ThePerfectionOfLexus

Hi guys

I’ve been wondering about something in my LS430, ever since I bought it nearly 7 months ago.

When taking a turn, the steering wheel doesn’t seem to return to center smoothly in the last 30 degrees. This worsens when the car is cold, especially in winter when temperatures are low. While the steering wheel centering improves when the car reaches operating temperature, it still doesn’t return to center smoothly all the way. I haven't encountered any problems with the power steering or anything else.

Please check out the first video.

I’ve had the dealer look at it. They couldn’t find any issues, as they told me. They only suggested that a wheel balancing would fix it.

The power steering fluid and reservoir have been replaced about 7 months ago. The old fluid was completely dark.

Is this a common problem on these cars, or is it just a normal thing on these?

Another thing. There's a very faint whining noise inside the cabin when accelerating slowly between 60 and 70 km/h. It sounds almost like a turbo, but with a very low frequency. This noise is only present when the transmission is in Drive. However, if I manually shift to 4th gear, the noise disappears. Please check out the second video (headphones required). The noise is louder in person.

Is this a normal thing?

If any of you LS430 owners could chime in with any input, it would be highly appreciated. Does you LS behave the same?

Thanks a lot.

18 hours ago, jamesbradbury said:

Videos aren't very clear, the sound can't be too loud! When I had new mufflers they rubbed on the boot floor and made a noise at idle. If they are aftermarket mufflers they almost certainly won't be as quiet as oem but you'll have a hard time working it out via videos.

9 hours ago, BigBoomer said:

You also have to take into account that LS430 owners are mostly older and so may be deaf as a doorpost. 😁
I know my hearing is pretty good (recent tests) but I do have very little hearing at very high frequencies and reduced hearing at some lower frequencies in one ear.
Too much of my yoof spent tuning mopeds in a closed garage and too much time spent at Heavy Metal concerts 
If you are only hearing the noise at around 900rpm, then it sounds like something is resonating at that frequency and the most likely culprit for that would be the new silencers.

No, the sound isn’t too loud. But it made me curious, reading about other owners not being able to tell, if the engine is running on idle. I’m kind of a perfectionist, and this LS really deserves the best.

I had a shop investigate both mufflers last year when they did the timing belt and water pump. I was told, that the mufflers are aftermarket, but they didn’t leak. They were installed correctly by previous owner. I believe they are just not dead silent as stock mufflers.

Will have to check out, how much it would cost to replace to stock mufflers.

8 hours ago, MaximusPrime said:

Hi Mario, it should generally be very quiet at idle, I would often think the engine is not even running and try to start it again haha

4 hours ago, BigBoomer said:

Can't hear a thing in the interior video.
Exhaust sounds normal in the exterior video.
Are you sure it's the engine/exhaust humming and not the ventilation or radio or something else?

 

1 hour ago, messi said:

It could the fans for heated and cooled seats

I couldnt hear nothing abnormal in the videos 

Thank you all for the reply.
Actually, I’ve turned of all accessories in the recordings. So what you hear, is actually the exhaust humming, not radio or ventilation.

I’ve read online, that I shouldn’t be able to judge if the engine is running or not on idle. That’s how quiet these cars should be. This isn’t the case with my car, since the exhaust always makes a humming noise. 

The engine rpm is mostly at 900 rpm, and this is when the humming is at it worst. It’s more or less gone at 1000 rpm, and almost non noticeable below 900 rpm.

As mentioned, the previous owner had the mufflers replaced at some point. But unfortunately with aftermarket ones. 

I’ve attached another recording to this post. It’s crucial to use headphones. It sounds like a small subwoofer on low frequency, hard to explain.

Do you all with LS430’s have stock mufflers to compare with?

Hi guys

I’ve had this beauty for almost 5 months now. During this time, I’ve started to wonder about something.

Am I supposed to hear the exhaust humming at idle inside the cabin, or should the interior be dead silent?

The humming can only be heard at idle, loudest at approximately 900 rpm. There is no humming while driving.

