SteveW37

Yep still the think the car is great, had it a year now so warranty has just expired. Couple of minor issues which were covered with no hassle whatsoever. When I was looking to buy I did slightly prefer the 04+ model but my budget wouldn't stretch to it. Hence I've added the clear rear light clusters and the larger 18" wheels. Bad luck with the accident hope you get it all sorted to your satisfaction. I wouldn't worry too much about the other two discs to be honest. From what I can see the 'West' disc contains pretty much everything that is on the 'Central' one bar data for Germany. The 'North' disc would be for use in Scandanavia, so unless you're planning a trip to the Nurburgring or to somewhere very cold you're probably not missing out on much :)

Quite like the idea of replacing the stock item with a chrome effect one but a little dubious about the 'kits' available on ebay which seem to amount to a set of stick on strips. Have looked at this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Lexus-LS430...sspagenameZWDVW Anybody done this or anything similiar on their car? Also how difficult is it likely to be to remove the existing grille, I've never done anything on the car myself to date that hasn't made me wish I'd never started :)

Go to this web site for a new one, they are very quick at delivering and it will be much cheaper than Lexus, you need the numbers off the disc you have to get the right one. http://www.lexus-mapupdates.eu/ The new disc is a massive improvement over the old one Good Luck Pete Hi Pete I ordered this and received it via the link you provided, cheers for that. I actually received 3 dvd's, one each for Northern, Western and Central Europe. Is that what they sent you? Obviously the Western Europe disc is applicable for my car (2002 LS430) and being as I'm highly unlikely to drive in the other areas the extra 2 discs are pretty redundant. You didn't mention them in your original post so just wondered if you got them as well. I paid 159 euros and delivery is very good, I think they use DHL'S quickest method.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2005-05-Lexus-LS-430...ViewItem#photos Look at the pictures closely.....wtf!

Hi Barney According to the owners manual 35psi all round is correct. Hope you're impressed with my after sales service!

Hi Mark I've just upgraded the wheels on my LS430 TO 18's so I have the standard 17's with tyres available. Pretty sure they would fit your car ok. (Hopefully somebody will correct me if I'm wrong!) Let me know if you're interested. Steve

I have a 52 plate car which has the massaging seats in the rear. I think it is part of the 'premium pack' which I believe was fitted as standard on all models after March/April 2002. Not 100% sure about the dates though.

bulb2 Hi Steve, can you tell us a bit more on how you got the rear lights to fit? This would be helpfull as I'm looking to buy a pair from the states. Alan. Hi Alan Apologies for the delay in replying. Basically I had to enlarge the holes in the inner housing to allow the bulbs used in the series 3 LS400 to fit properly. This involved filing away some of the plastic (more difficult than it sounds.) I guess this may or may not be an issue for you depending on which series LS you have? If your existing bulbs are the 'bayonet' type shown on the link below then you could have the same problem that I encountered. bulb The rear clusters I ordered from the states came with the flatter type of bulbs shown on the link below (which are used on the LS430 I have now.) bulb2 Hope I've explained this clearly. Steve

I ordered the 'clear' rear lens clusters for my old LS400 (1995 series 3) from the states. They fitted perfectly well but the inner housing needed some modifications to allow the bulbs to fit through. (This was not particularly easy to do ) The bulbs sent with the light clusters were different to those I had in the 400, in fact they were the same as I now have on my LS430. The only other issue was that I ended up with no rear fog light. Being a glutton for punishment I again elected to change the rear lights to clear ones when I got the LS430. However this time around no problem whatsoever! Just needed a couple of amber bulbs, which of course are a standard part on the later model 430.

Hi Jim I went through all sorts of problems when I was looking for 17" wheels for my old LS 400. Like you I ordered a set online and was assured by the vendor (Edworthys) that they would fit ok. Although I did not have a problem with physically fitting them it turned out they caught on the wheel arches whilst driving. I presume this was because the offset was incorrect. I managed to obtain a full refund and was lucky to buy a set of wheels and tyres off ebay which had come off another LS. The offset for these was 50 if that helps. I'd be interested to know which wheels you ordered from Rochford as I've been looking at their site with a view to upgrading to a set of 18's for my Ls430. Steve

Just to add that as far as I know when you turn the ignition the steering wheel should always return to the last position it was in. I has the same issue with my LS400 but never resolved it. Window tints are very much a matter of personal taste but I guess you could be right about it being a bit dark inside with a black interior!

Hi Hunt If you press the climate button near the sat nav screen you may see the option to turn the rear air con on/off. (That's how it is on mine.) As Rillo has said this has to be on for the cool box to work. I'm not sure how low the temperature has to be as I haven't experimented with mine yet. The memory seat; have you set this correctly? Hold set and numbered memory seat postion button at the same time. If you then say move the seat backwards/forwards for cleaning purposes I think you then have to push the numbered button to return the seat tthe desired position. I don't think the smart key will do quite what you are asking but as Rillo mentions there are some functions for the key that a Lexus dealer can program for you.

Just wanted to add that I have fully working hot/cold seats :) As mentioned on here the effect is quite subtle and it takes a few minutes before you feel warm or cool air. That means I have now tested absolutely everything on the car and there isn't a thing that doesn't work....a first for me!

There is no facility to search by post code with my version of the software (2002 LS430.) Does anybody know if any of the subsequent upgrade DVD's add this function?

Try this company: http://lexusspares.co.uk/ Have been recommended on here before.

Many thanks for the advice guys. I'll be supplying the info from the link jain kindly provided to whoever does the installation for me. Would not regard myself anywhere near competent to attempt this myself :)

I believe there are some subtle styling changes as well. Clear rear light clusters and slightly different front fog lights. Also possibly the front grill has altered slightly. I've just bought a 2002 LS430 and couldn't be happier with it.

Just traded in my LS400 for a 2002 LS 430 and wondered if anyone could help with the following: Have tested all the electrical stuff and everything seems to work fine bar the heated seats which don't seem to get very warm (front or rear) also the front seats are supposed to blow cool air through but again this doesn't seem to work that well. I have examined the filters which are underneath the front seats but they don't appear to be that old (car has covered 50k.) Perhaps I'm just being impatient and they take a while to heat up/cool down? Hoping somebody with the same car could advise me. Second query is regarding the fitting of a hands free kit, I was looking at the Parrot CK3200. Has anybody on the board had one of these or similiar fitted to their LS? A couple of things I read suggested that the installation might cost a bit more due to the Mark Levinson stereo setup in the LS. I'm not too worried about that but more concerned about any adverse effects on the stereo and/or wiring. If anybody can recommend a company/individual to fit one of these I'd be most grateful. Steve

Had throttle body cleaned by a guy who actually works in a Toyota/Lexus dealership so pretty confident he has done a thorough job. Found this thread on LOC USA forum: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=15699 Makes interesting reading. Seems to be exactly the problem I am experiencing so I have sourced an ECM for a later series 3 car from a breakers yard which will hopefully arrive this week sometime. Will post again once I have fitted it and let everyone know whether this cures the problem.

Hi Just wondered if anybody had any ideas about the issue outlined below. My LS has developed a problem in the last 3-4 months whereby the engine will stall after a sustained period of steady 60MPH+ driving. This typically occurs after exiting a motorway and say arriving at the top of the slip road to stop for lights. The engine will just die or at best the revs will drop down extremely low and some nifty footwork is required! I have done a bit of research on here and I found one thread which suggested cleaning the throttle body which I have had done but to no avail. Is there any other component/part that may have a bearing on this? Throttle position sensor, or a motor that controls the idle? I have developed a kind of workaround which involves putting the A/C on shortly before I am coming off the motorway, this is ok but obviously I'd like to cure the problem if possible. Car has clocked up 192k so I guess something could be worn or past its best. A diagnostic check revealed 2 fault codes which I am told relate to oxygen sensors in the exhaust? (If I recall correctly.) I was informed that this was most unlikely to be the cause of my stalling issue. Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks Steve

Can confirm what Tony says as I recently fitted these to my MK3. No problems with the bootlock on mine. I would say it's a bit of a pain having to trim the cluster to make the UK bulb fit. Looks like come MOT time I might have to put the old inner clusters back on!

Hope someone might be able to suggest what could be causing a creaking noise from the front passenger side of the car. It seems suspension related but what I can't work out is that the car will often drive perfectly for the first 15-20 miles of a journey. I had both front lower ball joints replaced a while back as the garage I took it to diagnosed those as the culprits. However there has been very little improvement and along with the creaking noise I sometimes get a real jolt when going over a speed hump or a pothole in the road. It's almost like I've driven up a kerb! Could something be broken, spring or shock? And if so why does it seem ok for the first part of a journey? Steve

Well spotted Ricky! Just bought these for my LS 400. They look great and fit perfectly.

Thanks Tony I do already have aftermarket 17's which were on the car when I bought it. However they're badly in need of a refurb and I'm not that keen on them really. I'll probably stick with 17's and would welcome any suggestions as to what might be suitable and also a reputable place to buy from.

I need new wheels for my LS and wondered if 17"s from an IS 200 would fit okay? I have a 1995 series 3 car. I guess offsets and and stuff would be alright but are they wide enough and what tyre size should I be fitting? There always seems to be a few sets on ebay, anything to be wary of here? Any help appreciated, have also posted this on wheels and tyres section. Steve