Z28DUNC

I've seen some 17" 10 spoke GS MK3 wheels at a reasonable price but they wouldn't be my first choice. Like Phil says I'd ideally like something easy to clean. 

My favourite choice would be 18" facelift 430 wheels. They look really nice and are easy to clean. The only ones I can find are over £500 which I think is far too much unless they had really good tyres on.

Next choice is LS400 DHP wheels but again I think these can be over priced.

Its not urgent but two of my tyres will probably need changing by the start of the summer and I'd rather just fit some other wheels I like.

Brill, cheers Steve. Just opens my options up more.

Thanks, I'll try the sweep and turn off technique.

I know on the GS I can pull the wipers into a upper position to change the wiper blades. Is this the same on the LS400? Don't want to break anything!

As per the title, do 17" GS MK3 wheels fit the LS400 MK3? I'm worried there might be clearance issues with the front calipers?

Some people eh! Its annoying waiting to find a decent car. I thought I'd have to spend months waiting for something to come up but got lucky. 

Its always the same if you need it quickly you can never find it!

I'm surprised that no one one here is thinking of selling their car and contacted you, but I guess most people on here have bought one to keep. 

13 hours ago, GibletPH said:

It was the strangest test drive ever, the owners insurance policy had lapsed but he still took me for a test drive. I sat in the passengers seat. Just as we were getting back the unmarked X5 that was behind us put his lights on and pulled us over. 

Car was impounded on the spot!

So I'm guessing its not for sale again until he pays to get it back!

When are you going on your trip?

5 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

Many thanks Duncan.

From what I can glean from the information you have provided, you and your car fulfill all of the necessary conditions ( as I see them ) for the Warranty to pay out. No wriggle room for the Warranty Administrator or Lexus to occupy. Not many, (if any ) warranties will pay out for an 11 year old car !!

Been a particularly good investment in your case.

 

Regards

John

John, yes I had to cover myself and make absolutely certain it would. I made sure I had all the boxes ticked and asked about the lack of full lsh etc and made sure that I wasn't taking a warranty out that wouldn't pay out.

2 hours ago, Malc said:

worries me if ever i come to change my steed .............  now at 203k miles .............  and 15 years with Ls400s

Are the more recent Lexus models of such poor comparative quality that one really has to consider taking an extended warranty ?  Must be having a goddam awful reputation by now !

Malc

Hi Malc,

                   I'm probably the best person to ask then as I've got the LS400 MK3 like yours! What I would say is any newer car these days is like this. Yes you might get lucky and get one that never goes wrong but most cars are going to have problems. Look at the 400. The engine is bullet proof but electronics start failing on them due to age, capacitors etc. Radio/heating displays. Suspension components, bonnet struts, leaky boot seals, steering column motor. however because the cars old you either put up with it or find a cheap way of fixing it. The problem with the 450 is you can't get aftermarket shocks, the air-con system has to be dealt with by Toyota or Lexus as its a special hybrid system. The only easy fix is the rear calipers.

Cars get ever increasingly complicated and harder to fix. I don't think Lexus is what it used to be but also I know what Merc and BMW aren't what they used to be. Its the way of the modern world, chuck away generation. Even Ford are at it. You can't by engine internals, oh no, you have to by a short block for £1500.

So yes if your car is worth a reasonable amount of money and is new enough for a warranty then its worth it imo.

However your probably best sticking with the 400 as it comes from a time when cars where over engineered. Don't worry when yours gives up the ghost you can buy mine off me, haha!

3 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

Shahpor,

What is really needed in addition to your suggestions are, I suggest;

1. Did vehicle have a FLSH from new prior to its purchase by the current owner ?

2. Has vehicle continued to have FLSH since purchase ?

3. What has been the nature of the relationship with the LEXUS DEALER since purchase ?

So its a 2007 plate. Took the warranty out in July 2016 at 52k miles. Lexus Birmingham, £1095 for 2 years cover.

