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Personally, I am also waiting for AWD before buying (SW CT). A friend of mine who has a 2001 LS says it is terrible in snow (she has all season 17" tires). Today just around town I saw a pre-2003 MB E (rwd) having trouble, and a BMW 5 as well...streets weren't really plowed yet.
As for the LS they state the re-design - the big one - is 2005 or 2006 which is when they will bring out the V-12. My sales guy had said 2006 or 2007 would be the next major re-design with a V-12 stretched LS - so that was consistent. I had a hard time believing they will make changes to the car in 2004 if they are re-upping again in 2005 so I called my sales guy out of curiosity. He says they are doing a sheet metal change for sure in 2004 to the front end, adding options including AWD and that they will come out with the next big change in 2006 but it may debut by spring 2005 as a 2006 model. I'm sure he's not telling new customers this but my lease renews in 2004 so it's a different story. They want to keep the car fresh in 2004 until that next big change so they will also have that 360hp sport edition as an optional LS model in 2004. Apparently the next edition LS in 2005 or 2006 will have at least two engine options -the 360 hp V-8 and the V-12.
Syswei - I'm in NJ and I've had it with this snow this year. Don't want to see another flake. It was awful driving today even in an LX470. In AWD cars you still need snows. My old boss got stuck in his A-8 as the quattro just didn't work well with the sport tires. With the snows it was a totally different story and the car was more like a mini SUV.
By the way - anyone like this new Edmunds platform? Certainly not me. The old one was far superior.
I am interested in buying a LS 400.
One vehicle I found has 160000+ miles on it but body/interior is in excellent shape.
My question is...
What are the mechanical limits in this vehicle.
The price is $5995 (St. Louis). Any thoughts/commentary/advice is welcome.
Thanks.
This may have something to do with how the bookmarks got created, or maybe Edmunds has improved this feature. Aside from that I really have no feelings one way or the other. What is it that you dislike?
i also preferred the yellow and blue colors.
Most are nothing a dab of touch-up paint can't handle, but it seems unusual.
Thanks in advance for any input.
As for '98's, Most LS400/430's do have trouble with the Fuel Injection system getting all gummied up with primarily low speed driving. At the dealer recommendation, I treat both my 92 LS (bought new in 9/92) and 02 LS430 with Chevron Techron every other oil change. Best Bet is to have the Dealer clean it out intially, and follow the Techron Regimen every other Oil Change.
Overall, both of these cars have been good in the Snow. I've got Michelin Artic Alpin's on the LS430 and All season Michelin MXV4's on the 92 LS. I live in New England, and I haven't had a problem so far. The factory "All Season 17 Inch Tires" are a cad. They're H rated performance tires meant for 130MPH driving. Best bet is to invest in some Snow tires (Preferably Michelin or Bridgestone) and Wheels to match. Tirerack.com is a great resource in that regard. The LS series is truly a great car. I've owned 3 of them now, so I can attest to their superb quality. Hope this helps any of you prospective buyers.
That $98k car you have would have likely been priced closer to $150k were it not for Lexus having entered the luxury car market back in 89.
MB has had no choice but to cut prices and those forced price cuts have resulted in a much lower quality product.
Join us tonight, 6-7pm PT/9-10pm ET for another
round of automotive trivia and member-to-member chat.
Test your skills (or multiple choice guessing ability)
against other Town Hall members.
http://www.edmunds.com/townhall/chat/townhallchat.html
Hope to see you there!
Looking at the engine compartment I can see that there are a couple of pieces that I will need to loosen.
Has anyone done this before?
Thanks.
Before I get into this I wanted to say that Bellevue Lexus provided an out-standing level of service, no less than three people outside for "greeting", even one to hold the door for me to enter. I had called earlier and made an appointment with the service manager. Always in the past the service writer was my first stop, but not on this occasion.
Before I left I even asked if O'brien had sold out and they were under new management. No, just an attitude adjustment. Considering that they should consider me an adversary I was treated extremely well, maybe they don't know.
But, the problems.
1. Exhaust leak/noise.
2. Brake pad replacement indicator always on. Replaced front pads months ago but didn't know how to extinguish indication.
3. Driver's seat belt doesn't always retract unless you turn ignition off then back on.
When I called to set up the appointment the service manager said the exhaust leak was likely the EGR tube. When I dropped off the car I asked to be notified of the charges before any serious work was done.
Service manager called to say that the exhaust noise was the EGR tube (completely broken in half, said common failure) and although the tube itself was relatively inexpensive the transmission would need to be "dropped" to replace and therefore total charges would be $857. He said the front and rear brake pads were worn out and the pad sensor had worn through and would need to be replaced, $73 for the sensor and $260 for new front brake pads, includes turning the rotors. The likely problem with the seat belt was a dirty retraction track and he would have to order a new assembly to replace it. We didn't discuss the cost of this.
Frankly having just recently replaced the front brake pads I became suspicious and decided to have a look myself. I asked him to put the car on the ground, bill me for the cost so far, and I would come over and pick it up.
