Some Re-Assurance Please

[volvo2lexus]

Being ever the pessimist I am hoping that I can get some re-assurance from some of the more experienced people on here as I have been reading up on problems and potential problems that could arise with my 400 which I have had for 3 months now and which I bought and believe it was a good deal.

Condition - excellent apart from a couple of minor scuffs.

1998/S

Mileage - 189000

Background - 17 services stamped up. Cambelt changed at about 130,000m in 2008. I've had the osf wheel bearing done (official Lexus part) and also had the oil changed as well as the front brakes and discs back in September when I bought it. My worries are:

Timing belt - when should I look at doing it again?

Water pump - can't find any record of this being replaced yet. I spoke to the garage who serviced this vehicle every few months - the garage owner knew it well. It spent most of its life on the motorway. However, he was pretty sure that they never changed the water pump on it. Should I think about doing the recommended combination of timing belt/water pump or wait until the pump fails?

Dash display - All is working fine but it looks like it could be a bit of a job fixing it if/when it goes. Since reading up on dash problems I have now dimmed the display to hopefully give it some longer life. Or am I worrying unnecessarily and should I leave it at normal (maximum) brightness?

MOT advisories

2007 at about 103000m - NSF suspension arm - slight play in ball joint

2008 at about 138000 brake pipe slightly corroded at rear

2008 at about 162000 nsf and osf suspension arm rubber mounting deteriorated but no excessive movement.

Should I wait until I start getting strange sounds? At the moment the car drives pretty much perfectly - it starts up within a couple of spins of the starter, it warms up quickly, there are no leaks, it tracks straight on the motorway, the brakes are strong - it will idle smoothly all day long if left running.

Quick question also - what is the purpose of the 'second' set of lights next to the fog lights? Are they supposed to come on because mine don't?

Also my headlamp washer doesn't work. No noise, maybe the motor has burnt out.

My remote control seems to be failing every now and then. The red light sometimes takes half a dozen presses to come on but does eventually work. Changing the Battery for a new one doesn't help the problem - dealer reckons if a new Battery doesn't solve it he may need to get a new key programmed at a cost of around £150.

Control arms - what are the symptoms of failing control arms and should I get them done anyway? How much should I pay?

I really like the car and am keen to keep it. Would you be comfortable given the above mileage and other info?

cheers

[ROYT]

Being ever the pessimist I am hoping that I can get some re-assurance from some of the more experienced people on here as I have been reading up on problems and potential problems that could arise with my 400 which I have had for 3 months now and which I bought and believe it was a good deal.

Condition - excellent apart from a couple of minor scuffs.

1998/S

Mileage - 189000

Background - 17 services stamped up. Cambelt changed at about 130,000m in 2008. I've had the osf wheel bearing done (official Lexus part) and also had the oil changed as well as the front brakes and discs back in September when I bought it. My worries are:

Timing belt - when should I look at doing it again?

Water pump - can't find any record of this being replaced yet. I spoke to the garage who serviced this vehicle every few months - the garage owner knew it well. It spent most of its life on the motorway. However, he was pretty sure that they never changed the water pump on it. Should I think about doing the recommended combination of timing belt/water pump or wait until the pump fails?

Dash display - All is working fine but it looks like it could be a bit of a job fixing it if/when it goes. Since reading up on dash problems I have now dimmed the display to hopefully give it some longer life. Or am I worrying unnecessarily and should I leave it at normal (maximum) brightness?

MOT advisories

2007 at about 103000m - NSF suspension arm - slight play in ball joint

2008 at about 138000 brake pipe slightly corroded at rear

2008 at about 162000 nsf and osf suspension arm rubber mounting deteriorated but no excessive movement.

Should I wait until I start getting strange sounds? At the moment the car drives pretty much perfectly - it starts up within a couple of spins of the starter, it warms up quickly, there are no leaks, it tracks straight on the motorway, the brakes are strong - it will idle smoothly all day long if left running.

Quick question also - what is the purpose of the 'second' set of lights next to the fog lights? Are they supposed to come on because mine don't?

Also my headlamp washer doesn't work. No noise, maybe the motor has burnt out.

My remote control seems to be failing every now and then. The red light sometimes takes half a dozen presses to come on but does eventually work. Changing the battery for a new one doesn't help the problem - dealer reckons if a new battery doesn't solve it he may need to get a new key programmed at a cost of around £150.

Control arms - what are the symptoms of failing control arms and should I get them done anyway? How much should I pay?

I really like the car and am keen to keep it. Would you be comfortable given the above mileage and other info?

cheers

If its like mine the headlight wash only works with the windscreen wipers on.

The rest of it,worry about it next summer.

If key fob fails, live without it or pay, i live without it!

