01 Ultra

I'm sure that you can, but if you have a dealer close, they just replaced mine for $5.20 - cost of the battery and they installed it for free. All I had to do was wait in the lounge, have a cup of coffee & 5 minutes later it was done.

I have over 122K on my '01, and have not had any 'funky electronic bugs', aside from the ML radio not wanting to work the first time the car is started each morning when the temperature drops below 25 degrees - a regular occurance hear in Minnesota, but other than that, no problems at all. For the 'latest' offering, just me, but if you are considering it I would get them to pony up and give you the other 2 tires so that when you go to rotate them (5-6K interval) you will wear all 4 equally. It may be a bit of a pain getting the parking sensor replaced. Not only will you need to get the part, but have it installed and it will need to be painted to match the bumper also.

As long as the maintenance has been kept up, there is really not much difference as far as the mechanical reliability between the model years. These cars are built for putting several hundred thousand miles on them without having much done other than routine maintenance. As mentioned above, there is a big cost item in the 90K service - you may even be able to negotiate that with the dealer to have done for the '03 model as part of the sales price, since it is so close to scheduled maintenance with 86,500 miles. The only real choice comes down to what will you be comfortable with & which features you like the best - or the ones that you will regret missing if you 'settle' on one that may not have everything you want. There are usually a few LS's around to choose from, as long as you have the time to be picky, you should be able to get exactly what you want without compromising too much. BTW - Welcome & Keep Posting - Pics of whichever you decide on are always welcome.

You could possibly try an aftermarket 'remote start' system. I know when I had one put in my wife's Acura, they replaced the Acura remotes with their own. The new remotes had the buttons to actually start the vehicle, lock & unlock the doors & they said with the purchase of another relay they could tie in the trunk release also. I think that the whole system, with installation cost about $400.00. Well worth the cost for the additional comfort feature of remote starting & having the vehicle 'warmed up' before getting into it here in Minnesota. Your case may be that you could 'cool down' the vehicle before getting into it there in sunny CA!

The seat filter is actually just above the storage drawers. It helps if you raise the seat all the way up & then remove the storage drawer completely. The filters are held in by a couple of clips on each side & the gasketing around the top of the filter may be slightly stuck to the blower motor, but just pull it down gently & it should come right out. Just a note - these little filters are pretty dog gone expensive. The best price I have been able to find is from irontoad.com - they quoted me a cost of $45.70 each. If you find them anywhere else for a better price, let us know!

You could possibly check your cabin air filter. I know there are some recent posts regarding replacement & how much of a difference that it makes!

I'm not positive, but all of the electrical items (clock included) should run off of your main car battery. I've not heard of the clock having a seperate battery just for itself. You can get your battery checked at any parts store to see if it is still good. If it's not, the clock may run a bit slow. I would think that you would also be experiencing other electrical problems if this was the case (hard to start, dim lights, stalling, etc..)

You should be pretty happy with the H rated tires - unless you are planning on taking your LS to a track or doing some extreme driving! H rating will typically be a better touring tire with the V rated tires used more for performance.

Wow, just stopped at the dealer to have the battery replaced in the remote & the total for this was only $5.20 - AND they installed it too!! Felt kind of weird spending that little at a dealership - a nice kind of weird for a change!

That seems like what the 'spring' has been like here in Minnesota - I'm just hoping for a decent summer!

Well, so much for the simple checks before actually getting to the bulbs. It seems that there should be enough room behind the lower bumper valence that you would be able to get in there without taking the wheels off. There are a few parts places online that would have the bulbs, as well as most of the local parts places. I know there have been a few posts regarding changing out the bulbs to brighter ones, maybe there is a post hidden somewhere in here that would have a few pics. Good luck & keep us posted.

Just another quick verification before the major surgery to pull the bulbs to see if they are burned out - have you checked the fuse?

I haven't had a foglight go out, but guessing there would be some indicator. Anyway, first question that has to be asked is - do you have the foglights turned on?

That sounds about right - just this last January I had the 90K service done (timing belt, water pump, etc..) and also the 120k service (trans fluid change, new spark plugs, etc..) both done for $1,700.00. Like you I had stretched the interval for the 90K until 115K & just decided to have both services done at the same time.

