Ls400 - Steering - Power Tilt/telescopic

[steve-bedford]

Hi All,

The other day the steering wheel "parked" itself when removing the ignition key and has now stayed in the home position.

The "reach" function is working ok (ie in/out towards your chest), but the "up/down" function is not so it's now like driving a Mini Metro -

I took the car to a Lexus dealer and they confirmed that the electric steering motor needs replacing. They did admit that they had seen this fault several times before. I then took the car to a specialist, one of the guys who works there is an ex Toyota tech, he said that the Land Cruiser uses exactly the same mechanism and that he'd also seen this several times before. I could do without the £180 (ish) for the motor + 1.5 hours labour + VAT but it is something that simply has to be done. It's drivable but only just.

I just wondered if there is an alternative though..................does anyone know of another way of getting the steering wheel to the normal position? Then I could take the motor's fuse out when it's positioned correctly to stop it going back home. I suspect not but thought it was worth asking before I spend any more money on it.

All advice is very welcome!

Cheers,

Steve

[ChrisM]

I can't really help, but just wondered if there might be a problem with the memory, but if Lexus have had a look and said it is the motor, who are we to disagree. Must have gone through a lot of stopping and starting to have worn the motor out.

Chris.

[steve-bedford]

Thanks Chris - Whilst not a major fault on every vehicle it was something that both Lexus and Toyota are very familiar with (2 different people knew what it was straight away). Apparently the "gears" in the motor go. I'm surprised there aren't more people here that have encountered the problem to be honest.

It played up about 9 months ago (very juddery) then seemed to fix itself overnight and was perfect for 6 months before giving up the ghost. If I could just get the steering wheel to the correct position I'd be happy if it didn't move again. It seems unlikely I'm going to find a cheap solution though!

Any inspiration or creative thinking is very gratefully received!

[GoldfingerLS]

Hi Steve,

I agree this is a known issue with the motors. In fact there have been technical service bulletins and the old faulty part number 89231-50040 has been superseded with part no 89231-50041 (and possibly even again 89231-50050 more recently) for the Tilt motor. Part no 89232-50040 has been superseded with part no 89232-50041 for the Telescopic motor. This affects some 98+ LS400s and even LS430s.

The motors also stopped working on my 99' LS400. I got round it by opening up the cover under the steering wheel and taking out the motor and setting the thread screw adjustment to the correct height and putting the motor back in and disconnecting its power supply plug (which is nearby) so it doesnt mess up position again.

I have been trying to get round to fixing it, but havn't had the time. Since you mention it could be the gears inside i might just open it up and have a look.

[Chris Skelton]

Hi Steve,

I agree this is a known issue with the motors. In fact there have been technical service bulletins and the old faulty part number 89231-50040 has been superseded with part no 89231-50041 (and possibly even again 89231-50050 more recently) for the Tilt motor. Part no 89232-50040 has been superseded with part no 89232-50041 for the Telescopic motor. This affects some 98+ LS400s and even LS430s.

The motors also stopped working on my 99' LS400. I got round it by opening up the cover under the steering wheel and taking out the motor and setting the thread screw adjustment to the correct height and putting the motor back in and disconnecting its power supply plug (which is nearby) so it doesnt mess up position again.

I have been trying to get round to fixing it, but havn't had the time. Since you mention it could be the gears inside i might just open it up and have a look.

So the answer (for all of us whenever need arises?) is to get around to your house it seems! Ingenious! :winky:

[thermoacc]

I like this thread!...Just because it`s a mechanical operation that is not really needed (unless you are of the large shape), mine has been set and switched off since I had it. After reading this, glad I did. Just something else to go wrong on my old bus. The last thing I need at the mo is something else going wrong!!

[steve-bedford]

Hi Steve,

I agree this is a known issue with the motors. In fact there have been technical service bulletins and the old faulty part number 89231-50040 has been superseded with part no 89231-50041 (and possibly even again 89231-50050 more recently) for the Tilt motor. Part no 89232-50040 has been superseded with part no 89232-50041 for the Telescopic motor. This affects some 98+ LS400s and even LS430s.

The motors also stopped working on my 99' LS400. I got round it by opening up the cover under the steering wheel and taking out the motor and setting the thread screw adjustment to the correct height and putting the motor back in and disconnecting its power supply plug (which is nearby) so it doesnt mess up position again.

I have been trying to get round to fixing it, but havn't had the time. Since you mention it could be the gears inside i might just open it up and have a look.

Brilliant reply GoldfingerLS. I really appreciate you sharing this, thank you.

So in theory I should be able to adjust the steering wheel to the angle I want and then disconnect the electric motor. I'm on holiday this week so I'll take a look next. If I'm stuck and find I don't know what I'm doing (highly likely!!!!) then any chance I can give you a call please?

On a slightly separate note, I've been quoted 1.5 hours to change the motor. Does this sound excessive?

Thanks very much again.

