wucantstop

I asked this before and didn't really get a reply, so I'm gonna ask again before throwing up my hands and going to the dealer. It's summer right now, so I don't usually worry too much about the traction control, though I do prefer to have it off (it sucks to have your wheels fail to spinf when you're trying to peel out). But now, when I press the 'TRAC Off' button, nothing happens. Not only does the TRAC system not disengage, but the button won't even click in to place. The dash light doesn't come on and even when I push the button firmly, it fails to click in and stay depressed. This leads me to believe that it could be the button and not the whole system, though that may just be wishful thinking on my part. If any of you have any ideas or have encountered this issue before, leet me know, because right now I'm a little stumped. I guess the next step is to take out the switch and make sure there's nothing obviously broken on that. If anyone's done this....

lol, I get it vmf! I just worry A LOT parking my car around BK and even in Manhattan. That's why I had to get the 2-way alarm, which still doesn't leave me feeling completely secure when I'm out of range.

Leaving your car in the street? In Brooklyn? When I'm there, I got a gated parking space for 100 bucks and I think that was a deal!

Just install them as you would any other car A/V system, I'd imagine. There're tutorials everywhere on the internet.

oh man, you have me droolin now... i really want that air suspension. the only issue is the price. how much do you think it would cost to get the whole air suspension setup? I've heard that it's ridiculous to just replace all the parts on one corner, never mind adding it in altogether. I'm curious about the aftermarket kits, which have the ride height vontroller included, but a little skeptical because they sell the whole thing usually for under $1,000. There are the air bag kits and then the air struts or whatever. Oh well. I'll keep researching.

and for your chrome grill, did you buy an aftermarket one, use a kit, or get it chromed?

hey tansupplyman, could we get some pics of the gold on your car?

I have recently really wanted to lower my car. I know I can find a nice set of stiff lowering springs for under 300 bucks, and they'll do the trick of getting rid of that ugly fender gap above my wheels. The problem is that I drive a lot in the city, and I'm afraid that between speed bumps and potholes, the lowering could cause more damage than it's worth (popped tires/bent rims/f'd up undercarriage). So now, what I've been thinking, and it's really far more appealing for the obvious reasons, is to put a good aftermarket air suspension kit in the car. I'm curious if anyone's done this before and which type of kit they used. And is it just a dumb idea? Will the springs be fine and am I just worrying? It seems like with my 18s on there now, there is not much clearance in the wheel well already, so something that would be adjustable from inside the car would be a dream. Riding on the ground as I fly down the highway, hit the city streets and with the press of a button, I now got a raised moster LS. Sorry guys, dreaming again, but lewt me know what you think. What about shaved door handles? The LS would be soooo beautiful with all the handles gone. I've found complete (and seemingly reliable) kits for around $600, but I'm not going to get one until I'm sure the solenoids and door-poppers can fit in my LS's door frame. If anyone has experience with this, I'd appreciate hearing back from you.

SK, thanks for getting back to me. I don't need the emblems. Mine (the one on the grill) is still intact. As soon as I have my new grill (which hopefully you guys will help me acquire for a good price) chromed and put on the car, I'm going to paint all the emblems a nice metallic black with a layer of clear coat. I think that'll look great, with the black chrome-look emblem against the polished chrome of the grill. Anyways, the question's about a new grill, so anyone...

I just got in an accident a couple weeks ago and I'm having the bodywork done on the hood and the bumper replaced today. While, I've found good prices on the bumper and labor, I'm waiting to replace the crackes plastic grill because the dealer wants $320, and that's the quote for the body shop. If I call as a customer, they want a lot closer to $400. If anyone has replaced their grill with a billet or something else and has an extra grill, or knows where I can get one for less than the dealer price, let me know. I know I can find the aluminum billet grills for less than 300, but I've been set on chroming the factory grill for a while, and now's the perfect opportunity, so I want to find on eof the factory ones. Please please please, anyone with ideas, let me know. Also, there's a '91 ES250 grill for sale on Ebay, and the seller claims that it may be the same part as the 1st-gen LS. I think that sounds like a load of bull, but if anyone knows, it wouls be cool. Thanks peoples.

GSSoldier, get back to me. I just did both of these things. Check out my garage link at the bottom. I installed my Sony CD/MP3 player in the dash with install kits and a wiring harness kit to keep it factory-looking, and since i didn't cut the wires, putting the factory radio back in will be easy. I also just put in blue sound-responsive neons under the dash in the front and under the seats in the back. It was really easy and I put in a set of blue cop-flashers too. They're behind the back seat, but they are visible to people in front of me at night. When I have more time and money, I'm going to put some mini-neons behind all the air vents and replace all the indicator/dash lights with blue bulbs. Send me a PM if you need instructions on either the radio install or the neons, because they're both really easy.

