PEPE

Hey Will, you are right! I've owned my Mk 3 LS 400 a little over a year now and I had always treated the tilting mechanism very gingerly as I did not expect it to work properly given the age of the car. After reading your post, armed with courage and determination, I got into my car and for about half an hour I continuously adjusted the steering wheel in every possible direction. At first the movements were jerky and hesitant but eventually everything smoothed out. Everything works perfectly now. When I switch off and take out the key the wheel raises majestically and retracts out of my way. Conversely, when I put the key into the ignition lock the wheel swings down and retracts to where I had left it. Everything now happens as described in the owner's manual! Thank you so much, Pepe

All good wishes to you MJM. Let's hope your LS 400 finds a good home hopefully with one lucky member here at LOC. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. Pepe

1996 Mk 3 LS 400 no rust.

Have a look in here, PWJ, this might help: http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/intro/parts.html Pepe

This is most interesting, Bren. What caught my eye is that not once do the schedules mention REPLACING the transmission fluid. The word they use is INSPECT. I immediately rang my independent mechanic and he confirmed that as long as the fluid is clean the right decision is to leave well alone. All this reassures me as my beautiful LS 400 has done 227,000 miles.

What a timely topic. I just returned from North Yorkshire having attended a wedding yesterday near Boroughbridge. 540 miles in total mostly on motorways at 70 mph. My wife loved the journey and caught up with the weekend papers. My LS 400 performed flawlessly and returned 30.31 mpg, and the odometer shows 227,051 miles. I'm never going to sell this car, and being 72, it will be rather easy to keep my promise. Need I say more?

Hi Ron Exactly what you described happened to me. An MOT advisory picked it up. My able mechanic not only fixed it rather quickly, but also noticed that the other heat shield was also about to come off. No new parts were required and no credit card bashing took place. This however, did not surprise me as my car is a 1996 LS 4000 with 226,400 miles on the clock. Pepe

Mine were done by Spit & Polish who charged me £62.75+VAT per wheel, including collection and delivery. This was a year ago and their results are stunning. http://www.spitandpolish.co.uk/home.html

I'm happy to confirm what Steve said. Mine was £56.43 + VAT.

Interesting, Keith . . .I also had my n/s/f ball-joint replaced a week ago as a result of MOT failure. I'm running on four new Avons bought only 4,500 miles ago so no uneven wear is yet detectable. I'll have my tracking checked! Cheers, Pepe

Steve is right. The MOT threw an advisory because one the rear heat-shields had come completely off and was resting on top of the silencer box. The other one was loose and ready to come off also. Once repaired the rattling stopped. By the way, my LS 400 has done 226,400 miles, so not unexpected.

I'm a bit confused. A few days ago I checked my 'cabin filter' which I promptly found behind the glove compartment. As expected, it was full of insects and other debris. I cleaned it as best I could and have ordered a new one. The reason I am confused is because I found only ONE filter element placed on a little plastic grill. Is the 'pollen filter' then a different filter that comes in TWO pieces? My LS 400 is a 1996 Mk 3, does the the Mk 4 have a two-piece filter? Many thanks for enlightening me.

Thanks, Ray. I'm not so worried about the mileage. What worries me is the time interval, is it 6 or 10 years?

I have a Mk 3 1996 LS 400 and I would certainly appreciate your tutorial, Cleverdick. David, I also live in Sussex. Who is the Toyota dealer that knows more about Lexuses than Toyotas? Many thanks to you both.

Could somebody please put my mind to rest? What is the correct cambelt change interval for my Mk 3 LS 400? 60k 6 years? 60K 10 years? 100K 10 years? Mine was last done at 180k in December 2007. The car now has 226K. Should I be worried? Many thanks indeed!

I have kept a record of all replies, here are my findings. Age Number 21 1 23 1 25 2 27 1 29 1 30 1 31 2 33 2 37 1 38 1 41 1 43 4 44 2 46 2 47 1 48 1 49 1 56 1 65 2 69 1 72 2

First, welcome to the Club, Richard! Second, where are the sunroof drainage holes, Phil? I don't want this to happen to me, although so far so good. Many thanks, Pepe

I had my LS 400 professionally detailed a year ago. Have a look here: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=267284 Since then Christian, the chap who did this wonderful job, advised me NOT to polish the car again, but simply yo apply WAX in order to keep the car in this pristine condition. He recommended: http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/wax/collinite-476s-super-doublecoat-auto-wax/prod_207.html In other words, once a car has been properly POLISHED all you need is WAX thereafter. The results on my car speak for themselves and continue to amaze me.

Lovely car. Many congratulations!

Thank you Steve, and Marty for asking the right question. I've owned by Mk 3 LS400 for a year now and the Cabin Filter condition had never crossed my mind. As soon as I finished reading the above I rushed out to check inside my glove compartment and sure enough, I found a very dirty filter laced with dead insects and other debris. My annual service is due next week (after the dreaded MOT on Monday) and a new filter will be in my List-to-Do. Another useful post!

72 . . .Don't worry Geoff . . .it's two of us now!

Yes Martin, Halfords has it at £5.99. Have a look at this I just cut and pasted for you: This made my day so all the remains is to wish you all a Happy Christmas and to thank you all for your valuable tips and contributions. Cheers! PEPE

About an hour ago I stumbled into the thread that recommends using Silicone Spray to solve the problem of seat belts that don't retract easily. I therefore rushed to Halfords only to arrive 5 minutes after closing time. One of the cashiers saw the forlorn look on my face and decided to open the door and asked me what I wanted. "A tin of silicone spary!" I shouted. So she said: "we'll let you in but just because it's Christmas eve." I replied, "not only that, but today's my happy 72nd birthday!" This made my day so all the remains is to wish you all a Happy Christmas and to thank you all for your valuable tips and contributions. Cheers! PEPE

Thank you very much indeed, bluenose1940, for your Christmas greetings and for wishing me a happy birthday this coming Monday. Would I be correct in thinking that at 72 you and I are the Methuselahs of this Club? Although we are of the same age I never experienced WW2 in the flesh. I was born in Colombia, but came to this country in 1969, married a Scottish lassie and am still here! The rest is history . . . My Lexus story is an interesting one. Have a look at the car that I bought from a former RAF officer I met in my local. Here is the link: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=267284 What do you think? Going back to the night driving glasses, after doing some research on the Internet I opted for the full Monty, i.e., proper prescription specs with anti-glare coating, etc.. I also chose some designer frames so as not to ruin my fading matinee-idol looks. I am sure, however, that in the absence of vanity I could have bought cheaper ones. I do hope you have not been affected by the recent rainfall in your neck of the woods. Happy Christmas and Happy Motoring, PEPE

Hi Bluenose1940, I know exactly what you are talking about. I'll be 72 this Christmas eve!. Although I don't think I've got a 100% solution to night driving, here's what I've done: SPECSAVERS, Horsham, provide me with the everyday varifocals. I therefore approached them about three months ago to see whether they could make my night driving easier. They recommended vairfocal lenses, with anti-glare coating and yellow lenses. I have to say the improvement is quite noticeable. My new glasses certainly cut down the glare and make night driving more restful, or better still, less stressful. The most noticeable improvement, however, is not at night, but rather, in foggy situations where everything looks uniformly grey. The yellow lenses pick out things with sharpness and improve one's confidence whilst riving. I certainly feel more confident with my new night-time glasses but the outlay is about £180. Not cheap, but in my book, well worth it. PEPE.