ambermarine

I would have thought this is not an option as the security aspect of the Lexus LS400 is high on its list of credentials.The clusters were purposed for UK roads and probably manufactured with that purpose only.I know that some Toyota vehicles have this option but I have not come accross the option on Lexus vehicles let alone the LS400.

I suppose an electronics wizard could hack the cluster but that is a whole world of pain if it goes wrong .

The alternative is to buy a used european cluster from a breaker in Germany or Holland and swap it out with yours.

Great tip, this saved me a load of hassle after a long trip yesterday went to start her this morning and visions of garage bills and investigations occured read the forum archives and bingo after 24 years the rear brake light had a bulb failure.

The euro version ( UK )of the Mark 4 LS400 was not fitted with a condenser fan the engineers at Lexus deemed the climate cool enough to dispense with the fan as the condenser was capable of cooling the a/c at that time ,recent climate conditions have turned that on its head but proves their thynopsis.

The front wing is available new costs around $500

There was body rust in the usual places treatable but the suspension and subframe need wire brushing and either dinitrol or oil based coated. Mine as 120k less miles and is in better shape with no rust.

The issue for Japanese cars making it in to the very fashionable classic car hall of fame is originality.

The Lexus LS400 was built around the format of the Mercedes S class in the guise that Mercedes took at the time .When the Ls 400 was launched it was already two years behind the times and therefore was always playing catchup.

Furthermore the Japanese effect on products was still sufferinfg from the second world war generation of veterans here and in the USA who detested any Japanese products and sales in the initial launch suffered from that.

By the time the next generation had realised that Lexus was a good and bespoke brand the classic had turned to modern and they bought it for the realistic value and cared little for its long term appreceation as againt its short term depreciation,  good for Lexus bad for classic valuation .

As former posters have said if you have one of these LS400,s whatever marque enjoy it and count any appreciation as a bonus.

Peter the code is UCAA9 as it is on my 98 mark 4. I got my touch up sets from an eBay store in Lithuania, good result in matching.

There is a further inquiry under way by the competitions regulater as to how the price of petrol as a distinct variance in price dependant on location I welcome this but unfortuantely nothing seems to come of these probes they are not delving deep enough in my view .

In the USA the term gouging is used when prices increase for extraneous events and the local authority who dish out the licences too gas stations do a immediate inquiry into any retailer who sells gas above the median price . 

If any are found guilty of gouging they are closed down and their licence revoked on the spot,I think we need to make stricter rules in this country as to the frequency of these rises and falls the latter being the less frequent.

8 minutes ago, BigBoomer said:

My LS lives plugged into a battery maintainer 24/7. Now that I only drive it once or twice per week it's less hassle that way.
The battery maintainer (a £22 one from Amazon) works well and sits inside the garage, some 20 feet from the car.
The 12v cable I ran through some gravel (used flat mains cable) and up a fence post where the car is parked.
Under the bonnet the 10A fused cable runs from the battery around the edge to just in front of the radiators where it is cable tied.
All I have to do is pop the bonnet, plug it in/unplug it, and close the bonnet.
If I forget and drive off, the wire from the fence post to the car has a weak link that pulls apart and leaves both ends safe.

My Battery is now 5 years old but as George as implied the Battery maintanance is paramount in the longevity of batteries, mine is connected to a golf trolley Battery charger and as been for the last five years and does not look like it is about to give up.

Red light indicated when hooked up and quickly goes green which is the monitoring mode, as my car as a tracker fitted the Battery would be flat in about 10 days.The cycle of charging and discharging is what kills the Battery as sulphate is produced in the process and saturates the plates in the cells ,if one of the cells fails the Battery discharges through that cell. this ultimatley finishes off the whole Battery.

Battery maintanence chargers avoid the discharge and charging because when the engine is running the Battery is not running the electrics on the car, the alternator does that and also recharges the Battery with the power it used to start the engine.

One exception to this scenario is constant stop and start on batteries such as taxis and delivery vehicles, the alternator is not able to keep the Battery at the highest level due to the high amperage required for the starter and sulphate builds up at a greater rate consequently shortening the life of the Battery.

