Lexus LS: Problems & Solutions

luap · December 2004

Answer to #1352 and #1360. I checked the local dealer and after having to show him the picture in the Owners Manual, he finally found it (15 minutes later) in an exploded view of their parts database. Looks like the P/N is 58810 ($259) and the power outlet is P/N is 85530C ($46). Shame on Lexus for charging over $300 before installation - I agree with burk, "THE COST IS TOTALLY UNREASONABLE" and I also will NOT do it. We are trying to become a Smoke Free society - why is Lexus installing ash trays in their USA cars?

flatlander · December 2004

I have been informed by my local Lexus dealer that there is a version 4.1 for both Generation 3 and 4 Nav installations. Has anybody bought a Gen 3 version 4.1 DVD and was there much difference to their previous version? I have version 1.0.

pc1 · December 2004

My 2004 LS430 has a high frequency whine heard at speeds of 75 to about 82 MPH. This was noticed before the 1000 mile service. I was told initially that there would be a technical service bulletin or recall to correct the problem. Subsequently Lexus has stated that the noise is within "design specifications."

I would appreciate information from 430 owners on their experience re a whine (or absence of) at high speeds.

wine4et · December 2004

I just got 4.1 from 1.0 on my 2001 Ls 430. I made a big difference. Lots of new streets in my area. Now I can even find my own home.

pip7 · December 2004

Does anyone out there have personal experience with the SonyEricsson t637 or the nokia 6820 on the 2005 LS? It seems odd that niether Lexus phone support nor the phone manufacturers want to deal with this issue.

sandiegotom · December 2004

While I can't address the particular phones you listed, my experience with a Motorola V551 (Cingular)might be of some help. I found that I had to sit down with the Lexus owner's manual and the cell phone manual and go back and forth to get the Bluetooth link set up properly. The Moto V551 manual was a real mess, but punching enough buttons finally got the job done. Now the phone/car interface works perfectly in all respects. One warning however, if you leave Bluetooth active on your phone, it really drains the battery! I discovered a shortcut that lets me turn on Bluetooth temporarily with two button pushes and it automatically turns off when I get out of the car. Hope this is of some help...

Tom

pip7 · December 2004

Thanks, I ended up getting the Sony Ericsson T637. I'll reprt back when I see how it works out.

famwald · December 2004

<<The gas struts are there to hold the trunk lid in any "given" position, they have a gas valving system that causes them to resist movement in either direction.>>

Is that why the trunk lid is so darned difficult to raise? My Avalon was so much easier to open.

I'm wondering if I have a service issue with my new '05 LS430.

mezeca · December 2004

Does it not tick you off that you had to have the transmission replaced on such a new "dream".

rgsw · December 2004

Didn't tick me off, especailly after the dealer filled my empty tank with gas and then Lexus Headquarters sent me $200 in gas gift certificates with an apology for any inconvenience suffered on my part. I'd rather they change out the transmission than to keep it secret of try to fix the existing one. Cheers

primes · January 2005

I lost my key and all i have left is the flat.What shoudl i do? The car is a 90 lexus Ls

famwald · January 2005

Have you checked the Owners' Manual?

cliff4781 · January 2005

2005 LS430 FREQUENTLY AFTER TURNING OFF THE IGNITION, UNABLE TO TURN IGNITION SWITCH AND AFTER FORCEFULLY TRYING TO TURN WHEEL, 10 OR 15 TIMES I MIGHT BE SUCCESSFUL IN FREEING THE WHEEL OR IGNITION SWITCH.(WHICHEVER IS THE PROBLEM). IS ANYONE HAVING A SIMILAR PROBLEM OR IS IT JUST ME?

MY WIFE IS REFUSING TO DRIVE THE CAR FOR FEAR OF GETTING STRANDED.

wwest · January 2005

If one of your front wheels is "blocked", parked with the tire "forced" against an object, say against a curb or something, that will oftentimes result in the problem you describe. The locking mechanism is under pressure from the force applied to the tire.

