David Lo Pan

<<<I have also found the site to be pretty slow to but I suppose it is better than having no site at all (like some Marques).>>> Indeed! I was merely a little suprised, because the site seems to be quite developed, and impressive looking. But I guess it does stand to reason that models such as the LS400 are quite a minority, compared with say something like a Mondeo or Vectra. <<<I would have liked to help with your queries, but my LS400 is a 91 and a Japanese import at that and so my car is quite different.>>> Nevertheless, your feedback is appreciated - and is of some relevance. <<<Black transmission fluid can often mean slipping bands (the black is the burnt lining material, probably verified by the "lack of creep") so you did well to avoid the car.>>> Yeah, I think so. It could be something very minor, easily rectified by a fluid change, or it could be impending doom - but as reliability and avoidance of big bills is right up there in my list of importance, I'm not about to take the chance. There's another one that I'll probably take a look at, it's a shame about this one, though, because it's the only thing (apart from the service history not being quite as up-to-date as the dealer is claiming ;-)) I could fault on it, and otherwise is in excellent condition. <<<Mine has a traction control switch on the central console above the ash tray so I would be suprised if the later models don't have one.>>> Do you know if traction control is an option? Is it possible that the car didn't have it? Or merely that there was no switch to turn it off? I guess I'm wondering whether the lack of the switch is indicative of it not being present, or merely not being disableable (that a real word?). It would seem odd, though, for a relatively late model car, with that amount of power to not have traction control - but I do wonder, with comments / hints I've read on the net. <<<As for MPG I am very pleased with mine, I have normally had large and thirsty cars and I cannot class the Lexus as thirsty. Try as I might I cannot get LESS than 20 mpg and at a cruise speed of 70 I would get around 23 - 25 mpg which in my humble opinion is amazing for a heavy car with a 4.0 litre V8.>>> Looking at the figures on Parkers, and the Lexus website, they don't appear leaps and bounds different from my current car (S70 2.5 auto) - so I'm assuming that I won't get quite as much mileage, but not a great deal different. I couldn't see any obvious fuel computer when I was test driving it, though, as they are normally a good indication (I accept they are not completely accurate). That struck me as odd, too - but it could be I just didn't know where / how to look, or that this model year (MK III?) didn't have one. <<<In all I prefer the Lexus to the Mercedes and BMW 7s I have owned because they age so well and they are at least different to most of the "ordinary" cars. >>> Classy, but understated. Not as obvious as the German big cars - perhaps more anonymous from the outside - which is what I'm looking for. Hopefully (especially at the age I'm looking at) better reliability than the big German equivalent cars, too. <<<And as for the slow response on this site then I would rather belong to a club with a handful of members than one that has so many that there is no common link other than a badge.>>> I hope I haven't been perceived as complaining - that's not my intent - I'm under no illusions that help in such forums shouldn't be demanded, and should be taken in good faith - and if it's not forthcoming that's just life. I was merely a little surprised given the infrastructure here (the site, looks impressive, well structured), but relatively light traffic - mere slight suprise, nothing more. I'm grateful for any help I might get - wouldn't dream of biting the hand that feeds me (metaphorically speaking). <<<Good luck>>> Many thanks for your feedback - much appreciated. Cheers Dave

