PeterNY

Can someone please remove my user id? Thanks for the great help so far. Unfortunately due to the impossible petrol prices in NL I had to say goodbye to my LS400. Thanks!

Does your reply relate to the fungus smell issue or the leakage issue? :winky:

The catalogue price at the time, with authentic navigation system, was NLG 200.000 / EUR 90.000 / GBP 60.000 so I guess cars are indeed cheaper in the UK. Also, second hand cars in the Netherlands still fetch quite high prices, regardless of engine size. Not many LS400's were sold in the period 1989 - 2003 here so I guess that also has an impact.

When buying cars with some issues you can sometimes take a bet. A perfect history car with perfect mileage usually costs a lot of money and can also suddenly have a mayor technical issue that will cost a lot of money. A good example in the Netherlands. A 1998 LS400 at a dealer costs EUR 18.000 (GBP 12.000) whereas my 1998 LS400, with only one key when I got it / fungus in the boot / missing navigation manual / some scratches (normal after 10 years) cost me my 1999 IS200, which I traded in with worn suspension and some other serious wear (with 190.000 KM / 118.000 Miles). Obviously a 1999 IS200 V6 is easier to sell for a dealer than a 1998 LS400. Anyway, with the spread in price I have some reserve. And both cars are fun but obviously the space, luxury and performance of a LS400 surpass an IS200.

My 1998 LS400 has a similar issue. When I got the car the boot was full of water with fungus. After drying the inside and cleaning out the carpetting and everything there is still a remote fungus smell. And after trying all kinds of stuff (silica gel / insence et cetera) I just do not seem to be able to get the last of the smell to go. Some fungus must still be present somehow.

Most people in ZA make quite a low income (ZAR 150.000 / 200.000 per annum) so I guess they suffer with those prices. But for those people with a higher income (ZAR 400.000 / 1.000.000 per annum) I guess it is still manageable. I used to live in ZA a few years ago and the prices were even lower then so driving a BMW 535i was fun! :winky: Especially because you could basically throw away all speeding fines then.

In the Netherlands the highway petrol price is EUR 1.50 per litre (GBP 1) and at the discount unmanned stations on industrial areas it is EUR 1.40 per litre (GBP 0.93). It sure is expensive to run a LS400 these days. Especially since I live 100 miles / 160 kilometres from the office one way.

Strangely enough after pressing the front lights washer button the washing fluid light went off.

Super! I will get my brother to work on it! He is a Toyota fan and has experience with mechanics. :winky:

Good morning! I was wondering whether anyone with a LS400 1998 original navigation has a complete set of CD-ROMS that came with the car at the time and could provide a photograph. With my LS400 I only got the black plastic box with a CD-ROM for Benelux and a CD-ROM for Germany. There is a space for a third CD-ROM but I have no idea what it should be. Also, in my tool box I have an empty space. Would that be for the flash light? Thanks a million for any support! :winky:

My 1998 LS400 has the same issue but unfortunately I do not have the technical skills so I will just print the information and ask a mechanic to fix it. :winky:

Very impressive! I do not think something like you do would be possible in the Netherlands. Enjoy!

Quite impressive. Is it not more fun to diversify towards a SC400 or RX300h rather than sticking with the LS400?

The arial works fine. It might have been a moisture issue in the trunk. When I bought the car the previous owner obviously left something organic and very wet in the trunk for very long. So the trunk was full of fungus and very moist. I cleaned it out, treated it with anti-fungal substances and still leave it open to dry out for hours over weekends. After this the system started working fine again. The foul stench is almost gone but it still remains to some extend. Something which only time can fix I fear.

Yesterday it started working fine again. But I left the navigation system screen off. Perhaps that has something to do with it.