1995 lexus ls400 tips
01-30-11, 11:27 AM
#4
Pole Position
I thought this was another exhaust tips thread. I'm glad it's not. 
As etex said, ask when the T-belt was changed last. They are to be changed at every 90k miles. Check power steering pump and rack for leaks. You're better off if the seller has service records so you can see what has been done and when. They're damn good cars 
but you have to look for the wear and tear. If you do your own work it's even better so you save the labor charges. If so check out these tutorials http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/ to see what's involved in fixing things. Also you can see what to look for when you check out the car.
As etex said, ask when the T-belt was changed last. They are to be changed at every 90k miles. Check power steering pump and rack for leaks. You're better off if the seller has service records so you can see what has been done and when. They're damn good cars but you have to look for the wear and tear. If you do your own work it's even better so you save the labor charges. If so check out these tutorials http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/ to see what's involved in fixing things. Also you can see what to look for when you check out the car.
01-30-11, 11:37 AM
#7
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thank you for you welcome
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01-30-11, 11:46 AM
#8
All the usual caveats with buying a pre-owned car of this age. The higher the miles, stay away, super low miles, (Like 40K) stay away. If you can find one ranging from 100-160K you will probably have a decent car so long as all the routine maintenance has been done and there is no gap of neglect.
If there are no service history records like 3'rd owner+, don't even bother. Even with good history, it will likely be a car that will need many suspension bushings to cure the clunks, knocks and squeaks as it rolls over the road. Poor fluid change schedules you can count on PS, rack pinion, tranny and rear end problems.
Scan the subject headers for this forum for just the past 3-4 months and you'll get a good idea what these cars are giving in terms of problems. Adds up to be $$ to fix and even if able to DIY, you will spend many-many hours dedicated to them.
A '95 will hit about $3K-$5K and IMO, just too much headache to consider in this range of lifespan. I'm pretty skeptical and view these as EOL.
My suggestion is if you want an LS of reasonable driveability don't consider a LS400, look at the 430's. Those too have issues so reading the 430 forum is necessary so you know what you may be in for.
GL shopping and let us know what you find. There are good ones out there, just depends how much patience and hunting you are willing to do.
If there are no service history records like 3'rd owner+, don't even bother. Even with good history, it will likely be a car that will need many suspension bushings to cure the clunks, knocks and squeaks as it rolls over the road. Poor fluid change schedules you can count on PS, rack pinion, tranny and rear end problems.
Scan the subject headers for this forum for just the past 3-4 months and you'll get a good idea what these cars are giving in terms of problems. Adds up to be $$ to fix and even if able to DIY, you will spend many-many hours dedicated to them.
A '95 will hit about $3K-$5K and IMO, just too much headache to consider in this range of lifespan. I'm pretty skeptical and view these as EOL.
My suggestion is if you want an LS of reasonable driveability don't consider a LS400, look at the 430's. Those too have issues so reading the 430 forum is necessary so you know what you may be in for.
GL shopping and let us know what you find.
There are good ones out there, just depends how much patience and hunting you are willing to do.
01-30-11, 01:18 PM
#9
there's several dozen.
if you're pulling bad hits that means you need to learn to use the search function properly, such as using wildcards "*" for words with <4 letters like this "*buy LS400" without the quotes.
or you can even use GOOGLE to search the forum, using the site-specific search.
any questions about what to look for are almost guaranteed to have been answered several times.
01-30-11, 02:26 PM
#10
With all the problem posts of the past 6 months, this would be enough to deter me from considering a LS400. Maybe the one owner older types but they tend to hang onto their cars till end of time. We all see them in ancient but near new looking Caddys, Buicks, Avalons...etc.
From memory of the past key threads:
1. ACV-PS. We can almost see that coming 99% of the time on a recently bought LS400's. Then with the leaking PS, there are the dead alternator issues. $750 through the dealer.
2. OCV on the VVTi. This also applies to the 2-GS and 3-LS.
3. Strut bar, control arm bushings.
4. Plugged EGR. That likely in part due to crappy gas and other EFI maintenance issues. Like using the 87 unleaded in place of the 91. We won't go there anyhow.
We do need a buying guide, that might have been better about 5 years ago. Buying these barges now is a money-labor pit of issues.
For any who bought an LS early on, you can have a nice running car. Buying now is a gamble if the owner is willing to drop $ to bring up to full function.
I'm pessimistic of LS400's at this point. There are those out there though I suspect the mainstream are filled with enough maintenance issues. One would need to allow an additional $1-2K into the purchase price for any necessary repairs.
A big GL in shopping for these.
There is a '99 at a buddy's lot. I asked him about it and he gave it a
From memory of the past key threads:
1. ACV-PS. We can almost see that coming 99% of the time on a recently bought LS400's. Then with the leaking PS, there are the dead alternator issues. $750 through the dealer.
