bwoods

Thanks for this great post. I have the Nakamichi. Wondering if it would be similar.

Thank you, that is fascinating information. That means that Lexus is even more luxury high tech that I thought!

BTW, I am laughing at your avatar...we are moving to Tucson this July/August. We live in the very hot Central Valley of CA, but I know Tucson is going to be slightly hotter. Cooler than where you live, though, I hope.

OK, thanks! That is feature overkill, yes?

Oh, jeez...wasn't that dumb of me? I guess it shows how many times I've typed the word "antenna" in my life! (Guess that rules out entomology as a career choice!) Thanks for letting me know it's normal. I just never noticed it before. Re: searching on buttons: OK, I'll give that a try. Sometimes it's so difficult finding info in this forum searching threads...but OK, I'll do it. Thanks!

On my '96 LS400, whenever I press the radio preset 4, 5, & 6, the power antennae goes down about 1/2" to 3/4". When I press preset 1 - 3, the antennae goes fully up. This is weird. Anyone knows why it is doing this? On a different note, the night time backlight for presets 5 & 6 is dead. Is this something replaceable and easily fixable? Thanks, Brad

I just got back. What they did was adjust the sensor at each shock. At least that's what I understood. He said they adjusted the sensor "at each corner," drove it around a lot, adjusted it again, and drove it around some more, then adjusted it yet again. Without measuring, it looks to me like the driver's side (the repaired side) is a little low. This shop does not know the specs for this car. Tell you what, after driving our Toyota Matrix for the last 3 months, to get this wonderfully quiet, smooth, and powerful car back is a joy!

OK, took the air shocks to a suspension shop and they replaced the driver's front and rear air shocks. They can't get it to calibrate it so that the driver's side and passenger's side are even. It was off by about 2". They replaced a sensor and got it to within 1.25" but they and I do not know which side is off or if both sides are off. There is clearance from the fender over the tires on both sides and is drivable. But we do not know if the passenger side is too high or if the driver's side is too low. What should I do at this point? I'm going to pick it up right now, so I will get clarification as to which sensor they replaced, but is there another sensor that should be checked? Will this settle in by driving it around and let the computer make more adjustments?

Thanks to all who replied to my post, you guys are great. Now off to find a mechanic to do this... Brad

Yep, I know it's better to do front/rear at the same time. But the fact is, I don't have the money. So I gotta do what I gotta do. What's the alternative, anyway? To let it sit in my driveway inoperable. Not an option for our busy family. Having just one car running is killing us right now. And I didn't buy a Lexus for spring shocks...I bought it for the great ride that it gets. I've read on this forum how some spring shocks are "pretty close." But I don't want pretty close. But thanks!

The 1995-up LS400 is different from the 90-94. Instead of turning off a switch in the the trunk, all that is necessary is to turn the ignition switch off. Attached is the relevant page from the 96 LS400 owners manual. AH! Thanks. That's the information I needed. I looked in the trunk and didn't see anything that others were talking about. THANKS!

Couldn't find anything about it.

I purchased remanufactured front and rear driver's side air shocks from Arnott. (They are both shot and my car leans to the left.) I'm going to have a mechanic install the replacements. I have read for other years' models that you should turn off the air suspension before it is raised on the rack. I have not found in this forum though where the switch would be on my '96 LS400. Also, is there a set of instructions that I can print up and give to the mechanic? Thanks!

Yep, that is huge, I'm quite pleased. Yeah, the plugs, etc. is next. I'm on the attack! YOU keep up the good work, good buddy. You are awesome. Thanks so much for your original post, it gave me courage to suck that stuff into my car.

Just did the Seafoam. Here's my experience. I put it in through the vacuum hose as shown in this thread. The Seafoam website or YouTube video by Seafoam I saw (can't remember which) also showed this as well as putting a third in the crankcase and a third in the fuel tank. Ran it and got the cloud as everyone else. Though I must say that I'm pleased in that I didn't have as much as a cloud as others I've seen. Must've been because the previous owner did take great care in the car and maintained it quite regularly as advertised. I did that in the morning. Took it to my Lexus mechanic and had him change the oil to Mobil 1 synthetic. Now the same day in the afternoon, I'm driving to Reno, but first to a store in Sacramento. We get off the highway and are waiting in stop-and-go on the exit. I notice that my Trac light is blinking and the Check Engine light is on. I'm thinking "Did I ruin my car?!!!" We get to the store and the lady lets me get online. This is around 6:30 p.m., I'm 4 hours drive away from my mechanic and besides he and all other repair shops are closed. (Fortunately for me.) I already checked my manual for what these lights mean and I'm now panicking. I'm wondering if I should spend the night and go to the Lexus dealer in the a.m. as I didn't want to keep driving and ruin my engine and/or tranny. So I call Autozone and they no longer get check engine light codes for free anymore (corporate and CA regulatory baloney) so the cheapest diagnostic tool is around $100. But then, what would I do with the code with no tools on me anyway? While I'm surfing online for the nearest Autozone and any mom & pop garages that just might by chance be still open, I come up with the brilliant idea of searching for this problem on this forum! (Duh!) And lo and behold, I find a similar problem and plenty of references to disconnect the negative battery terminal for awhile and see what happens after you reconnect. THAT SOLVED THE PROBLEM! Both lights are off. Even with the lights on, there wasn't a noticeable performance issue or problem. All I can say is THIS FORUM ROCKS! It saved me who knows how many hundreds of dollars of unexpected expense for a Lexus dealer to find out. THANK YOU to all who selflessly share their knowledge and experience with all of us. Oh, and I think it is cool to find out that even with the battery pulled, all my radio station presets were preserved! BTW, I am now experiencing an increase of 4 MPG of 26 MPG, up from 22 highway. :D Brad

