JonnyM

@Daveyboy20 Thanks, it had the DHP fitted by the dealer, which is 17" wheels and I think lowered springs. It was a bit saggy when I bought it, I replaced the front springs with Blueprint and the rear with Kilen (I can't recall why I didn't get Blueprint), these are for the standard (not DHP) LS400 @goldtop The sprayer said that the original cashmere beige metallic had faded in the sun, the unexposed areas (like inside the door frames) was still vibrant

Yes Cotswold Pete much nicer to drive now. It's not cold on a cool morning (1st world problems!) and is really comfortable with the extra thickness and thumb grips. I've got my original Mark 4 1998 beige wheel if anyone is struggling to get a donor wheel (it takes a couple of weeks for Royal to turn them around). On a side note, I also bought a dark grey wheel that I used for the dark gray airbag in my original photo, the donor car, a 1998 LS400 had only done 50k miles and the leather is still almost a new matt finish - so I couldn't live with myself to get this stripped and re-covered! If anyone is after a really nice original wheel (without the airbag and trip computer switches on the photo) then let me know (moderators, apologies if this is the wrong place to say this!)

Thanks! It was £190, they will fit it for £20, I wasn't driving out that way so had it posted and bought a steering wheel puller for £10 on eBay. I've always thought that the LS has a clear, clean dash that doesn't show it's age. The style of the wheel seems to make the interior of the car current (I was concerned it would look out of place, hence I kept the original wheel, but I don't think it will be going back on

Thanks Mike, I'm not sure whether a tracker has been fitted. When I was checking the fuses a few days back I noticed a retrofitted cable connected to the battery positive cable. It had an inline fuse which I removed, this may be for the Nokia car kit (if only I'd kept my Nokia 6210 from 2000, the best phone I've had!) or potentially a tracker. Since removing this fuse and driving each day she is starting first time every time. Over the next weeks I'm fitting a Bluetooth phone kit, a Bluetooth and aux input to the stereo and a 'birds eye' parking camera system so I'll have a look out for a tracker whilst I had trim removed. I'll write up the build with photos in case anyone else on the forum is interested.

Happy New Year Everyone! Here's a quick update and another question... I took my LS400 to a local indy to test and replace the alternator. His conclusion was the alternator is fine but the starter motor solenoid is sticking, it's possible this was causing the battery drain. It makes sense to me as I was getting a single click each time I attempted to start the car when the battery was fully charged. When the car is asleep (screwdriver in bonnet catch) the drain is only 12mA. Whilst waiting for the parts to arrive I've been using the car daily and since it has started first time every time! I was going to get an exchange starter fitted as the lead time from Lexus is 8 weeks, but now she is behaving I'm thinking that I could wait and get the original Lexus part fitted. Does anyone have a view on whether starting the car up every day might have improved the starter solenoid condition? Before I bought her I expect that she had not been driven regularly for a couple of years which can't be good for a car. I have to say that I'm just loving driving the LS400!

Thanks everyone for all of your responses, I now have a plan! I've got my CTEK charger back from my bother-in-law and am fully charging the battery overnight. I've received in the post a multimeter with a current clamp. In the light tomorrow I'll put a screwdriver in the bonnet catch to ensure the systems sleep and properly measure the current draw after a few minutes. I'll test the alternator to see if the diodes are leaking - I'm tempted to change out the alternator anyway as I want to do what I can to ensure future reliability. I'll keep you posted on how it's going ...

Hi All, I've been wanting an LS400 for the last 5 years and picked one up this week. It's a late 1998 series 4 UCF21 with 70k miles, the first 64k with Lexus main dealer stamps and then by independent mechanics over the last 9 years. I'm planning to use it as my main car for long work journeys once I have some things sorted. I've treated it to a Terraclean at Ace Car Care in Shrewsbury - which was a good experience and have serviced it, new plugs etc - purrs like a kitten and a joy to drive. On the second day it failed to start due to a low battery voltage so not knowing the history of the battery and wanting a reliability replaced it with a 95 AH Yuasa Silver battery. The new battery started it fine but was discharged by the following morning! I've measured the voltage drop across all of the fuses when the car has been off for 10 minutes. There was no voltage across the fuses in the interior fuse box inside. Under the bonnet I measured: 3mV on the MPX-B (multiplex communication system, related to combination meter) 1.9mV on the ETCS (electronic throttle control system) 0.8mV on the ODB 0.8mV on the Dome (MPX and seat control system) 0.4mV on the EFI-2 (transmission) 0.2mV on the EFI-1 (engine) As it is running up to Christmas I won't get an auto electrician now until early January (not that I'm in a huge hurry). I wondered if anyone had some ideas or previous experience with this on an LS? I'm planning to fix the parking dings and convert to LPG if she turns out to be reliable in the next 3 months. Cheers Jonny