Yoda400

Right, had my caps replaced on my Mk4 and it's restored a heap of power! The chap who swapped the caps for me said that there were no leaking caps/visible damage, but that wasn't to say that some hadn't gone open circuit. The whole purpose of this exercise was so I could connect a code reader to the car to diagnose a missfire, however it still won't bloody connect. Tried it on my mum's Yaris and it connects perfectly so I figured it must be a dodgy OBD connector. I looked at it and it looks fine though?! Seriously getting peeved with the car now!

Hey Rob, was it definitely these guys? I contacted them, but they quoted me between £85 and £125. I mentioned you had yours done for around £30 and the chap told me he wasn't sure about that because their min charge is £35, and the caps can be quite difficult to remove... I said i'd supply the caps needed on mine, and mine will need 11 of them replacing. Think your's will have been 6 caps, so a bit more work, but seems to be triple/quadruple the price so I thought there must be a misunderstanding here!

Right, I've ordered the proper caps from the US for my mk4! I've ordered a few repeats and some caps for earlier models too, so if anyone needs a Kit for theirs just give me a nudge, hopefully that can help someone out. No one here I asked had a spare kit 😞 I ordered them just so I have peace of mind the right caps have been used on my ECU, i'd be paranoid that whoever repairs it might use something different otherwise!

So you had no symptoms, more of a preventative measure? Haha yes you do notice small things in such a refined car, they are wonderful machines 🙂 Thanks for the advice, i'll get in touch with them

Fab great info - thank you. So did you provide all the new caps? What were your symptoms, and did they all disappear? Cheers Yoda

Sounds sensible. My ECU isn't communicating with any readers so looks like the caps in the ECU are shot, so i'm trying to get those sorted then I can read my codes. My symptoms are the VSC light flashing when setting off every now and again (and slow too), when it happens it's only for a second or two...

I bet the state of our ECUs are very similar! Along with the no communication, the VSC light flashes sometimes when setting off, performance is a bit down too. Maybe that's an ABS sensor/ring, but i'd like to get the caps sorted first so I can get some proper codes from the car. Mine also has a missfire which has stumped me, nothing has solved it and it's really spoiling the car now. If you could ask, i'd appreciate it! Would be happy to pay a decent price to make it worth his while, plus it's doing two exactly the same - so hopefully not too much of a ballache :)

Thanks for the info Matt! May I ask why you are getting yours done? What symptoms do you have? Would you be so kind as to ask if your friend would be interested in a few quid to do mine also? He could do both at the same time? The ECU will be the same as yours (mk4)... I'm not in a huge rush for it, happy for him to have the ECU for a couple of weeks...

Yeah that one is black, the one in the original post is beige heaven! :D

Hi Chaps Anyone replaced the caps in their ECU? I'm wanting to have some work done on my car by a Lexus specialist/breaker/garage, but code readers won't connect to it, so it looks like the caps are playing silly beggars. I want to get the ECU sorted out so we can diagnose the work needed on it (a missfire that has been problematic solving!) I know there was a chap on here selling a kit for earlier models a few years back, anyone made up a kit for the mk4? Also - is the ECU easy to remove? Where is it located? Thanks in advance chaps!

Hi Nick, did you get any further with this?

Even at £10k I think the bloke is dreaming. Least desirable colour inside and out (hearing aid beige shall we say?). I'm sure the condition is good, but bear in mind it looks like every inch of it is blathered in tyre shine/engine bay shine/leather balm. I feel greasy just looking at it lol

Hi chaps, is TS supposed to have the day expiry at the bottom left hand side? I can't get it to work at all, getting really frustrated with this now :(

Thanks for that Paul, i've just realised in your Model details on your Member Details it says you have an IS 250. Does that mean you haven't tried the cable with a mk4 LS400? I'm after something known to work with the mk4 LS400....I'll send that seller a message....

Hi Paul Thanks for that, is the software the Toyota Techstream? What USB/OBD cable did you buy? Was it for OBDII? Does it all work ok? Any links to the products you bought? Thanks for your post, I was getting frustrated with the lack of OBD support so glad to hear of your success :)

Hi Chaps (Just for clarity this is a UK model LS400 - I know we are on a UK forum, but just in case there are foreign contributors!) Having tried a couple of the Bluetooth OBDII readers and not having success, I did some research and found they simply won't work on my 99 LS400. I also read about the primitive code reading by shorting a couple of pins on the port and reading the flashes(?!) on the instrument cluster... A while back I had a garage read the codes and they ripped me off £50 just for a code read, I was desperate at the time and wanted the issue sorting hence why I paid it. So I know that there are code readers out there that will work on the LS400. Anyone have one or know of a proper reader that just plugs in and works? I'd rather not faff around with shorting pins and counting flashes etc... Thanks in advance chaps!