Just wanted to add that this was in Boston, where a lot of the cops are definitely racist, but I'm willing to bet most police across the country don't look too kindly on young black men in expensive cars, especially when the windows are tinted, and they're riding on chrome rims. I tend to drive carefully when I'm in 'problem' areas where there may be a lot of cops around, but I've had bad experiences (sort of) in the past. I went to a nearly all-white prep school outside of Boston where most of the kids were the children of the rich and famous, and as a result, a lot of my friends from then drove really beautiful cars, whether their own or their parents. My best friend actually drove a '99 SC400 in 99, and when his sister harassed him to drive that, he would show up to school in his father's SL600 or his mom's LS. Needless to say I loved driving those things when he let me. But my point was that we definitely got harassed and pulled over all the time by police who saw these two 16 or 17-year old guys (I'm black, and my friend is white) in baggy clothes with wild hair driving these ridiculous cars. I think the assumption was that we were drug dealers or involved in some shady business, because after we had gotten harassed enough for them to know it was us, they let up and we could drive without worrying. It did cast a shadow on a lot of my high-school driving though. Oh yeah, and my high-school car which was a '94 Ford Explorer, never got me pulled over. And it was hooked up with black tints, rims, and a really LOUD system, as well as other shiny things, while my friend's cars weren't tinted and only the SL had rims and a system. I really think the car, how it's modded, and who's driving it make all the difference in the world. Cops didn't look twice at me in the Explorer, even though it was pretty flashy, while they were constantly looking my way in the really nice cars, and even do now in my '94 LS.

LOL, 1UZFE and 93LSOwner, I'm under 25 too, but a little older than you guys. I'm 21, but not only that, I have been pulled over in my LS not once, but TWICE. Not on the highway though, which probably makes a difference. I got pulled over once for going through a yellow light and once for going 40 in a 30. Neither were too serious offenses, but I think my Lexus was part of the reason I only got warnings rather than tickets. Like you guys mentioned, I think even more than the car, what matters is WHO is driving it. I'm a young black man, and I think cops are more likely to pull me over when they see me in my car. Oh well, just stuff to think about.

This is great.

I was wondering the same thing about the bulb types in the instrument cluster, climate control, and clock. I'm also curious whether the green illumination on the door control buttons are glow-in-the-dark or if they're lit by bulbs that can be switched.

What's wrong with French companies?

Hey, Mr. Ferrari I hope you don't mind my asking, but what happened to all your hot cars? Traded in? Just curious, because they're all cars I'd love to have (in addition to my LS, of course) and noticed that they were all GONE.

I could be wrong, but the 'LS 400' seems to be a little crooked in that picture.

I just have to put in my two cents about Ford, which I personally hate. Don't get me wrong, my first car (the same one I just got rid of) was a '94 Ford Explorer, and I grew up in it. While I would never go back to it from my LS, I do get that nostalgic feeling and miss it when passing other old explorers on the street. I've also driven a few Expeditions (a '98, a '99, and a '02). The Expedis and the Explos have a similar ride, with the big SUVs feeling like they have a little bit softer ride. What killed me though about the Explorer was the shoddy quality and construction of the vehicle and the constant repair costs. While I have had to fiz things on my Lex, they have been typical repairs for a car this age with hardly anything unexpected, and while they cost ridiculous amounts of money to repair if you go to the dealer (and a lot of the time even if you don't), there will usually not be too many surprises. With the Ford, it was pretty much the opposite. Everything was relatively cheap to fix, but wouldn't last at all. While the LS I have remains solid after 10+ years, the Explorer began falling apart nearly immediately. The seat controls stopped working quickly so I had to replace thema nd then replace them again. The door lock actuators broke several times and replaced them. My center console broke off (held on with plastic aside from one bolt, which was bolted through cheap plastic which deteriorates quickly. All the paneling is held on solely with cheap clips (which Lexus uses only occasionally throughout their cars) and once removed, it is impossible to get the fit perfect again. My interior and exterior door handles broke on several occasions and i replaced them. The cheap buttons broke a lot and I replaced those. Notice the trend - constant replcing of cheap component. That's my main beef with Ford. Luckily, my family won this car new from the Red Sox in '93. I would have been *BLEEP*ed if I had bought it, and now I know not to go with American worksmanship when shopping for cars. The quality really is second to the profit. Whenever corners could be cut, they were. Oh yeah, and the engine blew (I don't know what, I was pretty young then, and my mom drove it before me) after the first 20,000 miles. It was under warranty, and they put a new engine in, so it was alright, but the experience speaks for itself and the same thing happened to my friend's '98 Expedition after about 8,000. Also, I don't know if the 4WD feature in the newer Ford SUVs is switchable, but I don't recommend them if it is. While the fuel economy is much better with the 4WD off, the transmission switch that operates the 4WD feature broke on my Explo after five years and the estimated cost of repairing it (due to the difficult location of the components) at an indie shop was more than $1100. We decided to have the entire 4WD axle disengaged for the minor fee of $250, and my Explo spent the rest of it's life in 2WD mode with the axle sitting idly in my garage hoping for better times. Things kept breaking and so I could never get the money to put it back in. I also spent a lot of my time chasing annoying rattles and vibrations from driving or the subs I had in the back. After 200,000 miles, the Explorer felt like it was about to fall apart, like all the nuts and bolts were just going to separate from driving. As a matter of fact, it felt like that after 130,000 miles. The good thing about Fords is that there are so many of them in junkyards that it's easy to get any part you need cheap. Lol, I don't know if that's good or bad, but a lot of people are trashing these things. Though I did so much stuff to my car, I probably got 80% of the parts from junkyards and only went to the dealership a handful of times. When I first got this LS, I tried to get a couple things from the junkyards and the people I talked to just laughed at me. "You're trying to find an LS in the junkyard? Try coming back in another ten years!" Haha

