Az1

I changed the Battery on my ls400 last week, purchased from Lexus Stockport for 82+vat so that' 98.40 all in,  I rang and they had it in stock so picked it up the same day, date stamped as of September 2017 so it hasn't been sat around for too long. Didn' bother trying anywhere else having researched before hand that other brands had the terminals the wrong way round or were the wrong size. 

Bluesman I suppose it's just like anything some people do it on the cheap and some spend a lot of money. The ones on the video you can tell they didn't so it properly. 

Link to a review video of the original car. 

All the more reason to keep the ones you have and look after them. The problem in the UK is we don't tend to like spending money on our cars because it's more than the cars worth. I've been looking high and low for a car to replace my 1996 ls and haven' come across anything I would spend my money on, therefore I don't mind spending 2 or 3k on getting mine fixed up so it lasts me another 4 or 5 years, I bought it 4 years ago for around 1500 can't remember exactly how much now. It's probably standing at 2k with the bits and bobs I've done on it so far. I've been researching over on the American forums and it looks like they put a lot more money into these cars than we do, i even found a fix for the heated seats. 😁

Haha, the red one does look bad. But I will say this though some of the Americans and even the Japanese have done some magic on the LS cars, have a look on clublexus and also the American Lexus owners club. What you don't see is the effort and money that goes into doing the cars up, not just the bodywork but the engine, suspension wheels etc. 

This is a big thing and it' called "VIP" do a quick Google for Ls400 VIP and you will see some brilliant looking cars. 

Ouch. I would suggest looking at parts from the usa, quick search and you can get them for around £200 plus postage and customs charges I still think that will set you back a lot less. I bought a full timing belt kit from America and it was almost half the price Including postage and customs charges. 

3 minutes ago, maxwellwd said:

This morning I have a local electrician install a DAB radio in mine with a little remote and an AUX setup which will now work with my iphone. He also fitted rear sensors which are great. Done a great job, was these guys http://www.caraudiokent.co.uk/ hope okay to post here.£432 all in which I thought wasn't bad, bearing in mind it makes the car that much easier day to day

Can you upload a picture of what it looks like? I'm probably going to go the aftermarket route, with hands free built into it. 

I'm up in Dundee on the weekend, my wife's from Dundee so not too far to go to see it whilst I'm their. like yourself I'm not so sure if I should go for it as I know it will need some money spent on it, no record of timing belt being done, hideous alloys and the aftermarket exhaust will all need to be sorted before I think about putting it into everyday use. 

Is this the one In Dundee? If so I'm up there to have a look at it and maybe fork out the money if it's decent. I've been in touch with the owner and he assures me it is immaculate. 

14 minutes ago, lockeyboy said:

Azeem have you tried gently pushing the radio into the dashboard? Works on mine (I'm assuming something isn't quite fitting into place behind it

dont press on the screen, just the black plastic area around it

I've tried that, but after some reading and a post on the forum about the radio having a dry solder on one of the capacitors I think, I just need to get the radio out and looked at by an electrician (father in law) who understands that kind of stuff.  Although I'm hoping I can fit something after market, as I need a range of music in my life and I've got rid of almost all my cds and haven't had a cassette in over 10 years. 

Thanks folks plenty of food for thought, and i will ask the refurbishers if they can give me details of the paint code before getting them done for the centre caps, I'm hoping I can get the Lexus badges off the caps and sent off for some chrome finishing as well just to make them standout against  Silver wheels  

Maxwellwd

i only use mine for the run to work and back, which is around a 14 mile round trip so tops I do in a year is about 4K, in that time I've had no issues apart from no backlight on the radio. Which I have decided needs fixing now. 

