soundchaser100

This is unlikely to be the bulbs. There are 2 Large Transistor Voltage Regulators in the corner of the board. It is highly likely that the Emitter Resistors (1 ohm) have fried on the board causing the print to go open circuit. This is caused by the current demanded by all those bulbs being high ( a few amps ). The cure is to repair the printed circuit board, and then replace all the bulbs with LEDs. You need to fit limiting resistors as well (LEDs don't like 12 volts) which involves cutting the print. The LEDs draw much less current, and so the regulators run much cooler. My LS400 had this problem when I bought it in 2006, so I carried out this modification and the lights still work perfectly. Paul

Just seen this. On 3rd December I received a letter from DVLA to inform me that the Direct Debit for my Tax had not been taken out and so, my car was not taxed. The Road Tax should have been taken out on 1st of October ! So I had been driving around for 2 months, blissfully unaware that my car was not taxed. The letter blamed the oversight on "a system failure" and advised me to tax my car ASAP which I did. They did at least apologise for the error, but , when I phoned the automated system to tax my car, I was warned that as I had let the tax run out, I might be liable for prosecution. What a cheek! I hadn't noticed that the Direct Debit had not been taken out, but it took DVLA 2 months to spot the error. I assume it hadn't flagged up on the system, otherwise I could have had Plod pulling me over. As the OP suggests, don't rely on DVLA getting it right all the time. Paul

I don't really care what the front of my LS430 looks like, I can't see it from where I sit. The interior is a very nice view indeed IMO. Paul

I nearly bought an LS430 with springs (no comfort pack) 51 reg from memory about a year ago from a dealer near Chester, so they do exist in this country. My air suspension is OK at the moment (touch wood) but if it gives me problems I will fit springs and shocks. Having measured the struts on both of my cars, LS400 & LS430, it looks to me as if you can probably fit LS400 struts on to an LS430. I will look into this further... Paul

You weren't driving past a large mirror were you?

Just to clarify the situation, if you own an LS400 with a 4 speed box (up to Mk3), then you put in Dexron ATF, NOT the Type TIV which is for the 5 speed box fitted to the Mk IV LS 400 and the pre facelift LS 430. Paul

I paid £63.00 for 5 litres of Toyota Type IV ATF at my local Toyota dealership ( Mid - Cheshire) recently. I don't consider this a bad price, as the Mobil equivalent on E-bay was very nearly the same price. Paul

Nothing against it , but it looks to me like a lot of work to alter the car so it will be more unstable on corners. I take it this isn't a race, because no one was overtaking, except for the soft top which looked like it was either a mobile chicane or some sort of safety car.

And the point of this is?

If you look round the top of the dipstick (the handle) it will say something like "this oil does not need replacing". I fitted an external ATF cooler to mine recently and had to run some oil out as I figured out which pipes were the send and return. So I removed about 4 litres and replaced it with Toyota Type IV. ( £63 for 5 litres from a Toyota dealer)This is the ONLY oil you should use, it is designed for this type of transmission. Something to do with a slip clutch I believe. The guy on the LOC in the States who put something else in says he now has clunky gear changes, but no one has put him wise. The oil in my transmission had done 112,000 miles and looked OK, a bit darker than original but no burnt smell. The gear changes on my car are imperceptible, but then they were before I changed the oil. By the way ,the total oil in the box is about 8 litres so I only changed about half of mine. To remove the oil pan from the transmission you will have to use a gasket cutter, but I bet that Lexus want £120 just to take oil from the drain plug and then refill it. This will change about 2 litres only. Paul

Just don't tell Donald-Trump that you bought it from Lexus Carlisle ! Paul

The suspension air pump was making a bit of a knocking noise when it ran, so took the O/S/F wing liner off to have a look and found that the mounting bushes were well and truly shot. Remarkably, I bought a set of three from Lexus Chester for the grand sum of £9.50. (Clearly the cheapest parts on the car !) Part No 90389-06033. I fitted them today and it has made a huge difference to the noise from the pump. Before, you could lift the pump up and down on its bracket by a good half an inch. Now it just runs quietly with a small amount of vibration from the pump. I used to hear it whilst driving and even feel it through the floor, but now I don't even know when its running and can just hear it with my ear against the wing. I've included some pictures for 430 owners who want to change theirs. You need to remove the wheel, partly remove the wing liner and move it out of the way, then unbolt the 3 mounting bolts (10 mm ). 2 are easy to see, the 3rd is hidden on the right but is accessible. The bushes themselves just pull out of the pump bracket and are easy to refit into the holes. Don't forget, DO NOT run the air suspension while the car is jacked up with the wheel off the ground, it can cause damage. A fairly easy job well worth the effort. Paul

This is the ATF Cooler in situ, I wasn't very scientific when I chose which one to fit as I just went for one with the same size pipes as the original, and roughly the same size. I'm not bothered about over cooling the trans, the amount of heat a Torque Converter generates is colossal, so there's always plenty of heat being produced. The main thing ,to me, is that the damage to the transmission by coolant contamination cannot now happen. In any case if you look on U.S. websites, they point out that excess heat is the enemy of an Auto Trans, not over cooling it. The car runs great with seamless gear shifts so everything appears to be OK. Paul

Is it actually possible to alter the mileage on an LS400 and if so, how easy is it? I thought that these days with electronic dahboards it is virtually impossible to tamper with them. Paul

This very day I have just finished fitting a £60 ATF cooler to the front of my 2001 LS430, so now the "radiator mixing the fluids" problem has completely disappeared. It's a bit of a messy job, but worth it for the peace of mind. Having owned this 430 for 3 weeks I've had time to compare it with my LS400 which I've had for 9 years. The level of luxury in the 430 is far ahead of the Mk3 400, but the ride (air suspension) is not really any smoother. I have recently replaced ALL front suspension parts on the 400 so it is now like driving a new car. Paul

There are only 2 plugs used but 3 sockets on the back of the radio. The black one plugs into the hazard warning switch! Paul

I have finally taken the plunge and bought an LS430. I've had my LS400 for 10 years now, easily the best car I have ever owned and I will be keeping it. My wife would never let me sell it anyway. The new car is really lovely, only 112,000 miles 51 Reg, Mystic Gold. It has a few niggles but nothing I can't fix myself. If the air suspension acts up at all I will fit coilovers . Also I have bought a Auto Transmission cooler to fit to the front so I don't get the dreaded " water in the auto box " problem. That pretty much covers any likely troubles it will give me, but I don't expect it to be as near flawless as the LS400. I'll post a picture of it when I've finished claying and buffer polishing the paint. Paul

Sounds like you left a plug out on the back. I took the radio out of mine (2001 LS430) to try to fix the cd and left the plug off the bottom panel by mistake. This stopped the A/C from working and got me a warning message about checking that everything was plugged in. In the end I have opted to fit an I-pod adapter instead of using CDs. Paul

Super, thank you very much. Paul

HI, does anyone know if the front wings (fenders) unbolt ccompletely on a 1996 LS400. I see that there is a row of bolts along the top edge , but I don't know if any of it is welded. I want to remove the wing to respray it if possible. Thanks Paul