[Malc]

Not properly run in then is it !

Worry not, the cambelt will last for ages yet and the waterpump should to.

De-stress ....................

Use the car as much as you can and see what Advisories u get on the next MOT.

Don't think the dashlights are ever a problem on other than the 93 / 94 cars ..... and I had mine fixed by ChrisVince on here........... £75.

Just ENJOY your wonderful motoring.

Malc

[SteveLS400]

See my comments below

Being ever the pessimist I am hoping that I can get some re-assurance from some of the more experienced people on here as I have been reading up on problems and potential problems that could arise with my 400 which I have had for 3 months now and which I bought and believe it was a good deal.

Condition - excellent apart from a couple of minor scuffs.

1998/S

Mileage - 189000

Background - 17 services stamped up. Cambelt changed at about 130,000m in 2008. I've had the osf wheel bearing done (official Lexus part) and also had the oil changed as well as the front brakes and discs back in September when I bought it. My worries are:

Timing belt - when should I look at doing it again? 100000 miles since last change.

Water pump - can't find any record of this being replaced yet. I spoke to the garage who serviced this vehicle every few months - the garage owner knew it well. It spent most of its life on the motorway. However, he was pretty sure that they never changed the water pump on it. Should I think about doing the recommended combination of timing belt/water pump or wait until the pump fails? Do it when you next change the belt, or change the belt if the pump goes in the meantime. Mines done 190k on the same pump.

Dash display - All is working fine but it looks like it could be a bit of a job fixing it if/when it goes. Since reading up on dash problems I have now dimmed the display to hopefully give it some longer life. Or am I worrying unnecessarily and should I leave it at normal (maximum) brightness? You are worrying too much; the problems with dash display mainly affect the earlier MK's

MOT advisories

2007 at about 103000m - NSF suspension arm - slight play in ball joint

2008 at about 138000 brake pipe slightly corroded at rear

2008 at about 162000 nsf and osf suspension arm rubber mounting deteriorated but no excessive movement.

Should I wait until I start getting strange sounds? At the moment the car drives pretty much perfectly - it starts up within a couple of spins of the starter, it warms up quickly, there are no leaks, it tracks straight on the motorway, the brakes are strong - it will idle smoothly all day long if left running. Leave well alone

Quick question also - what is the purpose of the 'second' set of lights next to the fog lights? Are they supposed to come on because mine don't? They do nothing in this country

Also my headlamp washer doesn't work. No noise, maybe the motor has burnt out. A recent post discussed this, but headlights do need to be on 1st.

My remote control seems to be failing every now and then. The red light sometimes takes half a dozen presses to come on but does eventually work. Changing the battery for a new one doesn't help the problem - dealer reckons if a new battery doesn't solve it he may need to get a new key programmed at a cost of around £150. The unit is tired. Spend the money if you can't live with the inconvenience of having to press it a couple of times.

Control arms - what are the symptoms of failing control arms and should I get them done anyway? How much should I pay? If these aint broken, don't fix em.

I really like the car and am keen to keep it. Would you be comfortable given the above mileage and other info? Yup, very comfortable.

cheers

[The-Acre]

Being ever the pessimist I am hoping that I can get some re-assurance from some of the more experienced people on here as I have been reading up on problems and potential problems that could arise with my 400 which I have had for 3 months now and which I bought and believe it was a good deal.

Condition - excellent apart from a couple of minor scuffs.

1998/S

Mileage - 189000

Background - 17 services stamped up. Cambelt changed at about 130,000m in 2008. I've had the osf wheel bearing done (official Lexus part) and also had the oil changed as well as the front brakes and discs back in September when I bought it. My worries are:

Timing belt - when should I look at doing it again?

Water pump - can't find any record of this being replaced yet. I spoke to the garage who serviced this vehicle every few months - the garage owner knew it well. It spent most of its life on the motorway. However, he was pretty sure that they never changed the water pump on it. Should I think about doing the recommended combination of timing belt/water pump or wait until the pump fails?

Dash display - All is working fine but it looks like it could be a bit of a job fixing it if/when it goes. Since reading up on dash problems I have now dimmed the display to hopefully give it some longer life. Or am I worrying unnecessarily and should I leave it at normal (maximum) brightness?

MOT advisories

2007 at about 103000m - NSF suspension arm - slight play in ball joint

2008 at about 138000 brake pipe slightly corroded at rear

2008 at about 162000 nsf and osf suspension arm rubber mounting deteriorated but no excessive movement.

Should I wait until I start getting strange sounds? At the moment the car drives pretty much perfectly - it starts up within a couple of spins of the starter, it warms up quickly, there are no leaks, it tracks straight on the motorway, the brakes are strong - it will idle smoothly all day long if left running.

