lexinva

hey buddy. I just used the tutorial for instaling an aftermarket shifter to get in there and cleaned and WD'd everything. It still does it but no where near as frequently.

Pete

Aha! It took me a while, but I found the tutorial. I will give it a shot this weekend. There are some crumbs etc from the P.O., so hopefully I'll get lucky and the cleaning will solve my problem.

Thanks Pete.

I'm having the exact same problem- when I shift into Neutral, she fires right up. I looked at Lexls site as well as searching this one, and still can't find the info for cleaning the switch. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Are these the same as on the '98? Mine retract eventually, but sometimes they need some help along the way. I seem to recall seeing an old post about cleaning a part inside the retractors.

Has anyone else tried the "easy-off" method? I admit it's risky but I may give it a shot. There's no way I'd chance it if I had a dark paint color, but I think I'd be okay with silver. Will let you know what happens........

Thanks for the replies. Wow- the "lexls" site is a great resource! Thanks for the tip. I've tried Easy-Off on painted letters on my fiberglass sailboat with outstanding results, but it never occured to me to use it on a painted surface. I may just give it a test on the gas flap like he suggested. If that doesn't work I guess I'll start getting estimates....

I recently bought a 98 LS400, with a beautiful gray exterior unfortunately marred with a painted silver & black (factory?) Lexus pinstripe. The rest of the paint is in great condition for a 10 yr old car, but the pinstripe shows its age. The stripe seems so thin, I'm wondering if it can just be rubbed off with a chemical stripper of some sort. Has anyone had any experience with this? What did you use? Rubbing compound? Wet sandpaper? Magic Eraser?

:bump:

Anyone have any ideas on the sensor?

Three more inches and that camera strap gets sucked into the serpentine belt. Bet that would make a funny noise... :D

HI;

The sensor I do not know what it is and other members will address it soon enough, but the starter thing is real and is going out of business. They are couple of ways to fix it. The dealer about a 1000.00, an independant about 500.00 and your self about 300.00 or less. If you are not the the mechanic type go with the second. If I were you I would start reading on what you need in the parts department and start choosing between a rebuild, a new part from Lexus or a replacement; they can be obtained as cheap as 200.00 at Advance Auto and others. You want to put the best part possible because of the hard-to-get procedure to replace the said part. If you are thinking on an after market part, get one with lifetime warranty that way if it breaks before its time you only have to worry about taking it out. Nicodenso replacements have been said to be of pretty good quality. I would get one the is exactly as the OEM, that way no cables or mods have to be performed. Call the dealer and see what they quote, or try a Toyota dealer and compare it, it should be close to an Avalon, (but not quite), so they should know how to do it.

CPR

Thanks- I'm going to get a quote Monday from an Indy repair shop that specializes in Lexus. Then I'll decide how important it is- since it has not happened in a week now. (fingers crossed)

Here's a pic of the sensor, located between the cooling fans and the front bumper:

Have you seen this video of a kid abusing his fathers LS 430..? Major Burnout..

I hope this video is not one of the members cars.. If so I think you son is in trouble..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4A-lyXetv4

Good God- that was painful to watch. That's identical to my car, but that was not my son.

Bought a new-to-me 98 LS400 a couple weeks ago, good deal, dealer maintained with all records, one owner car with 130K miles. Has a few issues that need to be worked out, mainly

1) When transfering my license plates over the bolt on the front wouldn't come out- seems like it's turning inside the bumper. I tried to get behind it and the bolt goes though the plastic into an actual metal bumper, which seems solid on all sides. I can't figure out how to get at it.

2) While looking for access in the above problem, I noticed a loose sensor lying on the inside front bumper cover, just below the cooling fans. It's still attached to the wiring harness, but that's all that is holding it onto the car. I don't know if it is an airbag sensor or a temp sensor, but I would love to be able to find out where it goes in order to reinstall it.

3) Starter. :( Twice now in 1,000 miles the starter has failed to engage. When turning the key you can hear it spin but the motor does not turn over. After 2-3 turns of the key it will engage and start normally. Does this sound like the typical starter problem? I'm not hearing the "one click", only the starter motor spinning. Assuming it will require replacement sooner rather than later, can someone give me a ballpark figure?