The Lexus Enthusiast

Shame. What happened to it? Pretty drive way ornament though! Alex

Just learned something about imports. With the weather at the moment leather is a bit uncomfortable I confess, thank goodness for the seat warmers. Bet you look cool with the rear tint, and keep cool- another example of Lexus value!

Does it make your back hot in summer? Make sure to never leave your sunroof open, any water will shrink that interior of yours. Doubt your insurance covers shrinkage😂🤣

I have noticed that almost all LS430 drivers that I have seen on the roads don't exactly like hanging around behind the wheel😎 I think that there must be some allure hustling a living room full of leather seats around at break neck speeds lol. But seriously not wise, you're quite right. Was it a facelift or preface lift? I find that the older 430s are usually driven a bit more harshly. Alex

Yeah, not having wood trim in the earlier ones is a pain. Why did Lexus decide to do that suddenly in 53? Aluminium looks good but only when in tip top condition which sadly isn't usually the case. Both our LS430s came with aluminium but I upgraded one to full wood and it looks stunning in my opinion and original too. So I have learned something new thanks to the LOC about late registration!

Ah that could be it. Never thought of that! Lucky guy gets a slightly newer plate 😁

Oh, just thought, perhaps it was imported midway through 2003?

Saw a 53 plate LS430 the other day but it was not facelift. Can someone explain how that is possible? I thought that they were all facelifts after 03. Yep, another one! Alex

Will be fab in the Celsior. So quiet and powerful perfect for the motorways.

Nice sighting! I have noticed that whenever I have seen ls430s, especially the one yesterday, they are going FAST, and it's not exactly surprising I guess. Put it this way- the guy yesterday really liked his 430's engine. Unfortunately have never had the pleasure of seeing an ls430 on the continent, not even a British one. I live also in Italy and have never ever seen a single 430 of any nationality there but did see many many years ago a 460 and have seen recently over there one early 00s GS. I dream of when I can take a 430 across to Italy. Have already got my road trip down there booked for March but unfortunately will be going in my car.

Just got back from London an hour ago and when I was driving through Acton on A40 spotted a silver facelift 430 going the other way so now I really do need an edible hat😁 This is just fantastic! I'm starting to spend an increasing amount of time scanning oncoming traffic for 430s now as I just can't get them off my mind, should come with a safety warning ha ha! Unfortunately until am 25 yrs I can't be put on insurance for my mom's ls430 so am in an A class which must be what is strangely attracting these 430s! Resisting the urge to covet is v difficult when they come wafting along like magic carpets. I consider hers to be mine except my "chauffeur" owns it😂 Friend of mine lives in Bognor Regis so I might make an extended trip out of it and come and admire that rare Celsior of yours, have always wanted to see one in real life! It really gets me down having to wait until i'm 25 to drive the Lexus. Alex

You won't believe it! Earlier when I was driving to Church a grey ls430 2002 came out of a lay-by and followed me. This is now the third ls430 I have come across in two weeks. Doesn't the good Lord send us nice cars when we want them 🙂 I honestly don't believe what's going on at the moment. Am not having a laugh, this is honestly true. Definitely wasn't under the influence ha ha. Is it some kind of an omen its like ls430s and 400s are attracted to my car like a magnet at the moment. Just passed my test before the summer holidays so if a red or gold coloured ls430 follows me i will know its my parents spying on my driving habits! I'll be driving into London tomorrow so if I see any more ls430s I will genuinely eat my hat This is 100% true. Had I not been driving at the time I would have snapped a pic just to prove it.

I always used to see a black Ls600 driving on the A40 Western Avenue going out of London when I was driving in. Almost every single time I would pass that exact same car! Anyone on here? Despite having not seen any LS for probably over a year, all of a sudden recently I have seen loads- the other day whilst out driving I saw three LS400s within half an hour and the next day was in my driveway and a blue LS400 came wafting past! Unbelievable after having seen none for ages. Have seen two ls430s in the last two or so weeks which is a very rare occurrence but neither was in v good condition the second was so dirty that I could barely make out the colour and it was missing all the Lexus logos on the wheel plates 😮 Probably the most memorable sighting some years ago was of a blue 2001 ls430 (also on A40) which had two enormous scrapes like something enormous had hit the side and had a chunk of the front grill missing almost like a bullet hole. The fact that as the driver came down the slip road he proceeded to slam through and around the heavy traffic like a rally car probably explains the damage! Have seen that exact car numerous times for sale on eBay and each time it has been more and more cannibalised to look like a boy racer machine. Except for these have barely ever seen any LS on the road.