12 hours ago, Mikaelse said:

IF I suspected that I might get seals and bearings that are kitted and may have been in stock for LS400 gathering dust for 15+ years (NOS = New old stock). 
I would consider buying elsewhere from known brand item for item hopefully reducing very old stock risk.
Grease and rubber does not benefit from very long time in storage. What do you think guys?. 

Toyota/Lexus Cambelts are vaccum packed so they do not detiorate over time, they are obviously aware of timescale affects to Rubber products.The term rubber is all encompassing when reffering to bushings and the composition of these parts are quite complicated with other ingredients and processes involved. On a recent survey of my 24 year old mark 4 I found no discernible detioration in any of the bushings in the suspension.

3 hours ago, Malc said:

on my Mk3 ............. why do the traffic announcements suddenly butt in extra loudly  ?  wish they could just be at the normal volume .  it's annoying and means I have to physically turn the volume down just while that's going on  

Malc

You can alter the volume of the TA on the mark 4 as follows ;TA volume switch is touched for more than 2 seconds TA volume is displayed for 10 seconds during this time the TA volume can be controlled by the power volume knob. I assume the procedure is the same on the mark 3 but on the digital screen.

15 hours ago, Razor61 said:

On my 95 mk3 LS400 I seem to remember the aerial retracted when playing a CD.
on my current mk4 98 LS400 the aerial does not retract when playing a CD, is this correct or should it do the same as the Mk3 LS400?
it’s not a big problem at all but just wanted to know in case I have another little issue to sort out.

The ariel does not retract when audio mode is present on the mark 4 this is to enable traffic announcements even if you are not listening to the radio.

Simon in some areas including mine the non ethanol product is scarce and according to reliable informants about to get almost impossible to obtain .Refineries are being encouraged by the government to phase out the octane only products and it also suits them to stream one product on logistic grounds.The united states already as this scenario and in some states for small four stroke and two stroke machines (gardening and construction equipment)they are now selling bespoke ethanol free gasoline in small jerry cans.

What really annoys me with this ethanol directive from the government is that it is a direct assault on the  car owner and under any commercial instance would end up in court.

The greens of this world do not give a toss about anyone else as long as their pie in the sky objectives are pursued at any cost to the individual but have no chance against the big polluting nations of the world.

The damage the ethanol does to vehicles of a certain era is enough to cause the scrapping of same therefore the carbon footprint is multiplied in supplying new replacements and a propotion of evs at a bigger carbon footprint than a petrol or deisel.

Fortunately according to government guidelines my 98 ls400 can cope with ethanol but a lot of vehicles after that year cannot so what does that say about a measured approach .

The wealthy who bought Lexus vehicles are fine but the not so well off who had to buy bog standard transport are going to be forced into buying a replacement for the car the Government policy as ruined.

The future is bleak for anyone who as a car that will not cope with ethanol and these additives may work but are a added cost to what is a very expensive fuel.

The southern states are very humid and hot in the summer and most vehicles have A/C as standard, very rare to see people driving with windows open.

Luxury cars have every concievable aid to keeping the inside of the car cool including the seats as the sun blast through the windows and heats up the upholstery.

It will go for what someone will pay, the speculation on what cars are worth is subjective more so with the Lexus ls as it is all about ownership and if you have a good example the likelihood of selling it is small.

Probably taken in Part exchange and because second hand cars are at a premium need some stock.

Looks a bargain compared with my Mark 4 and I am likely to get around about the same for mine if I were to sell but I know mine is spot on,   the example shown is very complex and an Hybrid so beware of events further down the road.

This is the sticker you don't have one but the tracker could still be installed by another company.

My Mark 4 was fitted with a tracker by Lexus as they owned it for its first year as a demonstrator and it is portrayed in a Lexus format on the drivers window next to the warnings of radio disfunction if removed

The tracker is still in there and still works so I have a drain which will flatten the Battery in a month .The car is constantly connected to an intelligent charger when not in use which is never longer than a week but even a partly discharged Battery can result in gremlins appearing in the electronic systems of the car.

It may be worth checking if your car of the same year had a tracker fitted as it seemed to be a trend was developing around that time.

