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Yeah I recall that my LS400 had to have an air conditioning service at about year 3-4 also. I'll have the dealer check it out. Thanks.

Hi. My air conditoning on my 2005 LS430 is warm at startup for about 10 minutes, and then gets colder. Vehicle has 33k miles on it, just out of warranty. My Honda Ridgeline is cold at startup, that's the basis for comparison, so it's not my imagination or anything. Can anyone suggest what the problem might be, and what I should tell the Lexus dealer when I bring it in for service? Thanks in advance.

OK will do, it's not a smart key, will check it out. Appreciate the help.

Yeah, so there's no way to turn this off? How do you set the keys to use the memory settings? Is there a way to turn off the key using the memory settings? Thanks.

Sorry I didn't make myself clear. Can someone get into their LS430, push their memory setting, turn the mirror all the way out (glass), turn off the car, get out, lock it, unlock it, and open the door. When the door opens, does the mirror return to its memory setting or does it stay where you left it? The dealer claims it should move without pushing the memory button but I can't see how this could be correct. My car's mirror returns to the memory position without my pushing the button. I don't think it's supposed to do this. Thanks in advance.

Hi. The dealer tells me that if I turn on my 2005 LS430, push my seat setting (say #1), move the driver's mirror outward using the control to the left of the steering wheel, turn the car off, exit the car, lock the car and then unlock the car and open the driver's door that the driver's side mirror (glass) IS SUPPOSED to return to the position in as set in setting #1 when the door is opened. So in other words, if my wife gets into the car and changes the mirror setting and then goes to the mall, when she opens the door after finished shopping that the mirror will move on its own back to whatever position was in the setting was last pushed (setting #1, #2 or #3). Is this correct? Is this really how this car operates by design? My LS400 didn't do this and I don't think that my RX350 does it. Thanks in advance - any help or input is appreciated.

Yeah? Well we'll see about that. I need these wheels for my '05 LS430 as I may travel through the ghetto at some point in time (might get lost, etc.). I'll let you know if I find any that can clear the brakes. You are probably right about 17s.

Not many sport suspension LS430s were made. Give any Lexus dealer the VIN, they'll tell you what the options were on the car. 18" rims do not mean sport suspension. I doubt you will get 19mpg given that mix of driving. Ask the dealer to borrow the car for a few days and see for yourself. Fill the tank, the car will tell you your gas mileage. The valuations of the LS430 do not track SUVs. However, as the economy weakens there is likely a lower demand for luxury vehicles.

Well I will post pictures after I get a set. I want something I can ride in the ghetto.

The other thing prospective purchasers should be aware of is that this is an expensive automobile and the maintenance is correspondingly expensive. A dealer here in Cherry Hill charges $730 for the 30k service and about $1500 for the 90k service. The oil should be changed every 5k miles, and most dealers with tire rotation charge around $100 for this service. You should not purchase an LS430 thinking that it is an economy car. It's not.

what's wrong with ghetto?

I get worse mileage on my '05 LS430 than on my '00 LS400. There are some things about the '00 model that are better than the '05 model, believe it or not. Both great cars.

depends on whether they have had paintwork. paintwork reduces the value substantially, as does mileage. black shows dirt and needs to be washed all the time. you should ask them to allow you to borrow the car so you can see what kind of gas mileage you will get. a little bit of city driving skews the mileage a lot. don't expect to get in the 20s for MPG without first running a test, otherwise you may be disappointed.

I have an '05 LS430. 15/16 city is accurate. 23 highway is not. 27mpg is closer to what you can get on stock 17s.

Does anyone know where I can find chrome spinners (17" or 18") for my LS430? Does anyone have any recommendations for anything they think looks good? Thanks!

