swilli89

Hi all; I am a somewhat unexpected new member to the Lexus owning community.

Quick backstory: I was driving an S2000 the past few years and was getting to the point that I needed something much more practical. Just as I began preparations to sell the S, some idiot flies down my street, flips his car, and slams into my little Honda, totaling it.

Well I got a great total value offered from insurance which gave me the chance to find something new. I checked out Acura RLs, TLs, TSX, Lexus GS, ES, and LS, and several other import luxury sedans.

Well my good friend brought me to an auto auction and I saw this 2002 LS420, 203k miles but CLEAN just sitting there. I checked the engine and it had a timing belt swapped at 110k so I knew going into this that I would probably need to replace the TB which is fine.

I grabbed this beautiful, two owner silver on black 2002 ls430 for $4,500 at auction! However it definitely has some problems and I could really use any help you guys could give.

Driver front door - related problems:

• Driver front door auto lock doesn't work
• Driver front window doesn't operate Fixed
• Driver front mirror doesn't work Fixed

Audio:

• Mark Levinson branded door tweeters no sound
• All four door door speakers no sound
• Only audio comes from front dashboard tweeters and rear built-in sub.

I'm thinking that all these problems with the driver side door must be related? Would seem awfully random to have the auto lock, window, and mirror all break on the same door.

For the audio would it make sense to look for replacement fuses even though the front tweeters and sub works? Again I think this because it would be weird for every single door speaker to have blown.

Let me just say that beyond the problems above, this car is freaking rock solid for 200k miles and really ANY amount of miles. I've already gotten a bunch of compliments and I think the interior is perfect, much better than modern overly crafted and bulky consoles! I hope once I get it tuned up with a new timing belt that it will give me several years of good use.

Glad to meet everyone!

yoitskenn

iTrader: (4)

Welcome to the LS world.

I had the s2000 years ago and I must say, it's a huge difference. The S2k is just so damn tiny. It wasn't practical for me to get in and out of. You won't be able to hit corners like you used to with the LS so don't try it.

I'm glad you stayed away from the RL and Tl family. Those are rock solid engines but they have terrible transmissions. I've been through a few back in the days.

With all those problems with the front door switches, it's possible that it's been in an accident. Did you check vin sticker to see if they match and if there's any paintwork? Maybe the power switch to the whole door was cut or left unplugged.
$4500 is a great deal nonetheless.

swilli89

Thanks! So I replaced the #39 fuse and it at least got the mirror and window working!! The lock still doesn't auto unlock but the window beginning to work is huge!

Lastly I've been reading more and more and is it possible my ML amp is blown? I'm not sure what to think because the dashboard tweeters and sub still work and I'm not sure if an amp can only blow certain channels or not.

Trying to figure out how to replace trunk lid side tail lamps now..

LudeAEM

i would think if the amp is playing through the sub and tweeters its not all lost. I'd pull a door panel and inspect the connections and state of the speaker.

Tom57

Blown amp was first thing that came to mind. (Have you checked the bass, mid, and treble settings?) Could be blown speakers though. You could pull a door speaker and test it.

swilli89

A lot of things very well engineered on this car. The little felt covers came off super easy and I was able to replace the burned out tail lamps no problem. Taillamp out error message now gone

You are probably right, I'll pull the door panels and see if the wires coming from the amp have any current.

I haven't found the simple answer from searching so maybe someone can answer this:

Is it possible to replace the ML amp with an aftermarket amp with the same channels/ratings? Is it sensible to do an aftermarket audio system in this car?

swilli89

Well if I fade the audio to the back its just the sub playing, and when i fade to the front its very obvious its just the two dashboard tweeters player no matter the bass, mid, or treble settings. Sucks not having any mid range output for music

Legender

Yep.. not having the mid for music makes it sound really bad.
As for the door locks, usually the motor goes out but can be replaced via an ebay part. Search the forum for the details as others have done this.
Congrats on the purchase and welcome to the club.

swilli89

I'm starting to think its not the amp but the head unit that isn't driving any of the door speakers.. hmm need to figure out a way to figure out which as I'm beginning to see how expensive a replacement ML amp really is..

yoitskenn

iTrader: (4)

The door lock actuator is out. Common problems for Lexus. Gonna be replacing mines soon