Titch LS

A quarter of a million miles on one water pump says it all for Lexus quality. Adam, did you encounter any particular difficulties doing this job, for instance, getting the crankshaft pulley off? I will have to replace my timing belt fairly soon on my mk4, along with water pump, tensioners, etc

Both my front sidelights failed recently too. I replaced them with some LED's --they've been no problem so far, though they havn't been in that long, admittedly. I don't think they are the cheap Chinese ones. Fitting them is a bit of a faff but the job only takes about 5 minutes each side once you know the foibles of removing the headlamp and indicator lenses.

Congrats Tim, as you have found out these are great cars to drive. Nothing quite like them. I have a mk4 like yours and no other car I have had (and that's quite a few), can compare to the Lexus. My sat-nav works ok but obviously it's missing loads of new roads but it can get me home when I want to play with it. I actually prefer the instructions and voice on the Lexus sat-nav compared to my new Garmin strangely enough. I just love the clarity of the instructions. Anyhow, enjoy the car and remember there's a lot of help and info on this brilliant forum if you need it.

Adam, as Jon said in his post, you can find the LS400 kit easily enough on e-bay selling for about £15 inc. postage.

Glad I got my mk4 when I did. I think these motors are beginning to be recognised for what they are, therefore people are prepared to pay a small premium for them. There's an early, absolutely pristine model LS in our local dealership on display. (They want big money for it). These will undoubtedly be considered landmark vehicles in the future. A definite Classic for sure. I think with a little bit of effort I could sell mine for more than I paid for it 2 years ago. (Of course, I have no intention of doing that)!

What I was dreading has just happened. I think the starter is beginning to fail on my Mk 4. I turned the key twice to start it and absolutely nothing happened, not even a click. On the third turn it started beautifully. It started fine on the return journey too. The car has done 120K so I was expecting this to happen at some time in the next couple of years. I was hoping that when it failed it would be in the summer so I could do the replacement myself. I don't have a suitable garage in which to undertake the job, so now the weather has changed, it looks like I'll have to shell out some hard earned cash. The battery tests fine and doesn't lose charge and is less than 2 years old. I don't think it's the starter relay or inhibitor switch either, but you never know. Also, if it is the starter, I think I will just get the solenoid and contacts changed "in situ" rather than exchange the unit as the Denso starters are known to be very robust. I'll contact the chap who installed my l.p.g. and see if he can help. Meanwhile, I don't trust the car in this state, as I could easily end up stranded. One annoying thing- why are we being charged DOUBLE the price for a replacement starter here compared to the States? Rip-off Britain or what? Anyone had the job done to their satisfaction?

Couldn't think of a nicer motor to drive 230 miles in just to get fish and chips! Classic.

To hear that some LS's end up in "banger races" is heart rendering. Hardly anyone knows how great these cars are to own and drive. I've never driven such a quiet, smooth, comfortable and powerful car. Fabulous.

I am using a fully synthetic 5w-30 at the moment but I've had a little bit of start-up rattle since I put it in, which I wasn't expecting. I might go back to a 10W-40 to see if it disappears. It only does it very occasionally and then only from stone cold. Oil consumption is negligible at 120K miles.

This is the one thing I'm disappointed with on my mk4 LS. In the winter my heated seat takes ages to get warm. It never really gets hot enough like the seat did on my Legend. I'd never swop back to the Honda though,- even for a 'toasty' bum!

I had an Emer system fitted to my LS last year. Been faultless so far after 14,000 miles. Very neat installation, best set up I've had so far on any of my cars.

Funny that, NGK market their own "mythical" plugs especially for lpg, (but they are prohibitively expensive).

The Handbook recommends to leave the ignition in the "ON" position for 6 minutes, then turn OFF and then Start. Has worked for me on every occasion I've had to disconnect the battery.

Azeem, both cars could be due for a cambelt change. The belt should be changed every 62,000 miles. This means that the recently serviced black car with 122,000 miles is still due very soon. That could be expensive if not DIY. The ad for the grey car doesn't even mention the cambelt. The black car has Full Service History though and has the nice wooden steering wheel. I'd haggle for the black one, if still available. ALWAYS test drive.

