brendangeorge

i think you get a bit further than 2/3 as far Jon but otherwise it's a fair summary. (It's72 hundredths as far)

I would like an answer from the technical types on here as to whether LPG installations can safely be leaned off to give the consumption that others are obviously achieving.

Mike

Hi Mike

It is more complicated than leaning the mixture a bit - there are commercial ECU remappers who advertise a 20% improvement in fuel economy if you have them work on your car.

I put an external chip (connected to the ODI port) on my car for a few months and it had minimal effect - it just seemed to get hot so I removed it.

Bren

On the question of LPG conversion, having had quotes from Profess and Leeds LPG I finally got to talk to a chap at Battersea Autogas who gave me a quote for a respectable £1300, not at all bad for a London based company and more convenient for me for future maintenance.

The questions I am left with are:

Is the Levato brand equipment they want to use any good as I have never heard of this company, and

Do I really need 'flashlube' as that adds a further £200 to the bill.

What do the LPG converts think, any opinions/advise appreciated as always.

Out of interest they will position the filler wherever I want it even behind the petrol filler flap, but to save any future issues I think i'll go for the rear bumper location just rearward of the driverside rear mudflap.

Looks like I might get my car gassed this year after all!

Hi Keith

I'm glad to see you are going to convert to LPG - a great move that you will not regret. I have my gas filler next to the petrol filler - this is the most convenient place for it. Why do you want to bend down to the back bumper when you fill up? I am fat and old so it is a consideration for me. Also your bumper (or anywhere low down) is the first place to get bumped so you may be putting your filler in a vulnerable place. Also LPG pumps can be a pain to connect so having the hole low down will only add to any

difficulty.

Good luck

Bren

I will check brake lights tomorrow. I know the brake fluid is ok coz I checked yesterday.That was fine yesterday. If its brake light, I wander what the small amount if vibration is when braking. it never happens at any other time. The last time the brake pads were changed was about 20,000 miles ago approx, according to the history I have. Depending on how driven, whats the average lifespan of brake pads?

Bren

Hi Tom

It depends how you drive but you will have a couple of thousand miles - a good tip is don't let the warning light come on because it burns the sensor cable which costs half as much as the pads - keep an eye on pad wear and swap them before they are all the way down.

Bren

Just to scare you all ......

This is the drivers door internally half way down where the trim fits...... Not one sign of rust in the same place on the outside though !!!!image.jpgimage.jpg

It worked I'm scared - is it the same on all 4 doors?

Bren

I just took a look at mine and I have a very small ammount of bubbling by the drivers side door mirror - looks like I owe Paul a big thank you for the alert and I have to eat humble pie because of my rant about early model LS430s not being rot boxes - So thanks Paul - bit of a shortage of humble pie in my fridge though :)

Looks as if it is only on the drivers door so I will have that apart on Sunday, if the weather is good and see what is happening.

Bol"£cks not what you expect from a Lexus :(

Bren

The Parrot kit in my GS is fitted below and to the right of the glovebox and I think the guy fitted the one in the SC under the centre console. Don't know it that helps at all but good luck with it.

There is a control unit that sits on top of the dash but the main unit (blue box) is in the boot of a LS430 not far from the Nav DVD unit. It required a long cable to be installed when the unit was originally fitted.

Bren

Ok back to the topic......

Just been to the Bodyshop and they imaged the rust and then checked the thickness of the paint in microns, and took pictures, 140 microns of paint.....

The guy said it needs 3 doors and a boot as they won't bother to try and repair them, so will contact me soon.

All images sent to lexus and we now wait

Good luck Paul.

I think I will have a peep inside my doors my car has just started year 12 :)

As far as I can tell there are no external signs of rust.

Bren

Hi Guys

Plenty of views but no replies does anybody have experience of going from the Gen2 Nav system to a Gen4 - an early LS430 to a later (face lift model) is probably what I am talking about.

Bren

First time I have heard of a exParrot.... Or is it

Seriously sorry for your bad luck

and it is Blue :) Do they make them in Norway?

Commiserations appreciated Ray - I cannot get my hands in where the damn thing is stuffed so I will have to seek help

Good news today though - I just had my seat fixed by my local garage. It needed weding and a fab shop next door to CGR was able to weld aluminium so my fat bum is not wobbling the seat any more.