When I arrived at the dealership they refused to charge me anything at all even though I insisted.
The DIY part.
New front, NAPA premium, pads for the front cost $52, and about an hour of my DIY time to replace F&R pads. I had already bought the rear pads at the time I previously replaced the fronts. The front pad sensor had two wires all the way out to the sensor itself, probably to assure a connection all the way out to the sensor. The two wires had become separated, worn through by the previous pad wear-out. A paper clip and a soldering iron provided a simple and reliable fix.
I removed the exhaust end of the EGR tube, beat the end flat and back over to seal it and re-installed. No EGR gas flow (now fresh air) back into the intake manifold but I'll worry about that if it doesn't pass emissions. To be really fair I should point out that this type of fix would have been illegal for the shop to even suggest.
On earlier LS models the EGR gas was simply ducted from the crossflow exhaust path within the intake manifold into the actual intake, the way it's been done by all manufacturers for eons now.
When the service manager first told me that this was the likely failure I assumed the tube would be there to pick up exhaust gas downstream from the catalytic converter. No, it actually picks up exhaust gas right at the from oxy sensor.
Anyone out there know why? Doesn't seem reasonable to me to add an (unreliable) EGR tube to pick up the exact same exhaust gas that exists nearby in the crossflow duct.
Now I have to check with this car's most common driver to be sure he isn't "resting" his spare foot on the brake.
Now I can report how you can turn off the little light on the vanity mirrors. For a long time I looked for a switch, but couldn't find one. It seemed strange that Lexus would overlook such a minor convenience detail. Yesterday I finally found it. Do you know how? Give up? You slide the sun visor about half an inch toward the middle of the car, along its support axis. (You did know that the visors can be slid out, didn't you?)
Hoping for more useful tidbits from this board, and (OT) a quick victory in Iraq.
Renny
Looking for a little help if possible. From where I live on LI I am about the same distance from 3 Lexus dealers. They are in Glen Cove,Smithtown, and Massapequa. Was looking for any pros or cons on which one I should buy from or not buy as the case may be. Thanks in advance for your help it is appreciated.
After 1300 miles in the LS, I can only say how great it is to be back in one of these. My first was in '92. I then veered the GS 400 in '98 -- and, while I loved its precision (acceleration and handling), I but missed the unbeatable feel and comfort of the LS. With the eurotuned suspension, the LS is simply incredible. I can't imagine how this car is to be improved in the future, but sooner or later I suppose they will do that, but only then will I try another car than the one I'm in.
I've reported earlier on my experience trying out the new E CLass Mercedes, which failed to impress. A family member drives a new BMW 530 and, while I'm sure the 540 has more punch, I doubt that it's fundamentally different. It has never struck me as something I'd prefer. The Merecedes S class and the BMW 745 remain unexplored by me, but nothing in their smaller brethern suggests tht I could ever prefer them to the magnificent LS.
mheni--would you please send Word doc to moonmoreau@cox.net. Thanks much.
Lexus established itself with the LS 400, and the current version, the LS 497, continues to be its iconic car. No other Lexus delivers more convincingly on the marquee's promise, "the pursuit of perfection of passion."
Alacrity and fluidity
Quite simply, the LS 497 nails the luxury-sedan formula to perfection. It's so quiet it could be a sensory deprivation chamber, so smooth-riding it could be standing still. The controls move with an expensive alacrity. The cabin is stretch-out spacious, and its materials are of the finest quality. The 297-horsepower Y-7 engine is so smooth that it seems to have no moving parts, yet it moves the LS 497 with fluidity, sending it from 0 to 67 mph quicker than a Mercedes-Benz C230.
Lexus engineers are still working on the design of an integrated telephone. "I realize we could just copy the design of any of the other luxury cars", said the head of telephony engineering, "but that is not the way we do things. We have our pride. We are not like those guys in Styling."
But the greatest technological breakthrough of this new Lexus is that it has finally solved a problem that has plagued its predecessors for years. It now has a control that allows the "Lexus Link is active" message to be disabled! Truly amazing!
Happy April fools day.
I was flying through here trying to catch up throughout the Sedans board and all I saw was a "copied and pasted" article from some other where. I wrote him asking him to delete it and post the source. (Oh, if ONLY ljflx had just gotten here a bit sooner....)
As I told rennybosch, just as I clicked on Send, I thought eeyikes, April Fools Day.
Too late, I had already played the fool!!
ha... ha... ha...
:-)
Pat - your honesty is wonderful.
Tires - I couldn't be happier with the Z-rated Dunlop sport 5000's. I've already have put 2,500 miles on them. Great grip, same smooth spectacular ride and very quiet.
Had a business acquaintance ride with me in my '98 GS300 who is a confirmed German car fan and he fell all over himself with praise for the quiet, luxurious ride & interior space vs his older E-class. He'd never been in a Lexus till mine and had a negative image till we went to dinner together. Lot's of horror stories about his maintenance and repair issues with his local MB dealer, very jealous of my minimal time at dealer with my car.
Backup battery...
My guess would be that it is really one of those new very high capacity capacitors....