melon

Did the belt already break, or is the water pump making noise? Reason I ask is because your 1st-generation LS has a non-interference engine, meaning if the belt breaks, no damage will be done to the engine. If you don't travel out of town much, you could always just wait for the belt to break. Although my local mechanic says, in his 20-year career, he has never seen a timing belt on a Toyota vehicle break. Fords are another story. ;) I have a related question. I have a Camry and the timing belt broke on it twice, once after 90k miles and the second time was after 40k miles on a new timing belt. What is troubling is the time that it broke after only 40k highway miles. The mechanic that fixed it was an old Toyota factory trained mechanic. He told me that if a mechanic doesn't install the timing belt correctly, then it could be prone to snapping. He also mentioned that he thinks that LS400's have a "self tightening" feature, whatever that means. I have 3k miles on a new timing belt on my lexus ls400 (95) and I am a hoping that I won't have a problem. I used all Toyota parts. Has anyone had a problem with the timing belts snapping before the recommended change intervals? I didn't have the work done at a dealer, but at a local garage. So, my concern is if a less experienced mechanic put on the belt, would this potentially cause me problems or are timing belts pretty straightforward and not considered a difficult job?

I don't know if this helps, but I just got my LS new tires from Costco. You get free balancing, roadside repair, rotation, nitrogen, etc... it is a good deal. I paid around $450 and they were BFGoodrich, VRated. I got the tires in the size that Costco recommended for my car. (they looked it up) You have a choice between BFGoodrich and the more expensive Michellins. Does anyone know what kind of trade off I will experience for the lower price? Should I have paid the extra money for the Michellins?

Pishta, thanks for the offer! I pm'ed you back.

Great info here. I also have a '95 with problems with the front seat belt (driver's) and was about to buy a new one for $200+. Now, based on this thread, I will call the Cust Serv Dept and try to get them to pay for the part or part/labor.

I am not good at DIY but I try to stay on top of maintenance and repairs for my LS. I, too, was recently told from the dealer that I needed new rear carrier bushings for a very expensive estimate. Can I get this done at a local mechanic shop? In other words, is this considered a simple task that is easily done by non dealer trained mechanics?

Can somebody recommend a place in California where I can get an aftermarket head unit that allows me to keep the original controls for the Lexus? I am not sure if such a place exists, but if it did, somebody in here would know. My understanding is that if you replace the head unit, then the easy to use controls are lost. My motivation is to get an auxilery jack for my iPod and XM. Also, I have a Pioneer with cassette deck, with no CD. I was told that based on the wiring, I cannot replace that with a used Nakamichi. But what about a Pioneer with a single disc changer built into the head unit? Can these be swapped with my existing head unit? So many rules with the stereo...

Thanks, Landar. As far as the starter is concerned, how often should one replace this? I usually have sold my previous cars before a starter needed to be replaced but if I recall correctly, they break without warning and will leave one stranded. Not to hijack the thread....is the life of the starter mileage based or time/mileage based like the timing belt?

The bright side is that is not engine related. But I can't believe that it is so tough to replace a lightbulb in the radio. Yes, I have the same problem.

I am a layman compared to the others in this thread. But I am going to replace my rear carrier bushings soon as per the advice of a Lexus mechanic who looked over the LS '95 prior to purchase. Based on this post, does that mean that if the job isn't done perfectly, then my car can experience some vibration issues? I don't like to bring my car to a dealer for budget related reasons, but is this a job that is best left for a dealer? I had some bad vibration at 60 mph but replacing and balancing the tires fixed that, it appears.

I have a '95 LS and like the author of this thread, I also have some issues with my radio. The radio's back light is not working, which is a pain at night. The LED crystals are intermittent, meaning that with considerable effort, I can eventually figure out what station I am listening to. Lexus wants $550 for a new head unit. I am pricing out head units from junk yards and that is my preferred way to go if I can get a good price. Luckily, it is not something that needs immediate attention since it still sounds great, but any advice here would be appreciated. edit: I read the sticky on the top of the page and will call the guys that are listed that fix radios.

I just bought a nice 95 LS400. 58k miles. I had a Lexus dealer check it out and he said that the timing belt was cracked. He also said that they recommend to changing the water pump, crank seals, cam seals, tensioner, idler pulley at the same time. The estimate was a whopping $1800! Luckily, I was able to buy all of the parts from Toyota, but those parts still came to $660! Well, I bought all of the parts and had a local mechanic install them and the overall cost came out to over $1000. To be safe, I had all of the parts replaced as I was led to believe that this is how LS's are supposed to be maintained. I am not sure if this was routine practice for changing timing belts on a LS, or if I paid a lot of money for a peace of mind that may not have been necessary. (I recently changed the timing belt on my Camry for $200). I have already changed other parts to try to make the LS in new condition and the costs are adding up. That is ok, as long as she runs for a long time without additional repairs. I love driving this car so I don't mind maintaining it. This was a couple of weeks ago and I just found this forum today. I wish I learned about this place a little earlier.