Why would you put any kind of upper engine lubricant in a Lexus engine unless it had done a million miles.

Lexus engines are renowned for their reliability and highly engineered working surfaces so you could have identified the issue by causing it.

20 minutes ago, LexusRbest said:

I think Lexus use Denso or Nissen for pad manufacturer.

Well that would make sense as Toyota own 50% of Denso.

I would have been outraged had Lexus parts sent me a oem equivalent. They are not genuine replacements if they do not come in a Toyota branded box ,and to hide behind the Lexus name as a genuine supplier is shameful.

I have never thought getting stuff from this crowd was a good idea they are expensive anyway.

You are quite correct Malc , the 90 Mark1 I owned according to the first owner was £33k new, he wanted to sell the car back to Lexus but he was not staying with the brand so they declined. He sold it in part exchange to Devonshire motors in Barnstaple who sold it to me in part exchange for a 89 Audi 90 for 13k they had a ticket price of £19k on the 400 with 48k on the clock.

The 400 was written down in my company for the rest of its time with me 16 years so when I sold it for £600 I owed " it " money.

Paradoxically my present mark 4 cost £56k and at 14 years old(one owner) I bought it for £3750 with 19k on the clock and mint.

As you say we are blessed to have had such good fortune ever becoming involved with this all time history maker.

35 minutes ago, Malc said:

personally I wouldn't touch it ............ why you may ask .....  totally underused and unusable really .  a car to be kept in aspic to retain any value over and above an " ordinary "  92 Ls400  .... and it's possibly a Mk1 with 15" wheels .... and brakes to match

my first Ls400, from about 22 years ago, same colour, pearlescent white ( J54DAP and a Mk1 ) and a wonderful car compared to any other " daily " user car .....  and I had her for about 60k miles .  wonderful car that I gave away at about 180k miles .  bit of rust from an accident repair before my ownership .......but a super car for sure 

My second Ls400  M47HWO ?  was my Mk2 ( write off in 2011 )  ..........  and now I have my Mk3 that I've had since 2011  ..  the Mk3 is better than either of the two previous for sure ...........

I don't know about a Mk4 BUT certainly the first Ls400 wasn't a patch on the Mk3 from all aspects ..................

NOW ....  an elderly Ls400 ( mine ) does suffer from occasional electrical gremlins which you may never resolve .....  they do however have the great habit of resolving themselves thankfully .....  good servicing and preventative maintenance is the way to treat these cars in my experience

I fear that an early. earlier car will suffer from these, especially one that's hardly been used 

Bit like me buying my yearning for S3 Bentley from the 1960s ...  I won't get one coz i just know it will be troublesome from all sorts of very expensive aspects even if it just sits around, or maybe especially if it just sits around, looking pretty and for people to drool over 

I think Devo that if you wanted a very usuable car then do not go for an early Ls400 .....  your Ls460, with attendant issues sorted, will be a much more useful car in the years ahead 

Just my simplistic view ......

Malc

Little too simplistic Malc first you condemn ownership because its been kept in some ones front room and then because it was first generation and not up to the mark 3 ,but then suggest ownership over a 460 to keep things less complicated .

This is probably the best example of a mark 1 LS400 outside of Toyota's museum, yes there are a lot of improvements on later models and that is to be expected but whoever buys this car is going to own a true part of motoring history the same way someone buying a classic Model T Ford back in the day.

I have never been a disciple of the not used not good for the car doctrine with modern technology and materials the damage to the mechanical parts is negligible and probably equates to equivalent usage of the vehicle.

I have owned a mark 1 for 14 years and put 130k on it before I sold it with 180k and it served me well my present mark 4 is a better car in some ways but that classic look into the engine bay the mark1 has is missing as is that lovely 15 inch wheel design that you could put on the wrong direction.

To sum up I think anyone who as owned these cars from their inception is spoilt because anything that followed is a drift away from the original concept and can never be quite the same .

The key is linked through the security system on the car and will be set when the car was first built.

If there have been any modifications they will be held in the Lexus database this is why you will have to resort to using them to supply another key. You might be covered by your insurance for the cost of replacement which I have to warn you is very expensive.