The best procedure is to force the stearing wheel so the tire moves slightly farther into the blocking force, curb(?) and thereby release the pressure on the locking mechanism.

Then the key should move freely into the on position.

mfpr · January 2005

Evidently the LS430 has a steering wheel lock that grabs easily. When I first got my '04, the wheel locked a few times. I talked to my service department about it and the tech suggested that I remove my hands from the steering wheel when turning the ignition on or off. Seems like even some slight turning of the wheel could cause the wheel lock to engage. Ever since I followed their suggestion, my steering wheel has not locked. Try that and if you still have a problem, talk to your service advisor.

Mike

sv7887 · January 2005

Cliff,

Is your '05 equipped with Smartkey? If so there is a long paragraph in the owners manual dictating what to do in that situation. Regardless of the key type, insert your key into the ignition and simultaneously turn both the key and the steering wheel. It's a anti theft measure.

Seeing that your car is new, I'd have the dealer pick it up and have a look if the problem isn't as simple as I've made it out to be.

Hope this helps,

SV

cliff4781 · January 2005

Thanks for the rapid response to my question. In my case the wheels are straight and not against curb. I am beginning to believe it may be electrical and somehow related to the "keyless"system.

cliff4781 · January 2005

Car was is shop today. Couldn't find anything wrong. According to service dept the problem is me and not the perfect car. When I went to drive off in the car the wheel and key was locked. They were puzzled to say the least. Now have a call in to the technical people from LEXUS.

cliff4781 · January 2005

Thanks for reply. It does have a Smartkey. What you describe works but my wife is unable to turn the wheel enough to release the lock. And when I do it it takes several minutes before it releases. I am beginning to think that their may be an electrical component as well.

pt98ls400 · January 2005

I have a 98 LS400 with 103K miles on it and has never had the timing belt replaced. I am not sure if the 98 is a interfering or non-interfering motor. Looking for any opinions on the belt replacement or inspection.

Thanks, Pete

pt98ls400 · January 2005

98 LS400 noticing a fuel smell inside and outside of the car while the car is running and stationary and when I just get out of the car. Cannot see any leaks anywhere. Anything I should look for? Funny, I just had the car into the dealer for strut arm service when this started to happen.

Thanks,

sv7887 · January 2005

Hi Pete,

The 90-94 was a non-interference engine, but I do not believe the 98 is. (Wwest might know more) I had mine done as a preventative measure at 84K last year on my '92. The belt showed some wear, so it was not exactly a necessity. At the same time they replaced the water pump as well..The car was noticeably quieter when I got it back. This is part of the 90K service at most dealerships, and I paid around $1,000 for all of it. I will say this much though, the car ran like brand new when I got it back..

I take a preventative maintenance approach with these cars..In my view it's better to be safe than sorry..They had to take apart half of the engine to get at it, so most of the charges are due to labor.

Hope this helps,

SV

wwest · January 2005

A friend has a 98 LS400 without seat heating and wants to add it on. Does Lexus always ship with the heat elements installed but without complete wiring like many manufactuers?

nvbanker · January 2005

I believe the seat and heat is an integrated package from the seat contractor. I don't think that will be an easy conversion at all.

sv7887 · January 2005

Hi All,

Does anyone know the expected life of shocks (or strut inserts) on the LS? I had my rear ones on the '92 replaced at 64K b/c the ride was getting a little bouncy..The front bushings on the front have been replaced too...

But the dealer found that the front strut bushings were cracked, (Likely from the accident, b/c it never make that annoying "thunking/clunking" sound before..They missed a few things) and since they'll taking it all apart I thought I might as well have the strut inserts replaced too.

Also, what are the life of the rotors on the car? My rears will need new pads soon and this got me thinking about the rest of the braking system..I don't let them machine it normally, but I think it's been done once before. The car has 93K on it now.

I don't mind spending the money, this car is certainly worth every penny. I'm realistic in my approach, as a 93K car is bound to have some components wearing out..

