Mike Floutier

Many thanks Matt, I've decided to go to Autoglass via the insurance company (£60 excess, no limit). They are happy for me to use Lexus but impose a £250 cap. I told them about my previous bad experience with the rain sensor. They asked me when this was and, rightly pointed out, that nowadays these sensors are a lot more common and the company trains techs to fit them. Fair comment. Regarding the trim problems I had previously I guess I just need to ensure I monitor the work and ensure that it's all fitted ok. Will let you know how it goes.

Hi Jason, thanks for this positive feedback, what was the cost? Lexus have just come back with a quote for my LS430 and it's just short of £1,000.

I recently had some bodywork done by a coachwork specialist. Lexus Colindale outsource all their bodywork to them. I thought the workmanship was excellent and thought I would phone them to ask their opinion about the windscreen issue. We had a long relaxed chat and the upshot was: 1. The Lexus dealer will do the best job for the car but it will be expensive. 2. If it was his car he would get a glass specialist such as National Windscreens and keep a close eye on the work. I accept the comment that a lot of jobs on the car can be done by any garage; indeed this is the reason why we work on our own cars and this form exists. However, some jobs are complicated, require special tools, and are infrequently carried out by local garages on Lexuses. I am still waiting for Lexus Colindale to come back to me with a price for my windscreen. Having read the instructions, I am not surprised. This delay is also an indication of how frequently they carry out this work.

Ok, just reading through this as a massive stone hit my 2006 LS430 screen last night - sounded like a brick! I've just read the Manual for replacement. 13 pages for removal plus 13 for replacement PLUS 5 sets of sub-system instructions. I also recall my 2002 LS430 screen replacement (Autoglass) leaving the rain sensor malfunctioning (even after returning for new gel strip) Any latest thoughts on best approach to this?

First question has to be, why would you want to replace them, since they wear so very little, if at all?

I've had some experience of these big front lower arm bushes on my 2002 LS430 so I thought I'd share my experience. I was getting some knocking/noise and noticed that it varied when driving over a bump (eg kerb) depending on where, on the lock, the steering was. By looking at the geometry it was clear that more pressure was put on the relative bush at certain steering positions. This helped me to confirm the bush diagnosis. As has been mentioned it is a simple job to press out/in the bush. It's easy to get it off the car, you just need a friendly mechanic with a press do the swap. Such relief!

I just bought a 2006 LS430 for £6,700. It had been sold to the one owner and then maintained by a Lexus main dealer which was very reassuring. I obtained the last 4 years' service records direct from said dealer as I am planning to maintain it myself and I wanted to know what was due to be done when. I did chuckle when I totted up the cost; it was just under £14,000!!

Thanks Roy, Well, it all started well, I did my small pilot hole and then proceeded to try a larger drill bit. Unfortunately the bit sheared off leaving it's tip in the hole. Now I'm stumped, as it's got dark I thought it best to sleep on it and ask for suggestions. I suppose I could try drilling around the captive drill bit with a small "super-hard" bit. Not really sure how to proceed, any ideas welcome. Thanks!

Many thanks Ian, will give it a go.

Ok, well I finally got hold of a replacement rear right suspension leg for the burst air-sus bladder. It was a fairly easy job to but I had to lower the hub etc. to accommodate the new leg. The only way I could see to do this was to release the pressure from the stabiliser bar. I couldn't undo the link so I went for removing the stabiliser bush clamp. Unfortunately one of the clamp bolts sheared off! I've not dealt with this sort of situation before so I would appreciate some wisdom. I guess I have to drill out the remaining bolt whilst trying not to damage the captive nut's threads. Please could someone talk me through the process so I don't make a pig's ear of it. Many thanks.

Ok I've found one at last and it's on the car now.

Hi Steve, These legs seem to be hard to find. I used several of the "fan out" breakers' services but only one of them had one and when he got it off the car he found that the bladder had a rip in it. I've asked for a quote from lexuspartsdirect but no response so far. I see Sewell Lexus in Dallas have them for a discounted price of US$1339 so that gives me an idea of the new price. I've since found an independent breaker in Wigan who has 2 LS430's and will be speaking to him tomorrow. Also there is a 430 in the States with a coil-over-shock unit available. The cost is equal to about £90 for the part and £80 for fast shipping. I've just been preparing the car for this new part. I thought it would be hard but everything came apart quite easily in spite of the car's 10+ years and 350,000 miles. The hardest bit was removing the rear wheel arch liner - there about half a hundredweight of good quality top-soil on the ground by the time I'd finished :) The hole in the bladder was easy to see once everything was removed. It was tempting to try some sort of repair as it was only a small hole but the general state of the rubber was poor - very perished; easy to see how they go. Anyway, hope to have it fixed and up for sale soon now I have my "new" Grey LS430 - 2006. Have just applied for 2 years Gold membership so will be advertising it shortly.