Now for the Parrot :)

Bren

Try this linkhttp://www.sgs-engineering.com/gas-struts/re-gassing-service

Looks good - their new struts are £35 delivered so I may just go for those. They are cheaper than what I bought a few years ago.

Thanks

Bren

Is that each strut, or for a pair?

Good question Keith and thanks - it clearly states Strut (singular) on their site so it is for one and hence me thinking they are cheap. So for me it is re-gassing or BMW struts as recommended by Paul.

Bren

My figures are at the poor end of the ranges being quoted above (about 17 round town and 21mpg on a run. I am pretty gentle on the throttle in fact I drive it in snow mode to make sure.

When I did the research it seemed to me that the energy content of LPG was nearer 70% than 80% of petrol. And that fits exactly with the results from my LS430.

If this is true, I worry that the only way the LPG engineers can get better than '30% worse' is to tune it to run lean - which has got to be a bit worrying surely?

Mike

Mike, I'm not sure that driving in snow mode will help with the fuel economy. Snow mode keeps the gearbox in a lower gear so you are, in fact using more acceleration with the car in a lower gear. Try you car in power mode for a week or two, I'm sure your mpg will increase.

Graham.

I think you'll find that snow mode means it stays in a higher gear for longer

Snow Mode sets off in 2nd so you don't spin the wheels (reduces the torque) - I expect it half shifts (or less) to keep the torque to the back wheels down. Don'f forget eco mode half shifts i.e. full torque about half throttle - PWR mode is max power shift. The LS 430 will optimise the engine and gear box performace to your driving style and the driving you do. I cannot see you wanting to drag through the gears on the motorway - you want to get up to cruising speed asap and keep rolling. On the other winding the car up and away from traffic lights or round abouts and then jamming on the brakes at the next stoppage will cost you a ton of fuel round town. So Mike is probably benefitting from this very sensible approach.

Mike do you do a lot of motorway/long distance driving and have you tried using the other modes when doing so?

Bren

Try this link

http://www.sgs-engineering.com/gas-struts/re-gassing-service

Looks good - their new struts are £35 delivered so I may just go for those. They are cheaper than what I bought a few years ago.

Thanks

Bren

Did you see the post I put on about sgs engineering they made me stronger struts when they were replaced and have been better than before the others failed.

There service is spot on.

Yes thanks Steve - I think I may have some of their's on but from a long time ago. Perhaps the bloke there is not angry anymore because I called him a muppet :) So I'll give them a try.

Bren

Hi Chaps

Has anybody updated their LS430 Nav System to a newer generation? Mine plays up in cold weather so is on its way out (yes I cleaned it up etc and the DVD is not stuff) - the fault is failing to read the disk and this is common.

I saw this post on the US forums (thanks guys) where a gen 4 player from a Prius is plug compatible and works in a 430 with a gen 2 system.

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls430/665273-nav-ecu-upgrade-from-2002-gen-2-3-to-a-generation-4-out-of-a-prius.html

I suppose the obvious two questions are the one above has anybody done it and for those with 2004 - 2006 430s with Gen 4 Nav systems are they any good? Can you navigate to a post code and are other useful features available?

Another question is are any of the later gen DVD players plug and ecu compatible with the 430?

Bren

Just checked with the button pops up but does not open once past 1/2 way the struts take it to fully open without assistance

Do you have the original boot Steve or a heavy new one? MIne used to do what yours did but now needs a good shove to open to the top and closed like a gin trap - I suspect my struts are shagged again.

Bren

Do your gas struts open the boot from its lowest position ..... I mean if you press trunk on your remote or release from inside the car does your boot come up fully by itself or do you still have to help it to 1/3 1/2 open before it goes up??? Did that make any sense?

Your question makes perfect sense Paul.

My boot has never gone all the way up on its own - any of the 3 controls will or would pop the boot off the catch and then the struts assist opening (as you lift it) and damp the closing so it does not slam. If the struts made the boot open all the way it would be a heck of a job to close it afterwards :)

Bren

Does this just do the map colour or the audio screen as well? I have found this setting but thought it was just for the map

It's just the map colour that is changeable on mine Paul - I think if Mark has a 2004 he probably has an updated Nav that may have other controls.

