Keith Bowler

Ian - I have something very similar to that but not with the 'hooked end' I have now made up some 'bungs' from a couple of old grommets I had knocking around in the garage to push in over the vertical projecting stubs of my mat clips as the holes in the actual mats are about 20mm diameter.

When I have some time I will post a pic to as my fixe sems to work and looks quite tidy.

Bought some good quality floor mats that have two 20mm diameter holes that position above the plastic retainers on the floor but did not come with anything to push fit into the holes in the mats to secure them.

Does anyone have a source for these, Lexus don't seem to know what I am talking about.

I have L400AAA on my 1999 MkIV LS, not my choice and can't be bothered to change it back to the original R/S reg age related original plate.

Probably just a private plate, may be the letters in the reg have some significance to the current owner

Hi Mudzs

Good to see you back, I have just passed my Mk1 GS down to my brother-in-law which is a shame as it was in great nick for its age.

I have since moved on to an LS which is something I thought I would never do and I am well and truly smitten with it, though I must say I do still have a soft spot for the Mk1 GS.

I often look at the MK1 GS's that are for sale and the best one that has been around for a while now is the blue one that is still on eBay being sold by DB Cars allegedly previously owned by Martin Brundle's brother.

hi all

Close to buying a series 4 LS 400, have driven the car and would like advice on the following issues. Please respond, if only to one or two of these

1. Replacing sidelight bulbs - easy job or is it a drama/expensive job? - have not yet had to replace any of mine yet, they seem to last for ever

2. Heated seats front and rear - are they designed to work only when someone is sitting in the seat? - As BigJaps response

3 Dynamic handling Pack - this car seems to drive better than the previous one I drove. The steering seems tighter etc. Mixed views on DHP? - I changed to my LS with DHP from a Mk1 GS Sport which had been tweaked and the LS is much better to drive at speed with less 'wallowing' and a slightly lower ride and stiffer suspension

4. Were LS400s ever fitted with run flat tyres? I forgot to check but there was a full sized spare so assumed not runflats. I hate the whole concept of runflats and would not buy a BMW on pronciple, despite having loved my 3004 330 D - The DHP spec cars were as far as I understand fitted with Bridgestone Potenza 245/50/17 Run flat tyres. I have retained these on mine and really don't think its a problem albeit they are heavier and harder and probably will last a bit longer than a non-runflat tyre. Also good if you run LPG 'cause you can loose the spare

5. I noticed some surface corrosion on the front suspension tops (purely cosmetic) and some on the bulkhead looking down the back of the engine. Anything to worry about? It looked purely cosmetic but do not like corrosion of any kind on my cars and would have to deal with it. - Mine has a small amount of surface corrosion which generally rubs off. I am going to treat and repaint mine as everything else under the bonnet is pristine.

6. I was unable to look underneath the car - should I worry about corrosion? Although there is much talk about reliability of these cars, there do seem to be a lot of them breaking for spares. - Despite what you might think salt does attack these cars just like any other car. Problems I was advised to look out for by my Lexus expert is front chassis and suspension corrosion especially the front ARB, the air con pipes that pass at low level at the bottom front of the rad can corrode and at the rear end the rear axle beam and suspension mounts. I was also advised to stear clear of a car that has spent most of its life by the sea. The one i bought came from Brighton!! but is very sound underneath.

7. The badges front and rear are scruffy. Easy to replace? I would be very grateful for any help, even if not on all points. It is urgent, because if I buy it, I will probably do so tomorrow - badges are easily replaced. Best trick is to carefully heat the badge with a hairdryer and then pull some fine guage fishing line carefully under it and if you are patient it should come away with just a little adhesive left behind which is easily removed with some stick-stuff remover.

8. The cruise control did not seem to work although the light came on - any ideas? - take the car out on a quiet stretch of straight road where you can play around with your speed up to say 60 MPH and try it out. Mine works by tapping the stubby lever down till the dash light comes on then take it up to the speed you want to keep to and push the button at the end and it should lock on to your selected speed. I seem to recall reading that it only works above a certain speed probably over 30 MPH or something like that.

9 I intended to check that the engine management light came on and went off. No lights on after starting. What does the light look like? - the engine management light appears on the dash as a yellow engine icon

thanks in advance

High Hugh - here is my threepenny worth (see my comments against your post). I too have the DHP model and think its great.

Hope my input is of help.

Wow thats great economy, I am embarassed to say that mine is showing 15.1 MPG as an overall average, best I have got is 26.7 MPH but then I do drive it like i just nicked it (within the speed limit of course) and my journeys at the moment are generally short ones probably less then 6 miles.

I even had it checked over to make sure it was all running as it should and there was no fuel loss anywhere and it checked out fine.

Welcome fella

You have made the right choice, but as others have said you do need to bide your time and choose carefully and sound out the guys on here with any queries or finds you come accross.

I have had my Mk IV for just over a year and it came up out of the blue really. I paid £2200 for it when they were selling for sub £1500 but it was a good buy for me as it had virtually a full history and all papers to proove it.

