Chippy 01

Hi Mark Here's a tutorial that no doubt will help you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgeIzc9Uga4 Good luck! Pepe That tutorial covers the up and down motor and gear. I know of two LS430's that have no in and out movement any more. Is there a tutorial or similar for the in and out motor and gear, or can someone tell me where the in/out motor and gear is located so I can pass the info onto my buds?

Well, it's been a few days now since he got his RX back and everything is Hunky Dory ........... until this morning! Amongst his mail was a letter from Lexus Ireland informing him of ANOTHER RECALL, this time with reference to the power steering pulley, and how it could become detatched (or something like that, he was reading it to me over the phone, and me being a bit under the weather wasn't really taking it in) Anyone else here hear of this power steering pulley problem?

Thanks for the replies so far. Here's an update. My friend got his RX transported to his local Lexus service shop yesterday. He was phoned today to say that it is indeed the inverter that's gone, but his car is covered by the current inverter recall. (Stroke of luck there) He was informed that a new inverter should be in tomorrow (wednesday), but it will take around 8 hours to get it fitted. Once the inverter is fitted, they will then be able to check out all the other systems, as they won't register with a blown inverter (that's what he was told) Here's hoping other parts/systems weren't compromised when the inverter went south. I'll report back again when I get more info.

My friend has a '05 RX400h. Last night, when driving through town, he heard a 'pop' and the car rolled to a stop. He shut it down, and then tried to restart it. Everything seemed to be OK when he pressed the start button, but when he tried to engage drive 'CHECK VSC' came up on the dash, and the car wouldn't engage forward or reverse. Being a saturday evening, he called the AA who organised a flatbed to take his car home. This morning he went out to the car to check things in the daylight (don't know what he would do if he found anything though) Pressed the unlock button, the car unlocked. He wanted to fold the mirrors in, so he pressed that button and the mirrors folded. He then tried to start the car, but this time the only sign of life on the dashboard was the ''check engine management'' symbol, and nothing else. So basically, the car is dead. He will have to arrange getting the car to Lexus tomorrow, but in the meanwhile I thought I'd post on here to see if anyone might know what the problem might be, or if anyone has heard of this kind of shutdown before, and what sort of repair bill he could possibly be facing.???

My mate's '02 LS430 has developed an annoying problem. A few weeks ago he said that his passenger side dip beam lamp keeps going out. If he turns off the lights and turns them back on again, the lamp will light but will again go out a while later. I did a bit of searching and discovered that this is a fairly common fault associated with HID lamps. To determine whether it is the bulb or the ballast causing the problem, we swapped over the bulbs. The problem has remained on the passenger side. To us that indicated a ballast problem. My mate had to make a call to Lexus Belfast about another matter and decided to make some enquiries about a replacement ballast. At first the guy on the phone did not know if the ballast was seperate from the headlight shell or an all in one unit, so he was asked to check and get back to us. When he did, he said that the ballast was a seperate piece fixed to the bottom of the headlight shell, and a new ballast would cost (and it was a good job my mate was sitting down) £635!!! So, guys and gals, I have some questions. Does that price sound right? It sounds a bit OTT to me. What causes the ballasts to work intermittantly? Are the ballasts repairable? At the risk of sounding 'cheap', is there an alternative ballast available that would fit the LS430 that wouldn't max out his credit limit? Any and all suggestions will be welcome. Thanks in advance.

I just got a call from my buddy. All is well again. He parked his car nose on to his front door, ran an extension lead out under the bonnet and put a battery charger on the battery over night. Now the battery is fully charged again, all the warning lights self extinguish. BTH, you were right on the money.. :D

Hi guys. I'm posting this for my buddy who doesn't have computer access. He has a 2002 LS430 with 180 odd thousand miles on the clock. He was away on holiday (for just one week), and when returned his car would not start. Ignition on, dash lit up as usual, but when he turned the starter, everything went out. OK, flat battery. He managed to get it started via jump leads from another vehicle. He let it sit running for about half an hour to put some charge into the battery, and then shut it off again. A few minutes later he started it again, and then he heard 'bong' - the warning noise. Lit on the dash was the warning triangle and the VSC OFF indicator. Pushing the VSC switch made no difference to either lamp. Looking at the owner's book, it says that if the warning triangle and the VSC OFF lamp are both lit, the car car still be driven but the VSC needs to be looked at, more than likely by a Lexus dealer. Has anyone ever come across this before, and if they have what was the problem? Hope it's not too expensive of a fix.

The GS300 is still available here in Ireland. If you can locate a dealer here that will sell one to you for export,(you'll have to buy new)then you won't have to pay the extortianate Irish taxes, but you will have to pay something similar when importing it into the UK. It'll take a bit of searching and haggling, but I've heard of it being done before with a Toyota. Happy hunting.

I've used cruise control on many different marques of vehicles, but the one on my Lexus is driving me crazy. It's the only one that I know that has to be re-set manually after it drops below 25mph. Example:- sitting on cruise at 60mph. Traffic slows, and of course the act of braking will switch the cruise off. Providing the speed does not drop below 25mph, once the road opens up again, hitting the re-set will automatically take the car back to the pre-set speed. BUT.......if the speed drops below 25mph, the re-set will not take the car back to the pre-set speed. It has to be set again manually. Every other cruise control unit I have used, (Honda, Mercedes, etc); even if the vehicle comes to a stop, once the speed has once again risen above the lower cut-off limit, the re-set will take the car back to it's last pre-set speed. Is there any way of getting the Lexus cruise control to re-set as I think that it should? Phil.