Did you get anywhere with this? Having problems with mine, alarm keeps going off randomly for no reason. 1999 LS400

Hi chaps Our LS400 (1999) isn't unlocking on the first press of the key, well sometimes it does, but sometimes it takes 2, 3, 4 presses. Batteries are fine and it's done the same on another key that i've programmed to it. Anyone else had this issue? I thought this was batteries even though I only changed them a couple of months back but the issue is the same with some brand new ones. I'm worried in case one day it decides not to unlock at all! Any advice gratefully received :) All the best

I think they do a good job as the load is spread evenly across the blade. I'd rather change them every year at a fiver than spend say £20 on a genuine set that will hopefully last 4 years.

Same here - went with the ebay Aero blades and they are great. Drivers side was a bit stiff to slot in, but did go eventually. Can't argue at just over a fiver delivered!

This is an old thread i'm digging up I know - but does anyone know the answer to Keith's question above? I've got a key cut and a used transponder. I'm now trying to program the key but haven't had any luck - will keep trying different methods though. Has anyone got instructions saved on their computer that definately did work on their LS400? I'd be grateful if you could share :) Mine is a 1999 model Many thanks in advance chaps :) Ok quick update as i've now done it - didn't take long!!! I've now tried the methods in this thread and the methods that worked for my 1999 LS400 are below (thanks to Haylands and to dkp). Just to confirm also that a second hand transponder chip does work!: To program the key so it starts the car: Requires one working LEXUS Master Key. 1. Enter the car with the existing master key and close all doors. Simultaneously depress and release both the brake and the accelerator pedals. 2. Within 5 seconds, insert the existing master key into the ignition. DO NOT TURN THE KEY. 3. Within 15 seconds of inserting the ignition key, depress and release the accelerator pedal 5 times. 4. Within 20 seconds, depress and release the brake pedal 6 times and then remove the existing master key key from the ignition. 5 Within 10 seconds, insert the new key into the ignition. 6. Depress and release the accelerator pedal one time. The security light should now begin flashing to indicate that the computer is reading the new key and programming the system. 7. Leave the new key in the ignition for 80 seconds. When the security light stops flashing the new key is registered, Remove new key and depress and release brake pedal 1 time. The programming process should be complete. 8. Test the new key. Place the key into the ignition and verify that the car will start. 9. If this is a new remote master key, test the remote functions on the new key. To program the remote central locking part of the key: 1. Sit in the driver's seat and lock all the doors. 2. Unlock and open the driver's door. 3. Insert the key into the ignition and remove it (don't turn it...just remove it). 4. Using the MANUAL lock switch on the driver's door, lock and unlock the door 5 times. 5. Close the door. 6. Open the door. 7. Lock and unlock the driver's door 5 times but this time use the ELECTRIC lock. Insert the key into the ignition and turn it to the "ON" position. Remove the key. The locks will now cycle by themselves. If the door locks do not cycle (lock and unlock) by themselves then the car isn’t in programming mode and you must start over. 8. On the remote, press and hold the LOCK and the UNLOCK button at the same time for no more than 2 seconds. 9. On the remote, press the LOCK button for no more than 1 second. 10. Close and open the door to end the programming procedure.

This is an old thread i'm digging up I know - but does anyone know the answer to Keith's question above? I've got a key cut and a used transponder. I'm now trying to program the key but haven't had any luck - will keep trying different methods though. Has anyone got instructions saved on their computer that definately did work on their LS400? I'd be grateful if you could share :) Mine is a 1999 model Many thanks in advance chaps :)

Could you not get a set of keys/locks/ecu from a scrap car? It's a fair bit of faffing changing all the locks over etc, but most certainly cheaper than getting stuffed by a Lexus dealer! (that's if you don't have any luck programming the existing ECU that is!) Best of luck

i bought those type a few months ago, but no mods were required Brill thanks chaps

Bumping an old thread here, my wipers are tired (1999 LS400), general consensus seems to be that the cheap ebay aero style blades are very effective, but need a slight modification to fit. Anyone know if these are any good?: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/22-16-Aero-FLAT-Windscreen-Front-Wiper-Blades-Lexus-LS-400-1990-ON-/310350839290?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item484259fdfa Same style as mentioned by quite a few people on here?