The bladder on my LS430 2002 Right Rear Suspension leg has developed a seemingly terminal leak so I'm looking for a replacement. Quite happy to use an air-sus or a coil-over-shock unit. Thanks for looking

Thanks Steve, that's awesome!

Ok, looks like the moral of this story is - if you replace your D2R Xenon bulb you should always refit the plastic cap on the back of the headlamp unit. As you can probably guess, the Light Control Computer (Ballast unit), was completely soaked and it's compartment was about an inch deep in water. I did find the appropriate fuse for each unit and noticed that inserting the fuse of the wet unit made it produce a brief buzzing sound; unlike the Good side which simply lit it's bulb without any fuss. Having removed the unit and superficially dried it I had a quick look at the input wiring, and whilst moving it gently managed to break the connection of the red wire to the unit. The tag that it was secured to simply crumbled. I'm not sure if the unit will be serviceable but my plan is to leave it to dry over a radiator for a day or so. I'll then try to solder the broken wire back onto the unit and see if it will work. Will let you know how it goes. With regard to replacing the unit I did find a Chinese firm that purport to supply OEM Xenon parts including this very part. A pic at http://www.oemxenonshop.com/Lexus-LS430-Headlight-Issue-Xenon-Ballast-Bulb-OEM-Parts-Replacement.html certainly looks like the real thing. They sell it for US$150 including shipping to UK which would be a very reasonable price. Anyone know anything about them?

Ok, I'm sort of hijacking this old topic as I seem to be at the same point with one of my dipped lights. It had been going off at random but restarting if I switched them off then on again. This had happened before and I would buy a new bulb and the problem would go away. This time however it's stayed off - hmmm. I tried switching bulbs, this proved that the bulbs are both ok SO I guess I may be looking at a new ballast (light computer) ie £600+ Any ideas? The car has now done nearly 350,000 and has other problems so major expense is not desirable. I guess I need to verify that there is current to the input multiplug to the ballast unit. Can anyone confirm which fuse - ie. Location and name - I need to be looking at for this circuit? Any experiences with this sort of thing would be welcome. Many thanks Mike

Hi, This car is for work so I need to get these pads on quick. I've done this a dozen times but not had this problem. In retracting one of the pistons, the other came out as far as the disc, probably should have been more careful. Now it doesn't want to go back in. It's not fallen out or anything, just out as far as the disc. By refitting a worn pad on the other side I can now get a lever 9" between piston and disc BUT it's not budging. As help would be appreciated. Thanks Mike

Ok well this will make you laugh, he removed both front CATs and it didn't make the slightest difference!!! Then I got this inspiration that I'd replaced the MAF only a couple of weeks or so before this horrendous problem arose. We had already considered this and for some reason ruled it out. Fortunately I had kept the old (300,000 miles old) MAF in the garage. We put it back on and the problem disappeared. The moral of the story (for me anyway - I'm sure no one else has done this) is not to put too much faith in cheap after-market parts. Fortunately LexusPartsDirect were kind enough to give me a full refund on the £1300 worth of CAT parts that I'd pre-ordered. Thanks for helping me with this!

Hi, I just wanted to recommend my local Autobox firm in Aylesbury, Bucks as they are excellent and have been providing great service for me with a variety of cars for many years. They are - staautogearbox.co.uk - do check out the web-site to get an idea. Regards, Mike

Thanks Steve, I agree with the idea of removing each o2 sensor in turn BUT as my current Lexus tech points out, this could lead to cross-threading. So, tonight he is going to try removing both CATs and seeing if this allows the engine the breathe sufficiently to run better and get power to the wheels. One thing's for sure, we will notice the difference (even if it's only the noise - lol! If this does the trick then it remains to determine which CAT is the culprit. This seems a bit tricky to my mind. In scenario 1. where either one of the front CATs is blocked BUT the rear CAT is ok, THEN replacing the CATs one at a time will show which is to blame (since only one blocked bank is clearly sufficient to cause the symptoms). In scenario 2. where the rear CAT is blocked, (has anyone ever heard of this???) then, reinstalling both front CATs (having tested OK in scenario 1.) and then disconnecting the "Front Pipe" (section of pipework containing the rear CAT) from the downstream end of both front CATs this should 1. prove that both front CATs are OK and 2. show that the rear CAT is blocked. I've got a whole set of new Lexus CATs on order along with all the nuts and bolts in anticipation. Assuming this all goes to plan it will then just be necessary verify what caused the CAT blockage and fix it so preventing a recurrence . I like your leak-down test idea for this Steve as it will be a lot cheaper than getting a $2000 atsnm pressure transducer/scope system.

