Hey guys, I'm not new to the Toyota world, I've always had Toyota cars ever since high school but pretty new to the Lexus world which is really not that far. I currently have an MIP '95 SC400, and I'm very much satisfied how it performs despite I had to restore it to good running condition and still working on it. The car still had a great exterior and interior considering it's age I just hated for it to rot when it's such a well put together car even though I really wanted a '99 black/black SC400 so I can get that VVTi 1UZ power which I still plan on getting in time.

Well, me and my wife had a talk last night and we're currently saving and preparing for our second Lexus, and we're aiming to find a black/black GS430 so this shouldn't be older than year '00. I really wanted to get a 3GS, but the way the 2GS was designed is just saw raw and aggressive that I wanted something different to our sexy big booty SC, lol! My question is, what are the common problems that any buyer should stay away from when it comes to this cars? Because from our experience with our SC it was either I was so lucky or unlucky that I faced every possible common problem with the SC's which we bought back in March and I'm already 6G's deep last time I checked my SC's expenses on excel. And all labor was even done by me. It's too much to list but so far I've changed;

2 rear wheel bearings
PS pump and alternator(which you can expect the way 1UZ is set up)
rack and pinion with the to rods
every single bushings upgraded to polyurethanes
trunk supports
leaky valve covers and transmission oil pan
radiator
all hoses in the engine bay
brake lines were upgraded to Goodridge
flushed every fluid you can think of
tune-up

And some more miscellaneous stuff.

Any advice and help would be much appreciated. I just don't wanna end up spending more on repairs again rather than saving up for my next SC. LOL!

PS; hopefully we can make a compilation of all common problems for the GS430 so this would serve as a future reference as well for other peeps.

 

This is a thread about this already.

 

What key words do I use to find them? Because when I search for common problems it just shows people's threads on certain problems they encountered, I cannot find a thread that states all the GS430 community have dealt with. Thanks in advance.

 

You're not going to find one all encompassing thread that lists all the problems. Gonna have to dedicate some time to reading through the threads and doing some research. The GS is a solidly built car and will run forever if maintained property is the best reponse I can give you. But depending on owner and location, problems vary. Look for problems common to your area (NYC = salt, suspension, etc) is a start.

 

door lock actuators... that was the only problem i had so far...

anything else i did to the car was due to personal preferences that i wanted to make better (poly bushings to firm up the steering and ride)

 

Door lock actuators, steering wheel shakes after drop. That's about it for me. 03 GS430

 

Try putting 'common problems' in the keyword, search in title only and point at 2GS. Or search gs430 common problems, you'll find acouple dozens threads asking exactly this same question . Here are some examples I found in about 2 minutes using those keywords:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...ommon+problems
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...ommon+problems
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...ommon+problems
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...ommon+problems
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...ommon+problems
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...ommon+problems
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...ommon+problems

 

I have a 98 GS400, and here's Reader's Digest version of what I've experienced and absorbed on my time here at CL.
Front end suspension has rubber bushings on upper and lower control arms, sway bar, steering, etc that wear and cause issues such as clunking noises, alignment issues, vibrations etc. Also lower balljoints have a high failure rate and when they do it's ugly.

As mentioned lock actuators crap out. I personally had a fuel pump fail at around 200k and have read about others failing even before that mileage range.

Big picture, I love how this car drives, rides and looks and would do it all over again. The engine and tranny are silky smooth even with 210k miles on it currently. And if you do long trips its an extremely comfortable quiet highway cruiser with a big trunk for all your gear, and I get 26-28mpg on trips which for a V8 car full of peeps and gear is alright in my book.

Also the engine doesn't use/burn/leak any oil and I go 6-7k between changes using synthetic oil and I'm only down less than a quart.

Hope this helps!

 

I'm looking to purchase a GS400 / 430 myself and was looking for the same type of thread.
Input from current users is the best way to research common problems. It's typically a sticky in the forum. Very helpful in creating a check list and determining cost of ownership.

 

I have 01 gs430 with 110k miles. The only things that failed:

1) locks actuators and that's it!

As far as preventive maintenance i did the following:

1) lower ball joints
2) all fluids changed, tranny, steering and etc.
3) front suspension bushings all replaced to poly ones
4) motor mounts
5) filters, plugs /tune-up


One of the best cars I've ever owned!

As we speak I'm in the middle of replacing timing belt on this baby and after taking covers off belt still looks like almost new!

Good luck!

 

Thanks Krisp. That helps. I read a lot on ball joints and bushings.

 

Door lock actuators are the only thing that failed, and it failed to **** me off. The fix is simple and cheap if you are DIY. Sticky on this forum.

I did all the preventative and scheduled maintenance. So I never had a problem.

I did.
Timing, water pump, all pullies, all belts 110k miles or so.

OIl once a year, or 6k miles.

Brakes, whenever they wore down.

Ball joints when I fist got the car.

Poly bushings because I felt like making it better.

Replaced Maf because my cold air intake killed it. So it did not fail on its own.

Probably the most reliable car I have ever had. I am talking about the 430 here.