tpeene

no one?

Hi there, About a month ago my rear suspension on the drivers side lowered down until there was just 2" of space between the tire and the body. Today I parked my car and after I came back I saw that the passengers side and the drivers side have no suspension in the rear at all anymore. The tires are covered by the wheel archs. The front suspension seems to be fine, so the compressor should be working fine. I've started the car and put suspension to "high" but it didn't change at all. Is there any way to troubleshoot for faults? Could it be an air tube thats gone bad, or is this the end of the shock absorbers? Any way to be sure? I've read that those cost about $1000 each, and that's just too much. I've tried searching for some alternatives (I live in Holland) and the only alternatives I could find are sold in the USA and I'm unsure if you can replace air shocks with the normal ones they use one the 1998 LS 400 without the air ride. Maybe those won't cost a fortune... Do they fit and is it possible to just leave the air system alone like that? Hoping you can help me out!

I am the proud owner of a well maintained 1998 LS 400. I've had it for almost two years and until a month ago it never let me down. Now it keeps having problems all of a sudden. It started a month ago when suddenly the power steering stopped working and there was a LOT of smoke after starting the cold engine. We found out it leaked oil and after reading some forums it became clear that the air vacuum valve was most likely the part that needed replacement. I ordered it at the dealer and had it shipped to my home, since the dealer is about 100 miles away. It cost me $300 for the valve and 2 hoses. My mechanic was able to remove the mud flap under the engine and replace the valve in 15 minutes. He could reach it with a small wrench. Afterward the car worked perfectly again, as it always had. That's nice after having to top off the oil after each ride for a few weeks on end. Now only 1,5 week later I already have new problems. The day before yesterday the main key wouldn't close the doors and turn on the alarm anymore. I switched to the spare key and that worked. But a few hours ago the alarm went crazy for no reason at all. I turned it off but after 30min it turned on again. I switched it off for the second time and ten minutes later it switched on for the third time. After switching it off again I started the car to see if I would get some sort of error on the lcd screen but all it showed was vsc? needed checking. I removed the key but the steering wheel wouldn't retract. Also the lights on the dash wouldn't turn off completely but some would keep flashing mildly as well as the points of the speedometer needles and some warning lights like the seatbelt lights (also the seatbelt light above the navigation display). To make matters worse, the doors won't close anymore and the alarm won't turn on. When I turn on the ignition it all works fine and all the lights turn off as normal. I disconnected the battery so everything would switch off and I locked the doors by hand, but this is a problem that will be there in the morning. Does anyone know which part is malfunctioning that has the steering wheel tilt, the dash lights flickering after turning off the car and the alarm and doors have in common? I drive a Lexus because they are reliable but I've had more unusual problems in a month with this car then I've had with any other. I'm loosing my dignity fast and having bought a house last year that needed a lot of work done, I'm also running low on cash and it's hard to spend $$$$$ on a car when you need to buy a bathroom instead. Any ideas how to fix the problem?

Hi, I'm new to this forum and new to Lexus. I've always owned BMW 5 series but I'm looking to buy a Lexus LS 400 now. I've found a Lexus LS 400, 180.000km/110.000miles and it's built in 2000. The price is reasonable, but it needs some maintenance according to the dealer. I've tried to do some homework, but it's really hard to find information about a newer Lexus. Most information is about the 90 to 95 types. So that's why I'm trying to do my homework here. The maintenance it needs according to Lexus: Replacement of the timing belt, waterpump ($1300) Replacement of the powersteering pump ($1800) Replacement of the front suspension (hope I translated it right) ( $1400) I live in the Netherlands, and I've done my best to convert from euro to dollar. The prices are ex. 19% tax. Tires and regular mintenance is beeing done as we speak. Now I have a few questions: - Are nr 2 and 3 common repairs for a Lexus with 110.000 miles on it? - Are these justified prices? I'm used to repairs on BMW and I thought Lexus wouldn't be much higher, but these seem double the price of a BMW dealer. The belt and suspension seem high, but the steeringpump looks a little to expensive to me. It's a huge problem on the earlier model but haven't found out why it has to cost so much on a newer model. - Which of these can be done by a regular mechanic that doesnt have much Lexus experience? (I have 2 in the family, so I'm gonna check them out later) Hope you can help me!