TA in KC

I don't think the motor mounts necessarily need replacement at that mileage. Best thing you can do is drive the car and make sure there are not any odd vibrations or other symptoms. The motor mounts on my LS are fine with 144,000 miles, and they are almost 16 years old.

I think it's purpose is to keep the other parts under the hood from getting damaged if the battery were to actually explode. That does not happen very often. I took that piece off my car because it did not fit over the new battery I bought from Costco.

You can check Sewell Lexus Parts. It may just be easier to go to the dealer though. When my 2000 Camry was purchased used with 5,500 miles, it was missing the same piece you are talking about. Replacement cost was $1. I can't imagine the Lexus part is too much more expensive.

The service manual website is techinfo.toyota.com.

I paid $125 for all seats, armrests, and door panels. The person who did mine was from Dr Vinyl. You can go to DrVinyl.com to see if they have a representative in your area. I was very pleased with the service I got from the gentleman who did mine. They add a flex additive to the paint, to help it last longer. Most other people I talked to don't do that, and they were also more expensive. If you deicide to have it done, I'd recommend removing the seats from your car so the overspray doesn't get on any other surfaces.

If you are planning on having someone "re-spray" the color to your seats, you shouldn't have to worry about the color code. I had that done to my car's taupe interior last summer. The person who did it was very skilled and was able to match the color perfectly without any color code. He was able to do it just by looking at the seats due to his 10 years of experience. If you find a reputable place they shouldn't have any problem getting the color to match. It sure makes a world of difference when it is done.

Yes, that is a pretty cheap dealer visit. I buy all my light bulbs, fuses, etc at the dealer. Turns out they are actually cheaper than the auto parts store!

I still think it's a pretty good buy. You could fix the transmission, suspension and other problems for a lot less than the $6-7000 the car would be worth otherwise.

Seeing you live in Chicago, do you have a different set of wheels/tires for winter? Driving with chrome wheels in the snow, even for just one year, will destroy the finish from what I understand. Most people I know with chrome wheels change them out with another set during the winter months so the salt on the roads does not mess them up. I have thinking about putting a set of LS400 stock chrome wheels on my car. If I do, I will definitely keep my existing set to use in the wintertime.

I found it in the automotive section at Wal-Mart. There are several different brands other than this one, that I am sure work just as well, but I bought this one because it was inexpensive.

You can purchase a 1-day subscription to techinfo.toyota.com. There you can download the factory service manual. It is a lot of clicking and saving but it only costs $10.

What kind of sound system does your car have? Is it the standard Pioneer system or the Nakamichi one?

Thanks! It's mine then. Great. We like pictures. :)

Already have. First thing I did when I got home was pull computer codes then drive to the auto parts store to get the alternator and battery checked since they are open late and don't charge to test them with their equipment. I was always telling people about how great that Costco battery is . It does have a very substantial amount of crank amps, was inexpensive, and is guaranteed for 8 years. It was only about 6 months old. Guess I just got a bad one.

This evening as I was driving on the highway I noticed several warning lights come on and then my instrument cluster began to flicker. It finally went totally black and then the transmission began doing some odd things. <_< I slowed down as I was exiting the highway and began to make a right turn onto the street leading towards my house, and lost power steering midway through the turn. Looked down at the blacked-out tachometer to see it at zero. Luckily I was still rolling fast enough to pull over to the side of the road. I was trying to think what to do next when I remembered the Black and Decker jump starter I bought last December. Pulled it out of the trunk, hooked it up, started my car back up and drove home. Turns out the problem was just the battery. I learned my lesson the hard way once when I left the headlights on and didn't come back for about 2 hours. Bought this jump starter for $35 after that happened, and it has already paid for itself. If you ask me, everyone should have one of these. It is cheap insurance.

Sounds good to me. 226K isn't too much...there are lots of people who have many more miles than that on their cars, and still use them as daily drivers. I have a friend with a 1994 LS with 303K miles, still looks and drives great. For that price, you could fix all the problems and still get an excellent deal on a great car.

Do either of you have a check engine light on? Last summer when the oxygen sensors went out on my 1992 LS, the car started running on a very rich fuel mixture. This hurt gas mileage and there was a very strong gas smell whenever I was outside of the car while it was running.

Nope. How do you inspect them? As you can see, I am not all that great with automotive mechanicals. <_< Thanks. Here's a page that has some information about inspecting and changing them. Ball joints are not the easiest thing in the world to work on, so depending on your abilities you may wish to take the car to a mechanic. It may be better just to do that so you can find out exactly where the problem is. That way, you won't spend money replacing a part that doesn't fix the problem.

I'll second that! I have not owned very many high end cars, but I have yet to find one that rides a nicely as the LS or is so easy to drive at highway speeds. My neighbor used to drive a green Buick Regal. She got rid of it after 2 years for a Honda Accord. At that time her husband drove an Oldsmobile Bravada. Now they both drive Accords. Apparently their experiences with GM products were not very good. Big surprise.

A friend of mine used to have a noise like that coming from his Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. Took it to the mechanic and it turns out it was the left ball joint. Have you inspected those?

Still have the car? Mywhite 93 was rear-ended Saturday and I may be attempting a rebuild with the insurance money. Would need tail light assemblies, rear bumper cover, rear bumper, trunk lid. PM sent

If you ask me, the only information I would use Car Fax for is owner's history/maintenance records. Even those are not all correct sometimes. I have come across several known-wrecked cars that have not shown up in Car Fax as being involved in an accident. When I look at used cars, I look at how the body panels line up, evidence of paint work, and VIN stickers, just like you did. Doing that will almost always reveal an accident that was serious enough to be concerned about. On a side note, I see you are in Kansas City also. Have you found another car yet? I do know of a good used dealer here that gets Lexus cars very frequently, if you are interested I would be happy to give you their information.

The timing belt should be replaced every 90,000 miles or 6 years. If you don't want to spend the money to change the belt, and wouldn't have a problem being stranded if the belt broke, you do not have to change it. Unlike most vehicles, your ES has a non-interference engine, meaning if the belt breaks, it will not cause damage to the engine. Make sure you keep up with your cooling system maintenance. Coolant is what lubricates the water pump. If the engine has old dirty coolant in it, and the water pump siezes, it will take the timing belt right with it. I was told by a service writer at my local Toyota dealer who recently finished "Toyota School" that none of the Toyota vehicles with timing belts (not chains) have interference engines. That rule does not apply to Lexus vehicles, but there are still some models with non-interference engines. Luckily, your ES was the last year for the car to still have one. . Can you give any more details about the transmission issue?

thanks...I have a local mechanic, who says he can do it...but I am concerned..it is probably just a water pump...are they complex to put in? They are fairly complex if you are a do-it-yourselfer, but replacing a water pump in an LS should be no problem for an experienced Toyota mechanic. I would look for someone who specializes in Toyota products. I have found, at least in my area, that most independent mechanics that don't specialize in Toyota use aftermarket parts and do not use Toyota branded fluids, etc. While not totally necessary in some people's minds, I prefer my car to be serviced with OEM parts and have "Toyota Red" coolant and the Toyota-branded transmission fluid. Just good peace of mind giving my car the stuff it was designed for. I do most all maintenace on my LS and Camry myself so I don't have to worry about someone installing parts I don't like. It sounds like that is probably not the case for you. Use a good mechanic whose abilities you are confident in, and you shouldn't have to worry about how easy or hard installing a part is.

The rotten egg smell is normal. Lexus released a TSB about both a while ago...here is the one about the brakes. I'll try and find the other one. data.asp.pdf