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i got a 95 Ls400 it needs TLC a oil change that I haven’t done in quite awhile i would saying going on 2 years. I got just about over 200,000 miles. I got this from a dealer ship. The major symptom I’ve seen is the trans ends up slipping when doing a cold start it does it once during the day sometimes it doesn’t do it at all when putting in drive or reverse. Today..
I got my car back after it was repossessed. Right when I started driving the car stopped on me… I turned it back on and when I tried accelerating it would accelerate very slow it was stalling plus jerking. My odometer was malfunctioning wouldn’t going above 20mph. Got home used OBD nothing came up.. when I would put the car in certain driving gears you could hear a clicking noise in the shifter..checked my OBD again few mins ago and seen 02 sensor downstream are gone which I knew for quite awhile. recently installed upstream need downstream (shipping issues). Anyways when I start the car I have very low RPM the needle is close to 0 it ended up shutting off on me what could be going on?
my OBD scanner did give other information like low voltage on battery right at 12 the other is open engine temp.
Last edited by Kailash; 07-01-23 at 09:10 AM.
Reason: Catching Title
The transmission always slips\hard shifts the first 2-3 shift of the day. Just one time, with varying degrees of weirdness, on every cold start, on every LS400. It's considered normal behavior.
● random dropping into "limp home" mode ● weird shifting problems
● throwing random fault codes
● speedometer not working reliably
● check engine light on sometimes, but no codes stored, often in concert with ECT light
Is the RPM actually very low, where it's bucking the car and running very rough because of low rpm's? Or is it just the instrument cluster which is reporting a low RPM of an otherwise normally idling engine.
Are your problems intermittent and seem to come and go? Can you describe the codes coming off of the engine? I'm having a hard time understanding the chronology. Was it not showing codes, then showed some, then the codes went away again? Are codes not being stored? Again all points to ECU.
This issue started today I’ve been having 02 sensor code come on since the day I had the car never replaced them however never had jerking or lower rpm’s (close to 0). The dash was replaced in 2021 however it’s never been faulty. The RPM dropping at 0 and having tough situation with starting is all first symptoms today I’ve seen.
the devil in the details for the codes showing is I’ve replaced the Upper 02 sensors beginning of this month (I had order issues so the bottom need to be replaced)
Are the RPM's actually very low when you get the car started? And the engine is bucking and running rough? Or does it idle normally and feel fine, and just report very low RPM on the dash. If the engine is actually turning 200rpm, you will feel it.
I didn't know you also had difficulty starting the car. Does it crank and not catch? Does it crank, catch and then instantly die?
You said the car needs some TLC and was repo'd, do you know how long the car was sitting? Did the gasoline in the tank go bad? Or more importantly, is there ACTUALLY gas in the tank? Your symptoms honestly also could mostly be explained by the fuel tank being dry.
The car was repossessed on the 22nd. I just got it back today. The gas in the tank is on E. The light is on I’ve driven it multiple times with it on E I can add more gas to it to see. The rpm needle was sitting just above the 0 and then stalled out. As stated this wasn’t happening before the 22nd.. The car wasn’t starting over right away it took a while to turn on and even when it did idles very rough not smooth isn’t quite low rpm’s.
I’m in NC when I looked at the car the 2nd time it was around 10:00pm it’s now 2:31am will check later this morning after adding more gas to it.
Refresher:
the first time driven: the car shuts off at a stop. Turn it back on it is acting as if it’s about to shut off again. I start to accelerate it and it’s going VERY slow. It’s as If I am pressing on the gas and it’s going 5mph. I get to the gas station I am reversing the car and the gear is working normal when in drive it’s struggling. I add $4.00 worth of gas..then I notice my gears on 3, 2, & L you can hear a ticking noise in the clutch. I drive it home it’s driving slow however I pick up speed with the speedometer stuck on 25mph although I am going as if normal with little hesitations. I stop and then again it starts off as Im not pressing on the gas at all..
I get home. & the 2nd symptoms are what show up. Around 10:00pm.
glad it works now. You left out a lot of information! I'm glad you mentioned the car had been empty on fuel for multiple drives...
I understand money can be tight, but there are minimums you should not exceed. It's very damaging to the fuel pump if it ever actually runs dry. It uses the gasoline as a heatsink to keep itself cool. If that runs out, it'll overheat and destroy itself. While running out of gas one time the fuel pump will probably be fine, running it very low on gasoline repeatedly will do excessive damage and cause failure.
First you need an oil change. You're 1 year and 6 months overdue. Plus who knows how many miles.
Don't put power steering fluid in the power steering pump. It requires ATF. Doing this will grenade your pump and take the alternator with it.
Your ECU will need to be repaired eventually. Not "may", will.
Fluids are important, you need to stay ontop of them. #1 killer of transmissions is fluid which hasn't been changed in 120,000 miles. Sadly, by that point, the damage has already been done and there isn't anything that can be done.
Suspension components will fail\have already failed, replacing them is expensive. It's not a Corolla.
With the exception of some shocks, or simple thinks like swaybar endlinks, aftermarket is not "oem quality". Not even close.
Poly bushings seem cheap, but they will ruin the ride quality of the car.
