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Thanks for the responses, definitely have some good info to work with now. I will be picking up the T-IV fluid from a Toyota dealership on Monday. Thanks Again. Tote

I'm also getting my rotors cut and wheels balanced tommorrow morning. My shifter is also moving slightly. I can tell when I brake that my rotor need to be cut. Getting the wheels balanced couldn't hurt. Maybe they can just see if they are off balance (for peace of Mind). When I replaced my front tires the place that installed them did not balance or ask if I wanted the tires balanced (crappy service, if you ask me). Nonetheless I drove off and the car started to shake and the shifter moved alot. Went back mad, and had the wheels balanced and all was well. (never went back to the place) note: My car has 18" wheels and the ride isn't as good as the stock wheels. They seem to amplify each problem. Hope the cars will be fine tommorrow Tote

Have two main questions regarding a transmission drain and refill First: At what point during the day should you do a drain and refill? Reason for asking this question is that the measuring rod has two sections 1. Cold level 2. Hot level. Should I be do the service say before I drive the car (Cold Level)? Should I drive the car a couple of mile or after an hours drive (Hot Level)? I see a big gap between the cold and hot level. Second question: Before I drain, should I also go through the gears as you would to check the fluid level? I know these seem like ridiculous questions, but the last time I drained my transmission fluid I added the two qts. The remainder of the week I monitored and kept having to add extra fluid. I added a little everyday. Ultimately I added one extra qt. which made a total of 3 qts. It’s been fine seen then. Any help or explanations would be appreciated. Tote

I know this is an old post but, I had this problem two days ago. Found this post with an awesome How-To. Needless to say: I printed the post, grabbed my tools, and pulled the dremel out of hibernation. Took me no more than 25 mins. The only difference is that I did it on a 1990 and you will find a 3rd screw for the bottom plastic cover of the steering wheel (Screw hidden behind the steering wheel). If you are sitting down a turn you steering wheel, look towards the bottom right portion of the cover, it will reveal the third screw. Easy to access with steeringwhell turned. Thanks WANDAWOODS for an AWESOME Post This Works on A 1990 LS400 This site Rocks Tote

Congratulations on your grand baby! Nothing is better than a new addition to the family. I believe the part is a brake light switch. I changed mine out about a year ago, and am not too sure. I do remember going to AutoZone and explaining the symptom and the part I wanted. They figured it out quickly. I also recall they ordered it and I had to pick it up the next day. You might want to check different auto parts for availability. Good luck and try not to spoil your grandchild too much :) Tote

I have a 90 Ls400 that had that problem; I caught mine while it was intermittent. The easiest way to figure out if it's the switch at the brake is, if you depress the brake you get two symptoms simultaneously. 1. Can't get it out of park (except with emergency release) 2. The brake lights don’t turn on when you depress the brakes. If you get both symptoms at the same time, swap out the switch by the brake. The switch controls the brake lights and the solenoid in the center console. It’s easy to find it just follow the brake up and you'll run right into it. Bought my at AutoZone but the Lexus dealer should also have it. If the brake lights do work and you can't get it out of park, then I would trouble shoot the Solenoid in the center console. Tote

Thought I would put my final result to this thread. I monitored the car for a little over a week. The car started normally for me but my wife would occasionally tell me it still started rough every once in a while. I decided to sit in the car as she started the car and there it was a rough start. So I noticed that she starts the car with the a/c on. It's more of an uncomfortable start (nowhere near as bad as before I made changes). I always turn of my a/c before turning on the car. Well I tried turning on my car with the a/c and mine doesn't feel like hers. Guess it must be a compressor issue? Now I notice it makes a noise (louder than it should be) in the engine compartment when the a/c is on. Things I did to try to fix the issue. Replaced Fuel Filter Replaced spark plugs Replaced ignition cables Do not regret replacing any of the above items. After replacing each item, I could feel big changes. I can barely hear the engine if i put my ear near the hood and the car feels so much better as a whole. I'm going to wait till that compressor dies before I replace it. Hope this info helps someone. Tote

That's good to hear Dantheman. I really do want the remote start. If you don't mind which brand of alarm did you get (I don't need a Model)? Maybe I should have posted that question earlier. Wondering if the brand of alarm has something, or alot to do with not functioning correctly. Possibly better componets or better design. Thanks Again

