Titch LS

A good modern oil can go much further than 3,000 miles even if it's only semi, and not fully, synthetic. Lexus recommend an oil and filter change at 7,500 miles. The Americans with their 'Jiffy Lube' mentality are still stuck in the Sixties when an engine oil could only do for 3,000 miles. But, a modern fully synthetic oil can safely and easily do 3 to 4 times that distance without breaking down.

Our American friends seem to go in for this sort of stuff more than we do. I would put it down to them not appreciating just how much superior engineering goes into an LS. You don't win 12 global J.D.Power surveys (a record) by chance. We all know about the superb world-beating V8, but even little details like the extra soft leather on the inside door handles isn't there just by chance either. It's there to make you feel cocooned in luxury when you get in. Like Hugh, I couldn't bring myself to seriously 'bling up' my motor. I appreciate what went into the LS. Others may have a different view of course.

More LS problems reported on U.S. forums (Tulpen's post), could be down to the fact that many States do not have any official mechanical/safety checks like our annual M.O.T. I once rode in a van in California that was 15 years old and only ever had its emissions tested. Mechanically it could have been a death trap.

Sounds reassuringly Lexus.

Scribe, I traded in a 2001 Honda Legend for my present 2000 mk4. I've not regretted it for a minute. Don't get me wrong, the Legend is a big, reliable, long lasting Jap car but not in the same league as an LS. It's front wheel drive, 6 cylinder and not as smooth to drive as an LS either. The cabin is almost a carbon copy of the LS which, incidentally, I didn't rate as cheap and plasticky as Ruud does. It's actually quite nice in my opinion. Surprisingly, the mpg is only about the same as an LS despite the engine being 500 cc smaller. The Legend is annoyingly low geared for a big car which probably accounts for the poor mpg figures. The steering is heavier too and the seats have harder leather on them but they do have great heating elements in them (better than the LS in this regard). Overall, the Legend is a poor imitation of a Lexus LS400. I'm glad I swopped when I did.

My mk4 was squeeling when I got it. A replacement tensioner pulley and idler pulley and new ancilliary drive belt cured it. Remember, there are TWO different tensioner and idler pulleys because you have two different belts to consider; i.e an Ancilliary drive belt for power steering, A/C compressor and alternator, then in addition you have the Cambelt with its own tensioner/idler pulleys. Squeeling is usually from the Ancilliary side of things.

Great video. Sums up what we all know. I've just literally returned home in the Lex from a recent trip to Germany and Holland. It was the most comfortable and effortless drive (as expected). Filled up with lpg in Belgium for 32p per litre! Motoring at its best.

This seller sounds like the type of person who charges little old ladies £25,000 a time to tarmac their driveways. I DON'T say fair play to him. He's being a greedy Bar Steward.

After getting over the initial shock, I'm really liking the new 'basking shark ' front grill fitted to the new models like the LS460 shown above. Definitely growing on me. A modern, bold move by Lexus. You certainly can't criticise Lexus for being a bland or boring car maker any more.

Brill. You can't do much better for £250. It'll just keep on going of course.

Alan, that red IS 300H F Sport looks the business.

Funny how these 'mistakes' always end up overcharging people, never undercharging them. On the face of it, Parcelforce seems to be staffed by people barely knowing what they're doing. They're good at creating unnecessary hassle, I'll say that for them.

The earlier cars, (with 4-speed boxes) were filled with Toyota T- II from the factory. Toyota Type- II is no longer made. Toyota T- IV supercedes Toyota T-II . Therefore, Lexus now recommends fill with Toyota T- IV. Simples. p.s. Dextron II/III is for your power steering.

What a fantastic concept car. Despite being very bold, I must say that the latest 'basking shark' front grill design is growing on me slowly. It looks great on the new models in the Lexus line up, especially the on new NX crossover. Lexus is shedding its 'bland' image methinks. I remember there was a lot of criticism of the Ford Sierra's 'jellymold' looks when it was first launched years ago, but look how that became a Ford success story. Time will tell.

