GEN

Hi! On my 98 MkIV Ls400 when I lock the car with the remote control 1 press (of the button) gives me one flash of the sidelights and if I then press it again the lights flash three times. Does anyone know what is the difference? with thanks and best wishes for the New Year to everyone.

1. Those links refer to problems encountered almost 3 years ago. 2. Whilst it was the various supermarkets who retailed the fuel, it was contaminated before they took delivery and was very much a 1 off. 3. Maybe the afore mentioned Vauxhalls are more vulnerable. 4. Have you discovered who is adding the thinners to the bio diesel in the cold weather? I guess that I must just be lucky to have covered over 500,000 miles in the last few years on mainly Morrisons fuel without any fuel related problems. Happy motoring and New Year Dave Completely agree - I do think it was a fluke that could have equally happened to Shell, BP or whatever company. If anything I would dare suggest that, having had the problem,the supermarkets are likely to be more careful and thus possibly safer.

I have no interest in defending supermarket unleaded but the fact is that up to now I have seen no difference between Shell V Power and Tesco superunleaded except that the Tesco stuff is a higher octane than the VPower and cheaper. Same story with the unleaded. If I had the slightest doubt I certainly would not be using it in the Ls400, never mind the Porsche. But I am listening. On a different point: I find it impossible to view this thread unless I am logged in. The error is: "menu disabled, not logged in, broken link". Have had this about a dozen times. Anyone know why?

Bought a battery for my LS400 from Lexus, Woodford for £55 (cheaper than RAC or Halfords) so I would call nearest Lexus and ask for a price. Don't make the mistake I made: asked them to fit it and was charged £25!

I think the LS400 owners manual calls for for an octane rating of 91 or over - the standard unleaded (around here) is 95 so.... As between Shell Vpower and Tesco super unleaded: Tesco's has a higher octane rating than Shells Vpower. I used Vpower for years in my Porsche and when I realized that Tesco super was a higher octane I switched to it (over a year at least) - I certainly cannot tell the difference between the two so I'm staying with Tesco super for the Porsche and Tesco standard for the Ls No, I don't work for Tesco and/or any associated companies/employees, etc.

Unless you are familiar with the car you will have to be very much guided by the gut feeling - I saw 6 and loved every one of them: all beautifully presented inside out and of course they are so quiet it takes about a month before you begin to get the feel of the car. Ultimately I chose based on the seller and price and so far (after a couple of months) my only regret is that I didn't buy one sooner. Mechanically I think the most important thing is to know when the timing belt/water pump were replaced (hopefully by Lexus) - my understanding is that this has to be done at 63000 miles intervals, possibly sooner depending on elapsed time. By the by, it is a parking (i.e.: foot brake) rather than handbrake and it may have an automatic release (when you shift into gear) or it may have a release built into the dashboard (left of the steering wheel). Look out that the drivers seat is not 'sunk'... And, of course, bear in mind that most things on these cars will be expensive to fix/replace. I do love my LS400 and hope you will find a good one too.

Thank you for the info and best of luck with your mirror - price is right anyway.

Although it doesn't apply directly (mine is an LS 400) I do wonder where you ordered from and how much? The clips on one of my mirrors are broken and had the whole thing just pop out by itself. The quoted cost from dealer (without the glass, but fitted): £243! Hence my question. all the best,

Hi! Does someone know the procedure for checking the automatic transmission fluid? (on a 98 LS400) Is it done hot or cold? I'd be most grateful for any info. Thank you.

Don't know what type but I recently had to replace the one on my 98. The RAC man said he didn't have one but could get one for about £80. On a whim I called Lexus (Woodford) and they had it in stock for £55 (can't remember if it included the VAT or not) so I bought, cheaper than RAC or Halfords! You might want to ask your nearest Lexus. Only mistake I didn't want to mess with it myself so asked Lexus to fit it - cost £30 to fit! All in all £80 anyway, but at least it's the right battery and properly fitted so no problems with radio or electrics, etc.