I've owned my 01 Ultra for close to 2 years (2nd owner) & have had only one problem with it (annoying problem with the Mark Levinson amplifier that works intermittenly when the temperature drops below 20 degrees - works fine after car has warmed up though). It has just over 119K on the odometer & the only things I've had to do is change the oil (synthetic) & rotate tires every 5,000 miles. I just did the 90K service (timing belt/water pump & a few other misc things) and the 120K service (trans fluid change etc.) which was a little spendy, but well worth it. I also just put new brakes (front & rear) on, so it should be good to go for another 90K. I don't know what 'problems' that blacktop is refering to, but I haven't had any problems what so ever. There have been some posts for the air suspension, but that too seems to be a hit or miss issue - again, mine has worked flawlessly so far (even with living in Minnesota with all of the salt that gets used for the winter roads).

I just changed mine at 115K, but you do take a risk. I believe the 01 has the 'interference' engine that will cause much more damage than just a broken timing belt. The parts themselves are not that expensive - several online parts places have them if you feel like doing it yourself or if you have a VERY trusted mechanic. Just think of it this way - you will be good to go for another 90K!

split1atom - Sorry, I had appointments yesterday afternoon. Did you ever get the key issue resolved?

One other thought - do you have the lexus link system? - They would be able to unlock the car for you remotely.

No, it's not a specialized tool, if you have a tool kit, an adjustable wrench will do. You will still need to get into the car to release the hood latch from the interior though.

Even if it is a valet key, it should open the drivers door (I don't know about the 99 LS, but I don't think that my 01 has a passenger side lock). As far as 'locking down', the outside cylinder for the door is a mechanical operation, I don't believe that it would be able to be locked out. Do you have a dealer close that may be able to cut a new key? If you have the VIN, they should be able to cut a key for you from that.

I have Toyo Versado LX's on my LS430 & am very happy with them. Not as expensive as Michelin's & just as quiet & comfortable. In that size, they have the 'V' rating & also have a 40K warranty. Not as many people have the Toyo Versado's as they just came out last spring, so not as many reviews yet.

Alessandro - Welcome to the forum! I have the '01 with the 'dynamic' or laser controlled cruise. When activated, it does 'sense' the car in front of you and will slow your car down in order to not hit the person in front of you if they are going slower than you are. If that car speeds up, or changes lanes so they are no longer in front of you, the cruise control will then speed back up to the speed that you set it at. (When this happens, the vehicle actually accelerates very slowly, but if you step on the gas, you can get back up to the set speed quicker). The cruise control can also be set in 'normal' mode & will act as a typical cruise control & maintain a set speed without regard for cars in front of you. As for the transmission, I know that the 5 speed in the '01 is very smooth. I haven't driven the '04, but I would assume that the extra gear would allow slightly better fuel economy.

Have to be carefull with spacers - everywhere I checked with here in Minnesota would not put them on (I upgraded from 17's to 18's last year & had a heck of a time finding a decent rim that didn't cost an arm & a leg that would fit). I don't know, but there may be a statue in Minnesota that does not allow spacers to be used. Rolling the fenders may help.

Typically 'summer' tires will be more of a performance type & will wear quicker & will have good traction (some have great dry traction, but will lose some of that traction in wet/rainy weather). 'All Season' tires are usually a compromise of all the characteristics (traction, wear, comfort, noise). I use a dedicated set of winter tires (needed here for the Minnesota snow & ice) & then change to my summer tires as soon as possible - winter tires will wear very quickly when used on dry roads & higher temps and they tend to be a bit noisy. I am very happy with the set of Toyo Versado LX's that I bought last year for use as my summer set. Just last week we had a late spring snow storm & they handled the wet slushy snow very well. That's the problem with changing from winter to summer sets - you never know when the early snow may come in the fall, or when it may hit late in the spring.

I purchased the tires and rims through Discount Tire. It looks like from their website that there are several stores in the area. Toyo is not one of Discount Tires 'stock' manufacturers, but they ordered them for me. You can also try the Toyo website & click the 'find a dealer' tab at the top of the page to search by your zip code for local dealers. I would also recommend shopping around online to see the best price you can find & usually you can get them to pricematch. I just took a look at a few of the online tire shops & the lowest price I found was $164.96 & they go up from there (for my 245/45-18 size).