Ls430 Towbar

Thunderchild · July 13, 2011

Hi Guys,

I've searched all over but can't find anyone who can supply a towbar for my 2002 LS430. Has anyone on here managed to fit one and if so can you share the details please.

Tc

mikesands · July 13, 2011

Had the same problem with my LS430 2001. The independents have stopped making them. Lexus still stock them though, and you can save money by buying just the towbar and getting a professional towbar company to fit it. Also if you are not going to be towing close to the car's limit (2000kg I think), then you might want to ignore the advice about special oil cooler being needed. I think that in the end I was going to be able to get it done for £500 whereas the Lexus quote for supply and fit was more than £2k. Haven't got it done yet as I'm not quite old enough to buy the caravan yet. :-)

Mike

John N · July 13, 2011

Hi Guys,

I've searched all over but can't find anyone who can supply a towbar for my 2002 LS430. Has anyone on here managed to fit one and if so can you share the details please.

Tc

I fitted a tow bar to my LS430 in 2009 in order to tow a 1.5 tonne caravan.

You can only legally fit a 'type approved' tow bar to a 2002 car, and after a long search the only one I could find was the genuine Lexus one. It is made for them by Brink, but Brink will not supply them directly, you have to buy it from Lexus.

The part number is LPZ408-F1550-00 and in 2009 the list price was £399-69p + vat. The spares Dept. at Lexus Manchester gave me a 10% discount. Ask for a copy of the installation instructions.

I fitted it myself with the help of a friend. With the back of the car up on ramps it took us 3 hours, very straight forward, just nuts and bolts, a saw to cut a notch out of the bumper and tin snips to trim the exhaust heat shields. You also have to remove a blanking plate behind the front grill to increase the air flow to the radiator.

I then bought a trailer/caravan wiring kit from a local towing centre for £75. That also took about 3 hours to fit, you can pick up the power supply from under the left hand side of the boot floor (below the tool kit) there is an electrical box with a direct 80 amp feed from the Battery. Use that instead of wiring back to the Battery.

When I started towing the caravan I found the gearbox showing signs of overheating so I fitted a transmission cooler from Kenlowe which cost £126. http://www.kenlowe.com/oil-coolers/automatic/index.html

Also easy to fit, but the total cost of adapting the car to tow the caravan came to £620 even doing all the work myself.

The good news is it's the best towcar I've ever had.

John N

Thunderchild · July 13, 2011

Hi Guys,

Many thanks for the advice. I'm not going to be towing anything like the limit. Just need it to tow the bike trailer (getting too old to be running up and down motorways for hours on end)

I guess it's a visit to Lexus at the weekend. Thanks once again.

Tc