Hi All,

I've owned a 97 LS for the past 7 years and it has treated me right. It's now on eBay because I just bought a 2005 LS!

The 05 is in excellent condition with 80K miles.
There are two issues that concern me though;

Issue # 1 - The engine shakes. The shake is very slight and not significant enough to be noticed in the car. I saw it when I opened the hood only. It becomes worse if the AC is on. I am not sure it this car ever had a tune-up, so it may just be the plugs and air/fuel filters. Should I look into anything else? I popped the hood of my 97 just for reference and it does not shake at all. Like it's not even on. I hope that the tune-up fixes it.

Issue # 2 - Steering wheel volume controls do not work. I push up or down when radio or CD is playing and nothing happens. Is there anything that I can do to fix it w/o taking the car to the stealer?

Thanks!

 

I would take in the the dealer and have them tell you everything the car needs to get back in top shape. I think they charge $110.00 for that service.

Did you get a Carfax to see if any recent srv has been done?

 

BTW welcome the Club LS!

Also lets see some pics of your new toy.

 

Welcome to CL

See if you can get your local lexus dealer to pull the service history.

I heard of bad plugs giving you the shake, but I'm not that mechanically knowledgable

I would probably check for fuses, maybe a slight chance the radio harness might be loose?

Sorry, no real help from me

 

I supose I'd have to visit the stealer after all
I know what they'll tell me about the shake - Do a tune-up and then we'll see

I'll just ask them to run a service history for me and try to price the steering wheel vloume control issue.
Has anyone ever heared of this thing not working? I just might be the very first lucky winner of this prise


Oh, BTW;
Thanks for the warm welcomes, but I've been a member since 02

 

Engine mounts? Does it shake more when you shift between reverse and drive? Or a dirty airfilter.

 

I doubt a dirty air filter would cause a shake...

Plugs maybe, motor mounts more likely. It seems like when I read throuh the maintenence schedule they had a lot of torque this and torque that.

 

regards to your engine; you need to compare it with another LS430 with similair miles IMO... good luck. as far as you steering wheels buttons not working, maybe they have a short, maybe somebody spilled some drink on them??

 

i think carfax is for car history, not service history

 

When I was looking for an LS some Carfax's would show that the car was at a dealer for service.

Like this LS Carfax

http://www.carfax.com/cfm/ccc_Displa...BN36F665033375

08/29/2008 Nalley Lexus - Roswell

Vehicle serviced
One tire mounted and balanced
Front brakes replaced
Oil and filter changed chassis lubricated
Pre-delivery inspection completed
Washed/detailed
Manufacturer's recommended maintenance performed

 

Engine shaking indicates a misfire: could be a bad plug, bad wires or a clogged injector. I would run a can of fuel injector cleaner through it first.

GT

 

Umm...coilpacks...wires...

I would say it is about time for a tune-up.

Jonny

 

Thanks again for the replies!

Regarding the steering volume controls; I have figured out a weird thing - They work when I turn the wheel a few degrees either way off center
Not sure what this means or how to fix it. One possibility is that there is a circular rolling contact which goes around the steering stem in order to avoid twisting wires??? And it got dirty right at the center spot??? Does this make sense to anyone?

About the engine.
I will check out the engine mounts just as a matter of general check-up, but I don't think that they are at fault here. They don't cause the engine to shake - they cause the rest of the car to shake if the engine shakes and this is not the case here. I wouldn't know that the engine shook if I haven't opened the hood.

The air filter is pretty dirty. I will change it to a K&N and hope for the best. I will also change the plugs. 80K is a bit early for the plugs to go bad, but what the hell... I'll do it any way. There are not wires there - just 8 coils at each plug.

One other thing that I wanted to ask is whether it is a good idea to get a transmission flush and filter change. There is a lot of controversy about this. Some say that it has to be done regularly. Others sware by never doing it in order to avoid disturbing some magical balance of the accumulated dirt and internal components. The latter tribe notes many-a-problem that have manifested themselves after flushes.

I am planning to keep this car for a while, so I wanted to do the flush.
What do you guys think about that?

 

you should be able to go to your toyota dealer to get all yor services done. they charge like a third of what the lexus dealer charges. i recommend you change all the fluid this way you can start fresh. you never know how the other owner took care of the car based on what you're saying not too good.

 

Congrats on the new ride!

How does the tranny fluid look presently? You're familiar with the incremental method if dirty.

Ditto with tune, I think that will make it happy.