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Friend sent me this link. Get your smug faces out now? https://www.motoringresearch.com/car-news/features/lexus-ls-400-review/ For me-memories. Have stopped driving further than 30 miles now. Lots of memories though.

Hi All I purchased my first ever Lexus LS400 in Dec'18. Been browsing these for a while and I've always loved the 90's Japanese styling! Finally decided to buy one and absolutely love it! Super smooth and soo much luxury! Just thought I'd introduce myself and hope to share happy moments with you all 😄 Some pics attached - its completely stock and have some plans for new wheels and coilovers soon. Look forwarding to speak to you LS400 enthusiast and get some ideas/tips! Jav

I am sure he will be very happy with it. Our RX350 is now 13 years old (5 with us) and apart from replacing the rear levelling sensor ( cost £80) it has needed nothing apart from routine servicing. A joy to drive and very safe. It replaced an imported Toyota Surf which we had for 12 years and served us very well. The Lexus is a lot nicer!

Owned a (silver) Soarer back in the day. 4L Limited. Lovely car. Almost cried the day it 'went to live on a farm'.

So for now, seeing as I got fook all done today aside from lifting valve covers I shall play “Thread Catchup” and get up some more pics from the last 4 weeks! Hopefully tomorrow I shall get to rotate the engine and check clearances etc. For now though PICS!!!

Hi folks, New to the site, have a 1JZ-GTE Soarer with auto trans, was a garden find that had been sitting 11 years!! She was covered in moss top and sides, which seems to have preserved the paint and stopped her from developing any rust. Underneath is also in excellent condition. I bought it as a non start and it was stuck in "P". The guy used it to tow his small 13ft sail boat, so needless to say it has a tow bar. 🤣 I eventually got it out of "P" in his driveway the morning the tow truck came (happy days), got it home and spent 4 hours washing it and it easily needs another hour or two spent on washing. I got a new battery for it, whipped off the timing belt cover to see a new Toyota T/Belt in place, however it has been there 11 years!!!. Once the battery was installed I turned ignition on to reveal a very low lit dash board. I cycled the ignition on and off a few times and with each time the dash started to brighten, a battery stabilization unit was put on and ignition was left on then for a while which seemed to help the electric start to function again. The following day I after leaving it on power for the night I rotated the engine by hand to make sure it wasn't seized then I cranked it over, although it had a very healthy turn over she would not fire (time to get out the multimeters and probes i guess😁). The fuel pump was not working at all, the alternator rectifier was shot and the FPC module was erratic at best. So with that a plan was made to remove and have the alternator reconditioned, a new AEM 380Lph fuel pump was ordered along with new Denso spark plugs, engine oil, oil filter and coolant. Parts arrived Friday just gone, so it was a fun filled weekend with one mission, to get her started!!. I flushed the rad out, which was pretty filthy it must be said, refitted the alternator and also the Denso plugs, then went about installing the new AEM 380lph fuel pump. There was a 1/4 of a tank of old fuel in her, I took some out and set it alight to see how quickly it would ignite. It ignited no problem so put everything back together, filled it up with coolant and cranked it over..... BOOM....1st turn of the key she sprung to life and idled very sweetly for 2 hours without issue. I then turned it off as it was getting late, i decided to make sure she would fire back up again, but when I went to turn it over it would not fire. So quick trip to diagnosis port to bridge "Fp & B+" terminals and then turn ignition on, pump kicked in and she fired up no problem at all. So left it at that as I knew where I was going hunting to find the issue on Sunday morning. Needles to say after some testing as suspected all along the FPC module was also passed its sell by date. So that pretty mucg brings me upto date so far. A new FPC module has been ordered as I like my cars to be right, I know I could bypass it and all that but I would rather it functioned as it should just in case. The list on this girly is going to be BIIIGGG!!!!! as expected for a car sitting outside idle for 11 years. But for now....I'm happy out with the progress 😉

This https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283338668593?ul_noapp=true if you're REALLY serious! Plus there're a couple more on eBay currently. I'm wondering about a V8/auto one -if there are any good ones left... For cruising, NOT drifting!

More details here -

As it was feeling a bit like Spring today, I decided to tackle my filthy NX which has a GTechniq ceramic coat applied. She hadn't been cleaned for a month, and was caked in mud from the rural lanes where I live. I knew I was in for a session rather than a quick maintenance wash. 1. Bilt-Hamber snow foam (using Nilfisk pressure washer) 2. Decontamination using CarPro TriX 3. Body wash using Bilt-Hamber auto wash (wheels with Bilt-Hamber Auto-Wheel) Once dry... 4. Water spots removed using FSE 5. Layer of Bilt-Hamber Double Speed wax applied 6. c2v3 applied to finish 7. Wheels finished with Bouncers Looking Sweet 8. Glass finished with Bouncers Look Sharp 9. Tyres finished with Bouncers Dress to Impress 10. All door shuts and under bonnet washed and finished with c2v3 11. Exterior plastics maintained using Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel 12. Finally, a few small stone chips were touched in. My neighbours think I'm insane, but admit the car is looking pretty good, even though the sun has gone in...☹️

I am really strugling with an electrical problem,can anyone point me in the right direction to a list of modules and there location.My car is a 1993 ls400,i would be greatful for any info.Cheers.

