TA in KC

I think the "check engine" and "trac off" lights come on together on most Lexus cars. But it is pretty difficult to try and figure out what it causing them to turn on without knowing the stored diagnostic codes. Did you figure out what these were?

It sounds like maybe the compressor clutch is not working correctly. Are you inclined enough to try connecting it directly to the battery and see if it engages/clicks? I have never done it on an LS, but did on a family member's Hyundai by unplugging the compressor clutch connector and using some alligator clips/wire to connect it directly to the battery. That should tell you if your car actually has some kind of electrical problem or if it is just a faulty compressor clutch.

The driver's seat of my previous 92 LS 400 gradually developed a long crack in the front middle section that eventually turned into a tear. Before I sold the car, I took the advice of an experienced upholstery installer and had that section of the seat replaced with just a high quality vinyl material that he said would be more durable than leather. The match of both the color and grain of the material was perfect and the cost was low- only about $150 since I removed the seat myself and brought it to the shop. It looked excellent when finished and I wished I had done it earlier!

The owner's manual for your car should have a detailed procedure on how to close the sunroof manually. Perhaps if you did that slowly you would be able to ease the glass back over whatever keeps the shade from sliding closed first.

Is there a reason you need to connect your radio directly to the battery? Maybe yours draws more power than mine (an Icom IC-V8000), but it works fine on all three power settings when connected to the cigarette lighter plug with an adapter I made. If I used it in the car more often and wanted to mount it permanently, I would probably just hard-wire it in. I would think doing one of those two things would be much easier than running a cable to the battery. Good luck, KD0EVL. :)

This shift knob came off of a 2002 SC 430. I purchased it thinking it would be a direct replacement for the cracked one on my LS 400. Unfortunately, it does not fit. From what I understand, it will fit correctly on the SC 430, 2002+ ES300/330, 2001+ LS430, and possibly 1998-2004 GS300/400. Please check compatibility to make sure- I would be happy to provide measurements if needed. It is in excellent condition besides some minor wear on the top leather section- not very noticeable as you can see in attached photos. Asking $40 including shipping to continental US states- just would like to get my money back out of it. Send email or PM if interested.

I've never owned a hybrid vehicle- so I don't know if there are any extra precautions to take when storing one. But, If you don't want to disconnect the battery, and don't want it to be drained, I would think a trickle-type charger such as a "Battery Tender" would do the trick. I also have this little device (not sure what it's called, purchased in the auto section at Wal-Mart) that hooks up to a 9V battery and plugs into the car's accessory plug. It works great for keeping my radio presets, etc, intact when I disconnect the battery while performing maintenance on my car. I don't know if it would keep working for 4 weeks- but it's another idea.

Very interesting! I'm sure many members of this board will find this post very useful.

I noticed these "beeps" when checking out the smart key system on a new Camry a family member just bought. Don't know either...but my only guess would be to remind you that you are walking away from the running car with the keys in your pocket! Was yours running when you heard the beeps?

Is there not a label somewhere in the engine compartment that specifies the refrigerant capacity? I know on my previous 92 LS, there was a yellow label right on top of the condensor fan that specified the capacity. I believe it was a little over 2 lbs.

Your heater may have stopped working due to the heater control valve failing, which is located towards the top middle of the firewall in the engine compartment. This happened on my previous 92 LS at about 180,000 miles and it ended up being a very easy fix. I believe the replacement valve I purchased online was actually for a 1991 Toyota Camry- but it was a direct fit, much less expensive than the factory Lexus part, and was very easy to install. Maybe take a look at yours and see if it is leaking. All the coolant that leaked out of mine over time stuck up the cable that opens/closes the valve- which is pushed out/pulled in by a motor inside the dash when the temperature is adjusted. For the first couple of weeks after I installed the new valve, I still had to adjust the cable manually from under the hood in order to change from cold/warm air. Doing this enough times eventually freed up the cable to where it moved on its own when the temperature was adjusted and the problem was solved. I'm not sure about the thumping noise- and not totally sure the heater control valve is the source of your heater not working- but it's worth starting with.

I would suggest you find an independent mechanic that specializes in Toyota/Lexus vehicles. It is difficult to attempt to diagnose a problem like this through the forum since there are so many different possible causes. It doesn't sound like the oxygen sensor was the cause of the issue you are describing- but those commonly need replacement between 100-150,000 miles on any car so it may have been a totally seperate issue. Figuring out the cause of problems like this is usually easy work for a trained mechanic who is familiar with the car. 107,000 is not a lot of miles- I would imagine this is probably something simple that was caused by lack of/improper maintenance in the past. Independent mechanics are usually much less expensive than the Lexus dealership so I think one of them would be the best place to go next. Best of luck.

I think it is best just to follow the factory maintenance schedule and change your timing belt when it is six years or 90,000 miles old. I believe your SC430 has an "interference" engine like my LS400. IMO, it isn't worth taking the chance that the timing belt might break and cause major damage that would likely require your car's engine to be rebuilt. It is also a good idea to have the water pump, tensioner, pulleys, etc replaced at the same time as the timing belt since any of these components failing would also cause the belt to break. I far exceeded the 6-year/90,000 mile interval on my previous 92 LS400 and never had any problems- but that car had a "non-interference" engine, meaning that if the belt ever broke, it would just have to be replaced and no damage to the engine components would be done. I have heard other members of this board say it is far more likely for the water pump to fail and shread the belt than it is just for the belt to break. I don't know if this is true, but I always serviced the cooling system regularly so that could be why I never had a problem. All that said, I would never consider exceeding the replacement interval on my current 98 LS400 with an interference engine. Its timing belt is only 2 years old, but I put a lot of miles on the car and expect the belt to have about 90,000 miles on it some time next year- which is when I will have it changed.

