Hey all, I am in the process of purchasing a 2004 LS 430 (148K miles). I am having a pre-purchase inspection done tomorrow by a local shop but have noticed a few things not working as expected on the vehicle.

1. The telescopic steering wheel will not move at all. It does not move at all when pushing the switch in and out or up and down. I do not hear any noise from the motors trying to make it move so I'm guessing both the motors may be dead. Thought I'd ask to see if there is anything else that I can check.
2. The side view mirrors will tilt down (occasionally, not every time) when putting the car into reverse but when I try to adjust them with the switch they will not move. They will budge ever so slightly when I first hit the button but it's more of a twitch if anything.
3. Parking sensors on both the front and rear only really start going off when I'm 12 inches or less from something. Is that working as intended or should they be able to read objects from further away like modern cars can?

After spending ~3 hours in the car this past weekend that's about everything that I've noticed so far. My only other question is what should I ask the inspector to look out for? I've attached the service history of the vehicle (obtained from Lexus). If you take a look at that you'll see that the timing belt was done at 75K so I expect to have to do that again soon. Sorry for the long post. I'm coming from a 2007 FJ Cruiser so the upgrade in comfort and features is extensive in this new vehicle.

 

RE: mirrors, I was also quite confused by them at first. When you put the car in drive and move forward do they go back to the desired position and can you adjust them at that point? Adjust them in their "normal" position, not in the reversed position.

Parking sensors would appear to be acting normally. They are not designed to alert you to pedestrians etc. like in more modern vehicles. They just show when you are about to hit something when you park the car.
There are lots of posts on this forum about the tilt and telescope functions of the steering wheel. Make sure the fuse is in place and not blown first.

I did not look through the 34 page service history but what you want to know is the current state of the car. (Fully dealer service on schedule is a large plus if that is what it shows). The inspection is a very good place to start. Drive the car and listen carefully for clunks or other noises indicating suspension problems, anything unusual or undesirable in the powertrain, oil leaks, condition of the brake and power steering fluid, etc. etc. The driving experience should be completely serene and smooth, no noise at all, and of course no check engine lights.

 

The tilt/telescope motors are a common failure point on these cars. On older LS models there was a switch on the steering column that allowed you to turn off the auto tilt/telescope feature every time you get in/out of the car and turn the ignition on/off. On the 3rd gen LS they did away with that switch. The default setting on the LS was to have that feature on all of the time. Nearly 20 years of that takes a toll on the motors and gears. It is kind of a PITA to DIY the steering column repairs. Search this forum; it has been done by a few people. If you fix it take the car to a Toyota/Lexus specialist or dealer and have them program the car to disable the automatic movement of the steering column where it will telescope away and tilt up to make it easier to get in and out of the car. It was a cool feature in the 1990s when it was a novelty on Lexus vehicles but if you are out of warranty it is a liability. You can custom program many things on the car like if the doors will auto lock when shifting out of park, how loudly the park sensors beep, if the DRLs will stay on during day time use, how sensitive the auto on headlights, etc. If you have the car programmed get the full list and have it set up as you like things to be. I personally hated the auto locking feature and had it deactivated.

Side view mirror problems can often be solved by removing the mirror adjuster switch in the dash, disassembling it, and cleaning the contacts to remove corrosion. DeoxIt D5 has done miracle work for me on many jobs. I had a similar problem on my 05 LS that went away after cleaning the switch.

The park sensors are working normally per your description of them.

Other very common problems:
Foam surround on the subwoofer fails (can be DIY fixed for around $40-50 with online kits to refoam)
Mark Levinson audio amps known to fail (can be repaired by online shops)
Cup holders in console break (easy DIY replacement can be done with new OEM part)
Weather strips on rear door separate near 1/4 glass on rear doors. This is from years of pushing on the to close the rear door. After you replace them push on the metal skin of the door to close it.
Lower control arm bushings dry rot/crack. This is just an age related problem. Not too expensive to DIY replace.
Valve covers leak. This is also an age related problem. The supple rubber seals become hard plastic with age and heat cycles for years. It is kind of a PITA but you can DIY the valve cover gaskets.
On the Ultra Luxury (UL) models the air suspension will eventually fail. Each air strut is $1300+ from discount online dealers. A local Lexus dealer will want nearly $2K per air strut. Many UL owners go to metal springs and delete the air suspension. Parts support for air suspension is probably on the brink of drying up at Toyota.

A good pre-purchase inspector will do the standard make sure everything works, check for leaks, check for body repairs, etc.

Good Luck.

 

If neither motor turns on at all, it's possible the fuse has been pulled. Also, in regards to the parking sensor distance, the owner's manual details it but it does only come in at parking speeds. Front and rear sensors should begin detection around 3' while corner sensors start working at 1.5'.

 

Haven't had to do the tilt motor yet, but the telescoping motor is actually a pretty simple job.

You will likely need to pop off the black trim panel that sits about the pedals on order to have clearance, but the telescoping motor is easy to get to behind the dash. It comes out with two 10mm bolts and an electrical plug... So long as the actual telescoping mechanism isn't broken or damaged, it's not bad at all

 

I have exactly the same problem with the telescoping mech on my '04 which I've just bought. (I've yet to get it reprogrammed.)

I did find this earlier thread, which may be useful. (I'll be taking a closer look at it, that's for sure!)

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...004-ls430.html

Best of luck....

Rich