Ive seen a few mentions of lpg and I personally don't see the need if you are only doing 4 to 5k per year as the payback would take way too long on the Ltd mileage you do, I've thought about it a few times and don't see the need.

with regards to chasdads thought on not bothering spending the money and just replacing when need be, I don't agree with that, as there are very few good ones coming up for sale at a reasonable price, and even when a good one comes up it will inevitably need money spent on it, I've been looking on and off for the last 12 months and not one has caught my eye that I could justify buying. I recently saw one pop up on eBay, for 3600 navy blue, low mileage apparently stored for 10 years of its life, unfortunately it had the ugliest after market alloys, no service history past 2001, an aftermarket exhaust that sounded like it came from a Ferrari, and no record of a timing belt. To get that back to standard and fully serviced etc it would have cost me 5k all in, granted it only had low mileage (37k) but I couldn't justify the extra costs. 

Anyway my point was, if you know your car and it's in good condition and just needs some moneybspending to make it perfect I would rather do that than hope another one comes up in the future. 

Hi Maxwellwd 

I would say yes, go for it as I'm going through the same process although a bit slower than you, I bought mine just over 3 years ago and the first thing I did was have the timing belt and water pump done with all the other extra bits that needed doing, plus all fluids etc changed as the car was stood in a garage for 3 years prior to my ownership. Having gone through the I need a new car over the last 12 months I can't find any car that I would rather have, so have decided to splash the cash on my current one. I'm getting the alloys refurbed probably all 5, 5 new tyres, rear bumper needs a respray as I think it's been reversed into something by its previous owner, cracked paint and lacquer, new number plates as mine are beginning to delaminate, new boot seal, find a fix for the heated seats, (I'm adamant I will find one), new stereo or some hack to get an iPod connection. This will probably set me back well over £1000, plus I believe a few bushes need replacing as they were mentioned as advisories on the mot, will get them done too, this all because I know for the money I spend I will probably get a decent return in that it only cost me £1250 3 years ago and if I now spend another 1200 to 1500 I am sure I will get another 3 years, probably even more, and for a that money will can't find any other car I would rather have. 

Thanks both for the replies. I'm having the alloys dipped and then powder coated, and I'm guessing but not sure that the centre caps are plastic. I will speak to the refurb guys and see what they say. 

Hi All

I thought I would get my alloys refurbished,  standard 1996 alloys, but I'm concerned about the centre caps not matching following the refurb, so I rang the Lexus garage and asked if they are still available, he said yes they are, and I could hear the shock in his voice when he asked another member of staff is that really the price?!! Anyway he came back to me and told me £60 each, ok I thought let's ask how much a new set of alloys are, £266 plus vat each, that makes it circa £1500 for 4 wheels and centre caps. More than I paid for my car. (At least if you have the money you can buy them new)

Anyway to manage my OCD does anyone know how or what approach I should use to get the centre caps cleaned, maybe sprayed to match the alloys once the alloys come back from refurb? 

Thanks, Azeem

Thanks all for the replies.

steve2006 have you got the Diy writeup on the radio resistor? I should be able o manage that one myself. My climate control illuminates fine and I he moment. The other stuff hopefully I can get sorted too, as I'm hoping to keep the car for as long as possible.

Hi All

I've had my ls400 for just over 3 years and more recently having a couple of small issues. 

1. Alarm fob broken, so I can't attach it to a key ring, anyone know if it's possible to get hold of a new outer housing or a new fob? 

2. Radio head unit isn't illuminating, it hasn't done since I bought it, I remember someone posted something up for this but can't seem to locate it, would someone mind pointing me in the right direction

3. Heated seats haven't worked since I bought it, checked fuse in the engine bay it seems fine, is there another fuse I can check?

4. Heated seat switch has stopped illuminating, if I press it the light comes on but doesn't illuminate all the time like it did, anyone know a fix for this? I know it's a non issue but it's annoying me, also the headlight washer switch had stopped illuminating so I guess it's linked. 

5. Boot has started leaking, I've removed and cleaned the seal, but no luck, if anything it's got worse, what would people recommend, replace with oem seal, if so does anyone know the price? 