If you have your oil changes done at one of those franchised quick-lube type places, I sure wouldn't be surprised at all if something got "disturbed" and it ends up being an easy fix. My friend takes his 94 LS to a place like that for oil changes and has told me many stories about parts on his car like the air intake, battery terminal and radiator cap being broken after a "courtesy inspection" was performed by an inexperienced tech who didn't know the car and how to disassemble the components properly. I still can't understand why my friend keeps going back, other than the fact they have always covered the cost of repairing damage done to his car. I would certainly agree with Paul that using a mechanic who specializes in Toyota/Lexus vehicles can frequently save you a lot of time, frustration and money. Please keep us updated and let us know how it works out. :)

I don't know if it is the same way on your car, but the "traction control" and "check engine" lights always came on together on my previous 92 LS400. None of the problems I had were ever actually with the traction control system- as soon as I solved the emission control/check engine problem, both lights would always go off. I suspect they are programmed to come on together for a reason I don't know. I helped a neighbor troubleshoot a similar problem on her 2001 Toyota Highlander (same engine as your ES300) a couple years ago. Her car's computer system also gave a code that indicated a problem with the charcoal canister, although I can't remember if it was the same one as yours. I thought this sounded odd on a car with only 80,000 miles, but went ahead and tried to find out what I could about that part. I was about to tell her just to take the car in when she said she forgot to tell me she had changed the air filter herself just the day before. I figured there was a strong possibility these two events could be related- so I took a closer look at the air filter/intake area. Sure enough, I found a small vacuum line on the bottom that was disconnected- I am sure accidentally when she was changing the filter. I reconnected it, the light went off, and the car is still running fine today. Did your Lexus dealership do a full diagnostic procedure on your car, or just hook up their computer and pull the code? I don't know for sure, but I certainly don't hear of people replacing their charcoal canister much and I have never changed one myself. My 92 LS was still on its original one and working fine at nearly 200,000 miles at the time I sold it. I don't know where all of them are located on the ES300, but it would probably be worth checking to make sure all your car's vacuum lines are still connected and in good condition, particularly in the air filter/intake area. It could be a simple fix.

I have a set of window switch assemblies for a first-generation LS400. I bought these about 2 years ago as a back-up set in case any of them ever failed on my previous 92 LS400, but never ended up using them. I tested them while still installed in the donor car and all worked properly. However, since I no longer own a first-generation LS, I can't test them again and will have to offer them for an "as-is" sale only. The "unlock" button on the driver's door assembly is missing its "top cover", the passenger's side rear door assembly is missing a wood trim piece, and the wood trim pieces are coming loose on several of them. Otherwise, they are in good condition and I think the loose pieces could be easily glued. Photo attached. Asking $80 for all, including shipping to continental US states. If you don't feel that this price is reasonable, feel free to make another offer. Send any questions or inquiries via email or private message.

Do you have experience having damage like this repaired successfully with PDR? Maybe I'm wrong, but I really don't think that would work. I had some hail damage and a few door dings repaired that way on my 1998 LS400 a couple of weeks ago. The tech who did the work told me he was glad there were no dings in the "dog leg" area where this damage is located- he told me it is particularly difficult to access with regular tools and sometimes not even possible. I suppose they could cover up the rest of the damage with body filler- but I don't know how long that would last.

Call me a skeptic, but after all the body work I've been through on multiple cars, $250 sounds unbelievably cheap to me as well. I would also suspect that at this price, it would most certainly not be a quality repair. A friend had a similar incident in his Ford Five Hundred (regular, non-metallic paint) recently. The cost to replace and repaint the rear bumper, repaint the quarter panel, and remove a small "clean" ding using the paintless method exceeded $5000 at a reputable body shop here in Kansas City- just to give you an idea. I am very surprised at how quickly the exposed metal began to rust if this only happened a few days ago- and I think the damage looks far too severe to be repaired with "PDR". I would think that section of, if not the entire quarter panel would need to be replaced, repainted, and blended. $250 surely would not cover all of that. Do you carry collision insurance, and is repairing this damage important to you? If you are going to proceed even if the cost is higher, I think you should find a reputable independent body shop. Most of those places need to have a good reputation and perform quality work in order to stay in business.

How many miles are on your car? Is it displaying symptoms that make you think it needs repair, or are you just wanting to do some routine maintenance since it has not been driven for an extended period? I have had great experiences with Toyota/Lexus vehicles mainly just by following the factory maintenance schedule. Although I have heard other members of this forum talking about replacing motor mounts on older cars and the vast improvement it makes, I have never actually done it myself. For what it's worth, I drove my previous 92 LS400 to nearly 200,000 miles on the original mounts and never had any odd vibrations or other related problems. The same goes for the struts, but I did replace some smaller suspension components as the car aged and noticed some marginal improvement in the way it drove. I am not as knowledgeable about the ES300s, but I'm sure someone else will chime in that knows more about their common idiosyncrasies, if that's what you are looking for.

I just replied to a similar thread- I don't live in Phoenix, but found this shop with a Google search. http://www.lex-repair-az.com/

I don't live in your area, and don't know anything about this shop, but I found it with a Google search and they appear to service Lexus vehicles. http://www.luciocarservice.com/

My previous 92 LS used to do this when I had forgotten to close the sunroof. The chime sounded different than the "seat belt reminder" that comes on when starting the car.

I have also had great luck with Costco/Kirkland batteries, the only "drawback" being you must install them yourself (which is very easy). Most are only $55 at my local Costco and have an excellent 3-year, "no questions asked" replacement policy. I belive they are pro-rated for an additional 5 years after that. Make sure to save your receipt! It is required for a replacement.