Funny how this comes up now. Most of my driving is, alas, city driving. Stop, go, stop, go. A real bitch on the brakes. I just got my GS back from having it's 40,000 mile service, complete with new pads and discs up front. I probably got robbed on the price, being in with Mr Lexus' finest wrenchers. €120 each per disc and €75 for the pads. Just over €300, or 200 of Her Majesty's Pounds. Was that good or bad?? Ireland is known for it's inflated pricing on some stuff. Phil.

Oh yeah, while we're on the subject of brakes, has anybody changed the brake fluid on a GS? I get the impression that you need some Special to Type equipment to get air out of the system.. is this true, or can it be done with the kind of gear you can buy at Halfords? First off, check your discs as well as the pads, and remember that the fronts are taking the brunt of the braking. If in any doubt, change them. As far as my experience goes with other older cars and bikes I have had in the past, changing the fluid is a fairly straightforward procedure. Although a little time consuming. Remember that two sets of eyes are better than one, so if possible get a friend to help. I would recommend getting an EZI-BLEED kit of some description, though. These can be found at any good Motor Factors. The tube to the catchment jar will have a one way valve of some sort, and it really helps no end. The way that I was taught, was to start at the caliper nearest the reservoir, and work your way to the farthest. Attach the bleed kit tube to the bleed nipple, open the bleed nipple a little, and pump the brakes. Pump slowly. If you go too hard, you might blow the tube off of the nipple. Keep topping up the fluid in the reservoir as the fluid is pumped out into the jar. When the fluid changes from the dirty old stuff to the nice clean stuff, close the nipple, take off the tube, clean the area, and move to the next wheel. This can be done on your own, but it involves a lot of getting in and out of the car. With two people, one can stay in the car while the other checks the condition of the exiting fluid, and keeps the reservoir topped up. Without the EZI-BLEED kit, it is a two man job. The nipple has to be closed again after every depression of the pedal to prevent air getting into the system on the return stroke, and then re-opened for the next stroke. Open-pump down-close-release-open-pump down-close-release-etc-etc-etc I hope this is of some help. Others with more experience will no doubt chime in if I have missed something or got it wrong. Phil.

Your brake fluid is getting low, but for a very good reason. Word of warning here, DO NOT top it up. Check the condition of your pads and discs first. The level is designed to drop with brake wear. New stoppers all round, and a full reservoir is the starting point. As they wear the fluid level will drop accordingly. When your light starts to appear, then is the time to definately get them looked at. When your fluid is cold, (as with most liquids), it shrinks slightly. (Quick tip- Get your petrol first thing in the morning. The cold overnight weather means you get more juice for less dosh) When you pump your brake pedal, a little more fluid is pumped to the calipers thus lowering your reservoir level. Result light on. Release brakes, the fluid is drawn back, turning the light off. Do this a few times and the fluid warms up under pressure, and expands a little. Result no light. If you top the fluid up, and at a later stage you find out that you need new pads or discs, resetting the calipers will cause the reservoir to overflow. Not a nice thing to clean up afterwards. (Don't ask me how I know this) Check your handbook. The indicator light is most likely called a Brake Wear Warning Light, not a Low Fluid Warning Light. NOTE:- The same light will also come on permanently after the first push of the pedal, if one of your brake lights have failed. Phil.

Is it a 'badge' thing, I wonder? I only ask this because it took about 7 years of my trouble-free motoring and service to make my boss look away from 25 years of driving Mercedes. His last one was the 600 SEL laviathon. Nothing but regular, annoying problems to be fixed. (at Merc's infamous rates) He eventually saw sense. Proud owner of 2002 LS430 now. Told loads of people he will NEVER go back. Reliability over badge/image, anyday of the week. He will most likely c**p his pants when he sees the Ls600h next year. But that will be another story. Phil

Now one of my friends has / had the hots for an XK8 pull up at the Jag place in Brentwood , I thought they were going to ask us to leave. Big mistake he's got the cash to walk next door and buy an Aston Martin. He's still decideing what to buy now. Point him towards Mr Lexus. No contest with regards to the others he has a hankering for. (my opinion, only) Firstly, reliability. With Lexus it's almost a given. With Ford holding the cards for Jag and Aston, you would think they would have that put to bed by now. Second, image. OK, Aston has the looks to die for, and the Jag looks sleek. Lexus does have an image failing, but it is only a matter of time. Look at the new IS and GS. Beautiful lookers. But saying that, which would you have on a cold, rainy night? Something that will get you there in comfort, but annonimously, or try to arrive stylishly with a whisp of uncertainty of getting there. Advise your buddy to don the leathers, ride down to the dealers, and pick the one that gives you the best reception. That will speak buckets!!! Hey, I just remembered. I bought my first Lexus when I showed up at the showroom on an old GPZ750!! The dealer couldn't have been nicer. AND has looked after me royally ever since. (As I said, my opinion only) Would be interesting to see what your mate actually gets at the end of the day Phil.