Hi Dave,
I'm sorry that you didn't get any responses to your questions. I tried to post this earlier, but I guess my new Opera 7.02 somehow didn't make it. I did however not get any error messages, yet the posting never appeared. Pretty strange. If you're reading this, it obviously worked :-) So here goes:
I am living on the continent, and I don't look into this forum too often. But I own just the MK III you have been looking at ('95), and although I can't answer all your questions, I do have some inputs which I hope might reduce your disappointment. Firstly, to see what we're talking about, check http://users.skynet.be/xel/lexus/LS400. These photographs were taken three weeks before the time of writing. As you can see, the car is in pretty good shape for having been nearly six times around the world. This is still the factory condition, nothing major has been done to it so far.
The details:
There is no trip computer. There are however two different trip meters that can be reset independently. That's it.
In my model there is a way to disable the traction control (not that I need it though). The button ("TRC OFF") is located next to the headlight cleaners. Look at the zoom photograph on http://users.skynet.be/xel/lexus/LS400/int-L-13.jpg. It's top/left. However, if you didn't see it in the car you looked at, that could indeed mean that the UK models don't have it. I don't know about that. BTW: the traction control does an excellent job. Mine comes to action once or twice a day. I regularly have to drive uphill on a slippery, winding road. With the traction control on, I just step on it. Excellent. Wouldn't want to miss it.
According to the handbook, the car does not have a special service reminder light. It has separate check lights for engine, airbags, brakes, generator, oil pressure, oil level, ABS function etc. I have never seen any of them come on unexpectedly.
Cambelts should be changed every 100,000km. I had that done just recently when I had it in for the 200,000km service, parts were approximately 450 EUR. BTW, I have all servicing done at my local Lexus dealer. While the car was in the shop, I had them replace the windscreen (too many impacts), 475 EUR, small parts included. The spark plugs were due, and almost all the engine fluids were exchanged. That was the fattest bill I ever had with a Lexus, and it came to 1765 EUR, labour and taxes included.
The most recent service was 275 EUR and consisted of brake pads, oil pan drain gasket, oil filter, oil and few other fluids, labour and taxes included. Can't really complain there.
My normal daily driving pattern these days is 10 km on a normal road with some traffic, 25 km on an autoroute cruising at 120-125 km/h with moderate traffic, and finally 5 km on a two-lane road with the last km winding and slippery (see above).
The average consumption in mixed traffic is 12 litres for 100km. But when I drive longer autoroute distances with the cruise control on and very little traffic, consumption can go down to 10.5 litres for 100km. Sometimes, however, our LS gets a run on the German autobahn, and then we're talking about more than 14 litres. The speedometer has occasionally shown 270km/h, and it is not too far off. I attempted to calibrate it with a stop watch while my wife was trying to keep the car at a steady 240km/h, and on a three km long strip I measured an average of 235 km/h. Wind noise at that speed is still negligible, and the engine noise is merely a hum. The air suspension does a perfect job. Third gear red-lines at approx 215km/h and by then the car is actually sucked against the ground. The power steering becomes stiffer and it feels totally different from the soft and gentle behaviour at low speeds. However, there is not much driving sensation below 200km/h, it still feels like cruising, so one might as well set the cruise control to the legal speed limit and cruise along. Cruise control is the best I have ever driven with. I practically always use it, even on two lane roads and in town.
The history of car defects so far:
a) Three years ago the steering wheel inclination sensor developed a few bad spots, sometimes the steering wheel did not come back to the memory position. Was exchanged, the part cost about 45 Euros.
b) Two small pipes that recirculate from exhaust back into the intakes (apparently something that has to do with emission control) started to develop small cracks. When I stepped on it, I could actually hear soft noises from the exhaust, which is not normal for an LS ;-). So I had them replaced, 185 EUR total. Now it's back to absolute silence, the way it should be :-)
c) When the car was two years old, the radio display lost some of its vertical LED segments. But the whole unit was replaced under warranty, no problems since.