I know that my mufflers have been replaced at some point with aftermarket ones. This makes me wonder if they are the cause, but they have no leaks (checked at mechanic). Perhaps aftermarket aren’t that good to insulate noise.

I’ve attached two recordings (require headphones for best result).

Thanks a lot.

On 10/27/2023 at 10:33 AM, Neilo said:

Wonder if the AC condensation tube is connected properly AC side, although you checked this ...does the carpet stay dry with the AC turned off?

The carpet must be rubber backed then?

No traces of damp coming down from the surrounding carpet?

I'd let it dry out then put the force of water from a hosepipe on the exterior passenger door window / windscreen & cowling / sunroof (last) wait at least 10 minutes between each location, check the carpet each time...this should tell you if rain is getting in or not.

On my Subaru I had a similar problem - found a build up of silt underneath the wiper cowling, this was stopping water from running away down the correct channels beneath it, water found its way down into the blower fan and came in from under the dash...probably not possible on a Lexus but I don't know.

Cheers & best wishes. 

 

 

   

 

Well I’ve been monitoring the situation for a month now with the floor mat removed for clarity. We have had lots of rain and the AC has been on all the time.
The carpet stayed fully dry all the time. So it seems to be correct what Ronnie said about condensation. 
Condensation seems to collect under the rubber floor mat, but when the floor mat is removed there is nothing to spot.

3 hours ago, Malc1 said:

In my 1991 Ls400 in Wales last week my sun hat sitting on the back seat got a bit wet overnight .....  just sitting there ...  all windows fully closed etc BUT it got wet a little .......  I think the incredibly torrential rain must have found an impossible weak spot and let some in, maybe overrode the usual grommits and window rubber seals whatever  ......  nowhere else in the car ....  of course 

That torrential rain might, for you, have just penetrated the impossible

Malc

Thanks Malc. You might be right, but I’m having a hard time finding the source. The wet spot is in a very unusual location.

7 hours ago, RONNIE W HODGEKINSON said:

Its Most LIKELY to be CONDENSATION coming from your Windscreen   I get it too  Common situation in these cars

Thanks Ronnie, but it seems to be a bit more than condensation though. It’s not soaked, but very wet.

2 hours ago, Spock66 said:

I'd suggest could be the windscreen.

Thanks, the windscreen doesn’t seem to be wet anywhere on the inside. I’ve tried to find any spots.

It just beats me, how water can end up in the marked area, without any trace at all. Specially the under part of the carpet being totally dry, which usually is soaked in these situations. 

Hi guys

I've noticed that the passenger floor carpet gets a bit soaked after a longer period of rain in my pre-facelift.

I've been reading up a lot on this online and have checked almost all possible water drains on the car. The only place I've left behind to check is the rear sunroof drains. However, all the sources online seem to have an outcome of water under the carpet. The strange thing is that, in my case, the bottom of the carpet is completely dry, so the water ends up on top of the carpet only.

While I had the carpet lifted up, I've checked the AC drain, and it's fine. I also checked the cabin filter compartment, as I had a suspicion of water dripping on the carpet, but the compartment is dry (picture attached).

I've attached a picture with a marking showing where the carpet is wet and one with the floor mat. The floor mat is wet at the bottom only and always dry on top.

Do you have any idea what the culprit could be?

Thanks

Hi guys

Anyone here with a pre-facelift LS430 having a creaking rear noise on take of?  

It doesn’t seem to be an issue on later models.

My car has stock air suspension.

I’m getting exactly the same noise as this guy. Fast forward to 0:24:  

https://youtu.be/1AAaVXhx6XA?si=3VEDwEP3iXkUvwko

Thanks

2 hours ago, Malc1 said:

The “fix” is to drive more rationally methinks ! 

Malc 🥲

1 hour ago, Tulpen said:

Exactly, Malc. The LS was never designed to be driven like a Golf GTI......these are classy ladies.   In my 26 years of LS ownership, I have never needed to use max revs. A gentle squeeze of the throttle, coupled with that wonderful V8, is more than sufficient.

