorough flush on the entire coolant system to get the old junk out. You do not want any old residue mixing with the new. Concerning the fill hole, here is a pic of a 98 LS400 location. It is slightly left of center. But beware, it may not be exactly the same on the 97.

Sorry to hear about the plug. You might use a large pair of vise grips and grab onto the bolt head. Pull downward while giving a CCW twist.

Use the remote. Ditch the keys.

Just wanted to point out that the 01-03 is NOT similar to the 98-00 when it comes to coolant filling. The 01-03 actually have a radiator cap in the radiator (like the "old" days). So it is super easy to fill the system on the 01-03. The 98-00 have a 10mm Allen plug in the top-front of the intake manifold. You will probably need to buy a 10mm Allen key socket as it is pretty big and most do not (at least I did not) have this size Allen socket in the *standard* toolkit.

You need Toyota Factory Red Fluid with Ethylene Glycol and Diethylene Glycol. Full strength. You can get it at your Toyota or Lexus dealer for around $20 USD. You will need approx. 1 1/2 gallons (6 L of non-diluted coolant). Then you will need distilled water to dilute it to the proper concentration. Do not use regular tap water because it has too many contaminants that will eventually corrode your cooling system. Yes, the cap is the coolant reservoir cap. There is no cap on the radiator itself as it is a "sealed" unit. I would drain your existing coolant completely by opening the radiator drain !Removed! and both left and right engine block drains. While empty, remove and replace your thermostat and gasket. Then refill the system via the top-center fill hole and proceed to purge the system. If you want to know more about draining and thermostat replacement, see these tutorials on the early LS. Very similar to your year however. http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/cooling/

The electric is out unless I want a little extra spot heating in the garage. The vented gas is looking pretty good. I can get a 45k BTU Mr. Heater at Lowes for $377. Or a 75k unit for about $100 more. However, the 75k unit might cycle on/off a lot more often once up to temp (I only need 55 F in the garage to work). So, I am leaning towards the 45k unit. The 75k unit is a better price on a BTU per dollar basis but over-sizing is a common heating mistake. Also wondering about the construction/quality differences between Mr. Heater and Modine Hot Dawg. Modine is a little more but might be worth the extra $ for quality, part availability. Then again, maybe not. The really good news is that I passed the idea by my wife this morning and she gave me a tacit "ok" for the heater.

I believe what we are collectively trying to say is that the ECU is being fooled into thinking you are holding the key (when you really are not). It is probably a switch issue (sticking or bouncing contacts) or chafed wire in the door. I think you will have to remove the panel to do some further investigation. You may try cleaning or replacing the door switch.

Billy, good idea. I am saving Texas for retirement living though. Still have a few years to go. Save me a spot.

Just the kind of feedback I was looking for, CuriousB. I am very leery of the ventless stuff. I also don't want one of those kerosene "jet" heaters. They make me sick and they stink. I saw a 75 kBTU Mr. Heater at Lowes today for $487. Tempting. However, I am still kicking the infrared idea around. Maybe a tube/reflector that runs the width of my garage and is mounted at the back ceiling angled down at 45 degrees. But way more money (2x) initially and probably not worth it. I put in a 40A subpanel with 6 ga. wire when I built my 3rd car stall a few years ago. But I know the 5kw of a 240v heater is no match for the winters here. I would need to go with a 3 phase heater and about 56A to be effective. Not going to happen. N. gas is too cheap to pass up. Thanks again for the advice.

Believe me, I always grab a beer when working on the Lex ...hey, wait a minute...that might explain all the half-tightened bolts. You are absolutely right. I can do w/o the heater. I have for the last 15 years. But I really wanna turn my garage into a man-cave. Gotta have a heater. Got a fridge out there already. The garage doors are insulated. Now, if'n I lived in balmy MD, I would not need a heater!

Seems to me that it might be a "feature". Are you by chance, turning the key twice (or more)? Some models were programmable to do special tricks when you turned the key several times. Jim, 1990LS400 is an expert on dredging up model features. Maybe he will chime in.

A little off-topic but...I hate freezing my toosh in the winter time working in the garage. So, I usually just delay auto work unless forced. I am thankful for a garage in which to work but would really love to have a decent heater out there. So, I have been doing a little research and found 3 types that might work. My garage is a three car, approx. 900 sq ft. 1) Electric heater. Since I have 240Vac in the garage at several locations, I could use one of those big 5kW jobbies. The nice aspect of the electric is that I could move it around to where I am located. Although that sounds like a lot, it is actually only about 17-18k BTU/hr (which ain't great). 2) A "Hot Dawg" natural gas conventional heater with fan. Lots of heat...75k BTU/hr. Now we're cookin with gas! 3) A radiant, infrared natural gas heater. Intially more $$ but supposed to be more comfortable. Anyone ever install a heater? I would appreciate advice as I seek to determine if I buy a heater. I am pretty sure I can sell the "Frau" on this idea.

It's ok, lucymiao. I can understand your frustration. It is hard to diagnose problems via the internet w/o actually seeing and hearing the issues first hand. With all the information you have provided so far, you may have several things to fix. I am still not convinced that your thermostat is working correctly. It may be but it might be a good idea just to have it replaced. Some owners replace them on a periodic basis, like 30-40k miles, regardless of whether the thermostat is showing signs of failing. BTW, I checked my LS this morning for heating. It took 7 minutes (about 5 miles) of gentle driving to reach full operating temperature at an ambient of 45 degrees F. Yours should be similar. If it takes much longer than that(say 10-15 minutes), just replace the thermostat. The reason the previous owner kept flushing and flushing the heater core is precisely because of this heating issue. He obviously never got it fixed probably because it is not a clogged core. Keep us updated and follow AZHotLS's directions for burping the system after you get a new cap. ...and, read this thread carefully, much the same advice -> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=44432&hl=%20garage%20%20heater&st=0

I see you posted the exact same issue over on Club Lexus. Kind of a parallel approach of attacking the problem? (I see that often). Some things I personally would try: 1) see if you can "pull" any codes from the OBD system. Know how to do that? -> http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/intro/codereading.html 2) take a sharp pick and systematically short(to ground) each plug wire, one at a time, to see if one makes NO difference. Old trick but effective. 3) while idling, spray some starter fluid into the air cleaner and see if there is any noticeable change in the way it runs. I think you know where I am heading with each one of those "tests". Report back with the results and we can go from there.