I have been shopping around for alarms and was starting to like the idea of having a remote start. After reading this i am having second thoughts. I was going to put it in myself. Maybe I'll hold off. Has anyone else had any luck (good or bad) with the remote start on a ls400 90' - 95' ? If so was it installed by a shop or was it a DIY job? Kolofai, what was the outcome with you car? Thanks Tote

Sorry to hear you haven't fixed your problem. I don't have an SC, but I do feel your pain. I'll throw in my 2 cents worth. By the way I also think your alternator is on it's way out, unless it's some kind ecu issue that need to be reset as mention by UCF3 in your other post. It seems like your system is requesting far more power than you alternator can dish out. (I’m not ruling out a problem battery caused by the bad alternator). Check the cable between the alternator and the battery. Also, I bet you probably hear a high pitch sound coming from you engine compartment. Hopefully by the time you get to the second item you will Figure out it’s the alternator. The rest will probably just help with engine noise and other electrical troubleshooting. I’m just going to suggest what I would do if I was in your shoes. First: I would turn everything off including the car and close the doors. Open the hood Grab a multi-meter and check the voltage on the battery, @ the (+) and (-) terminal. Write it down. Second: remove multi-meter, leave hood open and turn on the car. Close the doors (leave a window down). Check the voltage on the battery terminals again with the multi-meter Write it down. This number should be higher (think it should be above 14Volts). @ This point I would actually wait and see if the numbers jump around. Write down anything out of the ordinary. If possible, after several minutes of monitoring, have some one turn on the light and step on the brakes and check the numbers on the multi-meter. (Write it down) If the number is below 14 I would question the alternator? Third: just to play it safe (Wouldn't hurt). I would turn on the radio and check the voltage across the battery again. Write it down. Even though the issue might be amperage and not voltage. If you can, post your results. Some of the electronic guru’s here might see something out of the ordinary. Fourth: at this point if I didn't find anything wrong in my first 2 steps, it's time to disconnect or remove the fuses from all of my after market items and see if the problem still exist. If problem does exist. Check at the battery to see if the car is still drawing current. Make sure car is off, doors are closed, and if you have a light under the hood that turns on. Remove it while you check for a current draw. If it's still drawing a current pull the fuses one by one until you narrow down the problem. If problem doesn't exist. (This is what I would hope for) Test for a day or 2 just to play it safe. I would then power up one item at a time and try it for a day. Every day I would power up one (only1) item until I narrow down the Item causing the issue. Things I would check on my car: 1. The cable between the alternator and the battery 2. All grounds with a multi-meter. You might have done this already. 3. All positive and negative leads of after-market equipment. 4. If I installed an amp I would put in a dedicated line from the battery to the trunk. I would make sure that the fuse is in the hood not more than about 7 inches from the positive post. The cable should be well insulated and check to make sure the cable isn't cut or cracked and creating a short between the wires and the chassis. Again this is what I would do. Good Luck Tote

When you say "the entire right side has gone out" do you mean the lights on the unit itself or the speakers on the right . If you can't hear the right channel check the speakers, on mine they were both blown. I replaced them, and all is fine now. Also I'm sure you checked, but in my car my son is always moving the fader and the balance. Good luck

Thanks for the responses. I did replace the fuel filter yesterday and wanted to wait till I started the car the next morning before I posted any info/results. Started normally as of this morning. It might be my imagination, but the car seems to feel different( in a positive way). I'll be monitoring the car for the next week, and see what happens. Also, I'll be doing more research on the charcoal canister, as far as troubleshooting/Testing. Being that it's a much more expensive fix than the fuel filter, I hope it's good. Thanks Again Tote

Hey daveyboy377, you wouldnt' happen to know wher you're friend bought the metra Kit from? Do you know if it's the kit for the 95 with some modifications? I'm going to do more research on metra. I'm thinking of going to a used car lot, and checking the radio on a 95 and see if the radio is the same size as mine. I have seen pictures of the metra for a 95 and it looked sweet. Thanks for the response. Glad you liked the rims. It was love at first sight with those rims. Later

