Lexus LS 400/LS 430

edspider1 · December 2003

Thanks for your color comments. I ordered a Flint Mica with Black interior. Part of the reason is Briarwood is generally not available, but mostly because I don't like bronze gold tones in general. Black would be stunning, but to high maintenance. I didn't want chrome. I'm afraid it would be curb scratched. I like the way chrome looks, but I don't want my car to stand out that much.

edspider1 · December 2003

I noticed Lexus Link was dropped in 2004. Oh well. Is anyone using the Bluetooth feature? I don't think Sprint has a bluetooth phone and I'm stuck with Sprint.

zdude · December 2003

Good color choice! That is the same color combo I have and I've had nothing but compliments on it

I am using the Bluetooth feature. I dropped Sprint since their Bluetooth phone does not appear to be coming to market. I went with T-Mobile and I am using the SonyEricsson T616 and it works great with my LS430.

rgsw · December 2003

http://lexus.letstalk.com/brands/lexus-bt/mlh_splash.htm?brandId=- 201&cmpId=224&to=3840
The above site is available for BlueTooth Cell Phones.

viju · December 2003

I have been reading these posts for the past three months,ordered a 04 LS430 on Dec 6 at OK city moonlight pearl with ash interior .I loved the light blue color that the 03 had,not many choices for the o4 did not want a dark color as it get hot here in Edmond ok.I expect to get the car next week,I would have liked to see all the colors lined up side by side before I made up my mind ,has anyone been able to do that?

mheni1 · December 2003

Stupidly, I somehow marred my saddle color interior door covering with ball point pen ink. Fortunately, mark is small. Can anyone advise how to remove without damaging material

trmga · December 2003

seem more appropriate on the Cadillacs and Lincoln Town Cars with vinyl roofs and white wall tires that are owned by the gazillion retirees from New York and New Jersey that now live in southern Florida.

ljflx · December 2003

Has anyone seen a 2004 in Cypress Pearl yet. If so how did it look.

wwest · December 2003

I was so insulted by the hard sell by the dealer to put gold trim pieces on my then new 92 burgandy LS400 that I took it directly to the body shop and had all the trunk lid trim pieces removed.

Understated elegance = Lexus

At least for the early models. If the grille badge keeps "growing" it will soon look like the early infiniti.

chasfj · December 2003

Sprint just released a limited availability Bluetooth CDMA phone on 12/22. It is the Sony Ericsson T608,not available in Sprint stores, not on their website. It is ONLY available through Sprint telesales at 866-PCS-AUTO. Price is $199.99 plus tax and shipping. Specs on the phone are at: http://www.sonyericsson.com/us/spg.jsp?page=start&Redir=page=T608_Design&B=ie&PID=10033&LM=PSM_V&start=0. I stopped by my dealer and tried mine in an '04 that was on the floor. I only played with it for 15-20 minutes in the showroom, but I was able to make and receive calls through the NAV, even with the phone in the trunk.

sv7887 · December 2003

Hi All,
Do any of you have any experience with Leather Redyeing or restoration? My driver's seat on my '92 LS is starting to look a little worn. I've seen kits from Leatherique claiming that Redying is a viable alternative to having it completely redone with new leather.. The leather is in decent shape with some small hairline tears and wrinkles.

Thanks,
SV

wwest · December 2003

When I sold my 99 Porsche C2 the consignment shop redyed the drivers seat and it looked quite good, very acceptable.

b4z · December 2003

What they are really doing is putting another coat of paint on it.

I had the seats re-dyed in my Impala several weeks ago.

The cost was $125.00 for one seat.
My leather belt had left a brown mark on the lower part of the seat back.
They dyed the seatback and te seat bottom.

Looks like the day I drove it off the lot.

They color they dyed it was closer to the Tahoe neutral than the Impala neutral so they also dyed the passenger seat.

No complaints from me.

mfullmer · December 2003

I have seen the Cypress Pearl. It is spectacular and that is the color I am getting. Very rich looking while still offering a bit of color.

ljflx · December 2003

I'm caught between the Cypress pearl, flint mica and black. I thought the car would look great in cypress pearl but haven't seen it yet. The old riverrock green color on the LX470 was a stunner and this color reminds me of that. What interior color are you taking?

allan441 · December 2003

Don't knock till you tried it!. Also, that area is home to JM Lexus, which is home to the world's largest Lexus dealer. They must be doing something right. On a recent visit to South Florida there were more Lexus's on the road then Chevey's or Honda's. You would think that they were a dollar two ninety eight!!

Sprint how has a Seimens S 56 phone which is Bluetooth compatable. It is a wonderful system. The only problem is that you can only dial numbers that are in the 1-touch listing. The phone book or direct number imput will not work while the car is moving over 2 miles an hour. This is for saftey. However, you can dial a number using your cell phone, and still speak hands free using the Bluetooth system

allan441 · December 2003

I've had success removing ballpoint ink from leather in my car using hairspray. I put a little bit on a Q tip, and used it over the spot and it worked very well. I would try an inconspicuous area first before trying it where a problem could be seen.

syswei · December 2003

Hey, Paul, I noticed your moniker over on dpreview...it is the same Paul, right?

paulchiu · December 2003

Yep.