Found this great segment from the UK show, "Top Gear." Watch it to the end. At the end he does a test that he "normally doesn't do" on the show. He puts a glass of water on the engine and revs it and the water doesn't move! On two of the cars, the vibration is so severe that he has to put his hands around in case the glass falls off. Try this on your own Lexus, it's cool and wows your friends! The other thing interesting is that he points out some of the bells and whistles in the comparison. It was interesting to note that things like our illuminated dash and driver memory seats seemed to be new items back then. Toyota has been a leader in the ergonomics, aka "bells and whistles," department. Remember when the Supra first came out? It was because of the Supra, if memory serves correctly, that auto manufacturers started to reciprocate and put more bells and whistles in. Anyway, watch and enjoy. After I did a search on the forum, I noticed that someone in 2006 was looking for this and no one found it. Here it is! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N8hiUZL6gk

My intent for my original post was to merely comment on the performance aspect of using regular vs. premium as there seems to be mixed results. I meant no reference to engine efficiency, aka gas mileage. But since it's been brought up, I haven't noticed any difference in mpg as well. Perhaps Costco gas is pretty good stuff, I don't know. At any rate, the flirt with regular was just that and I plan on tanking up on premium. The math says that if I drive 1000 miles/mo. then I'm saving only around $18/mo. on gas more or less. That isn't much for peace of mind. However, if you are now on a tight budget thanks to rising gas AND food costs (Thanks, ethanol corn industry!) $18 could mean something. After all, $18 into my wife's Matrix would be a good way to redistribute that money. It's all how you want to look at it, barring any long-term engine damage, if any.

Yup.

Although this thread is five, six months old, just wanted to report my experiences with my '96 LS400. I put in a tank of regular unleaded at Costco. Contrary to others' experiences posted here, I have had NO pinging or knocks, or decrease in gas mileage, or decrease in power. I still can mash the accelerator and I can perceive no difference in power either from a standstill or passing cars on the freeway or in the city. So as far as I'm concerned, my only question is long-term affect on the motor if any. And judging by the this and other threads on the subject, it seems up for debate!

1996 LS400. 180k miles. Just yesterday my radio started intermittently turning off and on. This morning it is happening again, only with the AC/heater controls as well. I arrived at work and while parked noticed that when I shifted through up and down the gears or applied the brake, the radio, heater AND the dash lights would flicker. The battery indicator light would also come on intermittently. Do I have an alternator problem or is it just the battery? I purchased this used, and I have a fairly good idea of the maintenance record, but there is no date on the battery. Thanks, Brad

So if it doesn't raise up, it doesn't work? Bummer! I don't know if any of the shocks were replaced, but I the car doesn't sag.

I just got a stupid swipe on my driver fender from some idiot in the parking lot! May his car spontaneously ignite! Would it be better to take it to a Lexus dealer to fix or can I take it to a reputable body shop? Which would you do? Thanks, Brad

I just bought a '96. It has the adjustable suspension. When I turn it on "high," visually it doesn't do anything. Is it supposed to raise it a little bit, or am I misinterpreting the manual? Does it just firm up the suspension? The manual sure makes it sound like it is supposed to raise it. How do I know if it is working?

Oh, yeah! ;)

Hello, All, Yesterday I purchased a '96 LS400, 178k, immaculate, and EXTREMELY well taken care of for $6880. What an incredible car. I am amazed at its smooth handling, power, and stereo. I've never owned a car like this and it was FUN to go down the 99 from Sacramento to home, doing 75, punching the accelerator, and feeling the immediate response that pushed me back in my seat an in the blink of an eye I was at 90. Cool!!! And in spite of hauling major weight with an 8 cylinder engine with that much hp and get the gas mileage it gets--wow! What a steal of a buy. Anyway, my only complaint is of course, the wonderful cup holders in these cars. I've searched this forum and found that it happens to be a sore spot with many of you. And not just LS400 owners, either. I may have found a solution. Check out: http://www.ultimatecupholders.com/index.html This was a solution to a guy's BMW problem, but does work in other cars. I think it might work in our Lexus'....Lexus's....Lexuses....Lexi....cars. Read through the whole site, esp. installation and the pictures. What do you think? Worth a try? Brad