Steve

[thermoacc]

Hi Steve,

What is the mileage on your 400?

[steve2006]

Diverting slightly I had to repair my front passenger door central locking a couple of weeks ago.I managed to get a series 3 door lock assy from benfur and although it was different mechanically I was able to swap over the defective motor and wondered if these are the same motors that drive the steering tilt.

The motor is something like you get in a model train.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e191/ste...816_33_0002.jpg

[steve-bedford]

Hi Steve,

What is the mileage on your 400?

It was registered in Jan 1999 to Lexus GB as a press car so it's had a lively past.

You can see it here in the hands of Auto Express............> http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/us...exus_ls400.html

Lexus also used the interior (with wood pack etc.) for some library pics - My car is pictures 7, 9, 10, 11 (possibly) and 12.

The lively cornering may well explain why the UCAs also need doing!!!!!

I only found these pictures the other day when searching for something else.

The mileage is 112k.

[steve-bedford]

I just Googled part number 89231-50050 to see how much the motor would be. I came across this website...> http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49783

On the basis that I get a "chirp" from my steering column when trying to tilt up/down makes me think that the motor is actually OK.

I'm going to take it apart, put it back together and will report back. I do hope it just needs a washer!!

[Monster-Mat]

following this with interest as a GS i picked up has the same issue with the steering wheel

[steve-bedford]

following this with interest as a GS i picked up has the same issue with the steering wheel

Mat,

Why don't you dismantle your steering column first and let us all know how you get on?

Not that I'm a chicken or anything! lol

[GoldfingerLS]

Chris - lol any time :)

Steve,

That is correct you can adjust the nut on the thread so the steering rests on the correct height again. I'll send you a pm with my number, your more than welcome to call for help and i can describe it to you from what I remember.

There are two motors; the tilt motor (which I refer to above) is very simple and straight forward to access. It would take 15 mins to change. So the 1.5 hours labour for that one alone seems excessive. As regards the telescopic motor I’ve not yet tried to take it out, but it looks like a right pain in the neck to get to it and it might much longer because it looks more fiddly.

Mat,

Which year is your GS ? because the earlier LS cars (pre '95) had a different problem with the mechanism where a plastic gear got out of sync and it needs packing behind it to line it up with the thread again. The earlier GS cars may also have the same issue. It is covered on this post:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...ic=4237&hl=

If it is a later GS (98 onwards) it may be the same issue we are experiencing here. If you have access to the Toyota EPC You might want to check if your car uses the same part no mentioned above for the tilt motor.

[steve-bedford]

*** UPDATE ***

Hi All,

With many thanks to GoldfingerLS for the technical bulletin, today I disconnected the power to the tilt motor, removed it, greased the threads and put it all back together again (total 10 minute job with the right tools - crosshead screwdriver & a 6mm hex key).

It's working perfectly again (I just hope it stays that way) - I've very very happy indeed!

I'm glad I didn't replace the whole steering column at a cost of £800-£900 as suggested by my local garage or the tilt motor (£200 + labour + VAT) as suggested by my local Lexus centre.

Thanks to all of you (especially GoldfingerLS) for your input.

Cheers,

Steve

[steve2006]

Just out of curiosity did the motor look anything like the one I posted the link for earlier in the topic?

[steve-bedford]

Just out of curiosity did the motor look anything like the one I posted the link for earlier in the topic?

Hi Steve,

It's broadly the same principle but quite a bit larger (4inx 3in approx?) and appears to be quite heavy duty with a very thick thread. It's easy enough to get to, I'll take some pics and post them.

Cheers,

Steve

[Walter Nicholas]

I can't really help, but just wondered if there might be a problem with the memory, but if Lexus have had a look and said it is the motor, who are we to disagree. Must have gone through a lot of stopping and starting to have worn the motor out.

Chris.

I haven't read all of the threads on this yet; but wanted to say how I got my column into the down position without taking the motor off.

1. I took off the column covering. Then

2. Used a screw driver and stuck it on the tilt motor gear on the inside, and forced it counterclockwise a fractional turn until it stopped. Then

3. I used the tilt button and it actually grabbed the gear and dropped the column to where I had forced the gear. Prior to forcing the gear counterclockwise

the motor would not engage the gear downward. Not sure if it is partially stripped or just worn out.

4. Repeat step 3 over and over about 7 - 10 times until the column is in the desired position...for me it was at the bottom. Then

5. On the left side of the column I disconnected the tilt motor. You will see the connector right on the outside of the motor.

6. Put the column covering back on.

That's all I did. It only took 10 minutes total and the steering column is permanently in the down position where I want it; and the telescoping still works.

[dormicum]

i got the same problem here on my 99 LS400 in hong kong as well

i tried to removed the cover for the steering column but cannot distingusih the motor that you guys mention

can anyone in here can give me some foto to figure it out and show me how to extract/ test the motor is working or not?????

many thanks!!!