Thanks,

SV

gee35coupe · January 2005

Is developing a hesitation at throttle tip-in. Any suggestions?

gwendolyn · January 2005

Hi,

I'm considering purchasing /97 LS 400 wit 102000 miles. Does anyone have any history with this year and model lexus? Any feedback you could give would be appreciated.

Thanks!!

wwest · January 2005

Noticed the turning lights on my friends 98 LS400 weren't working. Removed the light to check for failed bulb and no bulb, nor place to put one. The back of the assembly is plainly labelled 12 Volt, W5W bulb, but no hole, no socket, no wiring that we could find.

Anyone know why Lexus would go to the trouble of having a non-function tuning light?

pip7 · January 2005

I have a 2005 LS - purchased Jan 08, 2005. Yesterday I noticed my smart key was not working. The battery was completely out. This is without leaving it near any of various devices listed in the manual (that I know of). So, I got one of the new keys. Lo and behold, the key does not work with smart access - only with the remote buttons and placing it in the ignition switch.

The dealer claims that all the keys worked at the outset (I never tested them). The service dept was closed.

Question is - does anyone know of a method to reaquaint the keys to the car without going to the dealer? The manual doesn't really cover this.

pip7 · January 2005

I got the answer on another board (valet key) oops!

sirdarby · January 2005

Last week I had a complete detail done on my 97 LS with 84K miles. They did clean the engine compartment and afterwards everything ran fine after pickup.

I had my emmissions done to get a new tag and later that night when I drove it, the check engine light stayed on and the traction light on the dash was blinking. I also experienced a little rough idling. neither have gone off yet.

I called Lexus and they said the emissions guy probably took the gas cap off while the car was still running.

Said it would take about 30 starts to reset. Is there air in my system causing the rough idling. Not really rough, but somewhat--little.

I ahve started it several times but I am afraid to drive. What do you think?

tez · February 2005

Did you figure out your issue yet?

I had the exact same thing happen to me yesterday. I have a 96 LS with 94K miles. Getting ready to sell. Had it detailed on Friday drove it home from work (25 miles) - no problems. Drove it for a short trip Sat - no problems. Drove it to the dealer last night to drop off for another item and it started running rough and the check engine and traction light blinking came on like yours. Toyota put it on the computer today and said it's showing a misfire on cylinder 7 and asked if it had been tuned lately (yes at 60K).

The only other factor is I put in a can of fuel injector cleaner last week and have run about half a tank through so far. I read on the Lexus forum that some have experienced similar problems with running rough and resolved it by replacing the fuel filter. Not an inexpensive service, but well worth it if that is what's required.

Please email me back with your findings.

tez · February 2005

Sirdarby - found these two posts on the us.lexusownersclub.com/forums site. Sounds similar to our problem. What do you think?

Joe,

Sorry for the delay getting back to you. Problem is solved.

I decided to go to my independent MB/Porche shop and he found a little corrosion on one of the spark plug connections, but no water in the tubes. After a cleaning all the connections, he couldn't solve the idle problem and trac/check engine flashes. He suggested changing the wires, dist. cap, and rotors for a $415 bill.

I checked the service work done at the Lexus dealer since I bought the car at 70k mi. and they'd never changed those items, only the spark plugs (100k type). After the shock of the $800 estimate from Lexus, I decided to try the independent shop (Greff Auto.) for a while. I agreed to Greff's charges and it did solve the problem.

Certainly, it was ONE of the 3 things replaced that fixed it. I felt that because of the component's age and my mechanic's hourly rate, I was tired of playing troubleshooter and wanted it done. Now I know those items are solid. The engine compartment was dirty b/c I work at a yard with a lot of dust and regular rain which must splash around the engine compartment eventually. We hadn't cleaned it since buying it 3 years ago. We won't be cleaning it again anytime soon (and this time with a cloth, no hose!)

Thanks for your help.

