volvo2lexus

Chaps - many thanks for your replies. I feel a bit more comfortable now. On the subject of cambelt - if the service interval is 63k rather than 100k then I guess I should look at getting that done in the next few thousand miles, in which case I might as well sort out the waterpump too.

Being ever the pessimist I am hoping that I can get some re-assurance from some of the more experienced people on here as I have been reading up on problems and potential problems that could arise with my 400 which I have had for 3 months now and which I bought and believe it was a good deal. Condition - excellent apart from a couple of minor scuffs. 1998/S Mileage - 189000 Background - 17 services stamped up. Cambelt changed at about 130,000m in 2008. I've had the osf wheel bearing done (official Lexus part) and also had the oil changed as well as the front brakes and discs back in September when I bought it. My worries are: Timing belt - when should I look at doing it again? Water pump - can't find any record of this being replaced yet. I spoke to the garage who serviced this vehicle every few months - the garage owner knew it well. It spent most of its life on the motorway. However, he was pretty sure that they never changed the water pump on it. Should I think about doing the recommended combination of timing belt/water pump or wait until the pump fails? Dash display - All is working fine but it looks like it could be a bit of a job fixing it if/when it goes. Since reading up on dash problems I have now dimmed the display to hopefully give it some longer life. Or am I worrying unnecessarily and should I leave it at normal (maximum) brightness? MOT advisories 2007 at about 103000m - NSF suspension arm - slight play in ball joint 2008 at about 138000 brake pipe slightly corroded at rear 2008 at about 162000 nsf and osf suspension arm rubber mounting deteriorated but no excessive movement. Should I wait until I start getting strange sounds? At the moment the car drives pretty much perfectly - it starts up within a couple of spins of the starter, it warms up quickly, there are no leaks, it tracks straight on the motorway, the brakes are strong - it will idle smoothly all day long if left running. Quick question also - what is the purpose of the 'second' set of lights next to the fog lights? Are they supposed to come on because mine don't? Also my headlamp washer doesn't work. No noise, maybe the motor has burnt out. My remote control seems to be failing every now and then. The red light sometimes takes half a dozen presses to come on but does eventually work. Changing the battery for a new one doesn't help the problem - dealer reckons if a new battery doesn't solve it he may need to get a new key programmed at a cost of around £150. Control arms - what are the symptoms of failing control arms and should I get them done anyway? How much should I pay? I really like the car and am keen to keep it. Would you be comfortable given the above mileage and other info? cheers

Just wondering - isn't the number plate issue something to do with the time it was actually imported rather than when it was registered?

From how you describe it I would say it's a wheel bearing. My LS400 had the same kind of sound and it turned out to be the OSF wheel bearing.

Hi How much was "not too expensive"? Hi Steve - haven't got the receipt to hand but it was around £250 mark - both front discs and pads and labour.

Just to update this - got new front discs and pads fitted and voila - all ok! I was surprised that this worked but the pads were right on the line so were due to replaced soon anyway. I'm just thankful that it wasn't too expensive.

Just had the osf wheel bearing replaced and I noticed on taking the car on the motorway that there is now a vibration at around 60mph and a severe wheel wobble when braking at about 70% effort (so fairly heavy). Could it be that this is something to do with the work done - could something be loose? Surely it can't be warped discs as this didn't happen before, I know the front pads are low but will go for a few more months. Garage has good reputation so I've no reason to doubt their work but just wondering whether by chance something else has gone and what it could be? I'll ask them if they roadtested the car after they did the wheel bearing too. Any ideas anyone? Car is 98/S LS400 190,000 - well looked after.

cheers - that's useful info. I ordered a new wheel bearing kit from a main dealer - got it for a reasonable discount so getting that fitted. I'll probably go with the Goodridge lines next. The nav is the same as the one I had in the GS300. In 2001 it looked pretty high tech - now of course it looks quite dated - does anyone know if it's worth getting an updated disc and what it might cost? I think I'm on the original one.

Hi all. I had a Lexus GS300 sport about 10 years ago and here I am again back in the fold but this time it's an LS400. I need to sort out a few things on it - I don't think any of them are really major but can anyone help? OSF wheel bearing - this needs to be replaced. Does anyone know what kind of cost I'd be looking at? Car is a Nov 98 LS400. I believe this requires some kind of heavy duty compression machine which a main dealer would have but which a small independent may not. Should I get a main dealer to quote? Temp display - passenger side - LCD backlight gone. Again, anyone have any ideas as above and is it worth doing. Brake pipes - identified as an advisory on a previous MOT "OS and NS brake pipes slightly corroded". Anything to be concerned about? Car has done 189k and these were identified at about 178k a year ago. Nothing else for the moment. Looking forward to enjoying this beast! cheers

Hi everyone. I have just bought an LS400. I think I was a member on here many years ago (well about 10 I think!) when I had a GS300 sport. Anyway - back to Lexus ownership again, I must admit I missed it. Hope to make some good friends and get some equally good advice on here :) I'll head over to the model specific forum for some questions.