Haylands

I take it the IS doesn't have a change draw then.... I keep mints in mine, was only looking the other day if I could remove the ashtray and lighter and make a bigger space for the sweets..... I didn't get where I am today (fat Ba***rd) by not haveing enough room for sweets..... Mind you I am on a diet and I've just lost 1 stone so I'm not eating any at the moment, so like aztecbandit1, if you want a mint send me your address and I'll post you one..... Pete (wasting away).....

Chris You can get a little relay to stop this, it basically delays the power to the reversing lights for a second and so prevents the anoying blip... they are quite cheap, do a google, if no luck let me know and I'll see if I can find it again Pete

Hi If your asking about wether you should use it or not then yes you should, the aircon is filled with gas and some oil, the oil helps the seals to keep their seal, if you leave it off for a long time the seals will dry out and the system will leak... its a use it or loose it job.... I have never noticed any difference in MPG in a modern car with the air con on or off, I think this harps back to the early days when the air con compressor was from a truck and took half the power of the engine just to turn it, most modern units are far more efficient and don't use much at all.... Pete

Steve When he wants it VIPed I'll send him over there, he's enough on his hands already, Can I try your powerband next time I see you, I can't afford my own at the mo.... Pete

Yes I did it, never heard of a snipeing thing but its hard on those last seconds, a bit of experience and an awfull lot of luck, he said, as he had visions of an AA tow back to London ........intersting post that you found the exact link to a closed auction...were you bidding??? or the seller?? :D I'm looking forward to picking it up in a week or two when I get time to get there. Below was a 400 I am very surprised did not go this evening, I watched a few much worse cars than this go for more than what appears to be the highest bid, it was used as an exec limo for taking people to heathrow, I think that means a bummed up mini cab. http://tinyurl.com/6h86cg Hi No I'm not a bidder or seller, if you go to advanced search you then have the option to look at completed items, there wern't too many ls400's on sale in the last few days so its easy really, there are various sites around that will bid for you at the last second, supposed to be good but I've heard of two people lately who lost it because the site's computer bid late... The sellers feedback as you say is excellent, don't worry about the car, when you go to pick it up don't pay untill you have examined it well and taken it for a test drive, it should be smooth and powerful, with no nasty noises, don't get excited and carried away, keep a level head and look over it well, the seller is a professional and won't mind you checking his description. Check and recheck and make sure you get it good and hot and try it at all speeds, check operation of all the buttons and crawl underneath to check for damage. I'm sure it will be OK but remember sellers cannot leave you negative feedback anymore so if it is not as you expected then walk away. Good Luck We will expect some better pics when you get it and want to here how it is... Pete

Hi Welcome to the LOC Just been looking at your new car on ebay, I take it its this one http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...bayphotohosting Looks a nice car, amasing condition for those miles, and I expect it will go on forever if you look after it. Seems to have been well looked after. Did you bid yourself or use one of those snipe bid things, if you did it yourself congrats on getting it in the last second..... Hope you enjoy it. Pete

Hi Just found this snippet from the US Lexus official site about tyres on the 430.... Optional 17 x 7.5-in wheels with 225/55HR17 tires are expected to experience greater tire wear than the standard equipment tires, 225/60HR16. Tire life may be substantially less than 15,000 miles, depending on driving conditions. Your riding comfort may decrease and road noise may increase during driving. Please consider all this when selecting an LS 430 equipped with this option. And when they say substantially less boy did they mean it.... Shame we never had the option to have quieter tyres that lasted longer..... these optional size in the US are our standard tyres.... Going to get mine WIM'ed soon to hopefully sort it out.... Pete

Surprisingly no, the car even remembered the seat positions, it was virtually as if I hadn't done a thing, I think the radio reset itself but most things worked fine, sometimes the windows go haywire and the one touch doesn't work, all you do is put them all the way down and then up to teach the windows where they are. The first battery I bought, that was listed didn't fit, it was too deep, if you look at the battery tray there is no way a bigger or smaller battery will fit it has to be the exact same size, so measure yours and check the one they give you. I changed mine back in March and it has been fine ever since with no problems at all Pete

2d.... what... you bought a dog for £3.50.... I hope you know its for life..... Pete

Further to my enquiry re length of service from a cam belt on a LS 400 - I have trawled through the American Lexus Club site . - 128 pages over 2 years - and have not seen one instance when a club member has reported a broken cam belt - there are some cases in the USA where instances of replacing a cam belt on a 1990 LS for the first time at 150K have been reported. I would add I have no intention of testing that theory. Hi there I dont know where this post came from on the 22nd Feb but I certainly did not post it and deny all knowledge of it MJM 444 Yeah that was 3 years ago though..... 22nd feb 2005.... remember it now? Pete

Pale pink, cherry red.... either will be OK, when the trans starts to wear it leaves particles in the oil, it then starts to go brown and look like clean engine oil so as long as it doesn't look like that I'm sure you will be fine Pete

