landar

I may have misinterpreted your response as well. Its good to hear that you are a "tinkerer". This forum is geared more toward the DIY'rs. Oh another thing to check is your gas mileage. Sometimes a truly cold engine will get very poor mileage. So, whats your game plan at this point?

Sigh... :( FWIW, I am trying to help. If you are expecting someone to drop the exact answer in your lap, you may be in for a long wait. I would actually use an IR gun on the engine/radiator to determine the approximate temperature. From there you can determine if the Tstat is going bad or if it might be a sensor. These problems often require a bit of detective work. If that is not your cup of tea, you may want to drive her to the shop for a professional evaluation.

Too bad the original post in July was never followed-up with a solution. Although you changed the battery and think the low temp is related, it may not be. It sure does sound like an open thermostat. Do you still get a lot of heat out of the heater when set to max? When was the last time the Tstat was changed?

jcrome, you just joined one year ago and already 2k posts?? :o When do you find time to work on your Lex?

Hmmm, I was unaware. Does the service/maintenance manual call for "Italian tuneups"?

So, he only drives maybe 6 miles/week? Those short trips are hard on an engine, especially in the winter months. Short trips and infrequent trips like that are also murder on the battery. You might want to talk him into taking the long way home. :D I just took my voltmeter and went out to the garage to check my LS. Without starting, the battery was at 12.3Vdc. Started and idling @1200 RPM, the charging voltage was 14.5 Vdc. It stayed at this level with or without the lights on(ie: under load).

Actually, Tire Rack categorizes them as "Studless Ice and Snow". Sorry for the confusion. It won't happen again. I am also a little concerned about how long they will last. Guess it depends upon how long you keep them on after the roads are dry and temps are above freezing? But more concerned about the safety. They could only last 2 seasons and I would consider them worthwhile.

Ouch! Sorry to hear about the polarity reversal. Thats gotta be one big "Oh S***" :o The first order of business would be to find out which CEL code(s) is being indicated. OBDII readers are relatively cheap. You might want to buy one, borrow one or hobble into Autozone to have them read the code(s).

I was hoping to just generalize on this subject. It has been beat to death in other posts. The issue I have with the Toyota recommended interval is that it has no time dimension. As a mechanical engineer once pointed out to me: "Oil is cheap, engines are not". Better to err on the conservative side. How much does an oil analysis cost?

Wow! The $747 fine and $21 court costs for going 83 mph over in a 35 mph speed limit in Overland Park, Kansas will be the least of your worries if you get caught. Now, now, Jim. The LS is a wonderful machine and shouldn't be held back for some silly traffic laws. ;)

I must have missed it in this long thread about maintenance costs. How long ago did the timing belt, water pump, and tensioners get changed in your 97 Coach Edition with 91k miles?

I repent of ever thinking maybe I did not really need dedicated snow tires! Just tried my new X-Ice's on some fresh snow. What a night and day difference from the all-seasons. Took her out to an empty parking lot with about 2" of snow and did some "donuts" or at least tried. Not easy. Maneuvers which would have had me doing a 180 before were like driving on dry pavement. Unbelievable. I had to literally slam on the brakes to get the ABS to kick in, and even then we came to a quick stop. And that was on packed-down, "glaring" snow. All of you who think that dedicated snows are the only way to go are 100% correct! I am a believer (yea, yea, yea, I'ma believer....) :D

As long as you are not operating very short distances(ie: only a few miles per trip and not thoroughly warming up the engine), then the dealership is giving you correct information. If you only make short trips, then change it every 3k. Being in Pensacola, this is likely not the case. I change my oil every 5k (or 6 months) and use a new Toyota filter each change.

You really need to put a voltmeter on the battery and record the voltage under the various conditions that you mentioned. It is not uncommon for the voltage to fluctuate slightly. We would have to see your actual readings rather than relying on subjective observations to know if there truly is a problem. Remove and clean your battery terminals and cables first before taking any measurements.

Ok, an update on what I decided to do about the winter driving. Get a Jeep or snow tires for the Lex? Although I still kinda want a Jeep to play with, I opted for snow tires. Way cheaper. I had decided on the Blizzak WS60 but everyone was out of them. So, I went with Michelin X-Ice. A bit more money($109 vs $101) but not by much. The X-Ice's are surprisingly quiet on the dry roads that we had today. I am looking forward to some snow so that I can try them out. I hem-hawed around a long time as to whether I should even go with winter tires or just some new all-seasons. Although I drove all of last winter on Bridgestone Turanza's and did fairly well, I found them to be ok on snow but somewhat slippery on ice and snow. The bottom line for me is safety. I do not like having to change out tires twice a year but would rather do that than get into an accident. I put the Michelins on my stock rims and will keep them on. Then in the spring, I will get new summer tires and rims. Even thinking about some 18" wheels! WooHoo! ;) Finally, a not so funny thing happened to me at The Tire Rack where I bought my tires(they have a huge warehouse close by and a bay to mount tires). They mounted and balanced the wheels and put them back on the car. When I began to drive away, I heard a scraping sound coming from the front wheels and immediately headed back to the shop. They discovered that the weights, which were on the inside of the rims were rubbing on the brake calipers. So they moved the weights to the outside of the rims. Problem solved. I thought "knuckleheads. How long have you been in the tire business?"

Uh oh, you know what they say....."if you have to ask the price, you cant afford it" Should we tell him about the 90k service interval? :o Congrats on the purchase. The LS400 is one fine machine.

(T-32)*5/9 ;)

Its most likely: A. Low on coolant. B. Needs air purge, especially after Tstat change. C. Cap is bad. There are many (and I do mean MANY) threads dealing with issues such as yours. Just do a search on "coolant" or "thermostat" and you will have hours of pleasurable reading ;) For starters, see this thread---> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=52768 Enjoy!

Yeah blacktop, I know its all in jest...sorta <_< Kidding! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! (God bless us all and our Lexi too).

Mike, I would also rebuild the starter motor while you are in that far.

Funny! The armrest has an upper and lower compartment. The outlet is in the forward wall of the lower compartment. Sorry for not being more explicit.

Your symptoms are classic air bubble(s)/low coolant. How did you bleed the system? Have a look at this thread ---> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...8&hl=heater

You probably already know this but....while searching for some junk that I threw in the bottom of my center console, I noticed a stamping on the bottom plastic, "MAX 3.5 A/12V". Huh? Whatzat doing there? Then I found another 12V cigarette lighter outlet in the forward part of the bottom of the console wall. Cool. Never knew it was there. Its an early Christmas! What will I do for an encore? Open the hood and find an engine?! :P

Since you have a 93, you have the OBDI system which you can read using a jumpering technique. No need to buy a reader. Here is how you do it ----> http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/intro/codereading.html

That increase was necessary to pay for the carbon credits. ;)