Seb Harvey

I've had this problem and it is because the discs are warped. New discs and changing your driving style is the only way to solve the problem. Though when I last had the problem, I took it into a Lexus garage who skimmed the discs which solved the problem. This only cost £120 from them. Problem is heat spots developing on the discs from keeping your foot on the brake at the lights or stationary, as the pads grip the disc and lock the heat in, which changes the shape of the discs. The easiest way to find out if your discs are warped is to jack the car up and spin the wheels. As the wheel rotates you will notice the pads scraping the at a certain point during the rotation. Suspension isn't the problem.

Hi, The pedal firms up when the engine is off and then depresses when the engine is started. I can pump this up and works okay for the first few brakes, but then goes long again. I'm also not getting any leaks from the car (just fixed a massive Power Steering leak on the high-pressure pipe, and I know the car isn't leaking anywhere else!) Just this weekend replaced discs (old ones warped) and pads and is still long. Just to rule out anything else, I'm getting my fuild changed this afternoon.

I know I'm reviving an old thread, but I've had a similar problem that I thought might help others. My LS 400 was vibrating pretty badly between 60-70mph. First thing I did was get the wheels balanced. This didn't stop it. I then swapped the front and rear wheels around. Didn't fix the problem either. I then removed all scum on the wheel face and regreased, in case the build up - yet small - was the problem with maybe the wheel centring. Then I fitted new brakes (all round, rears were gone anyway) with the brake fitting kit, still no improvement. Though I did notice a ceased caliper, which was the cause of the problem. Since is was gone beyond repair, I had to get a second-hand one (Lexus wanted 600 quid for a new one!) and fitted it myself which stopped the problem right away. I did try and release the ceased pistons a few times and oil the baby up, but they would soon cease again. What was happening, I assume, was that the caliper was in effect locking the pads onto the disc, so it was like driving around with one wheel almost trying to brake itself! And when it warmed up, on motorways, everything was expanding in the heat and pushing against each other, thus the vibration. The caliper warped my new discs, which I also replaced, so all is good now. But warping is very easy on these Lexus beasts, there was an article on this forum somewhere I read where it told you how to brake properly (IE not sitting at the lights with your foot on the pedal, as it keeps the heat locked into the braking system, resulting in warping, for example).

It this feature in just 98 models or earlier ones too?

Hi all, I have (what I would assume) is a long brake pedal. It has always been the case since I brought the car second hand, however, I'm having to push the pedal to the floor before I get any braking. Is this normal? If not, how can I resolve it? I have recently serviced the car, replaced brake pads, discs and brake fitting kit and drained/refilled brake fluid, but it hasn't shortened the pedal push. Car: Lexus LS400 '96

Throttle body clean will help the sluggish pulling off. If the car has been neglected, the body is probably coated with carbon and starving the engine of air.

Every 100,000 miles from the time the last one was changed. I would change it anyway if I brought a new car to be sure. Would hate for the timings to slip because the previous owner had a heavy right foot.

Hi all, new to this forum. I have experienced a similar problem to what is being described here. It developed over time and the vibration got to bad, it was almost dangerous to drive at speed, particularly on motorways. It only happened between 60 - 70 mph. Soonafter buying my LS from a previous owner, I needed three tyres replacing. However, the front offside was still from the previous owner (who I later discovered always brought part-worns to save money). Soon after the new tyres, the car started vibrating at speed and gradually got worse. I had my mechanic balance the wheels, align the tyres, check ball joints but the problem persisted. As a final attempt, we decided to swap the front and rear tyres around. After taking off the front offside, it was apparent that the part-worn tyre had worn unevenly towards the insides (I dont know if the Lexus caused the problem or they wore unevenly on the previous car). We guessed that the tyre was wobbling due to the funny wear and sending the vibration back up the wheel. Having placed the worn on the rear, the vibration stopped immediately, (only started to vibrate occasionally under braking at high speeds - EG: coming off a motorway). In the end, replaced the tyre and the problem was solved. Thank you to all who posted in this thread, this thread was a massive help is diagnosing the problem. Glad to say the LS lives for another day.