Yes, there is that. When I replace it or either repair it I might have to turn the bass all the way down and listen to it like that and not give the ML such a hard time😁

To be honest I am becoming more and more tempted by aftermarket subs which will be more durable. The sub only plays the most distorted and muddy bass sounds so I don't imagine it would sound bad to have one non ML speaker. It would save a lot of work. I'm not very confident with DIY for anything expensive or luxurious, I probably couldn't trust myself in the Lexus. However, since repair is cheaper it is tempting. It's such a shame that you can't just unfasten the cover over the sub and remove it! Alex

Well done, It looks very nice! I imagine mine is completely torn ha ha! It's just taking the rear seats out to get to it that scares me. Do you think that it would last longer if i repaired it with good silicone and was very thorough?

Thanks so much for the recommendation Roger. Will probably leave it until the summer holiday when I have lots of time on my hands. The speakers get blown so quickly despite never playing the music excessively that I'm in no rush to replace them just yet. I hope that the right speaker is at fault otherwise it could be the amp or bad wiring. Then again, the music in the gold LS is partial to the right hand side, so it could just be unique to each car but am pretty sure I didn't notice it until fairly recently. Alex

Good luck getting hold of the cable! I had to run the cable connected to the Xcarlink out from under the center console since it’s not long enough and there’s no easy way into the glove compartment or armrest. If you press firmly on the carpeted sides of the centre console then you can squeeze it through. I used the included adhesive tab in the box to fix it to the hard leather edge of the center console. Alex

Thanks for giving me the confidence Roger! Now I just need to replace the sub and since the audio still comes slightly more from the left I think that the right front door speaker needs replacing also, then it’s perfect! Alex

By the way, if you have a facelift car then you will need to get the other one since the pin connector is different. The non facelifts are 5+7. I can't remember what they are on facelifts. There are different products by xcarlink on ebay so choose carefully and if in doubt message them. When they eventually noticed that my message had been ignored they were very helpful and answered all of my questions.

I decided the other day to just go for it and buy the aux/sd/usb kit from ebay. Despite the fact they told me(after receiving a picture of the cd unit) that it would not work, I ignored them and just purchased it. It works beautifully and sounds fantastic! This is the one I got: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-LS-430-2001-2005-Car-Stereo-USB-SD-AUX-Interface-iPod-iPhone-BT-Option/251590484726?epid=648442757&hash=item3a93f622f6:g:7LEAAOSw0fhXkJn2 Wish I had done it before spending money on numerous adapters to experiment to find the best sound quality and an FM transmitter also. I have learned that cost cutting is pointless with such a lovely car. Despite the picture on ebay mine came with aux instead of line in/bluetooth. I messaged them after placing the order so as to be sure of this. The only one flaw is that if you use the buttons on the nav screen to fast forward or rewind a song from your phone with aux the nav screen quickly restarts itself since it gets confused, but I don't think that is a huge let down, just don't seek from the nav screen when connected with aux. The ports and aux jack are illuminated in a nice blue :) I say go for it! It's expensive but a one off and is a great product to use with the 430's sound system. I didn't bother with the bluetooth module for £50 extra. Alex

We have just sorted everything out with the insurers and they say they will work with his insurers. The car is going to a very good place we know on Monday so that they can fully inspect it. This guy must have come up quite fast because he wasn't clearly visible when we stopped. Fingers crossed there is no floorpan damage. Alex

Bad luck bout your Lexus lol. Makes the two of us!

Just realised that it's an Aygo from reviewing the pictures. Since the only visible damage isn't clear to make out hopefully everything is okay. It's amazing how these cars hold up, it felt incredibly forceful from inside but luckily because the Aygo is small and low it thankfully lined up with the rear bumper of the Lex which must have deflected most of the impact and crumpled back out. When I got out of the car I was expecting the boot lid to be completely battered. We were very lucky. Alex

Have just used this to check. Thankfully they are insured. Phew! Thanks for that, Alex