Good luck with the search

My MKIV's was done at 90,000 by PO and that was at Lexus's suggestion according to the service history.

My 1995 GS 300 was 60,000 intervals or the 5 year rule.

Never tried Saga myself for similar reasons as they always quote high.

Just renewed my insurance, was with Privelege but decided to go with Admiral. The £130 cheaper quote was the decider and that was for their platinum policy online. I am also in an area that is a higher than average risk.

Thanks chaps

Just bought what looks like a clean one off Fleabay

Need to replace my boot carpet since curing a leaky boot seal as it has gone a bit 'floppy' and seems to have shrunk somewhat.

Does anyone know if a Mk3 boot carpet is the same shape etc as the Mk4?

Thanks chaps

That's an interesting combination Steve.

Has got me wondering now if my old Mk1 GS sport wheels would fit they are 18" though with 245 40's on the front and 275 35's on the rear, though may foul the arches me thinks.

Found this thread interesting.

One question though - if you buy a used key and transfer the transponder etc into a new blank key will the reprogramming process identified in this thread reprogram the previously programmed transponder?

It is rare to find an LS400 in a scrapyard as they seem to end up with the Banger Racing boys.

That said one of the Banger Teams featured in the Sky TV series of the same name was running an LS400.

Sounds about right I too had a proper Lexus part fitted.

Can't say exactly what I paid for getting ball joint fitted as I had my lower front bumper mouldings replaced together with headlight alignment checked and my bill was £140 all in.

Had a similar problem with excessive tyre wear on my nearside front.

Turned out to be a dodgy balljoint and the extent of tyre wear problem only became apparent after I had the balljoint replaced.

Seemed that tracking had been adjusted to compensate for minor tyre wear over a period of time caused by the failing ball joint.

Got tracking checked and it was 6mm out of true now resolved and trye wear is fine and thats with 245 wide tryes on DHP wheels.

Thats a great little guide, one for the bookmarks.

Cheers

It could have bee a fire engine - I recall a DJ on one of the popular radio stations a while back went out on a drinking binge and the next day took delivery of a fire engine which he apparently did a deal on the night before.

Hey, that's interesting, with a 55 profile does your speedo read correct speed.

Probably neglible error over reading.

I believe the 245 50 17 combination gives correct rolling radius for 17 inch wheels.

Its an option worth exploring though as a slightly bigger tyre on a 17 inch wheel will fill wheel arches better.

That sounds a little expensive though Fulda's get very good reviews.

Aside from Conti's I really rate Falkens which Camskill were selling for around £95 (fitted I think) here in England.

I expect you pay a little more due to shipping costs.

Been doing some research into this myself.

I have 245 50 17's on mine at present and I reckon they run ok with just minor 'tramlining' but then I have the Bridgestone Potenza runflats on at present. Very good tyre, bit hard and a little nosier than other brands but very pricy.

I would say its the tyre composition and profile that improves ride rather than tyre width.

When I replace mine next I am going to go for 235 45 17's, most likely Contisports which is the size I have on my spare set of wheels that I use in the winter. The tyres on them at present are a Michelin brand and they are so quiet and the ride not too harsh and thats a lesser profile than the 50 profile Bridgstones.

Just as an aside I had 245 40 18 front and 275 35 18 rear on my Mk1 GS300 and the ride with Contisports was phenominal, shame it only had a straight six motor and not a V8, next to my Mk IV LS it was the best drivers car I have ever owned.

Rust on a 2004 Lexus does not sound right.

Is there not a warranty for bodywork and paint.

I remember getting one side of an Audi 80 resprayed back in the early 90's at a phenominal sum met by my local Audi dealer under warranty as it had developed rust bubles in various places.

Wow that's cheeky.

So where do you keep your parking meter change now then?

Front tyre wear on the IS, GS and LS is always difficult to understand and cure.

By far the best solution as has been mentioned is to get a professional laser alignment done and not the £25 job from your local Kwik Fit.

I have had issues with abnormal tyre wear on the front tyres of both my old GS and my current LS.

I have also had great results from having my cars set up by Tony at WiM and by using Conti's as in my opinion they really due run well on heavy old Lexus's without reasonable wear.

You also need to be aware of other contributory factors such as front suspension ball joint and bush wear and alloy wheel damage.

I had a ball joint deteriorate quite badly on the nearside front of my LS recently. Had it fixed and the front nearside tyre wore agressively almost down to the steel banding in a matter of days. Turned out that the tracking had been adjusted to account for the balljoint wear so was almost 6mm out of alignment. Now corrected and all seeems to be well again though the steering wheel is out of true.

During this process when having the front nearside tyre replaced I was advised that the nearside alloy was out of true and so way out of balance. This had gone totally unnoticed with no vibration or judder at speed whatsoever. My tyre fitter suggested that the weight of the car, the suspension wear and the tracking misalignment was somehow compensating for the various faults.

We live and learn.

Good Luck!