6. The rear doors? Lower panels seem to have come away slightly from the main door, no Hint major but it's noticeable, it seems they are held on with small capped nuts, but they won't tighten, seems the threads have had it, does anyone know what size they are? Lexus can't seem to locate them on the parts system. 

any help would be appreciated 

thanks 

Az 

Hi all thanks for the replied. I suppose its no big deal if they don't flash, i just thought it was unusual. I don't have the little key you mention Tulpen i just have 2 fobs with 3 buttons on the front and a panic button on the back.

Hi all

Another question. I noticed the other day that when i activate the alarm the indicator lights don't flash. I know its activated as it gives a bleep and locked the doors etc. In addition to this when it was windy a couple of days ago the alarm woke up half the neighbourhood and when i looked out the window again no indicator flashes. Anyone know why they don't flash? Oh and i've checked the indicators and they work fine on normal operation.

Thanks

Hi all.

I'm in the process of neatening up the Ls400 I purchased back in January. Everything seems to be good mechanically but the exterior needs a bit of cleaning up etc.

The external trim on the bottom of the doors is held on by little dome nuts from the inside of the door, now a couple of them are broken and the panels aren't sitting completely flush on the outside. I've spoken to my local lexus garage and they don't know which part number it is, and the one they come up with ks £1.50 per nut and evem them they cant guarantee its correct. Does anyone know what size this nut is? So i can order a few off the internet as i will need arpund 8 to 10 and theres no way i paying £15 for some dome nuts. .

Thanks

Azeem.

Actually the sl65 amg has 670 bhp more than twice that of the ls400 and probably twice that of most LS series cars. But and this is the thing they are aimed at a different market. If i had that kind if money i would probably have the sl on the shortlist of cars because no japenese car maker has an equivalent.

Is it me or the link just links back to this post?

Anyhow you have to remember that the SL65 amg is aimed at a completely different market, them cars arent about cruising around in comfort they are for people who want out and out power. Now unfortunately Lexus don't do an equivalent of the amg monsters and if they did then i'm sure people would buy them. The only equivalent would be the lexus isf or the lfa. The lfa is probably twice the price of the sl65 amg so thats a no no and the isf would probably get eaten alive by the power of the sl65 amg, so people have no choice but to turn to the likes of Bmw or mercedes. If and when Lexus decide to churn out equivalent models of the amgs and the m cars from bmw them i'm sure people will but them. At the moment there is no choice.

Nice looking wheels and nice car. I'm looking for some nicer wheels on mine. Seen a set of 17's (off a mark 4 i think) on eBay so might give them a go.

Let us know how you get on with lowering the car and how it affects the ride etc..

Thanks Steve,

you were right, it was to do with the CPS, apparently he didn't put the sensor shroud back on correctly. The mechanic held his hands up and apologised.

For now both codes that were showing are now clear and haven't come back on so far.

Hi all

Just an update on this I had the codes read in the car and it came up with 2 codes. Code 13 - Rpm Signal - crank position sensor and code 21- O2 sensor signal.

My first question is could they be linked?

2. why does the engine light go out after a couple of minutes?

3. would these codes have been there before I had the timing belt done and only showed up when i had the work done? The light never came on prior to the timing belt change. (Trying to rule out coincidence)

4. Could itbe linked to my Battery running completely flat and having to start it with a booster pack?

5. Could it be because the car was low on fuel? Old fuel in the car, not sure how long it was in ther car but it could have been anything up to 3 years? Now filled with esso unleaded.

Any help would be appreciated, although the mechanic appreciates the light wasn't Coming on prior to the tb change and is going to investigate further at his expense and try to resolve. Any guidance is really appreciated.

That would be interesting. Although for the type of car it is would it be necessary to hike the power by that much!?

actually on that thought I wouldn't mind having that much power, but if I was going that route I'd definately look at upgrading other aspects of the car like bigger brakes and better suspension etc.

I quite like the US idea of VIP'ing the car, never actually heard of the term until I was browsing the US forums and having googled it I saw some pretty spectacular looking ls400's. Maybe when I have too much money I might by a project car and soup it up.