AZ Mike

I am experiencing the same vibration on a '99 LS with 80 k miles. I have Michelin XSEs that are still in good shape with plenty of tread that are about 5-6 years old. I wouldn't call these tires "cheap".....is it more likely the tires, or alignment or steering/suspension components?

I experience this same 60+ mph vibration felt noticeably in the steering wheel. Tires are in great shape. I have not had an alignment in some time, so I suppose that is something I can try.....but wouldn't you feel an alignment issue all the time, and not just at speed? Are there any steering/suspension components I should take a look at? I.e., any susceptible to wear/breakage and could cause this type of vibration? LS is 12 years old, but only 80,000 miles on the odometer.

x2 for irontoad.com

2-3 years back, I had the front brake pads replaced during an oil change at Lexus. At the time, they told me that I had 10-15% wear left on the rear pads. Last December, I replaced the rear brake pads when I did the timing belt change. They still had 30-40% wear left when I put them on. Was the Lexus service writer being dishonest with me, or did my brake pads magically increase in thickness, rather than decrease, over time? lol

Cheap insurance. Why risk killing the engine? My '99 only had a little over 60k miles, but was well past the 6 year interval, so I went ahead and replaced timing belt, water pump, idler pulleys, serpentine belt, etc. last December. It was not an easy job, but very do-able for someone with minimal wrench turning skills. How did the old belt look? Definitely not new, with edges of teeth rounded off a bit, but didn't look horrible. But, the thought in the back of my mind that I was overdue and that if the timing belt snapped my engine would be toast nagged me. So, I have new parts and peace of mind, and do not need to worry about it for another 6 years.

It's a sensor located at the bottom of the tank. Replace it or disconnect it. It's hard to get to because the front inner fender shroud is in the way. Thanks!

I know that motor oil is like religion to some on the board......they have consummate faith in their favorites, and no others will do. However, the reality is, they are all motor oil. Use the proper weight and classification as shown in your owners manual, and your car will be just fine. I know people who have hundreds of thousands of miles on vehicles using plain old dino oil on regular intervals. I even have an old '94 Grand Cherokee that has never seen synthetic that has 175,000 on the clock and is running strong. Seeing as most don't keep their vehicles for that many years or for that many miles, and you can get that life and better awith conventional oil, what more is synthetic oil really giving you? That being said, I do use synthetic oil on my Lexus and my Honda S2000. Primarily so that I can use a longer oil change interval, but also for a bit of that placebo effect thinking that the tight tolerances of the S2000 will do better with synthetic. But, when it comes down to it, that is all you really get from synthetic oil......an oil that can last longer and offer longer oil change intervals. If you don't run a synthetic for a longer oil change interval, it is a waste of money in my opinion. I realize I may get flamed, and that many of you will post up your links to test results, most of which come from your favorite oil's marketing department. But all those "tests" aside, answer me this: how many of you are aware of any vehicle engine that has had proper oil changes and other maintenance, and has broken down, and it can be proven that it is a particular brand of oil that has caused it? I see many posts suggesting that some oils are magic elixirs, and that others are poison for your engines. However, I am not aware of any engine that has received proper oil/filter changes and other maintenance, and has crapped out due to a particular brand of oil, whether it is WalMart house brand, Pennzoil, Mobil 1, Amsoil, Castrol, or whatever. Just my "not married to any brand" 2 cents.......

I called the local Toyota dealer and the service advisor said there is "no filter to change. It's a metal screen." They said $69 for drain and add. Does my 94 LS400 really have a replacement filter? Is he mistaken? Since the filter IS a metal screen, as in many transmissions, some will merely clean them IF there is anything caught in them. There is no paper/etc. element like in an oil filter. For those who want to change more of the tranny fluid during a drain and fill, do something that I discovered by accident. I had the front wheels up on ramps for a few days while doing some other work. I pulled the tranny drain plug, and since it was still dripping out when I was finishing for the evening, I left the plug out overnight. Turns out, about 5 quarts drained out instead of the typical 2 quarts on a level drain and fill.

What.....am I the first one to experience this???

Lexus Service.....good, but pricey compared to others Job requires a good bit of teardown. Takes more time to get to timing belt, water pump, etc on this vehicle than others I own. Since you are doing a front end teardown, it makes sense to replace whatever needs replacing and may need replacing while you are in there. Makes no sense to save $50 by not replacing a part when it is either going to cost you several hundred for the labor or several hours of your own time. I replaced timing belt, water pump, pulleys, etc myself in January. I don't recall, but probably $200-$300 in parts buying OEM online. I did not do it all at once, and had a couple of snags, so I have no idea how many hours it took. I will guess a lot more than a Lexus mechanic takes to do the same job. lol

All the advice was sound until 98ls400lover's. Not that there is anything wrong with Mobil 1, or Mobil 1 Extended Performance. But to claim that one can hear oil breaking down, without any empirical evidence, just sounds silly.

Agree with curiousB. If you want to really know what is going on, start having a used oil analysis done at each change. Once you have a baseline, you can better evaluate what is really going with each change. The downside is UOAs cost money. If you get them done, you have empirical evidence you can point to. Without them, you have nothing more than speculation (not unlike most oil posts on this forum).

OK....my washer fluid reservoir is full, but for the last few weeks, I have the red dash light on and the message that my fluid reservoir is low. Has anyone experienced this? Is this a bad sensor?

avoid canola oil :D

I use a torque wrench. Just needed the torque spec. Thanks.