Hey guys.

I picked up a 2004 LS430 in January. Had 114k miles, Flint on black, Modern.



I had a 2GS a while back, had to sell it for financial reasons...



...and got into a Civic Si to try to have some fun and save gas...



...and ended up hating various things about it and missing that solid Lexus feel.

In the time between now and then, I've put 5K miles on it by way of two road trips in addition to commuting, and it's been an absolute dream. Rides amazingly, is still faster than the Civic, and gets surprisingly decent gas mileage considering what it is.

Minor issues include a suspension noise (probably my doing), a few blown speakers characteristic of the ML system, and a random airbag light that doesn't really bother me too much.

Few more pictures:

The night I got it and took a long drive with a good buddy of mine:



In daylight the day after:



On one of the aforementioned road trips (don't worry, it wasn't there too long):



And present day, with the same good buddy of mine:



Glad to be back in a Lexus!

 

Nice car, welcome back to the family

 

Nice 430, good luck with her.

 

Hey, nice thread. That black 2GS looks awfully familiar.

 

That's a nice LS! Flint Mica is an amazing color too.

 

Welcome back to the stable... enjoy the ride.

 

beauty, love the color and wheels

 

Thanks for the kind words, everyone.

 

Welcome back. Switching around cars must have been a pain and expensive. Welcome to the finest automobile in the world.

 

It was definitely both of those, but now I'm confident I will stick with the LS for a very, very long time, so I'm not too worried about it financially any more.

Finest automobile in the world is right.

 

real clean LS you picked up

 

I like minor line changes they did on the 04 - 06 look great! It's a really good looking car. I admire mine all the time.

What about the maintenance? Is it up to date? Plugs, TB / WP, clean the throttle body and maf, transmission & differential drain and refill, coolant, brake & power-steering fluid flushed.

The noise in the front is probably control arm bushing going bad. Just have to go through it and have a mechanic work the suspension to see which one. Usually its a lower one. And the airbag light may just be a sensor. Try pulling the negative on the battery for 30 seconds. She will do a soft reset and see if you still get the airbag light.

 

Thank you!

Plugs were done not too long ago, 90k is done. I plan on getting the 120k done soon, and I think it includes at least some of those fluids.

The noise was diagnosed as a dry strut, but they didn't say much else. I'll have some spare cash laying around this summer, so I will probably have that taken care of soon.

The airbag light is from a faulty passenger occupancy sensor which always says someone's in the seat, apparently. Sometimes it works as it should, but I was quoted almost 700 for a fix and it's just not worth it. I'm not handy enough to tear into my seat to try to get at it.

 

Hi carfreak, yes, flint mica is a really cool and complex shade. Like you, I too have some issues to attend to after my recent purchase of my 02. each issue you mentioned and one mirror and both front door locks. good luck

 

it seems that a high percentage of people that ditch their lexus always come back to one. Welcome back man, car looks great.