Titch LS

There's a definite inconsistency there. If you blow up the dash picture it definitely looks more like 48K than 94K. If I was interested in it I would be asking some searching questions based on the last MoT.

Mark, you can check any car's M.o.T. record online now. You put in the registration number and the make of car and Bob's your uncle. It's a bit limited on past records time-wise, but any up-to-date mileage of the vehicle is on the data base for all to see (except Mansell Motors in this case).

It's overpriced because at some point it's been clocked (apparently). The M.o.T. website states the car has covered 94,000 miles. Someone's not owning up to something.

Martin, something similar happened to me with my mk4 LS400. I park it in my driveway and always lock/unlock it with the fob. I went to unlock it one time and there was no response from the central locking. Strange, I thought. I then tried to unlock my wife's car as well with her fob and incredibly, the same thing happened to her car too. She has a Rover. (It came to me later that there must have been some elecrical/radio signal interferance that was blocking the locking procedures on both cars). Now for the good bit--- just at that time, I could hear my neighbour's front door bell ringing continuously (they are both very deaf). I went to their front door and flicked out the bell push which was stuck in. I then went back to both cars and immediately they both unlocked, problem solved!! The neighbours had one of those wireless front door bells and the signal from that was strong enough to cause the problem. I've heard stories of cars immobilised in multi-story car parks because of radio interferance. Progress eh?

Steve , I can sympathise with your opinion of some garage 'technicians'. Many moons ago I left my car, (not a Lexus), in the hands of a local garage for the day. About a week later I noticed some extreme wear on the edge of one of the front (newish) tyres. When I looked underneath to inspect the car 'someone' i.e. a so-called mechanic had obviously raised the front of the car using a trackrod as a jacking point! It was bent into the shape of a banana. Never took my car there again. You can't be too careful.

Pete, I've tried doing exactly what you have done and it did work for a while. Unfortunately, I was reduced to one remote key when my rescue efforts of the first one failed. That's when I hit on using the more sturdy valet key to start the engine with.

Ambermarine, you're right about the change in diff design for the later models. However, I did check my 2000 workshop manual and it does show the diff as one of the safe jacking points on the car. The only proviso it gave was for the car not to be carrying any extra weight when lifting.

Mark,--- yes, I have seen various key shells on ebay and I did think about buying some until I hit on using the valet key which is almost indestructable. I also found a firm online advertising to recondition knackered remote keys for £22 or so. I may use them as my remaining remote key does lock the car, but only with some difficulty. It unlocks the doors/boot with no problem, it's locking it that takes a few presses of the button.

Over the years and through lots of use, I found that the plastic hollow remote locking keys tend to get a bit battered. So I now start my car using the solid fob valet key instead. This hopefully will save my remaining remote key from overuse, causing it to crack or split -- (my first one has already started to disintergrate). Crucially, the remote key has to be near to the ignition switch to start the car because the transponder is embedded inside it. But, if you put both keys on the same key ring and then use the solid valet key to start the engine, your plasticky remote is preserved. It's the action of twisting that ruins them.

The differential is designed to take the weight of the car at the rear. It can be used as your jacking point.

Funnily enough, I've found that the 'el cheapo' blades work the best. I've never had any 'judder' problems with them.

I've found the electronic throttle on the Mk4 to be very sensitive. It does take a gentle right foot so as not to spin the rear wheels if the road is a bit damp. You can take off like a scalded cat if your're not careful. I did have one other sort of 'scare' with the electronics and that was on one occasion when starting up; the engine revs went ballistic without me touching the throttle (and 'no', it wasn't the floor mat). Only happened the once and has never happened since. I put it down to some 'rogue' radio signal interferance. Bit disconcerting though.

Messi--- well spotted. Must be a non-original airbag as Mike says. It's reasonable to conclude then that it must have been in a hefty bump at some time in it's past life? One motor to be wary of methinks.

I thought all LS430's had the nice wood/leather steering wheel? Obviously not judging by this. You learn something every day.

Messi, mine had a lot of miles on, so I replaced the pulleys as well as the belt. When I took them both off, one felt quite rough when I spun it. Preventative maintenance. No squeaks since then (41K miles later).

How about checking for codes. Much better than guessing then throwing expensive parts at the problem. I can guarantee that your next car will give you more trouble than your LS over 12 years.

Skyway, the ancilliary drive belt and pulleys are fairly straight forward to replace. Just remember though that the tensioner for the ancilliary belt has a REVERSE thread. The idler pulley next to it is normal thread. I used a Gates belt on my LS. Replacing these items cured my car's squealing. Hope this helps.

The Mk4 has less known faults than the LS430. Fact.

The airbag light problem could be a duff sensor playing up. Unexplained weird faults can sometimes be due to failing ECU capacitors or even a weak battery.

Kenan, balljoints wearing out in 6 months? You must have bought the cheapest 'Made in China' ones, 'in the world'--as Clarkson would say!

I've found Mintex brake pads to be good value and they give good braking performance too. They last ages and have never sqealed yet.

I've just tried uploading some photo's but computer says 'No'. The file is too big apparently. The Instructions that 'helped' were too complicated for me to be bothered with, sorry. It comes from being technophobic and in advanced middle age.

I usually buy those really cheap 'Aero' wipers. They never judder and are really quiet. I can't believe they can make them for that money. They last about 18 months or so before ripping.

To answer a few questions,-- yes, the wheel was fairly easy to fit; but firstly I looked up numerous posts on the U.S forum (which included some photo's) -- by googling 'LS400 wood and half-leather steering wheel'. I also clicked on 'images' and magnified the pictures-- it helped. There's some handy 'how to' advice on there. The airbags from a Mk.4 DON'T fit on a Mk.3 wheel. The central frame of the mk3 wheel is a different shape and the horn/cruise connections are different. You would probably have to buy a complete mk4 wheel including the airbag in order to be sure of a working horn and cruise control. BUT, I'm pretty sure that you could just buy a wood/leather wheel from a scrapped 95-96 model and your existing mk3 airbag would fit. On-line breakers are definitely the best bet, there's not much on UK ebay. One tip I found on the forum was that when you have the old wheel removed, don't let the 'clock spring' underneath move out of position, otherwise you will have to reset it. The 19mm nut is torqued down to 35 Nm. You won't need a 'puller' either, just yank very hard and it will release from the splines, but remember to undo the white top connector first before you do that. Hope this helps a bit and good hunting.

I've always admired the look of the Lexus steering wheels that feature the wood rim/half leather finish. Well, now I've got one! I fitted the wheel this evening (I couldn't wait). It looks great. I got it from an on- line breakers for £48. Yes, forty-eight quid. I couldn't even find one on ebay that fitted my mk.4, the only ones available were from the U.S., where they're asking silly money for them. No more driving around with a tatty looking all leather steering wheel, instead, I have a classier looking cabin now that my new (to me) wooden steering wheel has been fitted. Big grin.