65electra401

I had the same problem with my SC400 back in July, July 10th to be exact, because i remember it was the day before the new iPhone debut. :P

Anyway, yeah, my starter was the issue, not sure what exactly went wrong with the starter, but that was also the first thing that ever broke on my car and that was at 162,xxx miles. A few times in the months prior, it would just click, click, click really fast but eventually it always ended up cranking and starting. Then one day it wouldnt start. :( These cars are virtually perfectly, though, IMHO... Having one thing wrong in the, now, 164,xxx miles is very impressive.

Jason

So, what's wrong ???

My SC got alzheimer or what?

'fraid so...

:P

Jason

That sounds awefully expensive... lol

Jason

ttt

What head units have you guys used in your cars if you dont have stock?

Jason

Well, the car is on its way to the shop. I managed to get the car out of park. I had to push the shift-lock override button down real hard until it finally came out of park. Usually pressing that doesnt even help. So i have no clue what the problem is, hopefully my mechanic figures it out.

Thanks for you help guys.

Jason

That sounds about like normal range on a tank of gas to me. I get about 13mpg in the winter, and about 19 in the summer. If i drive straight highway i can manage 24... sometimes.

I would possibly check your thermostat. It may be reading that the engine is cool and dumping more fuel in to compensate. Does your car smell like gas at all when you stand behind it while its running?

Jason

I just checked out that article on clublexus.com... well the first picture where he's pulling the shifter off, it says "must not be in park" and thats my problem. I can't get it out of park. Anyone know how to get that cover off with it in park???

Jason

Thanks a lot for the help guys! I have an appointment with my mechanic on wednesday to get it fixed, but if i can fix it before that by just cleaning off the soda i'd be very happy and could save some $$$. :D

Would that be the same noise that i hear when i press the brake pedal anytime when the car is off? I always heard a faint click when the car was off when i pressed the break, i always assumed it was the sound of whatever turned the brake lights on. (not the sound of the actual lights, lol, but whatever switch controls it)

Thanks!

Jason

ttt

ttt

I was just wondering where i could purchase an aftermarket head unit that will fit a '92 SC400.

Jason

They never made a 5-speed SC400, did they???

Jason

Got a '92 SC400. Bought a newer, more practical car and i hate it! Needless to say im going back to my SC400! I love it!

Jason

Hi,

I wonder if the 97 SC 300 both side air bags and module is the same for any other years (92 to 98). If anyone know, could you please let me know if they are the same. Or how can i check if they are interchangable?

thanks

My '92 sc400 only has an airbag on the drivers side.

Jason

Haha, thats kind of funny... I missed the last few lines of your last post, and i basically repeated everything you just said.

Sorry! haha

Jason

I figured this out, by the way. After buying my new IS 250 I kept my SC and had some friends look at it. Believe it or not the issue is with the alternator, it's slowly failing and it won't keep the battery fully charged. The battery will have enough juice to start the SC before a long drive, after that drive there aren't enough CAs to turn the engine over quick enough. You can test this by jumping the battery with another car that's large enough. What happens when you let the car sit to "cool down" is the battery gains just enough of a charge to crank the engine and fire the cylinders.

The deterioration of the alternator is still TBD. I believe it may be because the power steering pump is slowly starting to leak PS fluid on it again, which is a common problem with older SCs.

I might be able to help you out there... The power steering pumps on the Sc400s are located directly above the alternators. They tend to leak right onto the alternator and ruin it. And if your power steering pump is fine, then maybe you spilled oil on the alternator when you filled up. It's a common problem on these cars. Hope i could help!

Jason

My transmission, until someone spilled a soda in it, was performing very well at 164,000. Im sure it wouldve lasted longer too had a soda not been spilled... Well, and it's not even necessarily the transmission, its just the fact that its stuck in park. When i manage to get it out of park it still runs VERY well.

Jason

So, ever since i bought my car a few years ago, i noticed that the radio does not like to turn on when it's cold outside. It used to only stay off until the car warmed up, then it would come on, now it doesnt like to come on at all. And even in the summer sometimes i have to wait a bit for it to turn on.

Does anybody know what could be causing this problem??? If it wasnt for this (and my tranny problem that i posted about) then this car would be perfect!

Jason

Ok, so a while ago my friend spilled a soda in the center console of my '92 sc400. At first i noticed sometimes the car didnt like to come out of park but it still would. Then, i noticed i had to push the shift-lock override button to get it out, then eventually that didnt even work. (the button on the shifter then ended up breaking in the process)

So, i took it to my mechanic, who is a huge toyota/lexus guy, and he replaced the button on the shifter and the tranny seemed to work fine for him. But i cant seem to get it out of park. I told him what happened, and (its been a while) i think he said it could have fried a selenoid(spelling?) on the tranny and he originally was going to replace that, but of course, when the mechanic had the car everything worked fine...

So, does anybody know what this could possibly be? If it is a selenoid of some sort or something, then could you guys give me a price range it would cost to fix it. Preferably just for the part, if its not too hard of a fix i plan on doing it myself. The car had sat for a while because after that happened i parked it and i bought an audi (BIGGEST PIECE OF CRAP!!!!) and i am currently replacing a turbo on it. My dad wants me to sell it so i can take over payments on his '05 jetta TDI so he can buy a new one, but i DO NOT want another VW product to deal with. Too many problems.

The Lexus was my first car (besides a '65 buick and an '83 chevy truck) and it has always been great. And another question i have quick... The car has 164,000 miles on it. Do you guys think as long as i keep maintaning it well that it will last a long time yet, or do you think it would be safer (unfortunately) to go with a jetta that has 50,000 miles? I just want to make sure this car will last me a while if i do decide to keep it. I love the looks and performance of these cars and hate to see it go, but i need to make sure it will last me a good long time yet.

Jason (oh, and i'm new to the forum, so hello everyone!)