That's me; a shutterbug for 30+ years.

Paul

paulchiu · December 2003

Ever since I picked up my 2003 LS430, I sometimes can smell some rubber burnt aroma after driving my LS for a long drive; say >20 miles.

As I approach the left rear part of my car to retrieve my baby. I feel that the area above the left rear wheel is very hot. Not so where my baby is; thank goodness. What is the smell and heat all about ?

Paul

rd1411 · December 2003

is the rack below the alternator....the shop said i may need a new rack...just purchased the vehicle a month ago....it was low on power steering fluid when i brought it.

gteach26 · December 2003

Allan441.. you are right! Lexus vehicles here in S. Fla are a dime a dozen. I find it interesting how other folks around the country are on waiting lists, having to pay MSRP, etc.. here in S. Fla great deals are easy to come by.. ESPECIALLY if you are a current Lexus owner.

Even carsdirect lists MSRP as the price of some of these vehicles but when you start inquiring about the cars, the dealer deals start a flying! Perhaps it has to do with the fact that we have 5 Lexus dealerships within 100 miles of each other down here (6 if you count the Naples/Ft. Myers area a bit further west).

As for JM lexus, I don't know how they do it but according to their website they have TONS of inventory at all times and they seem to MOVE it quite fast.

allan441 · December 2003

gteach26..JM will not let you out the door, until they have sold you a car. I bought a used 01 LS 430 from them late in 01. They told me to leave my old car there, and when I had the time, to bring in my title. If they don't have the car you want, they will give you a loaner till you new one arrives. I recently received a call from them telling me that if I sent in a customer and they bought a car, they would send me $200. This month their goal is to sell 1000 cars. There is no doubt that they will make it. It's all in the marketing. Essentially very few deals are refused. Also, they will not trade with any other dealer for a particular automobile. I have heard that they also have there own allotment of cars, and are not part of the distribution for South Florida!

daryll40 · December 2003

OK, so I went from an '03 LS to an '04 LS. Where's the compass??? The '03 without Nav had a digital compass in the "display two" that toggled between outdoor temperature and digital compass. It would show in one or two letters which way you are driving.

The '04 has Nav. There is no "toggle" on the "display two"...only "off" and "outdoor temperature". So where did the compass go? I hope you guys are not going to tell me that the tiny thing in the upper left corner of the NAV is the compass. It has no markings! While I am not a total moron and can figure out what direction I am going because the compass is pointing north, it certainly isn't as clear as having "SE" or "NW" right in front of you. You really have to THINK about it. And while I am not against thinking, I just would expect Lexus to make this more user friendly.

Is the NAV mini-compass "it" or is there something I am missing??

wwest · December 2003

just what would you like us to say??

Sorry, the nav compass is IT.

daryll40 · December 2003

that the NAV compass really is "it". Apparently you did just confirm that!

Daryll40

stevestein · December 2003

In case you hadn't tried it, the Nav compass is also a control button that changes the map display between a north-up map and a direction-up map.

ljflx · December 2003

With the nav system you will always have to figure out which way is east and west. The red marking is always north or as stevestein says you can toggle it to show the letter N instead but you may not like the way the nav moves. It's really not a big issue but why they didn't allow the direction to show in that window on the dash as a toggle with the temperature is an enigma. On the GX470 the direction shows in the rear view mirror (at your option) and you have the same nav system set-up as the LS430 with the red marking or the N.

wwest · December 2003

One would think that with the map display "off", the way I run most of the time, it would default into the more important display modes, OAT, HVAC, etc, but no.

mfullmer · December 2003

I'm getting the Ecru interior (Ultra Lux with Nappa Leather upgrade.)

It's a fine combination.

ljflx · December 2003

Good luck. It should look fabulous. That is a color combo I will seriously consider as well.

trmga · January 2004

Anyone know how to change your user name on Edmunds? I tried asking Edmunds but all I got was a totally useless, formatted email reply that didn't adddress the question. Is there a very obvious procedure that I have missed?

gee35coupe · January 2004

The only way I know is to change e-mails and everything.

rgsw · January 2004

I too have noticed the dropping of the compas reading in the speedometer cluster with some concern. I note that one of the postitions/selections offered for the nav display have a large compass as a part of the display. It is the display with "Destination and Current Position" also listed along with a big compass. I like the idea of having the compass available in the speedometer cluster.

rd1411 · January 2004

ls400 is this the best of the lexus line

pat · January 2004

trmga, email our Senior Host KarenS at karen@edmunds.com and ask her.

wwest · January 2004

Once upon a time it was...

Now the RX330 with the performance parkage has taken that title.

You can't get the "decent" LS400 absent purchase the UL package and who needs seat coolers that don't function, ecru leather, backseat massagers, and beer coolers?

