Hi Everyone,

Just checking in!

I'm not really new here, having previously owned three LS400s since 2004 - a 1990, '94 and '98. I joined CL in 2017, after hanging out for 12 years on one of the UK forums and contributing a lot. (That was all good, with help, advice and sometimes parts(!) freely given by all - until a new moderator appeared on the scene and hijacked it as a business opportunity for personal gain. The atmosphere became so toxic, I walked. I'm glad to say that CL has been a much better experience!)

So, about my new car. It's a 2004 model with just under 80,000 miles. It drives much as I believe it should - smoothly and positively. On 18" rims there is more road noise than with the 400 obviously, but the engine is quieter.

A couple of issues already:

• The telescopic gearing for the steering wheel is broken (which I acknowledged when I bought the car). Any clues? Are parts transferrable from the 400?
• The 'Low Tire' warning came on during the drive home. I've reset it via the button that you have to stand on your head to reach, but I wonder: Is this a direct or indirect system?

Could anyone tell me where I can find the list of programmable options? Obviously I'd like to disable features such as steering wheel retraction and mirrors that tilt down when you select reverse (which annoys the hell out of me)!

Also, I have only two keys - a main and a sub. (I can't help wondering if the dealer is holding on to one of them. After all, how can you lose a car key?) If the point of the sub is to act as a 'valet key', it seems to me that you could still get into the trunk from inside the car - even if the trunk-release was locked - because the mechanical parts of the key appear identical!

And, the rear of the car appears to sit a little lower than the front - although the struts do seem to hold up over a period of time. (The air ride is no better than the coil springs of the 400, that's for sure!)

Well, I think that's enough from me for now; any comments would be most welcome and I'll report back when I know more.

Cheers,

Rich

 

Welcome aboard!

I have two things to add:

The tilt down reverse function of the mirrors can be turned off by moving the power mirror selector switch to the "middle" position. If it is set to the left or right positions, it will activate the tilt down feature.

And what's going on with the telescoping mechanism? Does the motor just not work at all? If that's the case, it's actually pretty simple to replace.

Get yourself a new motor, and pop off the lower black piece of trim off of the lower dash board (you might be able to get the job done without removing it, but I removed it for the sake of simplicity) then you have to be a contortionist for a minute, and if you look upwards under the dash, you can see the motor. It comes out with 2 10mm bolts, and an electrical plug. the metal cable that actually connects to the motor should stay in place, then just slide the new one in.

Don't bother taking apart the steering column cover. That's only if you need to get to the tilt motor from what I understand.

 

Congrats on your new 430! That's funny because I just bought a 2002 today with 87k miles. I'm going to get 16 inch wheels put on so the ride is even smoother! Might even look into the suspension because the car is 20 years old. I don't see how it can get better than this. This was peak Lexus.

I don't have any idea about those things you mentioned. I'm with you. I don't want the wheel to retract and I don't like the mirrors tilting down for reverse. Anyone who can help us with that would be appreciated. I'm sure we'll find someone.

 

Welcome! I'm a newbie here having bought my first LS (2004 UL) a month ago. My first recommendation is to search this forum as it contains a wealth of information. I've only been here and short time and feel very knowledgeable about these cars just by reading this forum. With that said...

The FAQ has a good thread on how to replace the telescopic motor....super common issue.
I believe the tire air pressure system is indirect and uses the ABS sensors.
Search Techstream on how to set programmable settings. This is something I'm still researching.
The rear of my car appears to set lower than the front and from what I've read on here, that is normal regardless of suspension type. I haven't actually measured mine to verify yet but it rides fine.

Good luck! I've been enjoying learning about this car and how to maintain it!

 

Appreciate your replies

Understood re. the mirror tilting mech, but when backing up I like to select the mirror in question, and tilt it manually as needed. Moving the switch to one side or the other makes them tilt automatically. (On the 400, the mirror that was selected had manual override.)

Good news about the indirect TPS system; the thought of a battery device in the wheel was not so great...

As much as I'd like to try 16" wheels (if the stock 5-spoke ones on my 400 would actually fit - and bearing in mind they're not in great shape), the ones on this car have been professionally refurbished and do look good. I think I'm stuck with them for a while.

With the telescoping mechanism, you can hear the motor running, but there is no action. Therefore it seems likely that the gearing is broken. I know this could be an issue on the 400, which is why I had it programmed out on that car. (Gen 1 had a switch where you could disable it at will.) I am glad of your suggestion as to where to look; if it's not raining or snowing tomorrow I'll see what I can see!)

I'm still trying to work out who this car was aimed at! The general styling (esp. side view) screams "old person"! And yet, with features like these crazy smart keys, gobo projectors under the doors, the complex nav/infotainment system etc.... I can't see too many elderly folks liking those things.

I would like to get some real Celsior mats and wind-deflectors for the windows. Are these still available new?

Cheers guys....

R

 

Hi Rich,

I am in Wickford and have a TechStream system if you want to disable the Steering "Easy Access" function it's easy enough to do.
I disabled mine a while back.

