Michael430

I have owned two different 05 LS 430's and both had sealed transmissions without a tranny dipstick. Almost purchased a 04 LS 430 which had a sealed transmission as well. I have never seen a tranny dipstick on a 04-06 LS 430.

Gene01

The information posted above stating that the transmission was changed for MY '06 is WRONG (for US market cars).

I have attached the pages from the 03.8 (MY 04) publication LS430 New Car Features.
Unfortunately, Lexus chose not to print the MY on each page, but p.4 and p.14 taken together are pretty clear.
I own an '05 and ALL documents (e.g. Owner's Manual and Factory Service Manuals) describe the new 6-speed transmission (sealed, no dipstick, and using WS = World Standard ATF).
The car also.matches this description.
Please check your own sources (perhaps the Sewell parts diagrams) and correct your posts.
Incorrect information is worse than none at all.

Gene01

Also, see this thread:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...ml#post8803286

KING

iTrader: (1)

Must be the region differences then, or dealer import options.
3 out of 5 LS430's I owned were made to Gulf area specs, or the middle east specs. They had a freakin' dipstick. 2 of them were '04 and '05. Third one was a 2001, also with a dipstick.

The 2 other LS430's I owned were US driven cars, but they were both 2006.

Any other region owners wanna chime in?

Gene01

Yes, there were a number of differences in cars made for the various markets. Option packages, features, and perhaps other, more subtle, changes distinguish them. Unless specifically stated, most of the posts here relate to US market cars, thus the confusion. It is entirely possible that GCC LS430s received the 6-speed transmission at a different point in time than US, Canada, etc.models. I think it would be very interesting to hear Lexus' reasoning behind those decisions, but I would imagine that they will not be made public.

KING

iTrader: (1)

It would be interesting.
I can imagine if it might relate to the higher temperatures we have back home.. etc.
Or just a cheap dealer asking for the cheapest options they can get.

It is widely known back home how bad of a reputation our Lexus or Toyota dealer has. All of Toyota and Lexus vehicles are way over priced and under built.

Some of the few things I found out. The U.S version of the LS430 has paint thickness of about 12mm, while the GCC LS430 has only a paint thickness of 4mm.
The US LS has a titanium built going around the chassis of the car, while the GCC only has it in the front behind the engine.

Just some of the stuff I know from the top of my head.

Gene01

Wow! I had no idea that there were quality-related differences like paint thickness for the various markets.
Thanks for the information, and please post any other changes that come to mind.

Tom57

Surely not 12 mm thick paint - that would be 1/2" of paint.

mappo

As all LSes are made in a single factory in Japan, it seems very unlikely that they were building both the older and newer generations of the 430 at the same time for two years. Unless there was some large stockpile of unsold 01-03 430s that they dumped on the gulf countries as 04-05 models, all LSes would have had the same drivetrain in the same model years.

jcnova100

I am the OP and I think we could all agree that the 2004-2006 LS430 is one of the best, most reliable cars ever made. Below is the CR history from 2005 onwards. It doesn't include 2004, but I'm sure 2004 is similar in quality. I find the LS460 info interesting by the way. It's not until 2009 - the third year of the LS460 - that it's got the full red circle.

Just as an interesting point, the GS history is quite odd. For anyone who has access to CR, starting from 2006 its clearly not nearly as reliable a car, with three years having a full black circle (worst reliability, big flag) under "Engine-Major". And even more bizarrely, in 2008 "Engine-Major" has a full red circle, then flips to a full black circle the next two years. Go figure. Don't know if this says something about Lexus or the CR reports!

Gene01

CR is probably worth reading, but I often disagree with their reports regarding items that I have first-hand experience with.
The above chart shows differences between the '05 and '06 LS430s, yet I am pretty sure that there were no differences in the engine, cooling system, or electrical system. Draw your own conclusion.

Tom57

I agree Gene. CR is like Underwriters Lab - may do well rating items like snow blowers and washing machines, but cars? The auto industry recognizes J.D. Power & Assoc. as the premier auto evaluation and ranking company. And, as stated, the CR rating is done in the model year the vehicle was released. The so-called "Reliability History" rating is a misnomer since it doesn't include the many years of ownership history that we now have on the complete 6 model years ('01 - '06) of the LS.