First off, Thanks for the responses guys. This morning I tried the 10 second delay, before starting the car and it started up normally,(felt just like my LS). Needless to say I was amazed. These next couple of mornings I'm going to try with and without the 10 sec. delays and monitor how it starts. What items can I check, clean and/or replace to fix this issue? Is the fuel pump the culprit in this case? Could this be causing the gas build up? Thanks Again Tote

Hello, I have learned so much at this site and have stumble upon a new issue. Today I went to borrow my wife's ls400 and when I started it It was like a knock. It turned on the first try but the knock or harsh shake could not be ignored. I drove it to the gas station and turned it off. When i turned it back on it did not do the same thing. I asked my wife and she said it does that only in the morning(and alway's turns on the first try). Any idea's? Thanks Tote

You have a cool set up. I have considered deactivating the security system and adding an aftermarket just because of the remote start and all the extra goodies you can add. The two way paging system is cool, and you're right, everyone does ignore alarms. For now I'm just going to see if i can incorporate a glass sensor to the security system. If I install the alarm I might as well add the window roll up feature and close the sunroof feature. Thanks Tote

The reason I like the stock alarm is because if you do as stated above, (lock car with keys and leave windows down) and reach in and manually open the car. Not only will the horn sound and the lights flash but the car goes into what I like to call "lock down mode", try to turn on the car with your key(Won't Happen), if you didn't lock the trunk switch under the dash, you still will not be able to get into the trunk. I mean the car literally does nothing until you use your key in the door to unarm it. I'd like to see one of those aftermarket alarms do that. It would be cool if I could add a remote system to unlock the doors and open the trunk without setting off the stock (OEM) security system. 90' LS400 Tote

Has anyone added a glass sensor or one of those radar sensors to the stock alarm. I have a LS400 90' and a 91' and believe they have the same system as far as the alarm goes. I am more interested in the 90'. Well once I figure one out the other should be easy(if it's possible). Just wanted to know if anyone had any luck or tried? Either which way, if I get some time I'm going to tackle it this weekend. Any info would be appreciated Tote

That's interesting. I'm going to change all the lock on my car (ign., trunk, doors, glove box and trunk switch). Lexus charges $400 for all the locks and a set of keys (no remote). They said to install was 4 hrs @ $90 an hr. which is a little under another $400. Grand total being about $800.00. Im going to do it myself since I know the ign. trunk, glovebox and trunk switch will take about 30 min. Leaving the doors. I can't imagine a lexus mechanic taking 3 1/2 hours to do 2 doors. It took me about 20 min. to remove the door panels to replace the blown speakers. I can see if they said under 2 hrs, maybe they like to charge in 4 hr chunks. Maybe 4 is their magic number. None the less, I think they take atvantage of the fact that many people wouldn't question what a "Lexus Dealer" tells them. If I wanted to be lied too and over charged I can go to Joe Blows Mechanic Shop down the street. At least I can see it coming.

Hello, I'm going to replace my factory radio with an after market mp3 reciever. I have look into "Best kits" LX3 which doesn't seem too bad, except that I would like to put in a slimline EQ. I read about "metra" but I didn't see anything for a 1990 ls400. What other options are out there? Will the "LS 400 AUTO TURBOKIT METRA " work in my car? It claims it wil work in Some 91-95. Has anyone here had any good or bad experiences with the Metra kit for a 1990. The Metra Kit does look alot like what I am looking for, just not sure if it will work. Not afraid to modify if need be. **Stock: Nakamichi radio** Any help would be appreciated Thanks Tote

Thanks, I thought i would be 2 qts.. Just wanted to play it safe on such an expensive part of the Car. I also should of had some common sense and figured Toyota T-lV would be cheaper at a toyota place. Sad part is the toyota dealer was next door to the lexus dealer, not even a minutes walk. Live and learn. Next up differential fluid. This site is awesome. Thanks Tote

I have done alot of reading on this sit as far a trans. fluid and I was pretty certain after reading that on a drain and refill it would be 2 qts. I go to the lexus dealer to get some T-lV to change the fluid on both cars. I asked how much on a drain and refill on a 90' and a 91', and his answer to my surprise was 4 qts. each. I asked if he was sure. He stated yes. He also wasn't the mechanic. I did a search on drain and refill and noticed the ones I found were started by owners of 95's and newer. Wanted to verify if this goes for the older models as well, or if they do use 4QTS. on a drain and refill. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks