Ray Barratt

Afternoon Ryan. I utilised an ex Lexus/Toyota man local to me and he had an idea that it would be this valve as he had never experienced the complete strut failure that appears to be the default Lexus position. Hope this helps 😁 Ray

This is the parts diagram I used from Amayama to get exactly what I needed in a matter of days directly from Japan in original Toyota/Lexus packaging. My technician wizard is Jimmy Martin from Auto Tech Studio Wavendon Road Salford Beds 01908 587543 and knows these cars well. Going to get to the bottom of the parasitic battery drain over the next few week, hopefully 😁

Thanks Steve. I hope to be a contributor where I can. I have the Amayama exploded diagram I used to order the part which I can also attach if you think it would help. My technician is on honeymoon for a few weeks and I will report how we get on with the parasitic battery drain in due course and can also attach his website details should other members need his services 😁

Well team Lexus with particular thanks to Herb, Phil and Steve I can now report that my near side rear LS430 slowly leaking air suspension has been sorted by my good friend Jimmy Martin at Auto Tec Studio Salford in Beds which is actually in MK. He is ex Honda and Toyota and really knows his stuff and fitted a near side rear air suspension pipe (looks very flimsy to me) plus the most important bit the rear isolation valve 48096 50040 which I found in Japan new at Amayama for £125.00 + shipping compared to over £400 and a 4-6 week lead time from Lexus UK. Car now fully sorted but the parasitic battery drain remains 😩

Thanks Steve 😁 I will make all the findings and results good and not so good in due course 👍

Thanks Herb. My technician says he used the soapy water route which has lead him to suspect the rear solenoid block which we believe to be Valve Number 2 in Lexus parlance 48096-500400. Interesting thing is the simple fact at the same time that this near side rear slowly deflating issue began the vehicle battery would not keep its charge, almost as if it had a parasitic drain going on. To be on the safe side I bought a new battery which stopped any issues for a few weeks and then the battery would drain out over a week or so if not started. Does anyone think that the slowly deflating near side rear and the parasitic battery drain are connected in some way as the Number 2 solenoid block has both air and electric connections or am I reading to much into it ? Just a thought from a newbie 😁

Great idea Phil as my son has already got this hose ordered for me 👍 Great minds think alike and all that. Will post the results soon.

Thanks for your views Phil. My research into my slowly deflating near side rear is on a local/regional basis but of course the club extends Nationally and beyond and I always appreciate a response from those in the know. I look forward to liaising with my Toyota man next week to start diagnosing and report how we get on. Out of curiosity is their an independent specialist or club member closeish… to Milton Keynes should I get into difficulty

Brilliant Steve, thank you. I have now read loads of stuff about the LS430 air suspension and my conclusions so far : Air bag/struts hardly ever fail backed up by my ex Toyota engineer who looks after the vehicle for me and my son who is a Toyota service manager. Solenoid valve blocks may look like they are on their last legs but again don’t fail too regularly, and the less expensive front block cannot be used on the rear which also appears to have an arrangement of two inlets (for each side) and an electric plug connector, but presumably operate with different values. Often the height control switches fail due to muck and eventual normal wear and tear. I am still bemused however why the near side rear drops significantly over a 3-4 day period and as soon as it’s started raises in no time to it’s normal ride height. My curiosity keeps returning to a minor near side rear leak in the system that currently we cannot hear and no doubt this is where the magic LDS comes in 😁 plus replacing any of the frail push in connection bits (does anyone know if they are Voss). don’t I go on a bit…. Yes but like most budding engineer types I like to understand how things work and when they don’t I need to understand what has contributed to its failure and what can be learnt to make it better for anyone else travelling the same highway. Thanks Team Lexus Owners Cub afficenardo’s …….

I see that another suggestion along the same lines has appeared too, so I will report back as soon as I have established what’s happening, brilliant 😁

Blimey never thought of that …. Fantastic, I’ll post the results as soon as I track the issue down 😀

I was hoping for a height sensor failure but my Toyota chum reckons the solenoid valve is very brittle being 18 year old plastic and even used appear to cost £200.00 and £400.00 new …. Ouch. I don’t understand why it looses its air on this side over a few days only as I would have thought that if the push in connectors are not seating correctly on one side why aren’t all of them failing ? Once running the ride is fine and the ride height can be changed via the dash switch. Grrrrrr springs to mind. any further advice is greatly received 😁

My fab 2004 LS430 slowly looses air on the near side rear over about 4-5 days and an ex Toyota man suggests it could be this valve and possibly the metal pipe and it’s seals that link it to the air strut. Has anyone else have a suggestion. This valve is in very brittle shape but no air loss can be seen or heard. The next two images show normal ride height achieved in 30 -45 seconds of engine running.

Hi Kieran. I will be utilising my son’s position at Toyota a lot to do exactly that 😁👍

Well guys I suspected it would be a lot more than a simple fix .... Fortunately the column is in a position that suits me just fine so no doubt this is a job that will not get done any time soon. My son who works for a Toyota dealer advises that the motors are available as a Landcruiser item as they use the same ones and under Toyota are less expensive that their Lexus counterparts. Great response from like minded Lexus members and I look forward to learning all about its benefits in due course 😁

Hi All. Just acquired my first LS430 and I love it 🙂 The only niggle is the electric telescopic steering does not function at all. I can’t hear any attempt of the motors trying to engage so I am not sure why this function would be disabled but how do I check this ?