Lower ball joints on the front axle are a game changer and extremely cheap\easy to do. Best repair I've ever done - it totally transformed how well the car drove & how confident the front of the car was. No more vagueness. No more wandering on the highway.
Hoses are brittle at this age. If you remove them, chances are high they will break and need to be replaced. You can use aftermarket rubber on this car... at your own peril.
First you need an oil change. You're 1 year and 6 months overdue. Plus who knows how many miles.
Don't put power steering fluid in the power steering pump. It requires ATF. Doing this will grenade your pump and take the alternator with it.
Your ECU will need to be repaired eventually. Not "may", will.
Fluids are important, you need to stay ontop of them. #1 killer of transmissions is fluid which hasn't been changed in 120,000 miles. Sadly, by that point, the damage has already been done and there isn't anything that can be done.
Suspension components will fail\have already failed, replacing them is expensive. It's not a Corolla.
With the exception of some shocks, or simple thinks like swaybar endlinks, aftermarket is not "oem quality". Not even close.
Poly bushings seem cheap, but they will ruin the ride quality of the car.
Lower ball joints on the front axle are a game changer and extremely cheap\easy to do. Best repair I've ever done - it totally transformed how well the car drove & how confident the front of the car was. No more vagueness. No more wandering on the highway.
Hoses are brittle at this age. If you remove them, chances are high they will break and need to be replaced. You can use aftermarket rubber on this car... at your own peril.
For front lower ball joints, right now I don’t have any symptoms per se, although the car is very slightly floaty on highway after bumps, I know that could be shocks wearing over time too. Car is at about 137k and a 95. I am trying to progressively learn how to do more on this car (first car I have worked on period) and so far haven’t done more than all fluids and pads and rotors, replacing seatbelts, trunk gasket etc fairly basic. Do you think just replacing lower ball joints preventatively could be a waste if later I have to more suspension work? Right now I can get them $75 each free shipping, OEM through a Lexus dealer website who is running a sale right now. So I’m kind of thinking maybe learn how to do something new and get these knocked out…?
The lower ball joints are incredibly cheap and quite easy to install. I paid a shop 2hr of labor including an alignment to get it done. I don't remember if the alignment was necessary or if I had to get one done anyway. That's just what the bill says.
I don't know how your car drives so I don't know the health of your suspension. The differences in how the car drives are subtle, and IMO impossible to communicate over text. I will say the following:
The front lower ball joints are a known weak point, and typically could see a 100k service interval. It is common for them to be "degraded", but not yet failed. As in the deflection and control they provide is greatly diminished, but they are not degraded enough to be actively considered broken. I would imagine, if yours are not making noise and are original to the car, this is where they are. This is how mine existed for probably several years, until one particularly bad set of ice in the winter hulk-smashed them into finally becoming broken.
The most important line is probably the following:
I didn't just take the car to Midas, I took it to multiple popular private shops and got multiple 2nd opinions. Nobody could find anything wrong with the suspension. Every part passed both visual and physical inspection. NOBODY caught how bad these ball joints were. Everybody said the car drove perfectly fine - probably because even in a broken state, initially you get disillusioned by how smooth the spring rates and drivetrain are and you miss the underlying problems... My ball joints visually looked perfectly fine - my shop who did the replacement said they would have put them back based on how they looked.
This is from when the ball joints were broken & making noise. No inspection ever figured it out. Why? Because they weren't leaking and the boot wasn't torn. But that didn't mean they weren't ****ed.
The lower ball joints are incredibly cheap and quite easy to install. I paid a shop 2hr of labor including an alignment to get it done. I don't remember if the alignment was necessary or if I had to get one done anyway. That's just what the bill says.
I don't know how your car drives so I don't know the health of your suspension. The differences in how the car drives are subtle, and IMO impossible to communicate over text. I will say the following:
The front lower ball joints are a known weak point, and typically could see a 100k service interval. It is common for them to be "degraded", but not yet failed. As in the deflection and control they provide is greatly diminished, but they are not degraded enough to be actively considered broken. I would imagine, if yours are not making noise and are original to the car, this is where they are. This is how mine existed for probably several years, until one particularly bad set of ice in the winter hulk-smashed them into finally becoming broken.
The most important line is probably the following:
This is from when the ball joints were broken & making noise. No inspection ever figured it out. Why? Because they weren't leaking and the boot wasn't torn. But that didn't mean they weren't ****ed.
Thanks that’s super helpful. One other dumb question. If I do lower ball joints all around but later additional suspension work has to be done and in order to do that the newer ball joints have to be removed again, it won’t ruin or waste them right?
Thanks that’s super helpful. One other dumb question. If I do lower ball joints all around but later additional suspension work has to be done and in order to do that the newer ball joints have to be removed again, it won’t ruin or waste them right?
There are only lower ball joints in the front. AFAIK the rear only has upper ball joints on the upper a-arms.
They're quite easily accessible, there is minimal disassembly to replace them.
The only thing to consider I think they bolt into the outer tie rod? I think you have to seperate them from that. I'm not sure I didn't do mine. I didn't change anything else tho.
But no they are not single use or anything like that.
06-30-23, 07:01 PM
LS400 Issues
glad it works now. You left out a lot of information! I'm glad you mentioned the car had been empty on fuel for multiple drives... 
