seanl

Six months ago I bought a clean Pearl White '97 LS400 Coach Edition from the auction in Orlando. The car is solid, and runs and drives great. It's by far the quietest and most comfortable car I've ever owned or driven.

What I didn't notice until after I bought it was that the audio display doesn't work right, the readout barely shows anything...a few lines here and there. There stereo and CD work fine, just the readout is bad. How common is this, and how much would it cost to replace just the readout?

Thanks!
Sean in Palm Harbor, FL

LOTC

Welcome selewis to the club.

It could be that the bulbs have gone out or the LCD screen has leaked all it's fliud.

But everything still works right?

seanl

Yes, everything still works fine, both AM/FM and CD (haven't tried the cassette but who cares). However, it's *very* annoying not to be able to see the radio station or CD selection. Regardless, I still love the car, it's everything I expected it would be.

If in fact the bulbs have gone out, then they're not all out, because there are portions of numbers showing, but not much, like a part of an 8 and a few dashes/vertical lines here and there. More likely, the LCD has leaked out. Where does the LCD leakage go, and can that cause any damage? What's the fix? I bought the car at 53K miles, with this problem, but since it's an auction car, there's always a chance that the wholesaler or dealship snagged my good display and put in a bad one.

I've heard that the mid 90s LS has problems with the LCD Displays, but I thought it was more so on the climate controls. My climate control LCD display works fine.

I'm not the type to bring the car to the Lexus dealer for anything, let alone a problem like this. I believe they're severely OVERPRICED on both parts and service. I love their cars though. Last week I had a friend's repair shop do the 60K service, at less than a third of what Lexus wanted. I take care of oil changes, tire rotation, brakes, etc myself.

If there is a replacement LCD panel available, I'm willing and able to swap it out provided my fellow Club Lexus members give me some pointers.

Thanks again,

Sean
'97 LS400 Coach
'93 Mustang Supercharged, 430rwhp
http://www.ij.net/seanlewis/seanindex.html

retrodrive

The lexus dealership will not replace the readout itself. They will only change the whole block and that will cost you. The LCD display leaks and deffects are very common on any lexus out there. About 8 out of 13 of my friends that own lexus cars have their LCD screen messed up.

I have no idea what it would cost you to get the block replaced, but there was a thread on that earlier. Go to a dealer and ask for the quote.

good luck

LOTC

yes if the LCD has leaked,then you will have to replace the upper block.

It will cost a couple of hudred to get it replaced.:eek:

seanl

A couple of hundred ($200?) isn't too steep.... I have access to Lexus parts at wholesale prices, so I'll be looking into it.

Thanks everyone.

Sean in Palm Harbor, FL

DevilDog

2 ways to go with this.

1. Ask the dealership how much an out-of-warranty radio exchange will cost. My guess, one hour labor and about $350 for the radio exchange unit.

2. Buy a new radio, $million dollars!

Stephen

If you arent looking to spend a lot of money on it, try and find a head unit from a salvaged vehicle, any model from 95-00 should work on your car (is it regular or Nakamichi) and then just replace it yourself.

Cant help you on how to remove the Lexus head unit though, i'm sure some of the autophiles can though.

JBrady

I am not 100% sure but with the interior redesign in 95 you may need a 95-97 head unit.

Sean, while checking prices with your source... how much for a CD changer for a 96???

afaleti

Please post your fix

lexusondubs

iTrader: (9)

iam confused it says california but you are in palm harbor florida

EXE.UCF10

iTrader: (3)

That might be because he might've moved to Cali. This thread is originally 3 years old, so a lot could've happened since then.

lexusondubs

iTrader: (9)

thanks for clearing that up for me

EXE.UCF10

iTrader: (3)

This might help:

http://www.lexls.com/climateLCDscreen.html

seanl

Wow, this is an OLD THREAD.....I no longer live in Florida....I'm in Nor Cal (east bay). The radio's LCD display is still screwed up but I've never gotten around to getting it fixed.

The 'ol Lex just turned 100K miles too.