It had a fsh but the last stamp when we bought it wasn't main agent. I queried this and Lexus Birmingham inspected the car before the warranty (i'd already had a hybrid check done) to agree the car wasn't in need of anything before agreeing to issue the warranty. 

We've had a service plan with Lexus that finishes next year but if you sell the car you get your unspent money back or can move it to a new plan. You have to have main dealer servicing to have the warranty honoured. 

Apart from a really crap customer service representative a little while ago the service has been very good (hes not there anymore, maybe because I contacted the centre principal about him). As far as the warranty side of things go they've been great. The Aircon has been repaired 3 times, yes 3! First of all it had a bad connection somewhere in the electrical side of the system. Second time a pipe, third time the condenser. A rear caliper was replaced at the last MOT and the rear brake lines. Now the shock.

I usually get a call to say there is something wrong and they are contacting the warranty department to get authorization to fix it but this time with the shock they just phoned to say what the problem was and it was being sorted.

Cars back now with a clean MOT, no advisories. Oh and its washed and hoovered, saves me a job! They come and pick it up and drop it off.

Big big big repair bills. Check out US forums on them. I'd stay away personally. 

Yes my understanding is the car will be to new to renew the warranty when it runs out. We can't afford a newer GS so I'm not sure what we'll do.

GS is in for a service and MOT today. Asked for them to look at the rear suspension because i could hear a knock at low speeds. Sure enough drivers side rear shock has leaked out all its fluid. Luckily the warranty has come to the rescue again and paid for it. A quoted figure of £449.46, ouch.

So glad we took out a warranty on the car but i don't know if we'll be keeping it after it runs out in July. Probably had £2k worth of work done on the warranty.

Good point Malc, looks like it fits the GS300 too so hopefully not expensive.

Moses Gate buy there cars directly from Lexus dealers so come with flsh and always seem top notch but don't have any experience of them directly. I think if I was prepared to part with a large chunk of cash I'd take it there. Some lovely LS's. I really like this one but the colour probably isn't up everyones street http://www.mosesgatecarsales.co.uk/detail/267485/used-lexus-ls-430-4-3-4dr-bolton

Any idea where to buy the gearbox mount?

Hi Roy,

                      I changed mine yesterday. There is a section at the back of the glovebox you pull out then you'll see a white plastic cover behind that with two tabs at the bottom. Unclip that and pull the filter housing down and slide out. The filter sits in a plastic housing which needs to be pushed up once slid back in to allow the white cover to close.

Hope that helps.

Dunc

Thanks Mark, sounds like a quick job. I think I'll try and get round to it sooner rather than later.

Changed the air filter and cabin filter in my lunch break today. 

Getting that metal clip back in place round the air filter housings a bit of a pita? Got it back together in the end but was fiddly. Old one wasn't in too bad a condition which was nice to see.

The cabin filter was a different matter! Yuck. To be fair I usually wouldn't think of changing this filter but it was peanuts so I thought I might as well. Glad I did, packed with debris. Took me a moment to realize that once you've put the filter in the plastic housing that it has to be pushed up into place after being slid back in. Otherwise the white cover won't clip in place.

Another job has reared its head. Or hit me on the head! Bonnet struts, slowly going down (bonnet fell on me). How easy are they to change?

As per title. Looking for some reasonably priced DHP or the facelift 430 wheels. 

Looking for clear lenses for the MK3 LS400 if anyone has any. I can see them for sale in the states but they don't ship to the UK. Also looking for the clear side repeater lenses.

It's a pity they didn't fit a LSD to these cars. I think off the line traction would be much better. Also doesn't the car restrict full power to a certain speed? It really accelerates well when your already at motorway speed. 

Thanks for the replies. I'll have to take a punt on one and hope its not already been coded. There's one on eBay at the moment thats fully functioning so I've sent a question asking if it is coded or not.

I'm thinking about buying another head unit rather than trying to repair the display and back lighting. If I get a second hand unit will it ask me for a code when its plugged in? 1996 LS400.

Cheers, Dunc

Brill, I'll go see if I can get it in store tomorrow if not I'll order online.