hoytster

First, thanks to you all who responded to my first post to this forum, a few weeks ago, when I asked about becoming the 7th owner of a LS430. The consensus opinion was NO. I took your advice.

The next day my usual internet search turned up a 2003 with only one owner and just 69K miles, in my preferred pearlescent white, in near-perfect condition, apparently garaged its whole existence. Tons of Lexus maintenance records. The owner was so meticulous, that the timing belt was done around 36K miles, in 2012, because the guideline is every 90K miles OR every 9 years. I bought it for 16K, which might be over-market, but this car is a unicorn so I'm content with the price.

Before I bought it I had Lexus to a pre-purchase inspection, which turned up some innocuous things, about $400 in fixes, mainly the drive belt. Frustratingly, Lexus refused to tell me what they checked during their PPI. Did they check the front suspension, for example? I don't know.

Does anyone know what Lexus routinely checks during a PPI?

When I took the car on its first extended highway drive, I was surprised and dismayed by the amount of road noise, which made me think perhaps the suspension needs work. After doing some reading, it seems like the first thing to try is new tires. I won't ask here: it's a well-discussed subject. I'm frustrated, though, by the lack of consensus. I was set to purchase a set of Michelin Defender T + H tires from Costco until I read the reviews on tirerack: quiet, quiet, noisy, quiet, noisy, quiet, quiet, quiet, noisy... Majority vote: it's a quiet tire -- but lots of reviewers disagree. ???

Is it time to do the timing belt / water pump again?

It's been 10 years since the timing belt was done. Even if it was only 33K miles ago, should I do the timing belt now? I definitely want this car to last as long as possible. It will break my heart if the engine self-destructs. I can afford to do the work.

What else should I check?

Presumably, I should go to an independent shop because Lexus would just recheck what they did during the PPI. Is that a correct?

I have a couple semi-trusted auto repair shops. I'm concerned about launching them on a fishing expedition with "Please look over everything, especially the suspension, to see if bushings, struts, bearings, etc. need replacing". I'm not car knowledgeable. I thought of taking the car to both shops and fixing the things they both find wrong. Good strategy?

Should I get my car serviced at Lexus?

I'm planning on keeping my LS430 indefinitely, but if I decide to sell, is it worth having still more "Serviced at Lexus - blah blah blah" entries on the CarFax? Lexus is the most expensive place to get oil changes done, right? If I do them myself, then 5 years from now, the CarFax will indicate that the oil hasn't been changed since 2022. Should I go to an independent shop, confirming that their oil changes will appear on CarFax?

Thanks again for your advice! -- Hoytster

TriC

Did the Lexus dealer give you ANY paperwork related to the PPI aside from the bill? I don't know exactly what you should have gotten, but they typically do an inspection when you take a car there for service and provide a checklist delineating the items inspected with each categorized in one of three ways.

Yes, the timing belt should again be changed. Maybe not immediately, but fairly soon (you will sleep better if nothing else). I had the one of my LS done by a Toyota dealer (during a service sale) at about half the cost a Lexus store would have charged.

If quiet tires are your goal, find one that has a higher percentage of positive reviews. Also, don't overlook the results from tirerack's own testing.

You can enter service work performed into the Lexus driver site history of your car. Unfortunately, it seems to get lost if someone else tries to look at it. Otherwise, don't worry too much about what shows up on a Carfax report as they are usually incomplete anyway - just save all of your receipts.

hoytster

Thanks for your reply!

> Did the Lexus dealer give you ANY paperwork related to the PPI aside from the bill?

Thanks for the spot on question: I looked at the paperwork again and they did list the items they checked. It was the last page and somehow I never saw it. {eyeroll emoji}. One item is "Shock Absorbers / Suspension". I guess I would have preferred more details about that, but I'll trust Lexus to do that right.

> Yes, the timing belt should again be changed.

And the water pump at the same time? For my 2001 Avalon, the advise was to do both at once, since the labor of getting to the timing belt also made the water pump accessible.

> I had the one of my LS done by a Toyota dealer (during a service sale) at about half the cost a Lexus store would have charged.

Good tip! I never heard of a service sale. How does one find out about such things? (Mostly a rhetorical question LOL)

> If quiet tires are your goal, find one that has a higher percentage of positive reviews.

So 15 "quiet" reviews beats 9 "noisy" reviews: got it. It's just weird to me that there is so much inconsistency among the reviewers.

> Also, don't overlook the results from tirerack's own testing.

I'll look at those, thanks. I was all set to buy a particular tire until I watched one of their reviews and heard something like "some road noise". If I watch several, I'll be able to gauge how serious "some" is.

> just save all of your receipts.

I'm exactly the wrong personality to do that. The only way I can not lose paperwork is to email myself images. I guess that would work, though.

THANKS VERY MUCH! - Hoytster

bradland

Trusting Lexus service can be a slippery slope and yes of course there are exceptions to the rule. Keep in mind most Lexus technicians would find a laundry list of necessary service on a car with less than 1000 miles. They are in the business to make money.

Yes, replace the water pump and all ancillary parts, bearings idlers tensioners etc, during a TB service. Your particular timeline isn't extreme so don't feel like it has to be done immediately. Time will degrade rubber parts but heat cycles are the main culprit. A car with such low mileage simply did not experience any appreciable wear over time as it sat protected in a garage. Try to do it within the next 6 months👍

Drive her and enjoy..!

TriC

bradland is right - replace ALL related parts when changing the timing belt.

The Toyota dealer sent an email the day before Thanksgiving that announced a Black Friday service sale. They had my address because of a car purchase there. I scheduled immediately upon receipt and had it done that Friday. Check dealer websites periodically for sales on parts and service.

TominPT

I would look at the service history closely and consider changing all fluids/filters, particularly if the car has not been driven much in the last few years. Brake fluid, transmission fluid, engine oil, rear differential. Most of these are easy DIY if you are into that kind of thing, otherwise I would look for a trusted local independent garage with experience with Toyota products and have them handle things, or perhaps a Toyota dealer like was mentioned, if you want to save some money. Air filter, cabin filter, little pollution filter for the sensor (in front of radiator), inspect the filters below the drivers seat, Mass Air Flow sensor cleaning, and if you are really into it, inspect the throttle body and clean it using the DIY writeup. (mine has not needed it yet at 135K miles, but the little holes in the idle circuit needed cleaning the other day and I did that, idle is incredibly smooth, your should be too!). Look at the condition of the power steering fluid.

In other words, get to know your car yourself and don't just rely on PPI inspection report.