Second Post-

Hello JimK,

I'm glad that I found your post which I have an exact problem with my LS400 '95 Model. I also have missfired on parkplug #7. I had engine code and traction light on I immediately took the car to Autozone to scan the engine code they said that p0302 and p0307 are missfiring.

Since this car 've never been replaced rotors, distributor caps, sparkplug wires and pcv-valve. I go ahead replaced them and also replace those 2 sparkplug head which got missfired. Now the car runs like new at start up. Before it used to hit 1800 rpm at startup but now it hits at 900-1100rpm at startup. I am not used to this sudden change yet still suspect and thought there are something wrong. My question to you is that do you experience the similar idling rpm as I do after you had rotors, distributor caps and sparkplug wires replaced?

Another question to you is that did they reset your ECU after replaced this new parts? Or the Engine light and Tract light just went away by itself?

Thanks for helping!

tez · February 2005

Well, I took mine in today and they diagnosed it as bad plug wire. Set me back $225, but she's back to normal.

Good luck!

nvbanker · February 2005

$225 for a plug wire........

tez · February 2005

plug wire(s)

sirdarby1 · February 2005

Indeed you all are right. I took to the dealer and I had a misfire due to water from the detail.

They changed the spark plugs and wires. Cost about $500.

Car runs fine now.

Thanks again

dorothyk · February 2005

We test-drove a series of cars this weekend including the 05 LS 430. This is the third time we have test-driven the car and have noticed a definite dead spot in the accelerator as compared to other cars. The car does not respond until the accelerator pedal has been push more than what is typical in a car (as compared to Toyota, Mercedes and Jaguar). It is almost like the first 1-inch of pedal travel has no effect. The salesman was wondering why the car wasnt moving even though I was pushing the pedal. I had to give it a firm push to get any response.

Is this normal?

rgsw · February 2005

I have read of this problem on this board sometime last year in regard to the 2004 LS430. The 2005 has the same six speed transmission. Lexus replaced all of the early 2004 LS430 transmissions along with the fuel pump. I thought I noticed a better response in the replacement transmission. On my 2005, I have not noticed a lag; however, I have not looked for it. Maybe if you put the transmission switch in the "performance" mode (I'm not sure what it's really called) the transmission would be more responsive. I keep the transmission in manual select a lot so the transmission may not have to go from "six" to "three" when I want to go. I drove a Buick once that just jumped every time that I touched the accelerator. I prefer the Lexus feel.

nvbanker · February 2005

This would be a serious turn off for me.....

dssxxxx · February 2005

I have paired the v710 (Verizon) and the '04 LS430 Lexus.

It mutes the radio and auto answers the phone. OK...great so far.

I have heard that you can load the phone numbers one at a time.

Is this possible and how?

If it is not possible, how do you put phone numbers in the phone system on the Lexus?

I just can't figure it out. I am willing to manually put in one number and name at a time, but cannot figure out how????

Thanks.

H

famwald · February 2005

dorothy, we purchased our new '05 LS430 at the end of December and I have not noticed that accelerator pedal problem yet. We've only put 1,500 mi. on the car so far.

You mentioned comparing it to a Toyota. Our '98 Avalon had a really touchy gas pedal that scared the bejeebers out of me when I took it over after my DH bought a new car 18 months ago. I did adjust after burning a little rubber a few times.

I really can't say if our Lexus is as touchy as the Avalon was, or if I'm just used to the feel by now.

dorothyk · February 2005

Thanks for the reply. I only notice it when starting from a stop. I recently drove a Toyota Corolla rental and noticed that the gas pedal was extremely touchy. What is strange is I did not notice the gas pedal lag on the Jaguar or Mercedes.

garyh1 · February 2005

When I first got my '05, I noticed not what I would call a dead spot in the pedal, but there was a definite hesitation when I first gave it gas. I wonder if that was what you were experiencing?

This has been attributed to a problem in the programming of the transmission/engine interface. There is reportedly a TSB (00604) describing a re-programming fix for the issue. But interestingly, after driving my car for a couple of weeks, the issue went away in my case and has not come back, so I never took it in for the re-programming. Apparently, the transmission "learns" the driver's style and can adapt in some cases; in other cases, it takes a re-programming. It's possible that the demo you drove was either brand new or had "adapted" to a driver's style that was incompatible with your style.