You cannot change the Nav system with an update disk only the maps. I did see somewhere else that you can change the Nav ECU for an update. I think I saw somebody put a Prius ECU in a 430 so they could use the latest system - Youtube or eBay would be a good place to research.

I only looked because my system was playing up in the cold weather but is OK now.

Bren

Sorry didnt mean to rattle your cage !!!

Just looking at various sites, lexus gave admitted they have an issue in the earlier ls430. People have mentioned on others sites the exact same places that rust has appeared on my 315k model. So I was merely stating what other people, including lexus, have said .

Fair point - I think I'll have a look at mine :) My cage has stopped rattling :)

Bren, with reference to your struts . Buy some BMW bonnet gas struts, they are built much better, wash my mouth out, but are stronger than lexus ones. They are about half inch longer and can be a b£(:/&rd to put on but they work perfectly . I think mine were from a 5 series got the details somewhere if you need them....

Re the rust, it's obvious a perforation fault due to the fact when I had the Osf door card off you could see the rust internal but not in the outside, well yet anyway. I suspect the NSF door inner is very bad as the rust on the outside is a good 3 inches long .

Can believe it, fingers crossed and all that. If they do ***** on it, I am going to take it further but I doubt that I will have to

Paul

A bit out of phase with my posts here - something to do with going off half cocked about rust :) The strut idea sounds great Paul if you can post or PM the details I look at that - my boot lid keeps hitting my head and I am worried about damage (to the lid not me).

Bad luck with the rust - good luck with the fix.

Bren

Sadly I do have to agree the last 4 ls400's I had never had rust, but I believe it's a common fault in the early years of the ls430's.

Still if its covered, bugger it lol

I have had a 430 for 11 years and 204K miles - it is not a rust box none of them are so to say rust is a common fault among the early models is not correct Frosty. I had a replacement boot fitted because the interference fit of a piece of chrome caused the paint to be stripped and a rust spot to appear. It was crazy that the boot was replaced when it was not necessary - fix the rubbing and then paint it properly was the correct solution. Lexus have a warranty pot and it was probably cheaper for them to go down the replacement route rather than pay out for labour - they fixed the problem so no complaints from me.

I cannot speak about the later/face lift model but I haven't seen many rotting at the side of the road or abandoned on waste ground :)

I had 3 LS400s and all were great - my 430 is brilliant and I would never consider going back.

I'm only grumpy because I still have to get over Saturday evening :(

Cheers

Bren

Did that no screen settings?

Hi Frosty

Menu Setup Map colour - gives auto and 4 options for day and night screen colour on my 2002. It is worth noting that the face lift model has a different version of Nav system so may not be the same.

Bren

It might be worth visiting an electrician anyway, just to check your alternator is behaving correctly.

I was just about to do so and my drivers seat suffered a small mechanical failure - so I need to fix that first :)

I think the system is charging ok - I checked it myself being an electrical engineer - I'm not an auto-electrician and cannot get my big fat hands where they need to go.

Cheers

Bren

Hi there just thought I would share, after cleaning the old girl this weekend .

Found rust beneath both wing mirrors on the top edge of the door and also rust around the rear number plate lights and also above the bottom mould strip NSF door. Noticed a couple of weeks back the the Osf door also had rust, but internally where the trim button sits, exactly the same position as the bad rust in the NSF door.

Contacted lexus under the 12 year anti perforation warranty, now off to the lexus Bodyshop to get it submitted for repair under warranty .... How cool is that !!!!!

Will keep you all posted as and when I get feedback from lexus and also what the Bodyshop says .....

Hi Frosty

I had a new boot fitted because of the number plate light trim rust problem - they painted it twice and then gave up and put a new boot lid on. Problem is the new boot lid is a lot heavier than the old one and kills the struts. Good luck with the rest of it.

Bren

Hmm thats interesting, do you have more information on it? Perhaps a SIB number from your invoice or a recall number ? Struggling to find anything online.

Hi Sam

It was a very long time ago - the air con pipes that go over the back axel corroded and the system lost gas. It was repaired by Lexus at their expense and the service manager said it was a know problem - I may have been a little enthusiastic with the term factory recall - that only happens for safety items. They pick this kind of thing up at a service.

Bren