Ls430 Drivers Door Dropped

[ScottC]

Hi

I have been looking at a 2005 LS430 and I noticed that the drivers door seemed to be a tiny bit lower than the rear door. There was a small but noticeable step, maybe 4mm, between the levels of the chrome trims at the bottom of the windows. On the passenger side of the car the chrome trim matched perfectly.

I guess it is just wear and tear on the drivers door hinges, they are very heavy doors after all, but as the car has soft closing doors I wondered if it Is something that needs to be adjusted?

ScottC

[steve2006]

I've never heard of this problem before,the hinges are very robust in design and are very securely mounted to the doors and frame.

I would imagine you could swing on the outer edge of the doors and still nothing would move.

Check for accident damage,maybe the door has been removed in the past for repairs but not correctly aligned.

4mm on a Lexus is not acceptable and needs further investigation,if in any doubt walk away.

[Bluesman]

Agree with Steve, walk away. Mike

[ScottC]

Hi

I have looked at the photos I took of the vehicle and all the shut lines look spot on, I am begining to think it is something to do with the trim itself maybe compressed a little at one end.

The 430 is such a lovely car for the money and my LS400 is 21 years old now and due for retirement !

Scott

[Bluesman]

Might be worth checking with the HPI type companies to see if anything is registered against the car. Mike

[messi]

The ls430 is a very nice car, but not as reliable as the ls400, beware of the air suspension failing, that's dealer only part, vsv valve, £600 job but the part itself costs £58, rear doors locking shut and won't open from inside or outside, and the rest is usual wear and tear

[steve2006]

Perhaps following the comments made above by Messi the door decided to jam shut and an attempt has been made to get it opened hence the trim damage.

If you do go back make sure the door actually opens :)

[Jake430]

My door has dropped about 2-3 mm so I am interested in what you find . As Messi said quailty is not a 430 strong point.

[9690phil]

Hi. My drivers door very slight out of line. Ive noticed this on a couple mine all hpi clear so not down to damage.

[steve2006]

That's why there are so few LS400 IV models around for sale :)

LS430 owners having to replace their rear exhaust boxes when my stainless steel ones are original at 20 years old,leaking alloy AC pipes at the rear,door misalignment,VSV valve failure,steering wheel position motors failing,air suspension faults, enough said.

[ScottC]

Hi

I got myself a 430 last Friday and I must say it is a lovely car, completely different to the 1993

MK2 400 that I had for 13 years. Can't speak for the build quality at the moment but nothing has

fallen off yet !

Scrapped the 400 still going strong with about 8 months MOT still on it, unfortunately it just wasn't worth anything :-(

[cruisermark]

mines 04 plate with 115k and no signs of mis-alignment

[Malc]

Do Ls400 owners even think about door misalignment !!!!

My Mk3 1995 is 18.5 years and 158,000 miles old and I can't see any door misalignment either :outforcount:

Malc

[Bluesman]

Do Ls400 owners even think about door misalignment !!!!

My Mk3 1995 is 18.5 years and 158,000 miles old and I can't see any door misalignment either :outforcount:

Malc

I think its like everything if you know its there you can see it no matter how small and it just annoys you. Mike

[Cotswold Pete]

Do Ls400 owners even think about door misalignment !!!!

My Mk3 1995 is 18.5 years and 158,000 miles old and I can't see any door misalignment either :outforcount:

Malc

We do, my driver door is about 1.5mm out, no accident damage, and I think it shows due to everything else being in line etc. Previous Mk2, door trims were spot on, but noticed slight misalignment of internal door trim which stuck out like a sore thumb, but only I noticed it

Having said all of this just about all of my cars previous to LS had out many little detail faults and I assume a 15 year old Vauxhall would not be looking as neat and tidy as an LS w

I really ought to get my driver door sorted, but there always other things more important to be getting on with.

[Jake430]

Has anyone fixed this fault.

[ambermarine]

The problem with having a motto " In pursuit of Perfection" sets a standard for all the Lexus owners and we by our choice of Lexus Cars are fastidious.

I check my mark4 every time I go to the garage to see any blemishes or marks that may have appeared since I last looked because when I bought it two years ago it did'nt have a mark on it I've done 5k since then and mainly motorway so it as aquired a couple of stone chips and marks on the screen .

I can understand why the door issue would trouble the owner as their main concern would be "is it going to get worse and if so can I sort it".

The Mark 1 I had did have a slight drop in the drivers door during 22 years evidenced by the scrape mark on the chrome inset on the cill which first appeared when it was about 8 years old but it did'nt require attention and closed properly so did'nt get much worse in 14 years and lets say 100k miles

I have no idea if the the hinge is adjustable on the 430 but I never attempted to loosen the bolts on the Mark1 for fear of knocking the door totally out of sync .Some thing are better lived with than sorted.