That was it, as far as problems are concerned.
Why did I buy an LS400 in the first place? I originally wanted an S-class Mercedes. Unfortunately (for Mercedes) I had a test drive with the LS 400's competitor at the time, the 400 SEL, and found that slightly disappointing. The car was pretty noisy, the body feeling heavy (if not sluggish) and the engine unresponsive. So I booked me a test drive with a 7-series BMW. That was even worse. Engine noise in the passenger compartment for a car of that class is a nightmare, and I was absolutely not impressed with the performance of the suspension. Not stiff enough to be sporty, and not comfortable enough to be luxurious. And personally I don't like the interior of the Mercedes nor the BMW, but that is of course a matter of personal taste. The following test drive with the LS400 was pretty amazing. That car fit me like a glove. Every button is where I expected it, I immediately liked the no-nonsense approach. And the fluorescent meters. And the negligible amount of wind noise and the total absence of engine noise, together with a perfect finish and craftsmanship. And the air suspension. And the turn radius of that big car, which never ceases to amaze me. Our smaller car is nearly one meter shorter than the LS400, but with its front-wheel drive it needs almost two more meters to turn.
So finally I got me an LS400, and have never regretted it. Almost six times around the world, no wear, no tear, no nothing. No measurable oil consumption, no sign of a transmission wearing out or of bearings collapsing. Nothing. When you open the passenger compartment, it still smells of new leather. And everything is still original.
What you heard about the stock Pioneer CD with the 6-fold changer in the glovebox is absolutely correct (I practically never listen to tape or radio). Most people would probably consider me an audiophile. But when driving in the car, I certainly do not need any better than that stock system. There is now much talk about the high end Mark Levinson system in the LS430 and SC430. I recently had an LS430 for a test weekend, and I must say that the Mark Levinson system is indeed better (more transparency, real concert hall atmosphere). However, I also have to confess that I had to drag my best classical DDD recordings from the shelf before I could hear much of a difference (under normal driving conditions).
So is this LS400 thing perfect? Nope. Here's the down-side, from a few years and kilometers of experience:
If you're going through fast s-shaped corners, then the steering and handling could be better. It's pretty fast, but at low and moderate speeds it isn't a sports car.
On a bumpy road the air suspension guesses its setting right most of the time, but not always. And when it doesn't, then the car feels a little jumpy, almost like an American car of two decades ago.
On cold mornings the engine idles at 1,600 to 1,800 rpm, which means that I go through town at 70km/h, having no foot on the throttle. So I have to shift it into lower gears for one or two minutes, and brake hard at the first traffic light. I don't like that. My dealer sees no way how he can change this.
When you have the air conditioning on, then it will activate and de-activate the compressor in intervals. Every time it does that, engine electronics will compensate the engine regime by approximately 200 rpm. It probably doesn't need to do that, but that's the way it is designed. My dealer can't change that. With the kind of torque of the V8 however, when the engine idle goes up by 200 rpm and your foot is only lightly on the brake, you could actually be pushed forward quite a bit. Especially at traffic lights, or when entering my garage, I find this pretty disturbing.
And finally, the whole car is rather air tight. This unfortunately means that you need a bit of force to close the doors. Often my passengers or even myself do not apply enough force, and then we have to open and close the door again. Unless of course you have the sunroof or one of the windows open. Then a gentle push will be sufficient. The whole thing is unbecoming of a luxury car.
But that's all, and when you look that critically onto an LS400 and its competitors, bearing in mind its age, you will probably find more weak points with the competitors.
All summed up, if you currently own a 2.5 litre Volvo, and if you're actually driving more than 100 miles per day, I would recommend that you get yourself an LS400. You will not regret that, and when you arrive, you will step out of the car much more relaxed. At least that's the way it works for me. Daily.
Hope that helps... :-)
Greetings,
Kazetachi
