Wish I'd read your comments first.
 

I'm new to the forum so I thought I'd write out my experiences to date and mention some of the problems I'm having and see if the group could give me some suggestions.

I bought a '95 LS 400 two years ago from a Lexus dealer in Ft. Lauderdale. It had always been serviced by Lexus and had 70,000 miles on it. The body, paint and interior were perfect. After a couple of weeks of driving I noticed a rather violent clunk, sounding like the transmission, every time I let off the gas. I took it to my local dealer who told me I had "shock-lock" ( who knew) and that I needed 3 computer boards to fix the problem which would cost around $3500.00. I had bought another car from before ( not a Lexus) so I new some of the mechanics, they talked to the service manager and we worked out a deal, If I got a 90,000 mile major tune-up and replace the timing belt ( by now my milage was 115,000) they would comp. the boards which controled the cruise control, the engine control and the spark plugs. I said okay. After a day of working on it they said the transmission needed a new gasket and my power steering pump was leaking, which I new, and that the cost for the pump and the high pressure hose would be an additional $1200.00, I agreed. In short my bill was $3032.00.

The " shock-lock" is gone and the engine runs beautifully, I wish I'd have read your comments about the seal kit for the power steering and asked if anyone had heard of shock-lock but I guess thats just water under the bridge, dam or wherever the hell it goes to. I still wonder if shock-lock spelled backwards is pronounced sucker, but at least I'm back on the road.

The only problems I have left are an occasional problem at high speeds where the car feels like a large truck just passed me or I just got hit by high winds. I bought new Michelin Symetry tires but it still occurs from time to time, Lexus said they couldn't find anything. The second problem is my speedometer, sometimes the needle won't engage. It stays light and otherwise looks normal and if I shut the car down and re-start it usually engages. Lexus wants $350.00 to fix it, which I'm not quite ready to do. The third is trying to find the correct color carpets for the car. It's pearl white with a two- tone brown interior. The dealer got the info. off the door but when they arrived they wre a light silver brown, mine are a medium brown. The dealer appologized saying he'd had that complaint before, so if anyone knows where I could find the correct ones I'd like to hear about it. The fourth is brake noise, that popping noise some of you have complained about, mine does it at slow speeds, especially backing up, the dealer said that it's normal for my car and that they do sell kits for it that attach to the pads but that it would only last about 10,000 miles and then it would come back, at this point I believe him.

Well, thats my story to date, I am really enjoying this forum and everyones comments. Thank you.

LOL - welcome to the world of lexus. Only thing you forgot to mention was the LCD/TEMP panel being blacked out. But once you get it all worked out you will have a car that will run forever and look great on the road :D

I agree, once your Lex is fixed it will go on and on. My first repair bill was about $2300 after buying it from a private party, but I know there were things that needed to be fixed, "welcome to the world of lexus!" Now, the only problems I have now are very very minor for a 91. Just remember, it's a Lexus and that you're riding in style; there are many out there who are not even ridin.
Earl!

Abcedefghij

Every once in a while I hear a small clunk when lifting off the gas. No way am I paying for those computers. Any advice. It very rarely happens and isn't that bad at all, probably only noticable to the driver.

trans clunk
 

When mine clunked it was very loud and very noticeable, the whole car was jarred. I did learn to ease off the gas very slowly so it didn't happen but if someone cut me off or if I switched off the cruise control it sounded like the transmission was coming through the floor boards.

John, I too wish I had found Club Lexus BEFORE I bought my '94 in March 2001. I would have definitely thought twice (or more) about my purchase. On the other hand, I had been reading all the glowing press about the LS400 since 1989, and probably would have bought it anyway (it's amazing how I had built this car up in my mind). I would have convinced myself that the car I was buying was "different", and those so called "expensive" problems just wouldn't come my way. After all, I had done my homework on this car and got the Lexus service printout, and knew everything that had ever been done to it. I had always done well in all my prior car purchases, this one would be no different. However, I too had the same thought of "welcome to Lexus" after my 60K service bill came to ~$900. It was down hill from there.

