Shaffer

Hello. I am considering a 90 LS400, with 225K for $3995. It runs and drives excellent, but there is an occasional miss at idle, while the car is in drive. I cannot notice it when driving. It is not a constant miss, but an occasional "dead spot type of miss" every 4 or 5 seconds or so. I did notice it a couple of times it had a "quick miss" while accelerating. They said they had already replaced several parts, but was unsure. He said they took it to Lexus and sometype of computer was replaced and it stopped- so they say. They later took it to a local repair shop for a tune-up. I had to go with the salesman to pick it up. After test drive, I told him it still had a miss at idle, while at the stop lights. Of course when he tried it in the lot- it did not do it and he said it may be the computer has to reset or something. My dad said it could be a bad fuel injector. The salesman said it could also be a bad plug wire. Does anyone have any clue as to what would cause this? Could it be major? The car runs cool and as mentioned, otherwise very smooth. Thanks for ANY information. I am supposed to let them know if I want the car tomorrow.

Shaffer

I searched this site and I have seen some replies to a miss at low RPM's is TPS sensor. Could this be the problem? Thanks again.

Shaffer

Must be an unusual problem. I guess I will pass on the car, because I do not know if this is a severe problem or not. Thanks anyway.

Shaffer

Does anyone know of another site where I can find out about this problem? Thanks for any information.

5ofakind

There will be another for sale...Be Patient.... If they wanted to sell it bad enough, they would have fixed it properly, but they probably dont want to drop a bunch of money into it. Someone else will buy it unsuspectingly not noticing the problem....

Look around....for a good running used Lexus. I bought one two years ago with163K miles for $3,000. It was a company car that was well maintained every 7,500 miles.. I saw all service records.....It happen to be a company car at the company it worked at....go figure....

Jeff

Shaffer

Thanks for the reply. It sounds like you got a really good deal on your Lexus. I think I will wait and keep looking, but the older Lexus LS400s are a little rare around here. I too am guessing it may be a more serious problem, which is why they have not fixed it yet. He knows I would have bought it if not for the miss
in the engine. Perhaps another will come along later. Thanks for the info.

I asked this same question on the SC300/400 forums, but the two I posted kept disappearing. I later got a rude private message from the moderator there asking why I kept posting there and he put it in the LS forums where it belonged. I thought since the engines are basically the same that someone there would have some information. I guess some of the other forum moderators do not really care about helping people.

Thanks again.

Pagong

Sorry you didnt find your answer here. Most people here donot do thier own work unfortunately that leaves us noobs to wonder for ourselves.

Shaffer

Thanks. No problem. I guess it may also be a fairly rare problem on these cars. Too bad there are not a lot of older (90-93) LS400s around here. People say- keep looking for another one, but that is not easy around here, as they are scarce. There are a lot of older ES300, GS300s and even LS430s, but the older LS400s are quite rare. This is the first one I have seen for sale in a long time. There was a 93 LS400 for sale a while back in the paper, but it was $8000, which I thought was quite steep. I found a 1992 Acura Legend LS 4dr with 127K for the same price, but it had seen abuse, so I passed on that car. I am currently considering a late 80s Mercedes S-Class sedan, a 1993 Honda Accord EX wagon and a 1994 Toyota 4-Runner SR-5 4wd.
Thanks again.

LS4.0

hey man it sounds like something in the ignition. a small problem. try plug wires, distributor cap and rotors, that should fix it

Shaffer

Thanks for the reply. They still have a car and I am reconsidering it. The car does not have any leaks, or smokes. They had it at the repair shop down the road and they was supposed to change the plug wires. It still had the slight "miss" at idle, while in drive. They are asking $3995. Other than the scratches- the car is 100% dent and rust free. Interior is excellent. Is this car still worth this, even with the miss? It has 225K. Thanks again.

hyperopt

Hesitations or misses can have numerous causes from simple and inexpensive vacuum leaks to worn cylinders/valves due high mileage. Unfortunately, the culprit(s) can be difficult to pinpoint. If you could live with the problems and could take on the risks with higher mileage, then the price tag was factored in, otherwise, the price tag was too high.
Even though Lexus are highly reliable cars, they still are subjected to wear-n-tear with age and mileage. For these reasons, I would rather paid more for lower mileage vehicles with no apparent defects.

Just my 2c
Goodluck!

Shaffer

Is 225K miles excessive for a LS400? What is typically considered "high mileage" for a early 90s LS400? I just sold a 93 Camry LE V6 with 212K and the engine and transmission was still like brand new and never rebuilt. My aunt has a 90 LS400 that had 70K when my uncle bought it for her. Now it has over 160K and the only problems has been A/C, power steering leak and a new starter.
If it was bad compression- would the car still run smooth upon acceleration and still have lots of power?

I just passed on a Mercedes 300SD turbo diesel with 336K, because of a "possible" compression problem. I am still unsure if that was the problem, as I have heard it could be several things.
What is the deal with these possible compression problems? I have never ran into anything like this on any of the Accords or Camrys I have owned over the years and now all of a sudden- all of these cars I like has a miss or shake at idle.
I could take the Lexus and let my mechanic check the engine out for me and run a compression test.

Shaffer

The car is repaired. It turned out to be the spark plug wires. I drove the car tonight and the engine is silky smooth. So smooth, I bought the car tonight (see new topic). Thanks to all for the replies.