Thanks guys.
But I must say the RPM needle bounces, even when driving as a grandpa (which I mostly do), but just not that bad. 😀
However, I love the V8 sound at 6k RPM.
 

28 minutes ago, DomTurner said:

My facelift 430 will not exceed 6,000 RPM under full acceleration either. That video looks completely normal to me other than the bouncing gauge needles, which I think is a common issue on the pre-facelift.

Thanks for confirming that, Dom.
Yes, my RPM gauge is bouncing, seems normal on pre-facelift. Don't know, if there's actually a fix for it?

Thanks for all the input guys, appreciate it.
I've had the Lex for a week now.

One thing I've noticed. Despite being in Power ECT mode, the engine doesn't seem to rev above 6k RPM at kickdown and full throttle. Isn't it suppose to reach approx 6.500 RPM or even around 7k, please check my video below?

 

On 8/26/2023 at 1:09 PM, steve2006 said:

• Suspension = Sport/Norm
• Sport stiffens the suspension damping so should reduce body roll during cornering
• Height = High/Norm, tested setting this to High activated the air compressor. I didn't test anything further, just switched back to Norm. 
  You should see the car lift higher when switched to high and lower back down in normal mode, check all 4 corners do this and wheel arch gaps are equal both sides. Compressor should kick in when going to high, hissing noise as air is released going back to normal.
• ECT = Pwr/Snow, tested this last night, couldn't really feel any difference.
• Basically transmission moves off in 2nd gear in snow mode to help prevent wheel spin.

The car you have purchased appears to be a pre facelift model so a 5 speed transmission, the facelift ( 2004- on) models has the 6 speed sequential transmissions which mine has and is ultra smooth on shifting.

From looking at your picture of the car I hope you have now moved it, taxiways are only for aircraft movements not Lexus parking 😀

Thanks. What you've mentioned, works as expected.

Yes, it's a pre-facelift 2001 model.
Don't worry, the car has been moved long ago. That picture is taken directly from the sellers ad 😀.

 

On 8/20/2023 at 10:32 PM, polymoog said:

Mine is an X250 3.0DS. It's mostly quieter than the Lexus in the cruise. Very little wind noise and the engine is doing 1.5K rpm at 70-ish mph. The dominant noise is from the tyres - 20" wheels. On very smooth new tarmac at m-way speeds it's eerily quiet and much quieter than the Lexus. At lower speeds you can hear the engine and here the LS would be quieter. At m-way speeds there's quite some wind noise from the LS which is here it falls down, but the engine is very muted and tyre noise is usually fine. But overall the XF wins.

 

That said, I really miss my LS430. I loved the interior space and quality, the lovely leather, the whole wafty driving experience. Okay the fuel consumption not so much. But some days I wish I still had it. 

Well, I happened to buy the car last night, and drove it home for approx. 300 km.
The transmission shifts very smooth in lower RPM, but rougher during acceleration, seems normal to me.

Some other things came to my mind on the way home.

1: The RPM gauge isn't actually fluctuating as previously mentioned, but it kind of bounces when letting of the gas, on it's way down from 3k rpm and above. Seems to be normal according to some other threads/only the needle itself, due to not being able to keep up with the quick shifts. Although I've never experienced this with other cars.

Can anyone confirm, if this actually is a "feature" on the LS430?

2: Am I supposed to feel any difference when changing the 3 possible modes:

• Suspension = Sport/Norm
• Height = High/Norm, tested setting this to High activated the air compressor. I didn't test anything further, just switched back to Norm. 
• ECT = Pwr/Snow, tested this last night, couldn't really feel any difference.

1 hour ago, polymoog said:

After my LS430 died I got a Jaguar XF with the 8-speed ZF transmission. I would the say the shifts on this are far less noticeable  - often undetectable - than they ever were on my LS430.

The LS shifts were smooth but you definitely could feel them.

