ambermarine

The issue with this situation for the workshop is they have to be fair to both parties .If they put a guy on this at a hourly rate and the work is as extensive as they estimate the cost could be more than the car is worth and that will only reflect badly on them in a public analysis.

If you take it to another workshop and they submit the same response you know you have a decision to make regarding the replacement of the a/c.

The LS430 had a similar design were the pipe running to the back outlet failed but the solution was to terminate and seal the back pipe and retain the front end a/c is that a possible outcome for your car it may be worth investigating.

Covered the washer sensor subject ten years ago the doughnut gets waterlogged just remove the sensor from the bottle and place it in the airing cupboard for a few days until it is dried out then coat the doughnut with laquer this seals it and mine is still working ten years on.

The peice that is obviously proud is part of the upper windowframe inner enclosure .You will need to remove the door card that will then give you access to that part which needs removing and refixing.

19 hours ago, Cotswold Pete said:

Reading  this document might help if your techncially minded as to what is actaully going on between the acid and the lead in a battery.

Failure Causes and Effective Repair Methods of Lead-acid Battery

The more modern cars get the more I want to go back to riding a push bike or driving a late 90's Jap mobile

There is abundant evidence in this doc that long life in batteries is achieved by proper maintanence and servicing. Without doubt most of the premature failures are due to the fact that modern vehicles have batteries fitted that most owners would not know were they where located let alone know how to insert distilled water.

When I was in the Army as a driver Royal signals  in the 60s part of the "first parade" (vehicle check) before going anywhere was to check the Battery level and we also carried hydrometers in the service kits.

So much initative is taken away from the individual in todays easy society that we have become zombi like and materialsticly wasteful which is why the IOP as to produce documents like this.

18 hours ago, SH20 said:

AA came out and discovered the 12 volt battery in the boot which as Andrew said powers up all the electrics/ecu's etc was down to 3 volts- Flat of course.    Power pack connected and started up but the dash board was like a Christmas tree.  He cleared a stack of faults codes and all went back to normal.  Told me to take it out straight away for 40 mins and re charge the battery and said cars these days have to fire up a stack of electrical equipment and modules etc so not surprisingly a battery can give up.    

Battery six years old and no evidence in the My Lexus Link App that the service history shows a replacement battery has ever been fitted.    I'm wondering now if a some of the cells in the battery are failing.    

I'll get into the dealer and ask for an opinion on the battery.   If anyone knows what make Lexus use I can check my own battery to see if it is the original factory battery. 

Anyway it's running now.

 

 

If the Battery is six years old its probably give up with the cold snap the average life of most batteries is 3 to 4 years in normal usage, beyond that they have to be maintained on charge  and lightly used.

Bearing in  mind the national grid you have on that car your Battery as done very well and I would be surprised if it is covered by any warranty.

The connecting of a trickle charger seems difficult from what you describe so in some respects all the gizmos on the latest models are achilles heels for the batteries.

Now you have found it you have the choice  of removing it, remember if you reconnect it your battery  you will have a constant drain,If you re-register it with the organisation that it is assigned to the device you will have to pay a annual subscription and prove you own the car .

I have never found mine I suspect it is somewhere in the floor space but let sleeping dogs lye is my motto, in your case searching for it as been a good outcome in finding the possible rust scenario.

Get that cleaned up and sprayed with wax as soon as .

Use some needle probes on a multimeter when the various ign powered up scenarios are in place if there is any life in the circuits check for load and ohms output .If nothing is apparent leave it alone and forget about it.

Lexus demonstrators were fitted with trackers as standard for the dealerships insurance policy .My ls400 which was owned by the dealership for its first twelve month  still as it in situ and is a constant drain on the Battery but because I have it on Battery charge when idle I will leave it in place I can always re-register with the tracking company if needed.

For the best under bonnet experience of a Lexus you cannot beat the original grand daddy of them all the series 1 as seen here when mine was 18 years old

3 hours ago, BigBoomer said:

Yuasa and Varta make good batteries, but the cars they are fitted to either need regular use or else plugging in to a battery maintainer.

Trickle charging occasionally does not preserve a battery.
If you don't use the car regularly and want the battery to last, you should always plug it in when parked at home.
However, it sounds to me like you may have a parasitic drain or your alternator may be on it's way out.