Well I'm overwhelmed! ;-) Don't get me wrong, I didn't expect my questions to provoke as much discussion as nerdy geeks talking about Star Trek would... But still... I'm not about to pout and scweam and scweam about it. I can accept traffic is light, here and there's never any guarantee that you'll get your questions answered. For what it's worth, I wasn't exactly expecting somebody to be able to answer everything in one reply - I thought perhaps the odd person would know something about selective bits - bit that's life, it's cool. I must confess, other forums I've been involved in for other cars, have had more traffic and responsiveness for similar types of enquiry, but I guess where cars are more mainstream, and / or perhaps have more of a following, there will be more traffic. The particular car I was initially interested in, I'm probably not about to bother about, now - although it was in very nice condition - inside and out, and the service history was good (although not quite completely as up-to-date as it might be - the dealer still seems to be touting it as having FSH, though - that's dealers for ya!) I did notice something of concern. When I look at used cars, I always have a good look under the bonnet, as well as being as thorough looking at the interior and exterior as I can. I'm no mechanical expert, but I do have a rudimentary grasp for how things should look, and I always have a look at the oil, autofluid, coolant and the rest. I noticed that the autofluid as pretty black - I don't mean just a dark brown, but pretty black. Don't get me wrong, with a car of this age and mileage I wasn't expecting cherry red, but I've not yet seen a true black. I noted this, but put it in the back of my mind, and I thought I'd see how it was when I drove it. I noticed when driving that it seemed ever-so-slightly to be slightly lethargic at moving on no, or light throttle - didn't seem to creep as much as some, and definetly not as much as my own car - I did consider that the LS400 was a big heavy car, and when it first truly noticed, it was whilst queueing on a fairly steep incline up to a roundabout. It seems there was a slight bit of slippage in first - in all other ways, though, the autobox seemed completely fine - no clunks or rough changes, no obvious slippage in other gears, no reluctance to kick-down. Thinking about this, later, this and the black autofluid troubled me - black is bad for autofluid - something has happened for it to get black, as opposed to merely the red dye breaking down over time, and the fluid being a brown colour. I spoke to a local autobox expert and they were reserved and said they'd not had much trouble with Lexus gearboxes, but they agreed - black was bad. And said it would be hard to know whether this was a minor problem easily rectified, or whether it suggested impending doom. So with that in mind, I won't bother with that particular example - which is a shame, because in all other respects, it was a fine example. I don't want to buy one, and be worried about having a big expensive failure imminent. I do wonder what may have happened to it - possibly towed for whatever reason, and not had the proper precautions taken - or perhaps just one of those things. I know with my current car, main dealers seem very reluctant to do autofluid changes as part of ongoing servicing ('cept for use in harsh or commercial conditions - eg as a taxi) - so I suspect that in many cases it doesn't get done, unless the owner specifically insists. Perhaps this contributes to the odd case where things look slightly awry. I did look at another LS400 same age and plate (P reg) - more miles, though - slightly over 150k miles. The autofluid on that was a more encouraging brown colour - but the rest of the car looked a whole deal more tired and unloved. Scuffs on bumpers, bodywork unloved - evidence of chips on the edges of the doors, so the previous owner obviously hadn't been that careful. The mileage wouldn't have necessarily put me off, but the condition just made me feel like it hadn't been looked after - although it looked OK from the mystical "5 yards" ;-) So I'll keep looking, there's another one not to far away I might look at. My reasons for wanting an LS400, being that I've always liked the bigger cars like the BMW 7s, the S Class Mercs and the A8s, but the LS400 seems to offer that sort of class of car, perhaps a bit more anonymous and less "in your face" which quite appeals, too, and having the famed reliability and build quality that's associated with the main Japanese car manufacturers. If anyone has any feedback on any of my questions in the original post - I'd be more grateful, but if not - hey, that's life. Cheers Dave

I'm considering buying a 96 LS400. I just have a few questions about the model. As I understand it, that makes it a MK III model (95-98 MY). I've had a reasonable test drive, and a quick perusal of the handbook - but I didn't have time for a comprehensive examination to answer all of my questions on the functions. There appears to be a trip computer, which seems to have two memories of trip distance. Is there things like fuel / mpg information, like you get on many cars with these sort of trip computers? I couldn't see one via obvious means, but just wanted to check. I couldn't see a button to disable traction control - I understand if there was one, it would be near the heated front seat buttons - there's a button for the headlamp cleaners, but no others. Is this an option? Or did it not appear in the UK models of this period? Is there a service reminder warning light? What's the cambelt renewal period? This car has already had it done (I think at 69k miles, looking at the service history book). What sort of price is it for this to be done at a Lexus dealers? Is there any recommendations for changing the autofluid? Is it part of the normal service schedule? Do owners bother with interim oil changes? And how much do normal services cost at Lexus dealers? Realistically, what sort of fuel economy could I expect at 70mph (really! ;-)) using cruise, on the motorway. I currently drive just over 100 miles a weekday about 94-95 miles of that being reasonably free-flowing motorway, the rest (14-15 miles) commuting to a city centre. I currently drive a 2.5 auto (Volvo S70) and am averaging around the 30mpg mark (according to the computer) I'm wondering what sort of difference I could expect in this LS400. It has the Lexus tape deck with the 6 CD changer in the glovebox. I understand that the sound is pretty awesome from the stock setup? And finally (I'll just shut up now!) what's owners general perception of the performance, compared with other fairly quickish, big cars? Thanks in advance for any help. Dave