lurch

Hi there my father in laws 1998 ls400 has been cutting out for over a year now and they have learned to live with it but it's dangerous so am trying to find out what it could be. They say they are driving along when all of a sudden it cuts out leaving no power steering no dashboard lights etc, they jiggle the keys and its then back to life. Car has to been driven for a while I.e. Half hour or so before it plays up and then can be ok after that, strange one. Seems ignition problem to me but you can,t get it to do it by jiggling keys before its cut out. Any ideas please would be appreciated. 88,000 miles on clock.

The Rx400 sel doesn't have air suspension but RX300 etc do. Me personally Hybrid , tax will be a little cheaper, only issue is the small battery for starting but once new one fitted will last a few years, mine when sits in garage is connected to trickle charger which keeps it up as I don't use mine for weeks and when I leave it at airport I plug a solar charger in, have had no probs. dvd screens for kids are great.

Had mine done a good three years ago at sca international in Norwich, they lifted car off ground and it had a full laser and geometry set up, took well over an hour and cost £75.00, but believe me best money I ever spent, tyre wear has been even ever since. The chap told me he gets loads of lexus cars in as he says even from factory they tend to set them up to over compensate. He adjusted not just the tracking but suspension geometry as well. Nothing worse than spending a lot of money on new tyres only for them to wear uneven and have to be replacd early.

Thanks Colin that clears that up.

Sitting in the car tonight I said to my son this mark leverson system has got 11 speakers, well I could only find seven any ideas where the other four are ? Two in rear doors , four in front doors, one above sat nav screen that's it. Perhaps someone else know where they are.

Mine was well out of warranty and I didn't even have it serviced there, complained and they replaced. Did buy from lexus Hatfield but complained to my local Lexus dealer Norwich who sorted. Is it worth trying another Lexus Dealer ? Very poor if they don't replace them on a car like that !

That's a good question bob, I have had services done at main dealer and my trusted Independant lexus/toyota garage and would choose my trusted Indy garage every time . My RX is now 8 years old done 44k so will take it to Roys motor company in Norwich every time for me. Pay less and better job done for me, have had to complain and take back before my old is200 to Lexus norwich not impressed. Lexus ipswich were good but quoted me £750 for my last service where I got Roys to do it for under £250! Personal choice. You can always ask for your local garage to use genuine parts will still be cheaper. Have driven all way up to Lexus Derby to look at a RX 400h which I was told was excellent only for it to be a piece of s..t, wouldn't, even unlock doors, battery flat, wasn't impressed with their attitude at all. Your choice mate.

Here you go bob.

I believe it's do with the alarm system, so you can turn off the motion sensor inside if you leave pets etc inside vehicle.

That's because it loads all six discs through the single slot in centre column fascia . Load one at a time when the load button lights up. Load button on right, eject on left on this picture. Then on the display you will see how many cd's you have in there , symbols displayed at bottom. Hope this helps.

I would definately get them powdercoated and not just painted. Lexus just replaced mine with refurbed wheels that were just painted, they lasted less then 18 months before corroding again, had them done myself powdercoated and are still good three years on, had they done porsche grey metallic. Hopefully picture of wheels from previous post. http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/uploads/monthly_06_2014/post-24999-0-23950500-1403017860.jpg

I would push for new wheels, the set they gave me were refurbed which were wet sprayed and only lasted 18 months before starting to corrode again and I clean my car weekly , as my car was well out of warranty and they replaced them Ionce I decided not to go back again and complain but get them powdercoated myself which I did so should last . But on a motor like yours you should demand new ones.

I know mine is not an ISF but I had my RX400 wheels replaced after I took it to my local lexus dealer who took photos of the wheels and then sent them to lexus, couple weeks later all five replaced, car was six years old as well ! They were replaced with refurbed wheels and not brand new but still a result as were bubbling.

I would of thought a rx300 or 350 would be same as rx400. Rx450 to me is totally different.

When I bought mine I had similar problem with tyre wear, I had mine four wheel lasered by sca international at cost of £80.00 and tyre wear has been spot on since, four years ago. The guy said he is always doing lexus models as they all seem to be adjusted out from the factory once adjusted never a problem.

These are mine, had them powdercoated porsche grey metallic , look good against the dark blue paint of car.

Had several wheels done in the past , powder coated and once done have lasted until sold the cars. Lexus replaced mine with refurbed wheels which only lasted a year before bubbling started again and I clean my car regularly . They I believe were only wet sprayed refurbed and not powder coated. Always found powder coating the way to go.

Try these http://www.amayama.com direct genuine parts from Japan, even with import charges I paid £235.00 for genuine gearbox parts for Toyota rav4, where I was quoted £580.00 from uk dealer. You can put part numbers in and they show prices and will email you back with total cost before you pay. Parts took approx two weeks to arrive but was over Xmas.

Neil, i tend to agree with you , dealer knows more about that vehicle than there letting on. If its a Lexus dealer who sold it to Ian then its shocking the way he's being treated. I've had a few run ins with a Lexus dealer regarding quality of there servicing in the past. If its lexus then he should be able to get a refund. That mileage and history should have no issues with smoking full stop.

Hi Ian, that to me sounds more like a piston ring broken or worn (unlikely with that mileage) or valve stem seals again unlikely with that mileage, i have never had to put any oil in any lexus or toyota's ive had between services, Has it got the correct grade of oil in it ? You say it has just had cam belt done don't suppose the belt was refitted a tooth out meaning slightly out of timing to allow for the oil burning issue? Probably wouldn't bring any codes up, who done the cambelt lexus? White smoke normally means water or coolant leaking into cylinder , have you noticed and oily residue in your coolant water bottle or top of radiator as you could have a cracked engine block or blown head gasket, if head gasket gone you would probably notice your oil level slightly increasing but be milky, but cracked block may mean losing oil into your coolant system. Seems strange hopefully someone else may be able to help more or advise better, very strange as ultra reliable normally..

Had them on mine for last two years and can't fault them and cheap!!!

Hi there,not noticed my wiper arms corroding,you can buy a proper wiper arm puller for less than a tenner which makes it easier to get them off. Had my wheels refurbed by lexus and again by myself, also had my roof rails refurbed as they were corroded underneath these are quite common.

Got up today and couldn't find my RX keys, went to car in garage and found i had left them in the ignition since Friday eve, battery totally flat, the aux battery has been fine and replaced not that long ago so was thinking with keys left in ignition it must of drained it flat. Have just connected my battery charger to it with it still connected to car , hopefully will charge up ok, is there anything I need to worry about whilst charging or may need to be reset after wards ?

Yep they are excellent had them on mine for couple years now and have been well impressed with them. £104.00 each at time of fitting so not gone up much.

Thanks guys appreciated you took time out to have a look and that I,m not missing anything. Seems strange they don't cover that area up like all my other toyota/lexus have had.