abdallian

Hi couple of years ago I narrowly dodged a bouncing brick ( or something hard) on the M4. It went under my then 2001 LS430 and lo and behold a massive gash resulted. I manage to get the whole thing replaced parts and labour included for £600 and it was a brand new tank.

Thanks for all the helpful inputs guys. Lexus do not seem to think that the skidding around in the snow had anything to do with it but they did'nt sound too confident one way or the other. I did read up about the VGRS recall but I got the impression this effected LS460's post 2009 but I may just make a cheeky enquiry about that and see what happens. I have the car with the mechanic who knows some "ex-Lexus mechanic". He will be reporting back tomorrow. Will keep you all posted. Thanks again

Thanks Tony...all prayers needed. I had a look and found the post you may be referring to. Some guy in Edinburgh had similar problem and got a similar quote. I'll see if I can find a trusty mechanic who may be able to help. Any suggestions in Berkshire/ Buckinghamshire area appreciated. Otherwise back to Lexus. there seem to be steering racks on ebay from the States. This may sound stupid but does left hand/right hand drive make a difference to the steering rack

Hi Guys. Looking for some, as always, helpful advice. I have a 2006 LS460 SEL with 70,000 miles. Got stuck in the snow the other day and after some grunting and pushing it finally made it up the slippery driveway...no problems. Next day I get the check VSC, check VGRS lights flashing and instructions to take the car to the dealer. Another thing that happened was that the steering wheel shifted off centre. It lay 10 degrees to the left. Apart from being a bit disconcerting, the car otherwise drove fine as long as you got used to a car going straight with steering pointing left. Anyhow a service was due anyway so I took the car into Lexus Reading. Apart from worn front bushes and a mild front suspension leak which need sorting, they tell me that a pin in the acctuator of the steering rack ( by this point I was lost) is out of position which has set the lights off and the sterring off centre. Fair enough....can't be that bad......HOWEVER, to fix it they have to replace the entire steering rack for an eye watering, heart stopping £5800. Does anyone have any experience of this problem, is there another (cheaper) way to sort this out? I am off to pick the car this morning so should have more precise details about the problem. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Cheers

Thanks Hope to get it up on a ramp next weekend. Only happens when car is cold. Was worried it was a problem with the transmission. Any thoughts

Hi All Is anybody able to give me any ideas what this sound may be. I have a 1998 MKIV LS400. Last few weeks when I put the car in reverse and roll out of the driveway I get a wierd thumping sound from the rear of the car. The only way I can describe it is as if there is a large half full bottle of water in the boot and the sound is as if the water is moving back and forth in the bottle with the sound amplified. The thing is it seems to be getting louder. I only get this in reverse. Any ideas as to what this maybe Cheers

Hi Thought I should update the thread lexus identified the problem with the throttle body and sensor and asked for £1600 to sort it out (whatever) anyhow I passed the car back to the mechanic and he cleaned it and problem gone.No engine management light anymore The gear changes are super smooth and the throttle is more responsive than before. All in all a satisfactory result. However on a different problem, the nice lady at Lexus on handing the keys back to me says that she did not want to be a bearer of bad news but according to their records my car had done 179000 miles in 2007 at a routine service. I bought the car in 2008 with 111000 miles on the odometer. Adding what I have done since the car can join the proud 200000 miles club. Now this was a huge shock to me. Prior to buying I used mycarcheck.com to verify the mileage and it gave me 106000 miles in 2006. How somebody could do 73000 miles in a year beats me. Plus for some reason I thought these digital odometers could not be tampered with Anyhow I have to say the car just does not look 200000 miles old. the carpet and the leather (minus small patch of minor scuff on armrest) look immaculate. Anyhow not that I can do much now. Cheers

Thanks Steve2006. Unfortunately the mechanic at the place I took the car to says he cannot diagnose the problem as he does not have the necessary code readers. He has however offered to repair it once I get the codes from Lexus. I am off to Lexus Bracknell in the morning and will see what comes up. Will keep the thread updated. Thanksfor the tips again Samar

Hi All Thought I should give an update and also pick everyones brains aswell. Unfortunately the starter motor was burnt and burnt loads of things around it. Cost me £500 Anyway since getting the car back the new starter motor is perfect however there is hardly any power in the throttle i.e. I have to really floor the throttle to get some revs going. The check engine light is also on and the gear changes are extremely jerky. This has obviously got me really worried. Anyway the mechanic thinks that by getting the codes checked by lexus may just reset the problem. Has he buggered up the repair? Any help will be fully appreciated Thanks

Hi everyone, This is my first post on this forum and it is a pity it is under such dire circumsatnces. I must say I have benefitted hugely from all the advice that passes around here. I own a lovely 1998 MKIV LS400 with 120000 and the gorgeous wood pack. My troubles started as the winter set in when my car would occasionally not start. I would turn the ignition and there would only be a click. I knew the battery was weak and initially put it down to that. Once the car started the subsequent starts would be fine. Twice I had the situation when the starter motor would not disengage. This was obviously disconcerting but seemed to sort itself out. The last it happened was about 6 weeks ago. Anyway I was planning to have the starter motor looked at by someone tomorrow as I had a new battery installed 2 days ago and the clicking problem 1st thing in the morning persisted. Unfortunately an hour ago I started the car and it started fine however a funny nose was coming from the engine. I turned the ignition to off and the starter motor failed to disengage. Now I tried to disengage by turning the ignition on and off but to no avail to the point that smoke started to bellow from the rear of the engine and the insulation around the negative terminal also melted as it burnt. I could hear the starter motor gradually slow down and fade and presume it is burnt. (Believe me, this was a sad sight for me). I suppose the question is, is this just the starter motor burnt or have I done some damage to anything else as well, particulary because of the melting of the battery connection wire. Any idea how much this repair will cost as in the last year I have spent a fortune on brake discs, pads, calipers and even had one of the hub axles replaced and would hate to see the car go. May I have a problem with the ignition also? Since it was dark, I was'nt able to fully assess the damage so will look in the morning but any help will be fully appreciated. Thanks