Thanks for confirming this. I suppose the tranny is ok on this vehicle then, and gives me a peace of mind.
How is the Jaguar compared to noise, was the LS quieter?

9 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

On idle there is very little air going passed the almost fully closed throttle body butterfly so symptoms are much worth than when driving. Throttle body clean is certainly where I would start but I'd also check hoses for a small vacuum leak and the coolant temperature sensor has also been known to cause fluctuating idle - but more common on the LS400.

3 - you would be able to feel the shifts under high rpm/engine load but should be very smooth at low rpm. Possibly could do with a transmission fluid change given it's age if it hasn't had one before.

Thanks Colin.
Will need to check it out, if I choose to buy the car.

In relation to the shifts. Yes, I would say, that the shifts were more noticeable under higher rpm, from 3k and upwards.
They were smoother in lower rpm, but still noticeable, kind of like butter smooth, just like the BMW.
Maybe I had the wrong impression, that the shifts should be 100% unnoticeable, from all the reading about the LS430.

The car has now reached 230k km, and the tranny fluid was replaced first time around 154k km, according to the owner.
It should still have around 25k km to go, before next fluid service, if the magic number to fluid change is 100k km.

5 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

1 - possibly the throttle body / MAF sensors / fuel injectors need a clean.

2 - Common for Toyota/Lexus - they have the speedo calibrated on the high side of the allowed regulations.

Thanks for the reply.
1: The gauge was fluctuating during driving, there was nothing on idle. I believe, a throttle body/MAF/fuel injectors would give some symptoms during driving as well?
Could it be something electronic, sensor related?

2: Thanks for letting me know, gives a piece of mind.

Hi Guys

I finally had the chance to test drive the Lexus LS430 for the first time, which I'm considering buying.
However, I have some observations, I've noticed during the test drive:

• 1: The RPM gauge was fluctuating a bit at the beginning of the test drive, but seemed to stabilize later on.
  What could be the cause for this?
• 2: The speedo was a bit off with the reading, driving 130 km/h on the speedo, read about 122 km/h on the gps.
  I've read, that this is common, and is not an actual problem, however most cars in Denmark are off about 5 km/h and not 8 km/h.
  What's your opinion?
• 3: This one surprised me a bit. I've read, that the gearbox shifts should be unnoticeable/seamless, this was however not the case in my opinion.
  Coming from a BMW e38 735i steptronic, I would say the LS430 is as smooth as the BMW in regards of shifting. You can feel the shifts, specially at higher rpm, but not much. Still, I wouldn't call it seamless.
  Can anyone chime in, that has moved from e38 to LS430, or simply owns both to compare, if the shifts should be more or less the same between these two cars?

Thanks a lot guys, really appreciate your help.

rgds,

Mario

On 7/3/2023 at 7:59 AM, The-Acre said:

Having fitted an external transmission cooler I can confirm that they cause no issues. My preference would be to replace the radiator, it's an easy job and gives you peace of mind. The original internal cooler doesn't corrode, I've taken two apart and they've been perfect, but as I've previously mentioned, slight corrosion causes the o rings not to seal causing coolant and fluid to mix. Get a decent brand of radiator, fit it and enjoy it!

Thanks, I'll go with replacing the radiator with another stock part.
According to Lexus in my department, the issue should have been fixed by now, and the stock radiator has a different part number.
Regardless, I'll stick with replacing the coolant every 5 years, and hope to keep a good preventive maintenance this way. 

Just an update for anyone reading this thread.
I've been in contact with my local Lexus department.
I was told, that the stock radiator has been improved and has a different part. no, compared to the old radiator. They couldn't tell exactly, what has been improved, but they're sure that the corrosion issue has been fixed.

1 hour ago, ambermarine said:

I believe that Lexus improved the specification for the manufacturing of the radiator in question and there have been no reports of any one either here or in the usa having to repeat the exercise.

Is this guaranteed, any idea when it happened?