2. OCV on the VVTi. This also applies to the 2-GS and 3-LS.
3. Strut bar, control arm bushings.
4. Plugged EGR. That likely in part due to crappy gas and other EFI maintenance issues. Like using the 87 unleaded in place of the 91. We won't go there anyhow.
We do need a buying guide, that might have been better about 5 years ago. Buying these barges now is a money-labor pit of issues.
For any who bought an LS early on, you can have a nice running car. Buying now is a gamble if the owner is willing to drop $ to bring up to full function. I'm pessimistic of LS400's at this point. There are those out there though I suspect the mainstream are filled with enough maintenance issues. One would need to allow an additional $1-2K into the purchase price for any necessary repairs.
A big GL in shopping for these.
There is a '99 at a buddy's lot. I asked him about it and he gave it a
01-30-11, 02:54 PM
#11
98+ dont have EGRs, nor does it have the ACV issue, though the high pressure lines/pump can still leak.
strut rod is maint. item, reasonably cheap every 50-80k miles.(if not more), OCV is hit or miss, afaik only about 35-40% of vvti 1uz engines have that issue (usually do to non-religious oil changes by one of the previous owners.)
strut rod is maint. item, reasonably cheap every 50-80k miles.(if not more), OCV is hit or miss, afaik only about 35-40% of vvti 1uz engines have that issue (usually do to non-religious oil changes by one of the previous owners.)
01-30-11, 03:49 PM
#12
Sure beat the first tech who said I needed a new cat, O2 and EGR replacement for $1,200. 
02-01-11, 12:16 PM
#13
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Re: older LS400's
With all the problem posts of the past 6 months, this would be enough to deter me from considering a LS400. Maybe the one owner older types but they tend to hang onto their cars till end of time. We all see them in ancient but near new looking Caddys, Buicks, Avalons...etc.
From memory of the past key threads:
1. ACV-PS. We can almost see that coming 99% of the time on a recently bought LS400's. Then with the leaking PS, there are the dead alternator issues. $750 through the dealer.
2. OCV on the VVTi. This also applies to the 2-GS and 3-LS.
3. Strut bar, control arm bushings.
4. Plugged EGR. That likely in part due to crappy gas and other EFI maintenance issues. Like using the 87 unleaded in place of the 91. We won't go there anyhow.
We do need a buying guide, that might have been better about 5 years ago. Buying these barges now is a money-labor pit of issues. For any who bought an LS early on, you can have a nice running car. Buying now is a gamble if the owner is willing to drop $ to bring up to full function.
I'm pessimistic of LS400's at this point. There are those out there though I suspect the mainstream are filled with enough maintenance issues. One would need to allow an additional $1-2K into the purchase price for any necessary repairs.
A big GL in shopping for these.
There is a '99 at a buddy's lot. I asked him about it and he gave it a
From memory of the past key threads:
1. ACV-PS. We can almost see that coming 99% of the time on a recently bought LS400's. Then with the leaking PS, there are the dead alternator issues. $750 through the dealer.
2. OCV on the VVTi. This also applies to the 2-GS and 3-LS.
3. Strut bar, control arm bushings.
4. Plugged EGR. That likely in part due to crappy gas and other EFI maintenance issues. Like using the 87 unleaded in place of the 91. We won't go there anyhow.
We do need a buying guide, that might have been better about 5 years ago. Buying these barges now is a money-labor pit of issues.
For any who bought an LS early on, you can have a nice running car. Buying now is a gamble if the owner is willing to drop $ to bring up to full function. I'm pessimistic of LS400's at this point. There are those out there though I suspect the mainstream are filled with enough maintenance issues. One would need to allow an additional $1-2K into the purchase price for any necessary repairs.
A big GL in shopping for these.
There is a '99 at a buddy's lot. I asked him about it and he gave it a
. Your garage says Toyota, what does that mean? Then you say you're pessimistic of LS400's except older? ones. If I got my '97 from 1 owner who literally wanted to be buried in it but, wife said NO! and bought him a new one for Christmas does mine count? Thanks for ALL of your help. Peace. P.S. I still don't know how to find out if I have responses until 1-2 days later. Wah.
02-01-11, 03:46 PM
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I bought a '95 from a business associate last October (belonged to his mother who recently passed away). It had 75K on the odo and looked flawless inside and out. I didn't have it three weeksbefore I had to replace water pump, timing belt, ball joints, and valve cover gaskets. It still needs (front) lower control arm bushings, but I'm waiting on that until I've got time to tear it down. I love the ride, but am now into it about $2500 more than what I had anticipated. However, once the repairs are finished I wll have a car that I expect will take me another 100-150K in comfort.
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