No, but I did have Brisk DR15YS LPG sparking plugs fitted when I had mine converted. These are single, silver electrode plugs recommended for an LS 400 running on lpg.. (Never use the multi-electrode ones for lpg as they give misfire problems apparently). I've not had any problems with mine so far in 14,000 miles. The car runs great.

Gary, my LS has exactly the same symptoms as yours when travelling at 90+ mph. I suspected it might be the prop shaft slightly out of balance but it seems that replacing the bottom ball joints cured the problem for Paul, so that may well be the answer.

Malc, I had my Honda Legend 3.5 V6 for 2 years before I traded it in for my current Mk4 LS. It was a very well put together car. The cabin is almost a duplicate of an LS 400. An obvious copy. The ride was a bit more 'jiggly' than the Lexus and it wasn't as creamy smooth in its power delivery or its gearchanges either.. Performance was good but an LS would beat it every time --210bhp v. 290 bhp. On tickover you could feel the V6 lump through the steering wheel, on my Lexus it's barely noticeable.The Lex is quieter at all speeds too and offers the same mpg as the Honda even though my Lex is 500cc bigger and a V8. The Lexus seats are more comfortable than the Honda, with softer leather. Where the Honda scored highly though was that the heated seats in it really worked well in the winter, unlike the Lexus seats. Spares for it were much harder to source than for the Lexus.(not that I needed much). Overall, I'm glad I changed to the LS even though the Honda was a great and reliable car. Out of 10 I'd rate the Honda at 8.5 and my LS 9.5 .

Could be the symptom of a failed or failing Speed Sensor. Speedo's pack up when the sensor fails. Seems strange to me that both needles have suddenly become sticky at the same time though. My money is on the sensor. Are your gears shifting as smoothly as usual? Poorer shifting is another sign, as the Ecu lacks imput from the speed sensor to time the gearchanges nicely. If it all checks out o.k. you better get the pipe cleaners out instead and clean those needles.

It's handy having a Jap car breakers near me. The only trouble is that they never has any Lexus cars being broken, just loads of Toyotas. But as the LS is a much glorified Toyota there will always be some generic spare parts that will fit it, like the Previa parking brake pin, in my case. On my last car, a Honda Legend 3.5, I fitted an ancillary belt idler belonging to a Mitsubishi Colt from the same breakers. Saved a fortune each time.

Replacing rear discs and pads the other day and made a bit of a boo-boo. I failed to read- up on the finer points of removing the discs i.e. "make sure the parking brake adjuster at the 6 o' clock position is turned downwards completely, otherwise you will not get the rotor off at all" (American site). As you can guess I didn't initially factor in the little adjusting "star" wheel at the bottom of the hub. The result of all this? One bent and elongated brake shoe holding pin. This pin is originally shaped a bit like the old-fashioned brace n' bit screwdrivers. (This is to allow a space in the middle for the brake lever next to it). I put everything back hoping that nothing would touch or rub, but it did. Nasty "clicking" when test driven. Cue some naughty words. I went to a local breaker of Japanese cars and he came up with the exact same pin but from a Toyota Previa! Woohoo. Re- assembled everthing again, (after having to take the parking brake to bits and re-adjust)), and Bob's your uncle. Lesson learned the hard way. You could say that now I drive an LS/Previa hybrid though!

That e-bay LS looks in fantastic condition, in probably one of the best colours for these cars. The fact is that exceptional LS's do now seem to attract premium prices, especially Mk4's. The vendor knows this, hence the high asking price. Discerning buyers know just how good these cars are too. I guarantee someone will be prepared to pay over the odds for that car.

I had exactly the same noise. Definitely the stick-on balance weights.

Iain, I was trying to say what Phil said but didn't connect the symptoms to the dimmer control like he did. Now I realise I have my dimmer turned down a lot so it momentarily dims my sat-nav when I go under a bridge or flyover. I notice it flicker back to brightness when I'm back in sunlight. Thanks Phil.

Iain, I notice this on mine as well and discovered that when I drive under a bridge or a in tunnel or under anything that temporarily dims the outside daylight, the Sat-Nav will go off and flicker back to life when the light is bright again. I thought at first that there was something wrong but there wasn't. When it happens look to see if you just passed under a flyover or something similar.

Steve, you are welcome to it. I'd like to keep my LS400 for as long as poss. Can't beat them.