20 minutes ago, ambermarine said:

Paul Frost is a breaker and renovator of Lexus cars parts as well as other high priced marques and I have in the past purchased parts for my cars from him, all good .

He has a vested interest in the sale of these independantly made oil coolers but to the best of my knowledge he his not a Lexus engineer .

I think the jury is out but I would not deviate from a Lexus design on a critical system such as the transmission.

That's definitely something to consider, thank you for the input.
So what would be a good guaranteed preventive thing to do in my situation?
Simply replace the stock radiator with another stock every 7 years, and change the coolant every 5 years?

I would normally drive the car 4.5 - 5k miles per year, not much, and mostly short trips.

7 hours ago, ambermarine said:

There is a fundamental reason why the transmission fluid is sent through the radiator on the Lexus LS400 and that is to keep the transmission fluid at its optimum operating temprature .

The car was sold internatioally across all the continents and the climate extremes are very relevant.

When the Mark 1 I owned was started up in a minus centigrade winters the gears were very sluggish and the sports change up and overdrive would not operate until the car had done a few miles.

This was because the engine operating temprature had not reached its optimum level and so niether had the transmission fluid.

So the radiator as well as cooling the fluid it heats it up to a consistent best operating temp and avoids burnt fluid and burnt clutches because the fluid is not getting where it should.

Because a transmission cooler individually placed in the system does not have this precise control ,example; constant idling in low speed traffic jams means no airflow over the heat exchanger the temp of the fluid could exceed its safe operating temp and burn.

I've been in contact with Paul Frost, the owner of Autotek- Lexus Spare Direct. I've read he should be very knowledgeable.
They sell an external transmission oil cooler for the LS430, which sits in front of the radiator.

According to his knowledge, the external oil cooler won't cause any issues with the transmission heating up Summer or Winter.

However, I would like to hear from some of you guys, that already have an external oil cooler, what is your experience?

2 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

No, other than a radiator would normally last longer than 7 years. The failure of the oil cooler could occur long before the rad itself needs replacing.

Provided you get an eye on corrosion at the oil pipe connections and replace the radiator before it needs it then that's the best you can do to avoid the problem.

 

That isn't the cause - the factory fitted radiator/oil coolers fail.

1 hour ago, Tulpen said:

I had my radiator replaced after 100,000 miles/10 years as a precaution, having read of the problem from other members on the forum.  The mechanic told me that there were signs of stress at the oil pipe connections to the oil cooler. The problem seems to be one of dissimilar metals (I can never remember if that is called electrolytic action or galvanic action - it's a long time since my engineering studies) but it definitely occurs. As Steve says, it's better to spend a few hundred pounds now than thousands later on a replacement gearbox.

The idea of combining the oil cooler and water radiator was, probably, made as a cost saving project. I understand that it was common throughout the Toyota/Lexus range for some time. 

18 minutes ago, runsgrateasanut said:

Been trying to remember the name of the particular Radiator that caused these problems and was also used by Mercedes.  My W140 Tran inlet pipe literally rusted off just as I turned a corner outside my house. I was lucky in that the Car just abut made it to my drive and I replaced the Rad. Think it was a name beginning with "B" but can't find any link to it. My LS400 still has the original Toyota Rad although I have a new  Nissens replacement bought eight years ago for £40 which I've not put in as Members say the LS 400 original (to Mk 2)  never fail.  Perhaps after thirty years I should swap it out. Nissens is a good brand and it will be one less thing in my parts department !

Thanks for all the input guys, really appreciate it.
I came across this interesting thread, and posts from "The-Acre":

https://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/115946-ls430-transmission-failure-total-fluid-loss/?page=2#comment-1052780

He has replaced his radiator as a precaution, and seems to point out, that the issue begins at the unions on the radiator themselves. To me this sounds like a gamble really. It's not guaranteed, that I will be able to see any corrosion in time on the unions, before the failure happens. Now I'm seriously more into installing an external tranny cooler, however the tranny oil won't be able to heat up properly this way during the Winters here i Denmark, so this is another concern.