Don't get me wrong, I am still convinced that these are great cars, but there are definitely some questions that need to be asked BEFORE buying one. Otherwise, it could be a very expensive mistake, especially of one doesn't have the tools, equipment and knowledge it takes to maintain and repair one. I just hope that other potential first time Lexus buyers read these posts before they buy. At least they'll know some of the potential problem areas, and use that information as bargaining chips. AND, hopefully not let the thought of owning a Lexus cloud their judgment. Unfortunately, I speak from experience.:( On the bright side, my '94 did bring a great trade allowance on a 2000 RX300 back in December, which offset much of the expense of owning it.:)

PS: It's almost like therapy being able to "vent" here on Club Lexus. Thanks to all for the web time.

Seems like the Gen 1s are more problematic than the Gen 2 ('95-'97). Neither the original owner nor I have had any problems with my LS400 Coach Ed (82K miles), with the exception of malfunctioning radio display.

I bought a car without the air susp. or traction control a) b/c I don't need it in Fla/Ca and b)less stuff that can fail/break is always a good thing.

Sorry to hear about your woes and experience at the Stealership. Those guys are crooks when it comes to repairing/servicing Lexus. It's really just a big Toyota....

Don't speak so soon. Give it 4-5 years. It's still a young buck compared to our 90-91's ;)

Touche'...

However, I also do all the maintenance myself, and can do most of the 'unscheduled' work here in my garage. No way will I pay $90+/hour for the dealership to install overpriced parts. I buy all my Lexus parts wholesale from Carson Toyota in So Cal.....UPS ground is a day to me here in Nor Cal.

I've also read about guys paying $500+ for brake jobs at the Lexus Stealership, something I can do myself for around $100 both axles.

I've also got a friend with a '90 LS400, which was actually the inspiration to buy my LS. Over 120K miles, never needed anything except basic maintenance. His wife just got ride of her '91LS400, had something like 170K on, also, no major problems.

But if I couldn't work on the car myself, I would be a bit concerned. Some of these repairs I read about here are really expensive, both parts and labor.

Regards,

My dealership wanted $695 for front brakes - I was like HUH? Gezz, even Jesse James wore a mask when he robbed people.:)

Selewis,

Since you have done your brake job, Have you ever encountered the brake sensor lights (on the dashboard) being on all the time - not flashing ?

Mine is still on since I replaced the left rear brake sensor.

Do you know how to reset it?

Thanks,

Dominic

As you may know, the brake (wear) sensors are activated when the pad wears thin enough to allow the attached sensor to contact the rotor, thereby completing a circuit.

Interestingly enough, when a year ago my 'brake light' flashed a few times, but it never stayed on for more than a few minutes. Right before I changed the pads it's obvious that my sensors were definitely in contact with the rotors as there was much wear present--yet the brake light never came on. Weird. I believe that the sensors are probably dead.

I guess the solution is to change out the sensor(s), which cost a few hundred bucks. I decided to pass on that since I personally rotate the tires every 6K, so I can I inspect the pad thickness at each rotation.

Your case is a little different. I don't have the shop manual for the LS yet, but I woud recommend disconnecting the battery for 10 minutes and see if that clears the code. There is probably a fuse you could pull to erase the codes, but I don't know what it is. I need to order the Helms Manual before I really need it.

Regards,

Are you low on brake fluid? That can cause this to ahppen. Did you bleed them and not refill it?

Todd @ TM Engineering has opened my eyes to the ideas behind a worn suspension and some of the problems it can cause.

In some of the topics people discuss, they claim (in this example LS's) are in perfect condition and have been maintained perfectly. Since my enlightenment, :) I''ve realized that beyond struts most people don't have an understanding of what worn bushings (the very many), springs, struts, joints, sway bars (bushings specifically) and their alignment can do to create problems.

I'm not downplaying anyone's intelligence or senses, but it seems many people automatically associate first generation LS's with a smooth ride when in fact most of the time the suspension components are rarely replaced as needed. Just imagine that replacing all these parts could yield such a better ride!

Some of the problems that stem from a worn suspension could include rattles, vibrations, uneven tire wear, mis-alignment, steering control issues and maybe a few other things that I'm not aware of. All of these lead to a poor feeling ride and bad handling. I'd guess that there are a few more things I don't know about, maybe someone could shed some light on it!

My point is, the suspension is very important to the many aspects of a good running/maintained car. Please maintain it, it can save you money later on (i.e. tires).