Quick question also - what is the purpose of the 'second' set of lights next to the fog lights? Are they supposed to come on because mine don't?

Also my headlamp washer doesn't work. No noise, maybe the motor has burnt out.

My remote control seems to be failing every now and then. The red light sometimes takes half a dozen presses to come on but does eventually work. Changing the battery for a new one doesn't help the problem - dealer reckons if a new battery doesn't solve it he may need to get a new key programmed at a cost of around £150.

Control arms - what are the symptoms of failing control arms and should I get them done anyway? How much should I pay?

I really like the car and am keen to keep it. Would you be comfortable given the above mileage and other info?

cheers

I had the same thoughts when I bought my LS in 2007. It was 14 years old with 109,000 on the clock. I thought I would keep it for a year if I'm lucky. I've now had it over 3 years and I use it daily. 17 years old now and still the most reliable car I've ever had. Repair bills (apart from new front discs and rear tyres) have come to less than £5!! That's due to the great info found here. Power steering pump repaired for less than £3 and instrument lights (which you mention) 20p (helped by a friend with a steady hand and quality soldering iron) Take the others advice and just enjoy it.

[Swindon Andy]

All good advice, particularly to change the water pump next cambelt change. They aren't particularly costly, and the V8 has been known to suffer greatly if the coolant overheats or disappears.

[mike213735]

I have a '98 LS400 with 213,000 on the clock and it drives like a car with 10k on it.

I too had a couple of suspension related advisories for the MOT, but I'll leave it till they fail next year...if they do?

The most reliable well built car I've ever owned and I thought my 7 series BMW's were good....

Mike

[Nitmoi]

They just keep going thank heavens.

[passman53]

Hi,

I agree with the other replies, nothing that would cause me any great concern at present.

However the cambelt on the LS400 is due to be changed at 63K/7 years according to the handbooks of the ones I have owned. The interval was extended to 100K on the 430.

Pete

[volvo2lexus]

Chaps - many thanks for your replies. I feel a bit more comfortable now. On the subject of cambelt - if the service interval is 63k rather than 100k then I guess I should look at getting that done in the next few thousand miles, in which case I might as well sort out the waterpump too.

[SteveLS400]

Chaps - many thanks for your replies. I feel a bit more comfortable now. On the subject of cambelt - if the service interval is 63k rather than 100k then I guess I should look at getting that done in the next few thousand miles, in which case I might as well sort out the waterpump too.

Have a search on here to satisfy yourself regarding the cambelt as it has been changed to 100k.

[Malc]

Chaps - many thanks for your replies. I feel a bit more comfortable now. On the subject of cambelt - if the service interval is 63k rather than 100k then I guess I should look at getting that done in the next few thousand miles, in which case I might as well sort out the waterpump too.

Have a search on here to satisfy yourself regarding the cambelt as it has been changed to 100k.

Steve, guys, I would like a definitive answer on this too please.

There seems to be some contention with this; the Lexus chap who writes on here sometimes ............... would you know the definitive answer and also, what the risks really are if the mileage / time limit are exceeded.

Thanks.

Malc

[SteveLS400]

Chaps - many thanks for your replies. I feel a bit more comfortable now. On the subject of cambelt - if the service interval is 63k rather than 100k then I guess I should look at getting that done in the next few thousand miles, in which case I might as well sort out the waterpump too.

Have a search on here to satisfy yourself regarding the cambelt as it has been changed to 100k.

Steve, guys, I would like a definitive answer on this too please.

There seems to be some contention with this; the Lexus chap who writes on here sometimes ............... would you know the definitive answer and also, what the risks really are if the mileage / time limit are exceeded.

Thanks.

Malc

See this link which discusses the issue at length http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=65633&st=0&p=711799&hl=+cam%20+belt%20+change&fromsearch=1entry711799

[Malc]

Seems like all cars are cambelt change at 100k miles and / or 10 years.

Mine was last done in 2004 at 3102 miles

Now done 37500 miles and I guess I'll have it done whatever in 2014.

Malc

[volvo2lexus]

A lot of mixed response in that previous thread too. Seems like no-one really knows of any major issues with cambelts going which is good to hear. I read on a forum (can't remember which one) that apparently Lexus have never had to replace a gearbox on the LS400. If that's true then that really is amazing. Cambelt - 60'000 miles means that I'm due to get it changed shortly, 100,000 miles sounds better though! I saw a post on that link that Steve provided saying that on the MK1V it's 100,000 miles so I'll go with Steve's earlier response.

I wonder - has anyone ever had to replace their HID headlamps at all? They could be expensive.

[mike213735]

Yes,

Lexus have said that they have NEVER supplied a replacement gearbox for the LS400.

Mike