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Also, how was your dealer experience? I had awful experience with Toyota dealers, hope it's not the case with Lexus. If you can recommend a Colorado dealership I would be most grateful. Thank you.
Tight is right, Lexus are pretty much rattle and creak free. In buying a used Lexus do not purchase one from northern areas (Rust, inferior roads) where the cars take a great beating with inclement weather, pot holes and craters the size of ponds that will loosen up pretty much any vehicle. The Lexus used car certified program is fine one. I own a used 1997 LS 400 for almost a year now. This is the best used car I have ever owned to date. I am amazed at the build quality and the sheer reliability of this car, I love it and highly recommend it. Parts and maintenance are higher than your domestics, so beware.
Good luck, Sheldon
BTW the tires are almost gone so what tires do you guys put on your ls400s for a nice lux ride with performance too. Will use the est of new tires to bring down the price somewhat.
I couldnt read all the posts but I managed to read the begining and last few pages. Other than the power steering it seems these cars just have the normal issues that all other older cars will eventually have. This is a certified car with 3yrs/100k warranty on it.
Well I think I want to go back at night to try some night driving to see how the lights are and maybe take it up to speed on the highway when less people are out n about.
Thanks guys; I hope to be a fellow ls400 owner very soon.
First LS year with 290 hp and 5-speed auto; big differences from my '95 LS400.
I tossed the Lexus phone and all its hardware; useless in the cellular market 5 years later.
Great vehicle and with the cert warranty you can't go wrong. As for rubber, pick any Michelin or equivalent tire at $100 or more and you can't go far wrong there either. I put all-season Mich MXV4+ on mine; you can get more sporty rubber at the expense of durability. And don't go overboard on handling type rubber bec the LS suspension is not set-up for that and you'll be wasting money on the purchase and on the short life.
Well i gotta find some time to get this sucker fixed. Maybe when the LS400 comes home then I'll take my honda into the shop.
I've checked the connectors and the harness and found nothing wrong with them. Unfortunately I can't locate a shop manual to better diagnose what the heck is going on. I've tried different things and have reset ECU, but it keeps coming back like a bad nightmare. She keeps sputtering and won't hold a consistent idle.
The air flow meter is not a cheap part $664, what are the chances that the meter itself has crapped out on me? I would assume that these units don't really break down often since it only measures air flow. Any ideas.......anyone?
Paul29-Thanks for the heads up on an earlier thread on this subject.
Thanks in advance!
Al
Where do they sell a service manual for my model? I couldn't find it at the local auto part store.
My yellow engine light have been on for last 4 month. It seems to drive just fine thought. Any diagnostic tips on this?
I just had my 100K service from independent shop 5 months ago.
Thanks for your help.
Danny from SoCal
Kent
kmanby@mac.com
Thanks for your help. I will email you with my numbers.
BTW, how much did you pay for your manual? Any chance I can find one from local book store?
Dan
One point on older LS400's. At the 60,000 mile check, have them change out the water pump! The pump isn't that expensive and when it goes, isn't cheap to fix. Mine went out at 99,000 (under extended warranty) and the 91 is a "zero/zero" engine. The new ones aren't and will trash the engine when the piston meets the valves! No where in ANY service manual will you find a recommendation to change the water pump. Just do it every 60,000 and you never worry. Also, I had the fan pully go out around 195,000. Expensive (got to remove timing belt). Should have replaced at the 180,000 (part cost only) and saved the money but was unaware and the normally excellent service advisor (same one for years) was brain dead that day.
Another tip. The power steering pump can get stiff and groan. Have them clean the screen and flush with fresh fluid. Mine is still running fine. Have done this trick twice.
Overall, the car is a tank! Keeps on ticking day in and day out. Only other expensive repairs have been 1) new A/C compressor and 2) rear engine seal. If I sold it, I could only get $6-$7k and would have to replace so why??
Anyway, some common sense in the 60,000 mile service on over 100,000 mile LS400's will really pay you back!
It has always been serviced at Lexus and has 155,000 miles.
The only time I get decent consumption is when I drive at 65mph with cruise control set, when I get around 30-32 mpg.
However, driving without cruise on roads with traffic lights at an average speed of 40mph, I struggle to get past 18-19 mpg.
Is there anything I can do cheaply to improve mpg on this model?
Thanks,
Lexus_fan
Weight: 3759 lbs, or 1705 Kilograms
For fuel consumption, 18-19 gallons is excellent.
Consider the weight of your vehicle and the size (4.0 liter) of your 8 cylinder motor. Only a miracle could help bring higher MPG in everyday city driving. I would like to point out the brilliant efficiency of the motor at highway speeds, I do not know of another vehicle with same weight and engine size to duplicate this feat (30-32 MPG!). By the way, the LS 400 motor is approved in the USA for aviation use in small aircraft, what do you think about that?
