I have admired Lexus for what they have done with there over the years, I have always been a BMW fan, I still have my beloved E90 M5 (won't sell it) but in the process of selling my 740dL it's an amazing car however, it has its issues. A co-worker has an LS430 which he has owned since new, he has 225K miles on it and loves it. So I'm in the market for an LS430, I have seen the YouTube channel that is transforming the LS430 this has piqued my interest some.

What are common issues with these LS430 that I should look out for on a used LS, I'm not afraid of miles on the car, knowing how Lexus/Toyota has engineered these cars, but all cars have certain issues so I want to educate myself on what to look out for.

TIA
BB

 

Lots of great comprehensive posts available through the search function

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...ting-into.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...-look-for.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...ng-advice.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...-ul-ls430.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...the-ls430.html

Etc.


Welcome!

 

Coming from an M5 in particular the LS will be basically perfect the "issues" they have are laughable compared to other brands.

The things that go wrong are as follows

Lower control arm bushings, these lead to a clunk and alignment issues and cost $50 per side and an hour and half labor to fix. I would also say the suspension in general lasts around 180k-250k with mainly the upper front arm and lower arm bushings being the ones that wear out. The struts last insanely long and mine were fine at 210k when I replaced them

The motor mounts and trans mount don't last past around the same amount and are an easy repair that's just a good idea to do if you want perfect idle smoothness.

The ball joints and inner/outer tie rods usually take a long time to wear out but if they do replace them with proforged brand parts instead of OE since they are just as good or better for less money. Not likely an issue but I really like having my steering be fresh so I replaced that when I bought it

The valve covers will be leaking if high mile, easy fix and remember to do the moons. If you buy a sub 100k mike car these will not be leaking yet.

The VVT actuators may have an issue if the oil was not changed properly but that's a literal 5 min fix if needed.

These engines have a timing belt and when you do that make sure to change the idler, tensioner, and crank sea plus water pump with Lexus or Aisin parts but use an actual Lexus belt

The front door lock actuators will break, they cost $1100 new or $130 reman with lifetime warranty or $8 DIY

The radiator tends to get shifty at around 120k but can be replaced with a timing belt job and costs around $70 for the part

The OE glass is VERY important to have due to it being just so much better so don't buy one without OE glass since replacing it is $2400

If you opt for the ML audio it may have the amp blow up

Air suspension is air suspension, about 1/4 the failure rate of German stuff so be aware of that if you buy a car with it

Brakes are excellent and almost never have problems

The steering column adjustment motors may be dead and are $140 each to replace DIY

Transmissions are near unkillable and if you service them they will never give you issues.

The engine is not killable. I am actively trying to see if it's possible short of intentional damage and I'm failing



Very very few random issues and non-sense that is common to the German cars with overall very low amounts of issues and my list is a worst case scenario.

 

^ Striker addresses the high points very well. I would only add the driver's seat cushion can go flat with drivers who are, um, large.

Whether any given car you are looking at has any, most or none of these issues all depends on its maintenance history and a good pre-purchase inspection. Cars exist with few or none of these issues. Look for later models, garage kept, under 120,000 miles, one or two owner, dealer maintained. These do exist but sell fast for a premium price, and are becoming more rare as time goes on.
I can say from my experience with my '05 at 127,000 miles the overall build quality is just incredible.

 

Oh dear god I just saw what car you are coming from. Lord. Having worked on those yeah these cars will be absolutely perfect

I thought you are asking vs the M5 lol!

 

I'm gonna copy this for later, when this gets asked again in a few days. Solid work!

 

The M5 is my baby bought it from the original owner with a bad engine. This allowed me to make some adjustments to an already impressive engine. It is all sorted out and runs very well. Hard to have a car of this caliber for the amount of money I have into.

The 740dL is an amazing car, It's sweet spot is at 80 MPH, I average 34 on the highway with it. But the emissions is choking the engine which has been its biggest issue with the car. So I figured I'd get some thing and have fun it.

BB

 

Thank you, I'm very familiar with the search feature, I used it and I got over 17 pages of posts, not the best use of time. I might suggest having a sticky with basic answers, we did that on Bimmerest to stop the same questions being asking.

BB

 

This is what I had assumed, the cars are basically bulletproof and just make sure maintenance items are taken care of.
Thank you for your time in writing this, it is a big help, in regards to the glass, BMW is the same. Do you happen to know who the manufacture of the OEM class for Lexus is?

BB