I wonder whether someone might have an answer to a question - is it possible to turn the sat nav route direction around by 180 degrees ? I have always used after-market Garmin sat navs and the map route direction is orientated from bottom to top so the the car icon is always moving in an upward direction, also meaning that the direction is logical and you are moving towards the horizon. In the IS 300h the nav screen is always moving from the top of the screen to the bottom, which to my mind is illogical. It makes it look as if the car icon is showing where I have come from, rather than showing where I am going. If you read a normal paper map you would normally read the direction from top to bottom, even if you turn the map up-side-down. Any answers would be appreciated because I keep the the Garmin on the windscreen because it is easier to read and understand. I would like to be able to rely on the car sat nav but I can't. Parkman.

Satnav saved our marriage. We are both rubbish navigators. Many moons ago we followed a route on a map in Scotland in a loan Mercedes. Unfortunately after about 10 miles it turned into an unsurfaced footpath requiring extreme reversing skills. 😂

Setting to "car always moving up the screen" allows one to easily correlate left and right turns/junctions etc. seen on the map to what one sees out the window.

You have as option to see map with north always "up" and car arrow pointing toward the direction it's moving, another choice is seeing map like in a paper map or in some perspective. The switch between options is made clicking over compass button in screen.

I would bin both of those (or keep for a different car if you have more than one in the household) and use whatever is recommended in the manual, which may possibly be Toyota Super Long Life Pink (which is what our RX300 had). I have no qualms about buying things such as batteries, wipers, exhausts, tyres etc., etc., from other sources but with any fluids I always stick to the recommended one because you just cannot be sure of the exact chemical component blends. Any system that carries fluids will also have rubber (or other material) seals and just one wrong chemical could attack these seals, causing leaks and untold damage further down the line. In my opinion it's just not worth it to save a few quid.

Bills in the post 😉

That's Interesting but hasn't really been my experience of buying cars for the last decade or so and trawling the dealerships.Lexus rarely move on screen price either on a straight cash deal but you will often find a finance incentive and if there isn't one they will go out of their way to find one (even if it isn't officially listed as such) I'm a cash buyer but finance is king nowadays. I've secured much better discounts by opting for their finance then screwing them down on the deal or part ex. I then pay the finance off as soon as I can and usually within the cooling off period. The finance route will open magical doors for you,they would rather you take out finance than pay in cash and that's where the Incentives tend to be on negotiation.

The engine and transmission coolant ( Toyota SLLC ) change should be done at 120,000 miles or ten years, and the every 50,000 miles there after. There is no recommended transmission oil change. It has been found on the US Prius Chat forum through oil annalist that the oil at 30,000 miles contains much gear ware in metal contamination, and it is suggested to change the oil at that millage, and then every 50,000 miles because the oil looses 25% of it's viscosity. This seems sensible to safeguard the transmission without breaking the bank. The electric motors are cooled by the oil and run at high voltages "around 600 VDC". It is therefore not desirable to have oil that becomes conductive. Oil becomes acidic when continually heated and cooled. The reason why the oil in high voltage transformers on the electrical supply grid is checked regularly for acid contamination. John.

Yes I'll be there.... 👏

Well, I’ve bit the bullet and ordered one today. A luxury with premier pack. I would’ve had a F-Sport but there’s no way I’m paying £500/yr to tax it. Wanted one fairly soon to preserve the trade in value of my car, so they found one in the UK. It was a three month wait for a factory order and they estimated I’d lose another £3-400 on p/x figure. The dealer thinks it may have the protection pack, but aren’t sure so I’ll be getting that for free if it’s fitted. No pressure at all and I think they would have preferred a factory order. I feel I managed to squeeze as much as I could out of them, plus got a free service as well. Just had to buy it on a pcp to get the £2000 contribution, but I told them I’d be paying that off straight away. Still some reservations about the CVT, but I don’t think there’s a long term future for 3 litre diesels and was concerned about the future value of the Audi. It’s a shame because it’s a great car.

£50 inc VAT from Lexus. 👍 Cheers Colin for the heads up as I didn’t know such things existed. Habu

I'm glad to say, having launched this thread, that a month later the dash no longer looks like a set of Christmas Tree lights. And I can switch the VSC on and off at will. I'm pretty sure that the problem arose from a coincidence of two separate and unconnected incidents, the failure of a VSC inlet manifold valve and a low battery triggering a false reading somewhere in the ECU. At all times the car ran perfectly, although had severe weather arrived, with prolonged icing, I wonder whether I would have been able to recover from a wheel lock. We shall never know. AFB

In todays Mail online Dominic Lawson writes about his Discovery experieand how heyhad now bought an R400h on the advice of a motoring correspondent friend.