Since I now work from home and drive maybe 20 miles per week, mine is almost always plugged in to a cheap battery charger/maintainer (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08MQGHC2V) and the Yuasa battery fitted is now 5 years old and doing just fine. The battery got flattened a couple of times during COVID lockdowns, so I wired up the charger to connect where I park the car. The charger recovered the battery and has maintained it well since then.
I extended the wiring from the charger to the battery by 10 metres so the charger is on the wall in the garage but the 12V cable runs to where the car is parked.

If you can't get wiring to where the car is parked, then consider one of the solar chargers. Make sure it provides at least 5W and ideally 10-20W.
Then all you need to do is park where the solar panel gets direct sunlight. I've seen a few cars with the solar panels on the parcel shelf and it seems to work if you can find panel(s) that will fit.

The debate over what Battery and constant maintanence charging is not specific to Lexus it is a general requirement on any vehicle that uses a Battery for its primary power source.

I have used Yuasa for my last two replacement batteries on the Mark 4 the first one was when I bought the car 14 years ago as it was supplied with a totally dead Battery and that was replaced seven years ago with the present one which is still 100% .I keep the Battery on constant charge through a golf caddy charger I found in a skip and have used that for twenty years on both my Lexus ls400s.

It is a remarkably good tool and connected up every time the car is garaged and idle.

2 hours ago, Tulpen said:

I have to disagree. Parking sensors, combined with a reversing camera, are a boon to those of us who are 'getting on a bit and no longer have 24 year-old spines.'

As for hassle, I've had one sensor changed in my 16 year-old 460 - and that was last week.

The point I was making is the 98 version did not have the reversing camera so the sensors were very inaccurate on their own ,better to use ones reversing skills with your mirrors not swiveling your neck.

The 1998 Lexus Ls400 was not factory fitted with sensors thank god just a load of hassle.

Just to put things in perspective on the value of a 25 year old LS400, the car I have was in for its MOT yesterday and is now a officially according to my insurance a Classic.It passed with no advisories as it as done since new and costs £256 to insure and £325 to tax,It as done 53000 miles (not run in yet).It is my second ls400 and with the combined ownership I have been driving them for 27 years.

The value to me is not monetary I could have any car I wanted within reason it is the knowledge that I have a very nice reliable car that is easy on the eye and easy to maintain( I do all the servicing on the car),The pleasure it gives driving is beyond the cars of today and I know that avoiding any mishaps this car will see me out.

I have kidded people that I plan on being buried in the car and to be honest if it were possible I would I love to do an El Cid departure but alas the authorities would put the block on that much as they do anything else .

Would this be the key its off my 1990 mark 1 and the Battery is available in the UK for about a dollar.

replace the Battery and you should be ok the programming is permanent unless it is messed  with losing power through a dead Battery is something I did a couple of times and it did not affect the operation of the remote when I replaced the Battery, which is a BR1216.

Like I have said before someone as to pay for those marble tiles nice sofas pretty girls and free coffee,not going to be me .

Its nearly as nice as mine

The rubber seals are bought in by Lexus as are most of the components, so as long as you keep the old ones as a reference they can be bought to fit the profile required from aftermarket suppliers.

You need to get those mouldings off as soon as possible to evaluate the reason for them lifting it may be decomposing vegetation that is swelling with heat and moisture. The seals look perished and the sun as damaged the one with the orange peel texture.

The surface area where these mouldings attach to the body frame is usually well painted and surfaces may need only a light cleaning but you will need to put in new gaskets as those in view are shot.

6 hours ago, W4SIM said:

Hello Sir

Just after I replied to Newbie777 yesterday I made an appointment to go see the car. 

I was told over the phone that this was a part-ex taken in against a newer LS500h the customer had bought. Also, the Cat S damage was done in March of this year to the rear quarter, about the size of a tennis ball. The insurance company wanted a new rear quarter panel and given the price for the repair against the value of the car it was written off. I wasn't told which rear panel was damaged but the repair was so good that you'd struggle to tell. The rest of the car had a few minor scuffs and chips to the front end. The drive is brilliant and has a full Lexus service history, having just had a few thousand pounds spent at Lexus recently on repairs to the climate control system. Brilliant I thought, I'm expecting a bit of minor damage given the age and mileage of the car but definitely one i could live with. I told him I'm not one to waste someone's time so if its as described and we settle on a price I'll take it away today. 

When I arrived i was parked about 7-8 metres away from it and it looked quite nice parked there in the sunshine. I'm having this i thought. But just so I don't get too giddy about it I took 2 friends down for a second opinion. 