Hi Welcome to the LOC. Can't understand how an alternator can be border line, they either work or they don't, Lexus ones are very reliable and rarley give trouble. Who checked it and how? it is easy to presume the alternator is not giving enough charge when in fact it is the battery that can't take the charge. Chances are the battery has been run down a few times and left flat whilst at a dealers. If you have a Denso battery chances are it is the original, if it is I would change it, I changed mine a while ago for a Bosch silver with 4 year guarantee, got it trade from a motor factors for less than £70. So if you are not going to use it regularly I would buy it a new battery and you will have no problems. If it is a has the Premium Pack and has keyless entry, don't leave the key within 15 feet of the car or any other electrical device as it will try to talk to it and the key battery will drain as well.... Good Luck Pete

I would just like to add that no dogs came to harm whilst making this thread

Thanks Mark, now when I used the search button for "kills dogs" why didn't it bring up this post.... how good is this search thingy???... I've had problems before with it... Pete

Steve Don't know where in Lincs you are but if you need a garage to do it and don't know of one in your area I can recomend one in Hull, they are a general garage and MOT station. I've known the owner for years, he is honest and trustworthy and will do the job right. PM me if you want his details. Pete

Steve Why do you want to lock them, are you afraid someone will steal them!!!!!!!LOL... Seriously, I take it you are going to change the cam belt, I've read a few posts on this and they all don't bother locking them, they don't move unless you play with them... There is a good write up here http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/engine/timingbelt.html Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs.... Pete

Steve I was looking for your "kills dogs as well" post about these but coudn't find it..... if you can find it post a link, it gives info and a laugh.... Pete

Hi Fitted a few sets to other cars and did have a look at my brothers 400 but he decided he liked the smooth look of the back without them, it didn't look too bad. Fitting is easy, just take your time, look up behind the rear bumper and see where you can place them with access to the rear, there is usually a reasonable amount of room, you may have to take out the bumpers lower clips to see. I may be easier to remove the whole bumper which is easy, just get someone to help lifting it off and on so you don't chip/mark the paint. I've fitted the very cheap ones on ebay and the more expensive sets on sale and I think they are all made in the same factory, they all work pretty well but you have to remember they are aids and not a definitive solution, posts and some exterior corners will confuse them.... Good Luck Pete

Mike Been up a few times this, its bacteria growing in the air con system, nice and damp and warm.... You can get an aerosol to clean it out, Halfords among others sell it, costs about £10, did it to mine a while back and all is smelling of roses now, You put the air con to recirculate and let off the can in the car, it empties to whole can and draws it around and through the air con, you stay outside the car and leave it running for 10-15 mins and all is sorted. Don't forget to put the rear air con on as well Pete

Steve I have had several cars over the years that have done this, they all started playing up when cold and got better when hot, all of them got worse and worse untill it wouldn't start at all, I had to replace the motor. I'd start looking for a motor and fit it yourself, its a big job but seems straightforward... Sorry for no good news from me, maybe someone else knows a trick or something. Pete

Mike If you have the same disc as me then look here Electrical wireing diagram Power source Tree This brings up a page showing a flow chart from the battery through all the fuses and their locations and what they control, its all abbreviated but most of it is fairly obvious... If you have a different disc, let me know and i'll pop the page on here Pete

Hi I fitted one of these to my LS430 a while ago and agree it is superb. There is a UK supplier somewhere but the price is way more than you can get direct, the manufactorer sells on ebay or phone them direct, pay by credit card and it arrives in a few days. Any car audio shop/fitter can fit it, I'd never done it before and it took me 20mins all in, it just piggybacks into the back of the radio, ie. pull out the plugs that are there, plug them in the unit and plug the plugs supplied into the radio. job done..... Works great and the best thing is not having to "agree" with the sat nav any more....... Pete

Hi Don't know what type yours is but if its just the case you want there are loads on ebayUSA (www.ebay.com) Pete

Nope they arent worn, but actually I got the DF210 Tanabe's in a box at home, but was told that the Tanabe springs will reduce the life span quite much on the factory struts! Don't want to blow up my shocks in a couple of months.. :( I take it the Tanabe's are the uprated 2 inch lower springs.... yes they will reduse the life span of the original struts, but then again lowering the car by 2 inches and increasing the spring rate will reduce the life span of just about everything else on the car.... I wouldn't worry too much, just use them.... You could try ClubLesxus in the US for more info, they like lowering..... (there you go Steve)..... Good Luck and watch out for speed bumps Pete

The throttle control motor is an electric motor that opens the throttle and lets you accelerate, its controlled by the ecu from imputs from your right foot, as this is your symptom and the fault codes show a fault with it I would have a stab at guessing that maybe the motor has stopped working or there is an electrical fault between the throttle pedal and the ecu, and its not opening the throttle......!!?!?!??! Try changing the motor and see what happens, or have the wireing checked for continuity...... Good Luck Pete