for 1998 - 2000 pioneer definitely forgot how to manufacture the pixels for an LCD display, those are guaranteed to start dying at some point, i like to say they were so focused on optimizing the audio quality they ran out of budget before being able to get to the screen lol... also LS suspension will definitely wear more quickly than high end german suspension, that's just the trade off for softer rubber that rides better

also the valve covers will definitely start leaking on a UZ at some point, and the air mix path is like a 7-8 minute job that just requires a phillips head and some throttle body cleaner (highly advised every old LS driver follow Yamae's thread for this!)

 

Not gonna get into a 40 post back and forth about which LS is better... we've beaten this one to death.

They're all great cars, but it is disappointing that early 460s had tons of issues, very unbecoming for a Lexus LS. Still a good car, but some legit issues.

Glad they sorted it all out for 2013. I'd sell rather have a 430 though.

 

Your definition of need nothing is very different than mine, that's where the disagreement is coming from.

 

Oh yeah! I totally forgot about the starter lol!

I've had to do so much more with the accursed cam/vvt seals I forgot that also needed the contact replaced. The air on 430s is hell to the point it's the only car I tell people to just convert to coils. It's so softly sprung anyway it makes no difference and it's just too expensive to replace because you are trapped with Lexus OE only.

You aren't buying a continental OE airbag and swapping just that out like on an S-class or A8

 

Unless the paths have not been cleaned in near 200k miles and require the intake to come off....mine would not idle right until I gave up and pulled off the whole intake and forced fluid though the paths.

After that and new driveline mounts it was glass smooth until it wore the mounts out after 65-75k and you could begin to feel it on cold startup again.

 

Yep, the LS peaked with the 600h-L ultra.

 

hmm did they change the design that much for the 3UZ? on my car it's literally just a little plate held in by 2 phillips screws right at the top front center of the engine, the intake piping only needs to be pulled if you wanna spray directly onto the throttle plate

 

They go all the way down the intake right next to the actual fuel injectors, each is like a 1 foot long path. EXTREMELY annoying to get properly clean and the car WILL NOT idle dead perfect unless you clean them every 25k miles, if you don't it will hunt up and down 20-30 rpm if the AC is off and lights are off.



Those made me irate. I spent HOURS checking for vac leaks, replacing all the vac lines, smoke testing, performing relearns, etc etc only to find out Lexus used this moronic design when they had an electronic throttle control engine. Worst part is that when I relearned it it would be fine for a while then drift back out of spec/hunt, I was finally told of the issue on here by Yamae and it was a moment of true amazement that this sort of system exists at all. It can also disrupt shifting behavior from 1-2 and at low throttle inputs

A peak example of "why the hell would you do it this way?" Toyota engineering

My entire issue with the LS430 is that it requires a LOT of work to keep at 100% and if I am going to spend that much time and effort I would rather drop it on a true flagship. Just my opinion and practice. If a car doesn't make me get a 40 BPM uplift just from starting it and anticipating the drive I'm not going to put up with much BS. Now as far as keeping an LS430 at 70-90%? Almost no work required and when my wife put 80k miles on the 02 it was AWSOME just not giving a damn about the slow degrade.

 

FWD based sedans will never drive like a proper RWD based sedan.

 

i don't understand the thread title.

 

Since the LS is being put out to the pasture, no LS owner or former owner would consider the new “flagship” ES as a replacement for the LS.

As a former LS owner, a ES is not even an option. My LS 460 was that good!! Probably best overall car I’ve had

 

thanks, but OP didn't mention the ES... only if one was getting something after an LS, what might be comparable? not sure how that relates to the cryptic thread title, but ignore me.

 

This thread was originally in the LS460 forum, not really sure why it was moved here.

I can tell you there are plenty of places to go for LS fans. S Class, 7 Series, A8, lots of SUV options that give a great driving experience. Going cheaper isn’t really an option, have to stay at that same caliber.

 

Guarantee 97% of all extreme high mileage LS430s are maintained well but none even close to your regimens. My car is maintained pretty well, garage kept and serviced. Guarantee 99/100 of the 400k mile LS430s were cared for like mine. Taken care of but not babied insanely. The are huge Toyotas, peakkkkk Toyota. The reliability is insane, and the abuse they take. My spouse jumped it backwards several times to where sparks flew and the car wen't completely kaput... restarted it and poof, fine. This was years ago.

My car doesn't need anything, if it did there would be something wrong with it and it'd be in the shop.

I'll let you drive it and you can point out to me what the problem is..... why it's the Yugo it is lol.

 

Just curious, why do you continue buying/driving these cars if they all need so much work?