Thanks Dave, I totally agree that the underlying cause of the CAT deterioration needs dealing with if the same thing is not to repeat. I've actually checked all the things you mention regarding the mis-fire - the car operates on a dual-fuel system (propane/petrol) so this helps a lot. I've been reading around on the internet and it seems that exhaust valve recession (a common problem with propane) - causing mis-firing - is often not picked up by simple compression tests (even cylinder leak-down tests) - see second half of para. 3 in http://atsnm.com/pressuretransducerscasestudies.htm#TheMisfiringRangerMystery Further reading threw up - http://atsnm.com/pressuretransducersarticle.htm#hidden - which I found very helpful because the main problem with my ideas of diagnosis was exactly as it says - ie. removing o2 sensors and unbolting exhaust components (after 10 years and 300,000 miles in my case) could be difficult. I guess what I really need, both for diagnosing the CAT restriction AND the underlying mis-fire is a tech who is equipped and competent to carry out this kind of work. On the basis that it would not be cost-effective for me to invest in that sort of gear I will concentrate my efforts now on finding that Tech. Will let you know how it goes. Thanks again!

Thanks Dave, yes I agree that the CAT on bank 1 is most likely blocked. What I'm wondering is whether a blockage on just one bank alone could cause such a severe loss of power - including causing the engine to fail to keep running immediately after ignition. I guess the answer may be yes. If you consider the effect of the force of "engine braking" available under normal circumstances and then consider how this force would be magnified with the back pressure of a blocked CAT....does that make sense??? My reason for trying to understand this is because, as part of diagnosing the problem, I intend to remove the upstream o2 sensors in turn and watch for improvements in running. I need to know whether to expect an improvement.

I have a 2002 LS430 with 300,000 miles on the clock. I have had a mis-firing problem that I've been driving around for 15,000 miles. 4 or 5 days ago the car stopped responding to any more than 50% throttle; the engine still sounded smooth and the transmission would kick down BUT no more power to the wheels. The next morning the problem went away BUT when I restarted the car it came back; slightly worse. This pattern repeated each day with it struggling to get up hills and finally refusing to start at all - stopping immediately after starting (when hot) had become common anyway in the last week or so. As well as the P0301 code which I've had for 15,000 miles, I was now getting P0420 & 430 codes for the Catalytic Converters - although only when I put my foot down, not when running gently. Anyway, to cut to the chase, I suspect that I've got one or more blocked CATs. I've googled how to test for blockages and that seems fairly straightforward . Now, bearing in mind there is one CAT after each bank's manifold and then the pipes join together to feed into the third CAT, what I want advice on is this----- For the blockage to cause such a severe reduction in power and finally the engine not to start at all, COULD this be just one of the upstream CATs OR must it be BOTH. Following on from that, what is the likelihood of both upstream CATs failing at the same time - in the space of just a few days. Would not a more likely diagnosis been the third (rear) CAT. Any suggestions as to how I should approach this would be welcomed:)

Haha, just noticed this thread during search re. my current problem. It's now 50,000 miles later and I have installed a new piece of string. The latest refinement is that I keep it under tension by running it round one of my propane injectors and then round the power steering fluid tank and tie it off on a suitable point. The course primary tension is achieved by wedging a folded piece of kitchen towel between the string and and the fluid tank. The fine tuning is done with another piece of towel under the string where it passes over the air intake resonator. This not only keeps the string tight but protects it from chaffing on the resonator; something that was a problem with the old piece of string.

Ok, the story continues. I got the quote from Lexuspartsdirect for the replacement connector and it's nearly £60. Well I don't know about you but that seemed a lot to me but apparently it's correct, £6 for the connector and £13 each for the four little wires ("repair terminals") Anyway, what I do is remove the connector, clean it and put it back and it runs ok for 100 miles or so - depending on the weather etc. Only trouble is that it's the no. 2 coil so I have to remove all the air intake gubbins every time I do this. So, what I did was to tie a length of string around the connector so that I could wiggle it without having to remove all the air intake bits. You have to imagine me at a set of temporary traffic lights - there are many around here at present - good old no. 2 coil stops working, Mike jumps out, lifts the bonnet and tugs on his little piece of string. Gives a cheery wave to the car behind - the lights are changing - and hops back in and gets another couple of days trouble-free motoring. Ok, not really the way you want to continue, especially as a private hire driver. So, I'm considering a couple of options:- 1. I snip the offending connector off and solder the wires to the coil's terminals - not sure about this, would it possibly damage/unsolder something inside the coil?? 2. Try to find some replacement female terminals of the suitable size, forgo a connector completely and simply fill the area with silicone grease. What do you think? Kind regards, Mike