lx450owner

so at this point i heard nothing new.... and now it make my descision even harder, being that a toyota mechanic is advising me not to change the tranny oil. what to do... what to do?? as for the engine oil.... i used to have a LX450 therefore i am so used to changin my oil engine every 3k miles that i do the same now with my GS... i agree that with high mile cars its always best to change it every 3k miles. but i am still in a rut with my tranny oil .... do i or dont i ? how about this.... will the changing of the trany oil make a differnce in the hard shifting when the car is cold ??? or do they all do that regardless ?? i mean it really kicks into second when the car is cold.... when it warms up drives just fine (knock on wood)

Appreciate all the advice.... i will see my local Toyota dealer for the oil and then have my mechanic gradually change 2 quts at a time with my regular oil changes ..... THNX AGAIN Lexus forums rock !!! i will keep u posted for those who are interested

hey guys, i been out of the loop for a while... used to have a LX450 but sold that and got a 98 GS300 Had this baby for about 6 months now... no real issues, except when i went to get an oil change at my mechanic's, he looked at my Tranny Oil and said its black... and needs to be replaced. Now here is my question... i do not know, nor do i think that the tranny oil has ever been touched here. And some people i have spoken to claim that unless you have issues with the tranny, i shouldnt touch it. While others say that i should get that taken care of immediately. now i have not noticed any problems until now that this issue has been brought to my attention... now i might be over reacting.... but when the car is cold (and yes is know i should not drive on a cold car, but sometimes it cannot be helped when im running late for work)... the tranny does shift kind of hard from first to second... but then shifts fine.... and as soon as it warms up i dont notice any problems at all. except that during city driving (and again at times) it picks up speed slow from the light (stop) EXPERTS GIVE ME YOUR ADVICE: do i just do a tranny pan oil change or should i do a flush ?? and which oil is best... my mechanic suggested that i go to toyota and ask them for the correct tranny oil. and i think he only reccomended the oil change (not the flush). and is all this also related to the hard shifting when cold and slow pick up speed ?? the last thing i did on this car when i got it was a complete tune up. Except when i asked my mech. if he changed the fuel filter he said no because its in the Gas Tank ?? is it really ?? i use Regular engine oil not synthetic.... is it safe to switch to synthetic at this point in the game??? so i guess im askingmore then 1 question.... sorry about that.... i really need to know what to do with the Tranny oil though.... so get back to me on this guys ..... many thanks

sorry about that .... 1998 GS300 i put premium gas and the problem dissapeared.... except the last time i filled up premium at a crappy gas station .... and the problem reappeared..... therefore i see these cars are very sensative to the quality of gas you use.... also noticed that i dont have this problem when i keep the car in "power" mode

All of a sudden this issues appears.... bought the car 3 months ago.... everything was great ..... then out of no-where.... the car hesitates when i give it gas from a full stop. seems to be getting worse as today while it hesitated, it actually backfired..... Now That Can't Be Good! i read all about resetting the ECU .... is that what i should do ... or does this sound like its something else..... Actually, not knowing any better, i found out that my wife has been putting Regular gas in the car instead of Premium (super). is this the source of this problem ?? I am almost on empty and will fill it up with super today or tomorrow ..... hoping this will take away the stalling effect. SECOND QUESTION.....not related to above......... some say that if that if a car has never had transmission fluids changed (over x amount of years), that you are better off not changing it now either..... is that B.S. ? thanks in advance to all who reply

i am not sure how to PM you properly i keep getting an error code.... anywho... if you can email me at jem7704@verizon.net with more info that would be great.... or just leave a post on here or ping me on AIM screen name carbonace thanks I feel your pain when it comes to the cd changer. Lexus will swear up and down that the car is prewired - NOT. I have custom made wire harness for the factory changer and I also have the changers with cd magazines. EM or PM me for details. ←

used to own a 97 LX450 which i traded in for a 98 GS300 hoping to get better gas mileage..... but the question i have is that my GS didnt come with a cd changer in the glove box. so i looked one up on ebay... when i read his ad he said that he had just bought the unit on ebay and claims that after receiving it he finds out that his GS is not prewired for the unit which is why it is back on the market. :chairshot: do all 98 GS300 come not wired ??? and how do i check to see if it is ??? i was also told that it is a very expensive harness to buy from the dealer if its not prewired ....is this true ???? or can i get it elsewhere ??? Second problem is that the car only came with one key which has the car alarm buttons on it ...... do i need to go to a dealership to get another one made ??? or can i get it done aftermarket just to have as a spare????