Sorry its a bit late but dont buy the rubbers, i did the same from halfords, they gave me champion (which is ok on 90% of cars) but within 3 months i'd bought new blades from lexus (not that dear) because of the bloody squeeking EVERY TIME...aarrrggghhhhhhhh Keep your sanity, lose a couple of quid and get the proper ones... Not sure about my sanity: couldn't find the right thing at Halfords, not sure about sizes and nobody on the net would reply to my emails so ordered wipers from Lexus/Toyota. Very nice, work beautifully and so they should at £35! They kindly fitted them at no charge. Speaking of prices I would like to sign up to Gold but there seems to be a wide variation: one dealer offers a discount, another not. Why? I am also a member of PCGB - the discount on parts and labour has always been offered/honoured, so why not LOC?

There are just too many unknown factors: age, NCD, where the car is parked, etc. I thought the company which had insured my VW for the past 10 years (no claims) would do it but they actually refused as it is parked on the street and doesn't have a Tracker device fitted. I ended up with Tesco, Clubcard points, a £40 voucher and the best quote I could get so the only useful advice is shop around. Good luck and don't get discouraged!

Need new rubbers or wipers. Tried Halfords but they only seem to have the passenger side. Are they only available from Lexus? Have seen the silicone version on the web (only through 1997 and then 2000 onwards - does anyone know if the 1997 model fit the 1998?) and wondered if anyone tried these and are they any good?

It's only doing what it is designed to do, but if you prefer to switch it off, there is a switch near the steering column to switch that feature off, I'm sure. It moves up to facilitate ones egress from the vehicle. pretty cool I think myself It is a cool feature but if done too often.... on my MKIV I can only see the one button on the left of the steering wheel which is the way to adjust it or does it stop it as well?

It's a nice idea but I cannot see that it needs to reset every time - in short is there any way to stop the steering wheel from going up and down every time one one removes/inserts the ignition key? I also hate to think of the wear and tear, the cost to fix, not to mention driving it in the up position! And, of course, if the battery is weak....

My maintenance book says 60K mls but all the dealers say you should go by time (4-5 years) rather than mileage?

I think I started the confusion: I meant to say old creaking bed/Pirate sailing ship - both of which I thought would create the sort of massive creaking I experienced! And the explanation is the one provided below although (see my reply below) I definitely did read here or on another Lexus forum that it can happen once the parts have been replaced and the bushes dry out again. It went on to say that it happens when it is dry rather than damp and it doesn't happen on motorways - this has been my experience although I more than suspect that there is a need to replace the affected parts and I am trying to find out how this could be done most economically bearing in mind that I am not a diy person and have no tools.

There was a suggestion somewhere that this is due to the bushes drying out and can be fixed by spraying silicone on? Did you do the work yourself? I do have the problem also. Thanks.

As a newbie I am trying to get an idea of what is the wisdom on this: when should the timing belt be changed? On the 1998 R reg MkIV I bought recently the belt was changed (by Lexus) at 68K (in 2004). The car now has 89K and I was talking to the Lexus dealer (Ipswich) which has recent history on the car. He advised a service at 100K to include timing belt change. I would be grateful for your thoughts and suggestions. And does anyone have any views on the Ipswich Lexus dealership? with many thanks.

Have you tried holding the boot-button down, insstead of just pressing it once ? Thank you very much indeed, JellyBean, it works beautifully. The garage I bought it from had no idea and refused to fix it! (just as well, I suppose they could they have 'fixed' it and ask for a small charge!) and although the car did come with the Lexus welcome CD it did not have the owners manual (it just had the SatNav/AC/radio manual which the garage told me was the manual!). Thanks again.

Have you tried holding the boot-button down, insstead of just pressing it once ? Thanks, will try in the morning and let you know.

I have now had my LS400 for about a week and love it! Good thing most people just don't realize the treasures hidden beneath the discreetly elegant but slightly bland exterior otherwise the prices would skyrocket! This is a 1998 Mk IV with 89K mls and, so far, I have only had minor worries (the creaking bed/pirate ship syndrome which was very scary - thought the suspension and brakes were going till I read about it), etc. Everything seems to work fine except though the remote controls do work they don't release the boot. Any ideas? Thank you for any suggestions.

Would you recommend this garage? I am precisely looking for a Lexus specilist and would be grateful for the details. Thank you. Gene