I use a TomTom on the top of the fascia. Much easier to see, don't need to look down away from the road, cost less than an update disc for the Lexus satnav and has free updates for software and maps. It well past the time that " in car" satnave caught up with the dedicated stand alone devices.

The nav doesnt have fuses for individual elements of the system, it either switches on, or it doesn't.....😉 So press and hold your finger down on the screen where the distance and hours to go box is. An option box should pop up offering you eta as an option. Select eta; and breathe......

SH20 i am in huddersfield and got one of the first takumi cars in the country if you want i can meet you between hudds and leeds for you to have a drive i am now getting 52mpg which is brill vinny b

Date and time will be - Sat 9th March, 10am

The above pics are when I first saw it. Below pics is more of it as time goes on, To say the car was filthy is an understatement, and it still is. But all in good time 😉

Thank you Herbie, appreciated. I see what you mean about the fusebox cover not fitting with piggybacks in place. I’ll have to tuck the lid away under there for safekeeping......

The expansion tank on the RX is not pressurised. When the coolant heats up and expands, it pushes past a spring-loaded valve in the radiator cap and fills the expansion tank. When the coolant cools and contracts, a vacuum is creates and the coolant in the expansion tank is sucked past a second valve in the radiator cap to maintain the coolant level. If the return valve is stuck, or the small bore pipe from the expansion tank to the radiator neck is blogged, the coolant can't return to the radiator. The vacuum caused by the contracting coolant causes the hoses to collapse. The good news is you have no leaks in the coolant system, but it does need seeing to as it will affect coolant flow at colder engine temperatures. An aftermarket radiator cap shouldn't break the bank and neither should checking the expansion tank hose for a blockage.

If the battery is full then amount of charge can be controlled. Going downhill the engine can be used as a load, being turned over but no fuel used. The simulated gears are achieved because the electronic control of the transmission can make the engine run at any speed it wishes - the engine isn't directly connected to the wheels. here is a fun demo of how the transmission works: http://eahart.com/prius/psd/ There are many videos on the subject, the second half of this video is shows the physical components being rotated to give a good understanding (components are a slightly different design in the 3rd Gen system used on the IS300h but technically work in a similar way):

Only advice I can give is to make sure you have all the right tools, esp magnetic ones, a v good lamp, and do one plug at a time from the left. By the time you get to the toughest one at the rh back you'll know what you are looking for and how to do it. Good luck.

Hold out your hand......

It certainly was a new experience. While I knew the fuel consumption of the Lexus was mid 30s, it’s still kind of disappointing to get less mpg than a 3 litre, 282bhp diesel. I’m having real trouble finding something with similar interior quality as the Audi and the Lexus comes close. I’m looking at a standard spec with premier pack as I want to keep it under the £40k list tax threshold so I’ll miss my HUD. Mesa red with tan interior is my preferred colour choice. I think I need to go back and have another drive before making a decision.

Not sure if you're on Twitter Alex but one of the serial car buyers I follow on there has just picked up a Soarer and it's his new play thing. Look for @Joe_Hallenbeck

Yeah subject to dates I'm very interested..... 👏

A few IPhone snaps from last weekend

Brilliant Alex! Please keep us up to date with progress. And when it's concours, sell it to me

Post some pictures of your progress? Had to sell my Soarer eight years ago, it was an awesome car.

Tsk! All these clean cars! I love looking at the aero flow on the bodywork after a few motorway journeys...

Just had mine detailed and ceramic coated by a great guy in Nuneaton.

May have posted these before but they are two of my favourite shots of my car. Slightly compressed thanks to Google Drive.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Another service and mot today at Lexus Reading, sailed through...

The V8 Soarer was every bit as good as the LS400 but very few people in the UK were aware of it. If you could find a good one with lowish mileage, good suspension and renew all of the serviceable parts, all of the bushes, etc. That would be a very nice car indeed. It was way ahead of its time, it's just so old now, finding a good one is the challenge.. And don't dismiss the 2.5 GTT as a temperamental, brutish turbo. Far from it. The 1JZ is a strong, reliable, powerful but silky smooth engine. I owned them both at the same time, amazing cult cars. The Soarer was the LC500 of its day..

Funny how ones views on cars grows. Was never that keen on the Soarer looks, when i had my LS, but it certainly has 'grown on me'. Doesn't hurt to have that lovely V8! But I'm probably looking for that 'hen's teeth' one, kept in heated garage in Japan and done under 100K kilometres! Not interested in turbo stuff, just comfort and ease.