The car was aimed at chauffeur driven rich people with a bit of a nod to late middle-aged self-driving business types.
Hence the buttons on the drivers side of the passenger seat, the reclining rear seats, the fridge between the rear seats, etc.
I'm BigBoomer on the UK Lexus Owners Club forum too.

Cheers,
George

 

Hi George,

I'm maybe half an hour away from you!

I may well take you up on your offer. (Perhaps I could PM you or vice-versa?)

Over the coming days I'm hoping to get the car up on a ramp at our local independent Toyota/Lexus garage (you know the one!), just for an underbody inspection. I was planning on asking them to do it then, but they may well be too busy.

Today I changed both sidelight bulbs, one of which had failed due to them being cheap retrofit Chinese LED ones. Fairly easy job, not requiring the removal of air box/fusebox as some people have said....

So much to learn about this car!

Cheers

R

P.S. Maybe meet up for a pint at Battlesbridge one day in the near future?

 

if you push in the button with a key slot on it, it is by the gas opener and trunk opener then you cannot open the trunk with a sub key.
must have master to un push the button, the sub blade wont work.

 

Ah yes, at first glance they look identical, but the profile is different as viewed from the end.

 

Hi Rich,
By all means send me a PM.
Which independent are you referring to? Westfield?
A pint at the Barge or Hawk would be good. :-)

 

BB,
I did PM you, not sure if it worked
R

 

"Congrats on your new 430! That's funny because I just bought a 2002 today with 87k miles. I'm going to get 16 inch wheels put on so the ride is even smoother! Might even look into the suspension because the car is 20 years old. I don't see how it can get better than this. This was peak Lexus.

I don't have any idea about those things you mentioned. I'm with you. I don't want the wheel to retract and I don't like the mirrors tilting down for reverse. Anyone who can help us with that would be appreciated. I'm sure we'll find someone."

xjokerz,

Are you still liking the 430? Speaking personally, it's growing on me. It's a much more refined drive than the 400, but I don't prefer the styling and I don't think I ever will.

R

 

Oh yes. I've put on almost 3k miles already. When I'm doing 80 it doesn't even feel like it. It's the smoothest, quietest, most comfortable car I've ever driven but considering my 2011 ES and 2007 Acura TL were the best cars I've owned prior to this, that's not saying much. That TL is still probably the most attractive exterior I've ever seen on a regular sedan. I can't look at an ES and think nice car anymore. This is the benchmark. There is so much that I love about this car. One of the things is having the Mark Levinson sound system without the pixelated, out-dated screen. I can also see so much better out of this car than the ES. The acceleration still puts a smile on my face. I think it's all that torque. I love how heavy the doors are. I walk away from the car a happy man when I close the door and I hear that solid thunk. I can't say enough great things about it.

How are you enjoying yours so far? Needless to say, they don't build cars like this anymore so it's up to us (as well as whoever else has a 430) to take care of them.

The styling on the inside took a little time to get used to over the 2011 ES. Admittedly, I prefer that interior but it's pretty close. This one has more wood and I think everything else ties in better. There's also a good amount of room and that floor hump in the back isn't even that big.

Small detail, but besides the 5-speed a little more refined over the 6-speed, one reason I went for a pre face-lift 430 was the red needles on the gauges. If you're going to be right in front of that the whole time you're driving, it might as well look nice and to me it does even more than the white of the 2004-2006. Not the biggest fan of the cup-holders but they work. I don't drink a whole lot, so once in a while when I need it, it's not bad. I also love how the rear windows roll down all the way and they are good sized. On my ES they went down like 2/3 of the way and the window was like half the size.

My girls are almost 5 and 6, so when they get out of their booster seats, they will love having those heated seats in the back.

The most perfect car I could imagine and nothing that has been made in the last 15 years interests me.

 

I mostly agree!
The doors as you say seem much more solid compared with those on the 400 - despite the car not having such a low, heavy look as its predecessor.
Comfort is way in excess of the 400. But here in the UK, the interiors seem to be light grey, black or cream only - no orange or purple sadly (or whatever else they might have done). I do miss that sea-green leather of the 1998 ("Cumbria", they call it)...
The ML audio system is the best quality I've heard in a car. (The gen1 LS400 Pioneer was pretty good; the gen 2 more boomy IMO. I think you could change the bass boost/cut frequency by putting the system into some setup mode using the pedals - it was much too high in the spectrum - but I never figured out how to do that!)
Interesting your point re. the instrument needles. I'm glad to have the white ones TBH; I do think they look better. I'm guessing that early buyers didn't like the red, so they switched back to white as per the 400.
So I need to look at the list of programmable options and get rid of a few annoying features, plus a PAS fluid change, plus some new rubber for those 18s... Then I'm all set!

 

I also like the red needles in my 03 better than the white. In my former '94 LS400 the white needles were actually small CFL tubes and one of them went out and had to have the whole cluster replaced. When it was really cold outside sometimes some of the needles lit up faster than the others and they took a minute or two to warm up to full brightness. It was cool though, when you started the car the gauges all stayed black for a few seconds, the needles would light up first, then they would all swing to the right then back to the left, then the gauges would light up. I think the facelift whites are probably just reflective but don't know for sure.