Does anyone know where I can get a set of the one-piece headlight assemblies? I think they look good and have seen a few cars here with them, but I don't know where I can find one, and not being able to read Japanese doesn't help, since I think the only way to get these are to import. If anyone knows where to find 'em, I'd appreciate it.

That's a good question...

I'm working on a budget too, so I'm used to shopping for deals. You should check out the mid-90s 4Runners. They're infinitely nicer than the Rav4, and while a lot of the affordable ones are high mileage, I've seen some really nice ones go for less than $10k. This one's a bit expensive, but it's a beautiful truck, and it's got the Toyota reliability. Land Cruisers are nice too, but out of my price range. I don't know how you feel about Range Rovers, but I have a friend with a '95 and it's plush inside more than you would expect, with an optional third row (fairly roomy), heated seats in front and back. And his mom has a '94 Land Rover Discovery with a similar interior and TWO moonroofs. If you're pretty settled about the Rav4, sorry for all this talk, but there is one more thing you should check out which I think is far more appealing. I just talked to my friend online and his brother just got a '98 ML320 for about $9500. It has 115k miles. That's not such a bizarre price either because they are going on eBay for not too much. I've never driven one, but from what I hear, they beat the Rav4 hands down, and the comfort is a guaranteed improvement. I realized too, a little slowly, that Rav4's can get upwards of 30-5 miles per gallon, which makes them a big plus, especially if you have a family to drive around, but Mercedes does sound a bit more appealing...

I mentioned this in my other post about tinting the tail lights, but this is really a separate question. I've been thinking seriously about what to do about the emblems on my car. It's a peral white '94 LS with the gold package, which I really hate. I think the chrome matches the look of the car much better. However, I can't decide between these three things what I should do. I'm definitely getting rid of the tacky gold badges and I have a friend with the same car who want to trade me for his chrome ones. What I'm unsure about is whether I should just throw on the chrome emblems, leave the emblems off completely and have a body-shop fill in the trunk post-holes, or make myself some black pearl emblems from the chrome ones, ehich could potentially look really nice with my tinted windows and the tinted tail lights, once they are done. I think I'm leaning toward this option, but I don't know if anyone has done this yet. I don't see how the black badges would really turn out bacd, but here's what I'm thinking: Shop online or at car places for a really nice chrome-flake black pearlescent paint, paint the badges and coate them with clearcoat or laquer to keep the shiny finish. You think it's a good idea?

From an LS to a Rav4. I don't know... I'm not a big fan of SUVs (I just recently junked my '94 Ford Explorer), but I'd say if you need the extra space and really don't want to end up missing the Lexus luxury-car quality, both in drivability and comfort, then you should look at the luxury SUVs, and maybe the bigger ones. I drove my friends '99 X5 for a few months last year while he was away and I must say it really drives just like a car. I was taking turns at 70 without even feeling any body sway. And if those are too big, the X3 just came out. I've driven the Rav4 also, and they are alright, but the comparison is just not even possible. For one they are small, but if you're a fan of solid driving machines, the Rav4 is not one. It bounces over bumps, and while it handles fairly well, it doesn't have that 'cooshy' ride I'm sure you're used to in your LS, and it's not designed to give you a sporty ride either, so you're stuck somewhere in between. Oh well, just my humble opinion...

So I'be been thinking about smoking out or tinting my tail lights. I was wondering if anyone's done this or seen it done. How does it look? Even if you haven't seen it, how do you think it would look? I've seen the red and white lights, but I'm not a big fan. I guess they ARE better than the orage lights any day, but I think the blacked out lights might look nice along with my tints. And then maybe make myself some pearl black emblems... Well, what do you think?