jim54perk

I just put 235/45R18's on my 2000 LS. They look great and the diminished sidewall flex is pleasantly noticeable. Used Enkei Performance rims, perfect fit.

Thanks for the strut update, my next job on my 2000 LS with 128K.

Some basic advice- Watch out for the 90K service, its a killer, water pump, belts, ect...

Tires- Have used Michelin MXV4, Bridgestone Turanza LS-V (discontinued) and just put on a set of the Yokohama ADVAN S4's, best tire yet, we'll see if they last.

Starter- Just went bad, classic one click symptoms. Lexus wants $1,450 to do it, My local toyota dealer wants $800.00, same parts. If your Toyota dealer is willing and able to work on your Lexus take it there, you'll save a lot of labor dollars and get the same parts. I was lucky, the service writer used to work at a Lexus dealer and the Tech is from Japan and Lexus factory trained, they love my car and like the fact that I take it there instead of the Lexus dealer.

Overall- One hell of a car, refined yet can still be a beast when called upon.

Scott- Good plan, I also live in Bucks County and I am always looking for a good mechanic, could you give a reference to yours.

Thanks-

Just a little rant but hey I'm Scotish

Now I realize there is a lot of overhead at a lexus dealership, and I also know what WC fields said about suckers, and fools and their money.

Now I do not mean to insult those of you with gobs of disposable income ( actually I admire your ability to make money just not at my expense) but in my world $1200 is a substancial sum. The dealership was kind enough to give me a detailed list of stuff that goes on in this 60,000 mi service. Other then looking over the car the actual work involves fluid and plug changing and some other little odds and ends like a new gas cap gasket is about what you get for $1200. :chairshot:

I bought a case of type 4 tranny fluid,at the local toyota dealer (it was actually cheaper this time then two years ago) and mobile one synthetic gear oil, and brought it to my local guy who flushed the tranny, diffrential , breaks , powersteering , and cooling system cost to me $200.00 labor plus my parts.or a little less then $300.

My machanic will take necesary parts from engine(it does sound involved to get to the plugs), and while hes at it clean the throttle body and will use the parts I supply for another $100.00 in labor.

He has done this for me before (fluid flushing) for both this car and my 1993 gs300 (185,000mi and going great)

I would like to say that this forum and the kind folks on it who provide direction/advice like what fluids to use etc. have kept my cars running strong at well below dealer cost Thank you all.

Used to work for a chemical company that sold additives to virtually all the oil companies. They had a room with 12-15 engines running on steel mounts 24 hours a day doing nothing but testing oil. The synthetics outperformed conventional oil at every test. The difference in heat protection was very evident to the naked eye. Valve and valve stem bluing from heat and cylinder wall scoring were negligable with the synthetics. They just don't break down.

I replaced a lousy set of Dunlops with Bidgestone Turanza LS-V's, great all around performanceon my LS-400. Have a set of Michelin MXV4's on another car, hard tire, handles well but is noisier, will get almost 50K out of them though.

Here is another vote for the Bridgestone Turanza LS-V's. Good all around tire, decent in the rain, corners fairly well, OK in the snow and seem to be wearing very well.

Tires are all about compromise.

Most shops will not put lower than spec'd speed rated tires on a car, if they blow they can be held liable.

I had my LS400 windshield replaced by a local repair shop that purchased the glass through the Lexus dealer because they did not have a glass that matched the tint of the original.  They did a great job, looked good a new when finished and it is properly glued in place with the right urethane adhesive which I believe is a requirement for the passenger seat air bag to work properly.  BTW, a windshield replacement in the state of Florida carries zero deductible for replacement so there is no excuse for driving around with cracked or damaged windshields in the state of Florida.

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Thanks for the advice. The installer came out this morning with Toyota Glass but it had the wrong tint. I have a silver with black interior LS and it has a green tint on the windows. Looks like tomorrow.

Damn, at least it was the glass and say not the hood. Where were you parked? If it got smacked at a country club or something of that nature they will pay to replace the glass for you. At least mine always did.

Anyways, yes the glass can be replaced by a quality glass company. In fact the dealer would just refer you out to a glass company or have one come in and do it there.

I would reccomend you use OEM glass though. The LS400 has an extra thick windshield and I'd personally be afraid that the thickness or tint on an aftermarket windshield wouldn't match up. My dad had the glass done on his old 98 twice, once OEM and once aftermarket and the tint on the aftermarket glass was totally different.

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My 2000 LS400 got smacked with a golf ball yesterday and the windshield cracked. Can this be replaced by a regular auto glass company(safelite auto glass) or do I need to get hammered by the dealer. Thanks mucho-

What brand of gas does everyone use, any favorites or myths? We have a stinkr station here that has 93 octane (with 10% ethanol), is ethanol ok?

Sorry to pour gas on the fire! :chairshot:

I get around 21 mpg out of my 2000 LS. Most gasolines come from the same refineries, they just mix in different additives in the storage tanks. No real big differences.

Hi,

I saw this website , this guy is saying you can clone your key just buy the key and using your car you can program another key for it and also the witeless remote control

http://www.cureline.net/lex/howtos/howto_key_programming.htm

is this true that I can do it ? , if so then no need to get either a serial number or anthing else , just let's do it and we will have another cloned key

can anyone verify that it's possible?

I also bought an uncut remote key off e-bay. The hardest part was finding someone to cut it. A locksmith gets a used remote key and replaces the blade. I got this key cut and I programmed it according to links here and it starts the car but I have no remote functions. I have just read that you need to program the remote seperately. I'll give it a try .