And a front grille logo that could also go up against the early infiniti.

zdude · January 2004

I don't think so, what have you been smoking? The RX330 is a cattle car compared to the LS. I own the Euro Sport Suspension and my ride is smoother than the RX330, also has zero rattles. I drove a RX330 for a couple of weeks and I would probably buy another X5 before I would the RX.
I've got the modern lux package and it has every convenience I need, I did not need the rear seat coolers but I got front seat coolers

Only thing the LS is missing is heated steering wheel.

wwest · January 2004

my 92 LS400 is a better car than ANY LS430.

Yes, ride in an LS430 is undoubtedly smoother than an RX, buy I rate vehicles on all aspects and the LS430 falls short of the RX330 overall.

zdude · January 2004

You may state that a '92 LS400 is a better car (I feel slly even commenting on this) but I could have 100 people who randomly walked off the street check out both vehicles and the only vote for a LS400 would be yours. Sounds like you've got one weird rating system. I did not care for the LS400 in 1992 when new and I can only say my opinion of the car has not improved since then. If you haven't been keeping up with current events the '04 LS430 is picked by most every major auto mag as the best luxury vehicle, something the '92 LS never achieved.

gee35coupe · January 2004

But the LS400 was what put Lexus on the map in the luxury car game. Even in 1992, it's third year of existence, it was getting raves. Buy 1992 Lexus had Benz shaking in thier boots. Look at them now. They've gone totally bonkers with twin turbo V12's and stuff.

ljflx · January 2004

Having had an LS400 in 95, another one in 98 and now the 01 LS430. I can say without any doubt the LS430 is not only better than the LS400 (which was a spectacular world-class car in its day and probably one of the best pre-owned cars to buy today) but it is also one of the best cars made altogether. You need 100k+ to beat it and I think you only beat it with what hardcore enthusiasts care about - even at those prices. The RX is a nice vehicle but its ride, luxury and handling pale in comparison to an LS430. I wouldn't hesitate to take an RX330 for a second. It's fabulous. But the class of Lexus is - without question - the LS430 and to a lesser degree the SC430 and LX470 in their niche segments.

gee35coupe - I think it went right to the top in year one.

acco20 · January 2004

You amaze me. You go from well informed statements about a wide variety of Lexus problems and solutions, to a statement like that. Before I say any more, I must say, you are entitled to your opinion. In the opinion that I am entitled to...The comparison hardly makes sense. Well anyway,put me down with those who disagree. Yes...I have owned a 1990 Ls400,and my son now ownes a LS430.

wwest · January 2004

My 92 LS has the air suspension, Trac, heated seats, etc. The only desireable thing the LS430 has that my 92 is missing is HID headlamps.

Am I missing something?

Yesterday I would have added VSC to the list, but not after today's trip in the RX.

wwest · January 2004

Suppose you had your choice of buying my 92 LS BRAND NEW, say for the base LS430 price, or a new LS430 with air suspension.

What would be your choice?

paulchiu · January 2004

Suppose I had the choice of buying the 55 Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing brand new, say for the base 2004 SL500 price. I WOULD RUN DOWN TO THE DEALERSHIP WITH C A S H !!!!

Otherwise, it's silly to buy ANY car of yesteryear! Unless you have some sentimental feelings; say 1st car after college, high school car with the prom queen, etc. etc.

Any luxury car with a few generations of improvements will be better than the original, in safety, performance, comfort, and noise (except maybe with the Mercedes S class) :-)

carguyay · January 2004

I have read this forum for over a year and have found that most of us are as bright and successful.This makes us also opininated enough to debate old vs new. I have friends with a 92LS, 93LS,1999LS and I have my first a 04LS. All wonderful cars. None of them are for sell when all could buy new ones. This conversation or debate goes on with all kinds of new vs old. Harleys,Vettes,Porsches even sports teams.I am not sure who can ever claim to win. Although it is fun to read. FYI I have had to reset my low tire twice because temps temps dropped for 55 to 38 twice in the last three weeks on my 18 inch tires and wheels. Only in Chicago ! Not a problem on the older ones HA.

ljflx · January 2004

The handling is tighter, the ride is smoother, the cabin is quieter, the trunk is bigger; then you have more air bags and an overall safer car, more wood and a far more luxurious interior, in dash CD player, better traction with VSC, better leather, HID lights, a nav system that I now find invaluable and then of course you have the mark levinson stereo which is just plain fabulous. The Nakamichi was also great but it's not in the same league as the ML. I'll leave out Lexus Link though. It's far superior to the 95 and 98 cars I had and the price has hardly changed. I do wish they were more flexible with the air and sport suspension options though.

ljflx · January 2004

The engine is more powerful with a lot more torque.

landspeed · January 2004

Do anyone know what would be a good price for a 2004 LS with UL package? If any owners can tell me what you have paid for, that would be great. I live in New Jersey.
Thanks

Lexus LS 400/LS 430

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