BigBoomer

Congrats On the headphones I looked into this when I was considering an LS460 nearly 6 years ago and I believe that any infrared headphones can be paired with the Lexus system. Otherwise there are a few available on eBay like this pair. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305204769374

Either CTRL+ALT+ 4 or ALT GR(right ALT)+4 does the € symbol. I'm pretty certain that the LS600h has sidelights (bulbs) and Daytime Running lights (LEDs). Only the sidelights have to work to pass the MOT.

If you look on ebay there are reconditioned OE air-struts for around £300 each. That cheap one probably won't last very long but at that price might be worth it.

Well, the new camera works perfectly. In the attached pic you can see the old and replacement cameras side by side. Corrosion was once again the cause of death, as it was for Marks camera. Once I removed the trim to get at the bolts I saw that the metal around the number plate lights was starting to rust so sanded that back and painted with Kurust and then Smoothrite. It's hidden by the trim. Was quite a PITA to get that trim off as the 2 clips on the extreme ends were bent over. Done now and happy with it again. 😁

Sometimes a "reset" works. Just disconnect the battery, wait a few mins, then reconnect. Otherwise it sounds like there is a problem with the head unit or the wiring.

I thought you'd love to have those strobing tail lights too

Oh they will, but not for a few years yet. The LS400 was low production volume and a fair number of those have been scrapped. An American friend has a 23-window bus that he customised in the early 70s and still drives to Bug-Meets over there. He says people often get angry with him because he customised it. He used to explain that his family has owned it since new and he customised it 50 years ago but now he just smiles and laughs at them. One guy told him he would buy it for $50k just so he could return it to stock. Apparently he told that guy to **** off! 🤣

Malc is gonna LOVE that LS400 🤣🤣 Go to 08:50 if you don't want to watch the whole vid.

Qamar, I just tested it using the exact method shown in your video (thanks ) and the window/sunroof open function works (and it beeeeeeps whilst doing it), but the close function does not work. About then only time I would want the open function is on a hot day to get some air into the car, but the close function I would use almost all of the time to make sure that all windows & sunroof are closed. Perhaps someone else can check with their facelift LS and see if they get the same results?

Doesn't work on my 2004 LS430. I just tried it in both directions and it does absolutely nothing with the Windows. I'll have a look in TechStream when I am next connected, but I looked pretty thoroughly last time and found nothing then.

Would be an excellent idea (air-con on recirculate), except that the air-con stopped working 2 years ago and I haven't gotten around to getting it fixed yet. The heater still works perfectly. If I was still commuting in it every day (120 miles per day) then it would have been fixed 2 years ago, but since Covid I work 100% from home, so the car now does under 50 miles per week.

Ok, and to add to my damp problems, now my reversing camera has finally given up the ghost giving me a gray screen. It was kind of expected as it has been flickering and being slow to show any picture for a while now. I have ordered a used one from eBay. Lets hope that works. Once I've replaced it I will take mine apart and see if it has the same corrosion as Mark's had.

Stupid, stupid George!! On Tuesday I drove to pickup some motorcycle parts from my local powder coaters and it was warm and sunny so I had the windows open. (you can see it coming can't you?). When I got home I somehow missed out closing the passenger window,.... and it rained Wednesday night into Thursday. 😢 So, I have a damp car now. Luckily the winds were blowing the other way so the seat was merely damp, but the floor mat was wet and the carpet was damp. To cap it all, my 10 year old mains dehumidifier died. So, I have managed to get the car dry-ish with gel-pack dehumidifiers and plenty of Plenty to sponge the condensation off the inside of the rear window. I now need to buy a new mains dehumidifier to finish the job. Why do cars not close ALL the windows when you lock them? No, I don't have a dog and even if I did I would NEVER leave it in the car.

It is also worth cleaning it when apart and lubricating with a thin smear of silicone grease. I didn't stretch my spring. I just cleaned/lubed it because it was sticking. Nice pics.

VW bought (and still own) Bentley in 1998. The 2003 Phaeton was similar to the 2003 Audi A8 and 2003 Bentley Continental in that it shared similar chassis design, suspension, and engine parts. The build quality was up to VW usual high standards, but the early models had transmission issues at quite low mileages as well as endless electrical issues. Their implementation of the air suspension was also pretty poor and unreliable. As time went by they got better but by then the damage was done.

