DCLexus

I just bought a 96' Lexus LS400 with 44K miles on it and I have a few questions. First, what type of maintenance does the car need? I had the Lexus dealership run a maintenance report on it and it showed that the car was taken in for every service. Is there anything additional I should do like:

Transmission fluid
Differential fluid
Spark Plugs
Coolant Flush
etc.

Also, I noticed that the car seems to have some noticeable wind noise while driving at freeway speeds (over 60 mph). I can't really tell where it's coming from. Is there any common cause for this? All the seals appear to be in perfect shape.

Finally, when the car is cold and I shift into Drive or Reverse there is a noticeable lurch from the car. I assume it's due to the higher idle while cold, but it seems inappropriate from a car like this (my old Camry didn't do it).

Thanks in advance for any help.

GKLCPA

Low miles on that Lex. How much did you pay for it, if you don't mind me asking.

I have a 96 also, but don't have the issues you have. My car is glass smooth and quiet on the highway and does not have the lurch issue you mentioned.

Och

iTrader: (3)

As far as the noise goes, I would check front door seals, and make sure the doors close tight. These cars are very sensitive when it comes to gap clearances, and slight variation from factory specs will cause wind noise. On my old 94 GS300, my wife had an accident, and drivers door had to be repaired, however they could never adjust the door gap on the top to be the same as it was from the factory, and the wind noise it caused was unbearable. That alone was the main reason I sold the car.

As far as the lurch, I'm sure its normal. The RPMs are quite high when the car is cold, and the 4.0 makes quite a bit more torque than your old Camry, therefore the lurch.

And for maintenance, just check your tranny oil, if its clean and red, and the level is fine, don't bother with the flush. Changing differential fluid, and a coolant flush never hurts - make sure they use Toyota red Antifreeze (I believe it's not sold in any auto stores, and only available at Toyota/Lexus dealerships). For the spark plugs however, I would wait until 60k, and do a major tune-up, including spark plugs, wires, distributor caps and rotors.

DCLexus

Thanks for the comments. The door seals do look good. As for the lurch, it only does it when it's cold. When the car is warm and the idle is nice and low, it dosen't do it. Probably normal.

As for price, I paid 12K for it. It seemed like a good price.

GKLCPA

Noted. I bought a 96 with 37K miles on it back in September. I paid 14K, which at the time seemed like a good price, but in retrospect, I believe I paid too much. I'm not overly concerned about it, as the car is virtually brand new and I know I'll have it for awhile.