warminwisc

PWr door closures must be nice, all the interior material upgrades, what about the massage seats and what else is there, electric head rests in the back? Does the reclining rear and sliding seat decks provide a valus? Doe sit encroach on the trunk, I hope so or what is the valus? thanks massageers how do they work?

LS430FL

I wouldn't really call them massagers....my 01 they were more of a seat vibrator. You can hold down the button to change the speed but I would say calling them massagers is a stretch. The rear reclining seats are nice feature. In the 04-06 you got heated and a/c seats which is nice. The radio controls are pointless unless you are a chauffeur, for me it was always a fight with family switching the station. Double laminated glass is nice too. Thats what I can think of off top of my head.

also the cooler box was a nice feature to keep a couple sodas chilled for a road trip, but you sacrifice the trunk pass through as a result.

warminwisc

Do ya use the massager, vibrators much or kind of like the heated vented seats only OK? I Sport pretty sporty, and it lowers at HWY speed? What are yur seats do they stain? When door closes do closers work every time or U get used to just gently closing them?? Seems like the electric headrests are nice not too much mention of the controls breaking on this forum in 8 years of visiting. Thanks for the reply!!!

toddmorr

i actually really like the electric door closers and never had one fail, nor heard of one failing. My pet peeve is people that slam car doors and the electric close feature makes it totally unnecessary. The massage seats are a novelty kind of...used them once, chuckled at the japanese execs that like this stuff, and never used them again. The reclinable rear seats feature is much nicer than I thought it would be....spent some time back there on a long trip out west and it made the ride so much more comfortable to adjust the seat exactly the way you want it. the cooler box is a bit of a disappointment, i guess in comparison to the same feature on our Toyota Land Cruiser. The LS box is too small for anything but a few 12 ounce cans, and cools drinks but not especially chilly. That cooler box on the land cruiser was amazing......huge and positively icy drinks in literally 15 minutes.

warminwisc

How about the sport 3 setting air switch, switches. Is it real noticeable sport and lowering at FWY speeds? Thanks

toddmorr

nah, that sport suspension setting....you really have to concentrate to detect a difference. I even checked the computer to see if it something was malfunctioning....if any of the shocks controllers are bad, then the entire sport setting won't work. Mine were all fine, no dtc codes, so it was definitely working, but still not much of a difference.

aypues

One of my electric door closers failed awhile back. Theres some cheap fix where you just replace the solenoid but it seemed like more trouble than it was worth. I do love the refrig and rear AC with purifier. The extended leather throughout the cabin is a nice touch too.

LSxtacy

Electric door closers? I have a UL and I wasn't aware of this feature. How does it work? Do you have to enable it or is it always working? What am I missing here?

legend921

You just close the door lightly and watch it latch itself all the way. Very similar to the trunk but just on all your doors.

Tom57

The Custom Lux with auto door closers, extra and upgraded leather, dynamic laser cruise control, headlight washers, and without the smaller trunk as in the UL is my personal preference. Also, no air bags to worry about.

warminwisc

Does the air ride that much better than the regular springs shocks? Ya hate to say no if ya own a UL as it is such a expensive to fix extra but is it like the massgers kinda OK but more novel than anything else. who's owned both chime in. Thanks hate to bug ya but thinking of the black one in the 55k post above.

Tom57

I had air on two LS400's. I liked the ride, and it dropped the body down at like 81 mph (and stayed low coasting back to like 75 mph) which made a difference in handling at highway speed. But the 400 and 430 have different aero-dynamic characteristics anyway.

I wouldn't let the air suspension on that UL in NY deter you from it.

LS430Lexus

I have just acquired a '03 ML and Nav w/ 65k, pristine. I am disposing of my '02 UL with almost 160k (owned for about 6 years and about 115k miles). I enjoyed my all my UL features like the soft close doors, sunshades, rear seat air conditioner, extra leather trim and everything else. My kids enjoyed the reclining rear seats on long trips and treating their friends to the massage (really vibrating) seats. The rear radio and hvac controls were unnecessary but useful in certain situations. The air suspension required some repair but no big deal.

That said, I don't miss much from the UL. I adjusted quickly to the lack of leather trim and the absence of the air suspension. The bigger trunk is nice. For the most part, I will miss the soft close doors, the rear seat air conditioner on very warm days and the dark wood. My kids are getting older and spend less time in the back seat.

It comes down to 100k less miles, perfect maintenance history and an interior that looks like new. As many on this forum have said, don't worry about the trim package. Find the best condition, best maintained car that fits your budget and enjoy it.

LS430FL

I had an 01 Ultra luxury and a 2006 Modern luxury before upgrading to an LS460L. Didn't notice any difference. The age of these cars being 2006 at the newest, the suspension isnt going to be as new anyway. things dry out and get worn over time. I would say the difference is negligible. the cost of air suspension repair is a factor because again these cars are at their best still 10 years old. Most wouldn't want to put $4K+ into a car to replace their air suspension when the car is already 10 years old at best. Yes you can convert air to standard suspension but again its still a cost that can be avoided. I agree with others that the custom luxury is a good compromise. unless you are a chauffeur, I really think the back seat features are a novelty rather than useful.

empringham

one of the biggest cons for me and the UL is the stock air struts. If i was buying one brand new, sure id spend the extra cake and get the nicest one... But my 430 is a '01. Things start to break and wear, and i personally feel that a lot of the additional features a UL has, are the things that go first.