Stuart, auto transmissions vary in design and therefore need differing fluids to meet their particular specifications. Different additives and friction modifyers are employed depending on the type of valve operation, clutch bands, friction plates, torque converters, etc, that are used in autoboxes . That's why it's important to stick to the ATF recommended by the manufacturer. You can use a fluid that is out of spec for your car, but you run the risk of ending up having poor gear changes. Toyota type T-IV is recommended for our cars and supercedes type T-II (which is no longer available). It's actually made for Toyota by Mobil and is known as Mobil 3309, available on ebay. Hope this helps.

My exhaust flanges are 16 years old and have surface rust, (which I've treated), but are nowhere near rotting away. There's another 5 years in them at least.

After all the advice on ATF fluids stating that Lexus specifically recommend a certain grade fluid for an LS, why would anyone buy Dexron III? Beats me.

Jaques, I use 5W/30 fully synthetic and change it every 7,500 miles. Being fully synthetic it could last quite a bit longer but I like the thought of 'good' oil being in there all the time. I also use a Mahle or Toyota oil filter. As to tranny fluid, Toyota type IV, Mobil 3309 or Comma ASW 3309 are the recommended oils. All three are to the exact same spec. When you change the tranny fluid only a fraction over 2 litres will actually drain out. You have to do multiple drains to change all the fluid.

This is my take on this; if you have drained the cooling system, that's when you start to refill using the hex plug. When the coolant is visible in the plastic coolant reservoir but low, then top it up there not through the hex plug. I have undone the hex plug in the past and although it's on a bit tight, I found it will undo o.k.with an Allen key and an extention, no problem.

Stuart, when you drain the fluid from the gearbox on these cars only just over 2 litres comes out. That means that a lot of old ATF remains inside. You can do a full flush by detatching a hose and pouring in fresh fluid and at the same time pump it through by cranking the engine, but you have to be careful using this method! Poeple have put through (not IN) up to 12 litres this way so that they have guaranteed fresh red ATF throughout the whole gearbox. I usually just drain mine a few times now and then to keep the fluid fresh. I also only use fluid to 3309 spec i.e. Toyota type IV (supercedes type II) or Mobil 3309 or Comma 3309. My autobox is always as smooth as butter.

Jaques, welcome to the forum. Just to let you know only U.S.spec LS 400's are OBD2 compliant, ours are OBD1 even though there is an OBD2 type port under the dash. Daft I know, but there it is. To read codes you have to 'jumper' either the OBD port under the dash (it is easily accessible) or the black oblong looking port near the fuse box.(has a flip up lid). You can use a paperclip to do it and you read off the number of coded flashes on the dashboard. As to a technician being killed by LPG (explosion?) I simply don't believe that story, sorry. I've never ever heard of anyone being killed by LPG. They are making excuses. If you are prepared to travel a bit, I would thoroughly recommend a small independent Jap car specialists called Japex. They are in Kings Langley near Hemel Hemstead. Best garage I have ever used. They know LS400's inside out and are happy to work on LPG cars.

Thanks Mike. LPG garages are fairly spread out in Bedfordshire and some are ludicrously expensive. There's one small independant garage near me that put its price up to 89p per litre about 3 years ago and it has never come down in price since. Obviously, I abandoned going there. It used to be reasonably cheap there once too. I going a bit further afield to get mine now and pay 55.9 per litre. That's the cheapest I can get it around here.

I went to a local B.P. garage today and noticed that the LPG pump had been removed. This garage was always more expensive for Autogas than others, so I usually avoided it. I would use it only when I was really desparate. Some months ago they stopped advertising the price of their LPG but the pump remained operational. Now it's gone. I hope this is not the shape of things to come for us Autogas users.

My Japanesed-sized butt finds the front seats in my mk4 extremely comfortable. Nice soft leather too. I've found German car seats make my bum ache. They're just too hard. French cars tend to have comfy seats though.

I've seen loads of videos on Youtube fearturing the LS but this is a new one on me. It just goes to show how much development went into the 400 to make it the car it is. You can see why it has gained such an unrivalled reputation for reliability.