Sheldon
Yes, US gallons are larger than UK gallons. Multiply UK gallons by 1.2 to get the equivalent in US gallons. That means I'm getting the equivalent of 37 US mpg on my long highway trips with cruise on. Has anyone ever got more than that on a 92 LS?
One thing that is odd with my LS is that after cruising for about 90 miles with the cruise set at 110mph one night, I found that I had got 19mpg (US 23mpg). That means I get better mileage driving at 110mph than I do when driving in city traffic.
Is the LS400 engine optimised when driving at that speed then? Sure makes a strong case for staying in the fast lane!
1 UK (Imperial Gallon) = 4.5 liters approx.
After I have been traveling at high speeds, and when i exit a highway, my power steering locks up. I can turn the wheel with two hands, however there is no power and instead it feels like manual steering. Very often once I come to a complete stop, the steering seems to break free and I once again have power steering.
I have brought it to McGrath Lexus in the Chicago area and they say they can't find or duplicate the problem.
Anybody have any similar problems or possible solutions? All assistance is appreciated.
Seems like the pump would either work or not, so only other thing I can think of is a valving problem in the ram itself.
You may just have to wait until total failure on this or take your best guess and replace something.
Changing all the fluids annually is the key to getting 300k out of them.
Now that the car is so old, there doesn't seem a point to paying £90 per hour labour prices at Lexus dealers.
Cheers,
Lexus_fan
I would suggest looking at rear wheel balance or damaged wheel or out of round tire. If that doesn't work, you could look at components that SUPPORT the driveshaft, such as a worn center support bearing, or a binding U-joint that looks and feels fine but in fact cannot flex properly due to rust or a bad needle bearing.
If none of that shows up anything, you could be in for a hard time.
also anyone want to talk about their lexus and problems about it email me... again Vette4lyfe@yahoo.com
When I turn on the AC, the 2 fans in front of the engine are not working. They're supposed to be on whenever AC is on. I have looked at the fuses, and they're all okay. Any sensors or relays that I should look at BEFORE I hotwire the fans to see if they are good?
Thanks!
Thanks for the tip! The fans are working via disconnecting the temp switch plug. I have re-checked the fuses again, and they're all ok. There's one 30-amp radiator fan fuse in the engine compartment, and that one is ok too. Something isn't right here because I don't ever hearing or seeing them "on" after driving the car for awhile and shutting the engine off. Cooling fans normally go on 2-3 minutes after the engine is shut down.
We know that the fans are in good working order. They don't work when AC is on, and they don't work as part of engine cooling system.
If you don't mind, please let me know where the 2 fusible links, and 4 relays are so I can look at them. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Thanks again.
The main problem with regular is the amount of Olefins in gas vs Premium this gummy base stock will eventually take its toll.
http://www.api.org/pasp/rs083.pdf
Would anyone could recommend a reputable place to flash AT on my 92LS, using "Quick Clean" to remove the varnish and loose friction material and run AT on each gear at 2500 rpm for 4 min each? It was recommended this way on one of the earlier posts. It makes sense, though a few AT shops recommended (as long as AT fluid is no black), just to service it - drop the pan, rinse the filter and refill the fluid.
I'd rather to do AT flush to be safe.
Thanks.
What are the possibilities? It has 106K miles on it. I am afraid it's gonna be $2000 repair...
Any advise?
When I bought my car earlier this year, the dealer gave me one month warranty. The AC was blowing "hot" air like yours so I took the car back. They tried to recharge it but it didn't take the freon. AC compressor was bad. They ordered a rebuilt unit. The problem I have now is either the system does not have enough pressure to turn the pressure switch ON, or the pressure switch iftself is bad. The fans do not run at all when AC is on. When I drive the car I get cold air because air is passing through the condenser, but if I am at a traffic light and idling, I get cool to warm air depending on how long the traffic light is!
If your compressor is bad, just get a rebuilt unit from autozone or any auto parts stores. Do shop around and compare prices. A rebuilt unit should last at least 5 years.
Thanks for your help.
Do they sell rebuilt AC unit at Autozone? That's a news to me. How much did they charge? What was a labor charge for it? If you live in SoCal, do you have a mechanic that can fix Lexus? Please advise.
I wonder how much dealer charges for the new unit, and is it worth the money?
Autozone has rebuilt AC compressor w/clutch for $479.99 (part number 77326.) Any auto repair shops can put it in for you and the labor cost for it is $200 max. Another $100 from AC shop for recharging freon assuming your system has no leaks. I don't know what you have to pay for a brand new AC compressor from a Lexus dealer including installation and recharging.
I do know a guy that sells new and used Lexus parts, and his prices aren't better than autozone.
Autozone has rebuilt AC compressor w/clutch for $479.99 (part number 77326.) Any auto repair shops can put it in for you and the labor cost for it is $200 max. Another $100 from AC shop for recharging freon assuming your system has no leaks. I don't know what you have to pay for a brand new AC compressor from a Lexus dealer including installation and recharging.
I do know a guy that sells new and used Lexus parts, and his prices aren't better than autozone.