I have seen posts in other places by people who had the re-programming done and found the problem resolved.

phil57 · February 2005

I have a '97 LS 400, purchased with 45K miles 11/2000, have a (now) 7 yr old son, use it for both family (with carseats) and business car, serves both uses excellently, expensive (gas, service, parts), worth every penny for reliability and peace of mind/relaxed driving, I use it daily fo in-town driving, every day commute car, lots of starts and stops, 3-4 freeway trips to San Francisco (I'm 35 mmiles away in Palo Alto). Costs are:
- premium gas, 15-17 MPG , max is 21-22 MPG all freeway
- Insurance (of course)
- tires every 40K miles (I use Michelin, about $400K+ per set)
- LEXUS service is about $300+ for minor, $1K for major allowing for extra stuff that always needs to be done...LEXUS service if good costs maybe 25%more than independent (my guess, I've used both) but will give you a free LEXUS for loaner, make friends with the service manager!
- Things that needed replacing: 1) new starter motor $1600+; 2) power steering pump $600+; 3) Tires (see above); $300K front headights, rear tailight
- Things that WILL need replacing next 100K miles: ir Conditioning compressor $700+K; Water Pump $300-400K
When I bought the car, service manager said expect about $5K budget for above replacement parts tot take it through 150K + miles. My first big car, biig cars are heavy and logically tougher on MPG, wearing out parts.

If you DO want to buy, check out Edmunds and Intelligoice sites for value comparison. And other than checking repair records & shop that worked on the car (including the LEXUS database that all dealers subscribe to), if you DO buy, have dealer do 1) minor servicing; and 2) balance and align tires (major safety consideration, particularly during winter).

LS 400 is a battleship, with all its sturdiness and substance, NOT a drag boat, and delivers wonderfully.

I cannot recommend the car enough, like the '97 as a used car because you'll get the same quality as '98-'00 before the new model came out, but best pricing of all those years because of the bigger engine, fancier headlights, possible global navigation system that priced '98 models about $5K higher (I looked at one and bought the '97 instead).

Curious what you do, let me know. If you buy it, over time you will appreciate it, best most relaxing easy to operate & secure car around, music equivalent is symphony, jazz, easy listening. But if you want your senses assaulted when you drive (zipply, hugs turns & road, etc.) then get another car & flip on the Rolling Stones.

Hope this helps, you caught me on first visit to Edmunds in 5 yrs on a relaxing day discussing one of my favorites.

bc21osh · February 2005

I purchased a 96 LS400 and fell in love with it until I drove it at night on a dark road. The headlights project out to a given distance and die. It is totally dark beyond that point and it is an insufficient distance to drive at any speed. I purchased some high intensity aftermarket bulbs and had them installed but it didn't help. I have also had it in to the Lexus dealer and an independent shop and had the headlights adjusted per Lexus specification.
I have read some of the past posts on this site and it appears that this may be designed into the LS???

sirdarby1 · February 2005

I recently purchased my Coach edition with 84,000 miles for $13,700 from a private owner. When I financed through my Credit Union, they offered me an extended warranty for $1,500 covering all the major stuff for an additional 36,000 miles. I went for it.

You may want to check and see if this is avail. to you as well.

nvbanker · February 2005

And let us know how it goes when you take the car back to your Credit Union for that warranty service

newlexi · March 2005

My Park Assist on my 2001 LS430 started beeping constantly and the display shows a front obstacle at the nearest possible distance. I checked the front bumper and there is nothing there. My only option is to turn the Park Assist off. Has anyone experienced this problem?

newlexi · March 2005

Really strange. After the Park Assist was seeing a "ghost" obstacle for a whole day, it suddently cleared after it started raining!!! Weird stuff, but all real.

Lexus LS: Problems & Solutions

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