The owner's manual says push the button for 3 seconds and the "initializing" message will come up on the dashboard. The message never comes up. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Make sure when you reset the monitor you "initialize" it as described in the Owner's Manual and don't just reset the monitor. I had a similar problem and after reading the Owner's Manual carefully and following the instructions to reinitialize the monitor the problem has not come back. I believe I did what it says which is to push the button under the driver's side dash until the word "initializing" comes up on the display. It works and resets the display, but the notification subsequently comes on between 5 and 50 miles later. The tires behave like any other tires - they are the originals and do not leak. The car only has 28k miles on it. The problem only started after the dealer performed the 30k mile service. If you have any other suggestions they are appreciated.

Sorry - I wasn't clear, I meant that the '05 doesn't have TMPS sensors in the wheels.

On an '05 LS430 - does anyone know why it is necessary to keep resetting the tire pressure (the button under the driver's steering wheel)? It seems like when I go over a bump the tire pressure light comes on. Resetting it works for aboug 20 miles and then it comes on again. The tire pressure on all wheels is the same. It doesn't matter whether I set them all to 33psi, 40psi or anything in between. '05s do not have TPMS. I have 17s on the car, the vehicle came with 18s. Thanks!

Thanks for all your comments. No. This does describe my car exactly. Thanks, that does help A LOT. I found that putting on 17" rims and pumping up the tires to 38psi cold helps. The car pulls, but much much less than with the 18" rims. It turns out that the automobile I'm speaking of does not have the sport edition suspension. I notice that with the 18" rims, when stopping hard the steering wheel turns in accordance with the surface of the road. If the road is flat, when braking hard the steering wheel stays straight, but if the road slopes right the steering wheel turns hard right when stopping hard. Obviously this is a problem. This happened dramatically with the 18" rims, and much less dramatically with 17" rims and overinflated tires. With the overinflated tires the car drives really well, although I would like to see how it rides with new tires and a new alignment (the 17s have about 22k on them, and are the Dunlop SP Sport 5000s). Apparently Lexus of Palm Beach recommends 40psi all around on 18s ("for ride"). I called them about it several times and they didn't call me back - I got this information from a friend with an '06 UL who indicated that the fellow who comes out to change the battery for snow birds told him about Palm Beach's inflation recommendations. Thanks a lot for all the help, it's really appreciated! If you have any other comments on this subject I'd love to hear them.

If the car was hit it's not such a great deal. Check that all body panels have the VIN # on them and ask a body shop where the car was painted. You can check for overspray also. I believe on the '05s that the trunk does not have the VIN. Keep in mind that for CPO cars the warranty isn't transferrable. This means that an '05 without a CPO that has not been hit and has all its service is pretty much just as good as an '05 that is CPO'ed (i.e. purchased in March '05, Warranty until March '09 - by then you'll know what's wrong). The difference is that the CPO warranty is to 100k miles as opposed to 50k, but if the car wasn't hit and has all its service nothing significant is going to go wrong with it anyway.

Salvage titles are marked as salvage. Your best bet is to purchase from a reputable dealer. If you purchase a car from a Lexus dealer you should be ok. Just make sure to ask the used car manager "What has been repainted" and "What panels have been replaced". You have to listen carefully. The words "I think" don't mean anything, you have to get them to say "No panels have been replaced, and no panels have been repainted". In other words, the car has not been hit. Check the local dealers on the coast from which you will ship the vehicle (i.e. east or west). You can probably take about $2-$3k off the asking price for most used LS400s available on a Lexus dealer's lot. Good luck.

On an in-warranty '06 LS430 (sport edition) the steering is very heavy. The steering also pulls slightly right and appears to require more correction than would be expected at highway speeds. Some questions: 1. Is there a difference in the P/S pump between sport ("euro-tuned suspension") and non-sport models? 2. Is there a solenoid screen on the LS430 that might need to be cleaned? 3. Could this be a problem with the P/S pump or with a flow control valve? The dealer says that "this is the way the car drives" in response to a request for in-warranty repair, but I have driven other LS430s and the steering is much lighter on those cars. The dealer indicates that the alignment is OK. Will take this car to another Lexus dealer, but want to be able to point that dealership in the right direction. Thanks.