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New Ls400 Owner - Hello And A Couple Of Questions!


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Good evening all,

I hope you don't mind me joining what appears to be a great forum! After a long time looking, I have today acquired a 1999 V MK4 in Fjord Mist with black leather. 154k miles, nearly full history (but serviced recently and cambelt done), everything works except the nav, which I'm not bothered about (have a TomTom), and the interior looks hardly sat in. Bit of a scuff on the front bumper, few scratches here and there, otherwise very decent. It's got 12 months MOT and 4 new tyres.

Drives great. Doesn't handle particularly, but that's not the point. Cracking stereo and near-silent engine for maximum waft factor, but you all know that of course. Even shifts pretty well for an old boat. Suspension feels possibly a tiny bit tired, but overall it feels incredibly solid and well put together. Very pleased so far!

If you don't mind, I've got a couple of questions:

  1. There's moisture in the spare wheel well. Not a lot, but it smells a bit musty and iis wet to the touch. What can that be and how can I cure it?
  2. There's a bit of rust around the rubber boot lip - possibly related to the above point, but has anyone goot any idea what this might cost to have fixed?
  3. The front cupholder won't pop up when, which, according to the manual, it should - is it knackkered or is this a common thing?
  4. The front suspension seems a little bit crashy over sharp bumps and ridges. Is this liely to be a falt or just tired bushes? If the latter, are they expensive to replace?
  5. Last but not least, can you recommend a good Lexus independent in the Milton Keynes area?

Er, that's all. I hope these questions aren't too obvious, and look forward to taking part in the general LS discussions!

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Hello, and welcome to the LOC!

Cant really comment on your faults as I have a Mk1, but you should find many on here that can help. As for the front suspension, the only way to tell is to go underneath with a pry bar and see what parts have excessive movement. The common cause on the front is the upper control arm balljoint/bushes. There are some good deals on these parts on eBay and the like, so the nornally quoted £250+ should not scare you too much!

Again, welcome to LOC!

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Hi and welcome,

I have a 1999 LS400 with DHP

1) I had exactly the same. Take everything out of the boot on a nice day (if we get one!) and let it dry out. It's worth taking the rear light clusters out (see the instruction manual on how to change the brake light bulbs) and when putting them back ensure they are a very tight fit. Water can often get in here.

2) How bad is it? Maybe a bad accident repair? Maybe just surface corrosion? Maybe worth you getting a second opinion

3) Not common I don't think - Not heard of it before. Someone else may have a view here?

4) Mine does too. I spent a fortune replacing upper & lower control arms and the rubber bushes (all common faults as it's a big, heavy bus) - In all honesty it doesn't feel that much different and I get the odd "crash" over bumps and potholes. I suspect the front springs and / or shock are a bit tired. It has lot of weight to carry about.

5) Lexus MK are pretty good but pricey. I have a good independent that services all makes but a couple of the staff were from the local Toyota garage and have good experience (a lot of it gained through doing work on mine!!) - Would you travel to Bedford?

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Hi

water leaks in over the seal , remove it clean it run a bead of silicone around the outer metal lip, replace the seal & it should be leak free for a few years.

knocks from the front could also be rattleing brake pads, if not its front suspension, get a pre mot check at lexus to find out which parts you need to replace .

good luck Mark

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Hi again,

Thanks for the replies so far, that's really useful. I've emptied the boot today, taken everything out including the lining, and am currently drying it all out. There are two round rubber grommet thingies at the bottom of the spare wheel well, one of which ahs a hole in it, so I'm guessing that that's the culprit. I've bodged it with some masking tape for now and we'll see what happens.

Other problems are less of an issue, but I've discovered one today that is - juddering under heavy braking. From reading up on the forum this is a common fault, and my front discs do indeed look at bit worn, so I may have to change them. Bit annoyed with myself for not noticing on the test drive, as I could have got another couple hundred off, but hey ho.

Garage in Bedford sounds good, I'll try a local mechanic who has worked on my myriad Saabs over the years first and see how I get on with that. Official Lexuus servicing is something I'll look into, but I'm pretty sure it'll be prohibiti vely expensive, even if it is convenient!

Last but not least, here are a few photos from today - looks pretty good!

IMG_4057.jpg

IMG_4060.jpg

IMG_4058.jpg

IMG_4059.jpg

IMG_4064.jpg

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Car looks great. Mint for 154k. Well done.

When I had a 1999 LS400 I had damp problems in the boot.

Never could find how the water was getting in.

I took everything out, dried it in the sunshine for a day, then drilled a couple of little holes from the inside out, of the wheel well, to let the water out, if it gathered again.

The boot then stayed perfectly dry for ever more, even though it rains every day in Ireland.

You'd want to be brave to drill a hole in the boot of your Lexus!

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New Seal fixed mine £60 they go soft after a few years.

I tried the silicone and cling film to stop it sticking but it did not work for me.

Someone found it getting in behind the tail light clusters.

Others have noticed blocked drain lines from the "moon roof" overflowing.

I think the grommets are supposed to have holes in them to drain.

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Hi

normaly the seal is ok, the metal lip unde the seal is a bad design (water gets sucked over it) the water runs in at the bottom of the lights where the panels join, the bungs in the boot don't have holes (someone has done that to drain the water) at least 1 in 3 of the cars I looked at had the same problem when i bought mine (mine included) I removed the seal cleaned it & siliconed the lip, replaced the seal & now it is perfect. if not its a new seal. nice looking ls one of the best colour combinations, good luck Mark

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True that is cheaper it may even be less prone to getting squashed as the lid has to be really well pushed to close. The Lexus one is a one piece with no joint though and appeared to be contoured to fit in one position only.

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Thanks again for all the replies! I'l look into the seal, might as well get it done with the right part unless it's going to cost a fortune. There's a bit oof surface rust around part of the lip as well, so it's obviously a weak spot.

Brakes getting sorted tomorrow hopefully, fingers crossed it won't break the bank completely!

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