Welcome aboard Frazer Not quite the vehicle I'd choose for central London but she does have a tight turning circle for her length so fuel economy aside she should be good for you. Just make sure she gets to stretch her legs regularly.

I recommend having your battery checked out especially if it doesn't get driven regularly. May also be worth checking for parasitic drains.

None of the aftermarket ones with the spout have the pressure cap on the radiator. So, for aftermarket I would recommend something like this. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363624735352 It has a little plastic thing for bleeding air out of the top of the radiator, but you top up coolant via the pressure cap on the reservoir. Chances are even if you buy a Lexus radiator it won't have the pressure cap on the radiator itself. There is no need for 2 pressure caps. 😁

My 2001 S320CDI was nicknamed "Christine" by my better half as whenever it felt like it, it would open windows/sunroof, turn on/off the radio, and occasionally just switch off the engine. That last was a bit scary but all it needed was a cool head, put auto-box into neutral, turn off ignition, and then restart her and back into Drive. On the day I sold it (to a recycler) she watched it go and then said "Thank **** that's gone!"🤣 I loved the drivers seat as it was the most comfy seat I have ever sat in. I hated the turbo-lag (diesel) and hated the unreliability. As for the CD player possibly damaged by a welder, if you don't disconnect the battery ANY electronic system on a car can be damaged by the voltage spikes that welding generates. The ML system in the LS430 suffers from being made with early lead-free solder which cracks. Compared to similar cars and audio systems from the era (2000-2006) it is a paragon of reliability. Go look at the Merc, BMW, Audi, etc. forums if you don't believe me. I did before I bought my LS430. Until I read the forums I quite fancied a VW Phaeton W10 (diesel) or W12 (GP0 or GP1). After reading the forums you couldn't give me a Phaeton for free, although I believe that the later ones are more reliable.

It's reassuring that you can neglect them that much and they'll keep running, but then that timing belt could have snapped at any time over the last 100k miles. It does look like it's had regular oil changes but the primary maintenance seems to have been neglected.

CD Players have 2 parts. Part one is the CD itself that reads the data from the CD and passes it to the DAC. Part 2 is the DAC (Digital to Analogue Converter) which converts the data stream into analogue sound. It sounds like your DAC is working fine, but the data feed from the CD is too slow, possibly from a damaged disk speed controller. I never use my CD player now, since I fitted the BlueMusic module.

I use a TomTom SatNav and it displays a much more accurate speed than the LS430 speedo on a straight road at constant speed. My speedo consistently reads high compared to the SatNav by about 2Mph at 30Mph and 5Mph at 70MPH and I am on factory wheels and tyre sizes. If you fit wheels and tyres that have a different rolling radius from the factory size, then you REALLY need to check the calibration of your speedo and drive appropriately. As others have said, you can get speedo apps for Android and Apple phones that are pretty accurate when at a constant speed on a straight road so you can find out how accurate your speedo is, if you don't have an aftermarket SatNav. Almost all speedos over-read (eg. at a real speed of 70Mph the speedo shows 75Mph) and the older ones tend to be worse.

In 1989 15" was considered a large wheel size. My 1993 Carlton Diplomat had 15" wheels. More sidewall gives better comfort but affects handling as the sidewalls also move sideways. On later cars we have MUCH better suspension so can use larger wheels and smaller sidewalls to give better handling but still keep the comfort,... mostly. 😁

This is a good site for comparing tyre sizes. https://tiresize.com/comparison/ It looks like the 225/55-R16 is the closest to the OEM size on a 16" rim. With the 225/55-R16 you are actually reading slightly less speed and miles than with the OEM tyre size.

If the work carried out involved any welding and they didn't disconnect the battery before doing it, then you may need a new CD Player. If you need to find a replacement, take yours out and note the part number on the assembly as there are several different models that all look the same but have different connectors. As for the reliability of the ML system, it's 22 years old and has fared better than many others of comparable age. It suffers from having the crappy early lead-free solder, much like most of the rest of the LS430s electronics. If you want to experience REALLY unreliable electronics, go buy a 2001-2005 S-Class Merc. That models electronics is a cluster**** of titanic proportions. 🤣