Thanks for the advise..... guys I think i will go with fully synthetic..... see how that goes

I got a LX450 1997...... time for an oil change...... I saw in the auto store.... somthing called a Synthetic-oil Blend..... Claims that you dont need to flush the system, just add it to your normal oil if needed......or use it alone when time to change the oil. Claims to have cleaning ingredients..... and is recommended for cars/trucks over 75k miles.... ANY THOUGHTS ON THIS ??? anyone here use such an oil in thier truck ??? ANY FEEDBACK would be great ..... getting my oil changed on saturday..... Thanks :(

I also have that anoying whistle on my 97 Lx450...... exact same problem.... whistles while accelorating then goes away when I hit a certain speed. I was also told that it had to do with the exhaust...... but turning up the volume works for me just fine. I knit-pick at every sound..... i hate sounds that shouldnt be there..... but in this case .... its not worth the financial trouble....... NOTE: Pink FLoyd will drown out the sound LOL

as for loose screws on the strikers...... checked the screws and they are as tight as they are going to get....... thanks for the suggestion but this didnt fix the problem....other suggestions are welcome My truck has 95k miles on it right now .....which is not bad ...... the exhaust was checked and found to have no holes anywhere..... im thinking maybe the catalitic converter may be causeing the growl ??? could this be??? Also noticed something sounding like a whistling sound.... all these sounds may be normal.... but i never had a truck such as this before so I am being paranoid about everything im hearing (YES, ALL THESE SOUNDS ARE HAPPENING WHEN ACCELERATING) As for the truck being tuned to 87 octane..... i decided to try "super".... found it to drive a little better and growls a little less....but i still here that whistling sound......... i think ill stick with super When i took the truck to my mechanic initially ..... he looked it over and told me that a tune up is not needed yet.... he changed the fuel filter and brakes only. Although he did notice a lot of loose oil and grease buildup through-out the bottom of the truck.....but couldnt find where the leaks are comming from..... i also keep the truck in my driveway.....and so far...knock on wood, have not noticed even one drop of oil on the ground. Yes i agree, the truck drives better with the power button on ...... is it ok to drive all the time with the power on ????

I bought a 97 LX450 not too long ago..... bought it sight unseen... dont ask..... ill never do that again..... learning my lesson the hard way Well anyway....I have driven my cousin's 99 lx470, and had the impression that the 97 lx450 would drive just as quiet.... i know they have different engines.... but i figured "LEXUS" and quiet engines go hand in hand. My engine has some sort of a growling sound when i give it gas..... sounds like the engine is stressing out......i think i can, i think i can, i think i can..... Are they all this loud?? or is it just my luck ?? Also, eats gas like it was water....... 200 miles = full tank of gas ??? this cant be good..... especially with todays gas prices..... can i use regular or is super recommended ?? Also mentioned in a previous topic about my "open door" light comming on while driving... got some feedback.... which didnt help....but thanks for the attempt though. If anyone whos about the wiring which is used for the door sensors.....as in where to begin to look for them..... throw me a line I also noticed that if anyone leans on the door the "open door" light comes on too... door is closed but light comes on.

I have the same toggle switch left of the mirror controls. I also just bought my 97 lx450 and have no idea what this switch does...... i tired pressing it ....thought it might be the valet switch....but no such luck. Seems that there may have been a brush bar at some point on this truck, which had fog lights ..... i saw some loose wires in the front by the bumper...so i am guessing that the swtich is for the fog lights which must have been there.

Just bought a used 1997 LX450....... as a few days ellapsed, I started to notice problems..... while driving, I started seeing the the "door open" light going on and off....... did some searching and found it to be the passanger side back door. Seems that there is a loose wire somewhere which when hitting a pot-hole, turns the door light on and off. Where do i begin to look for the loose wire? I am not sure if I should start within the door or around it somewhere. Also noticed that the drive side rear door does not is not connected at all to the sensor...... when door is open, the light on the dash does not light up at all. Neither does the interior dome light. Problem #2 - check engine light sometimes goes on and then turns off at some point. Had my mechanic scan it and found that there maybe a bad "switch" somwhere. Or he claims it may just be loose wiring being that it goes on and off at times. Well lets start with these problems and then ill post some more later on.... Thank you all in advance for any feedback that you can give me.