The first thing they noticed was the damage repair on the driver's side rear. Its right on the wheel arch, the repair is not only swelling/blistering up but its also dull around there, stands out a mile compared to the surrounding paint work. The drivers rear door has a few dents in it, a kid on a bike I was told. The front bumper on the passenger side has been hit or driven into something at low speed. The paint is cracked there and the bumper bracket is broken on the corner so its all out of place. The entire passenger side of the car has been repainted at some point, you can tell by the orange peel effect which isn't present on the surrounding panels/areas. All 4 wheels need a refurb, and at a good guess I'd say the TPMS valves will break upon removal, so another set required there.

On the drive the very first thing I noticed was a rattle on the driver's side rear upon acceleration, like an exhaust heat shield or the exhaust back box rattling on the bodywork. Very annoying to say the least. The drivers door armrest and for some strange reason the b pillar where the seat belt is (just next go your right shoulder) were badly worn. 

Along with that, and I'm guessing this is true for all LS600's and not just this one.

The guy asked me to check the power by accelerating hard on the dual carriageway. For the claimed BHP it felt quite slow, I understand its a heavy car, but I wouldn't use the word Performance anywhere near it. The revs were going up a lot faster than the pace of the car. What can only be described as a slipping clutch in a normal petrol manual car. Very weird feeling. 

I did mention this elsewhere, wether the Hybrid system was worth having on this car, and the answer is No. It doesn't work above 25 mph, and cuts to petrol at the gentlest touch of the accelerator. Just like I've always thought, its more of a Gimmick. 

So unfortunately, unless its about 70% off the price, its not worth the hassle for me. Thats not to say its a total scrap, just needs time and money spending on it which i don't have. 

Very astute approach to this potential purchase and it sounds like you were correct in doing so it is a walk by ,no doubt at any price .

On 10/14/2023 at 12:03 PM, Spock66 said:

I think the LS600 discussed in a recent post looks the better buy.

You are so wrong Andrew

The ls600 will be a money pit the ls400 example shown will require nothing for the next 100k miles except servicing and that is within the capabilities of anyone with a brain.

The LS600 will require specialist servicing certainly around the transmission  and suspension and the reviews on this model are not in the same bracket as the LS400 ,let me remind you the ls400 is the platform that all other Lexus models were spawned from and they got it about right when this Model arrived in 99 things went a bit off track after that and still are if the reviews on todays models are anything to go by,especially on reliability.

3 hours ago, Mossypossy said:

You can get the attitude "I'd rather burn it than sell it to you at that price".

And your reply should be use E10 petrol its cheaper.

On 10/5/2023 at 5:20 PM, michael Vercell said:

Thank you all for responding , I’ve had faultless motoring in my old car, I’ve had her from new. This is the first component to wear out and I was amazed when Lexus informed me they no longer manufacture or can supply. I’ve sent a note to the company in Preston. Again many thanks for all your assistance. Michael Vercell 

Michael good luck with that note to the Preston branch of Lexus I asked for a quote to replace my cambelt and they said they would need to reference back to Lexus in Japan because the information for procedure and hours to do it was no longer on their system I am still waiting for a call 12 month later.

Job  was done by Granville motors in St Annes by a very component guy for a very attractive price.

Long gone.

First of all it is not a cd player ,The dvd was brought in when the 430 came into existence prior to that the ls400 used a cd. Apart from the extra capacity the dvd offered it was  basically the same system although they are not interchangable units.

The same issue occurs with the cd player in the 400 I had to change mine a few years ago when it would freeze during operation and need a reboot to continue ,this entailed stopping  the car so was very inconvenient.

I still have the faulty unit as it may be a minor issue but at the time it was easier to get one from a breaker, probably impossible now.

As far as I can tell through research the Mark 4 ls 400 is the only model of the Lexus ls400 range that can safely use E10 .My research from various sources cites detrimental to fuel lines and engine in previous models due too excessive h2o content in E10 which suggests Lexus changed the system on the Mark 4 in anticipation of these changes in the fuel content .

I have tried E10 and premium in the car I have and my experience is that the performance and mpg are down significantly when I use E10 but there are no issues with the mechanics of the car.

1 hour ago, DomTurner said:

I find myself using the "manual" mode to lock it into a lower gear, usually 3rd, if I am preparing to overtake. 

The ect pwr button is there for that purpose as stated in the owners manual.