Besides for a few trips to the store, and taking the Lexus to get the new rims last Thursday and proper lug nuts today, I’ve been stuck in my office watching stocks. I have 4 screen monitors 3 displaying stocks and one on Club Lexus…I am trading a stock in 4 world markets so hence it never stops trading and I have to watch it 24/7…so as I sit here un-showered un-shaved…I read deeper and deeper into club Lexus archives. My SC400 is approaching 120K miles, I have had this car since last march and I have put over 30K miles on it. All highway, long distance trips 300 mile long trips in one clip.
The car has been serviced at the Lexus dealership since day one, but my last two service visits have been very disappointing, thus I am panicking about the upcoming 120K service. No more trips to Bobby Rahal lexus in PA for me.

The car right now runs great, my father a nuclear engineer, has a 1986 Toyota van, it is nearing 500K miles, it starts better than most new cars on the road today. He also has a 1978 Opel Manta, remember those? Again runs better than most new cars today. Plus he has his new cars, a 99’ 7 series and a 00’ S420.
None of his cars have ever seen the hands of a mechanic, NEVER, all work is done in his home garage. But then again he drives all of his like they are worth a million dollars, another reason why they last so long.
Again im wandering from my point, maybe I don’t even have a point, but hey I got time so ill just keep writing and you pick and choose what you want to reply to.
I sit here all day reading horror stories about motor mounts breaking and bushing’s wearing out and needle lights going out, and so forth and so on. None of those things have happened to my car as yet. I do know that the power steering pump is ready to go.
Every time I call my dad and tell him about maintenance schedules and stuff like that he just laughs, i guess he has the don’t fix it until it breaks mentality.
I guess my issue is, at the rate that I drive , is all this maintenance required? The old adage of the more you drive the cars the better they are, is true. My neighbor has a 348ts drives it every day, no problems ever, the guy down the street has a new 360 Modena, he was over the other day telling me how many things have gone wrong with it in the past year. I think I’ve seen it out of his garage once. Even on my NSX, It has 8900 miles on it, that’s in two years, already the pop up lights have broken twice, there was a coolant leak, and some other crap, I don’t have to worry much about that car, it’s a lease and everything is covered. I have a special attachment to my Lexus I guess, I’m more of a SC enthusiast now! The more I read the more paranoid I become…while driving, “you hear that squeak?” “is the alignment off, oh no maybe a bushing just went bad” “what’s that thump, crap.. maybe I need new motor mounts now”

Are you guys as **** as I am about your cars, or should I seek professional help?

 

i'm in the same sinking ship as you bro,i'm just as much as a hypochondriac as yourself when it comes down to repairing and maintenance w/ this car. sometimes i find myself doing unecessary repairs to avoid future problems or servicing my car ahead of time,but one thing is for sure(for peace of mind)..........it can't hurt!.....can it? only in the pocket...........

 

Highway miles are very easy on cars, so your car may not need every maintenance item specified on the recommended 120K service. Those service items you mention (bushings, needles, mounts, PS pump) are not PM (preventive maintenance) items, anyway, so you really have nothing to sweat until you notice signs of them failing.

Of course you see posts of these items failing - hardly anyone is gonna write in and say "another month has gone by and my SC's bushings, needles, mounts and PS pump are still working fine!"

But if they did, the "working fine" posts would vastly outnumber the "it's broke" posts- so you can take some comfort in that.

 

another month gone by, and the SC is running fine!

 

Believe me, I am just as ****. I actually LOOK forward to the time I can change my oil with the next 5 qts. of Mobil 1 Synthetic.

 

I feel the same way. I never just do an oil change but do a flush and change. I drive 3000 miles or so every month so I'm in the oil change place every month. I also do a complete fluid swap every 9 months. radiator, differencial, complete tranny, engine, injector, fuel system, full engine detail, under chasisclearning and weatherproofing. every 12 months are wires, plugs, rotors, caps, all the filters, full fuse swapout, and go to the dealer for a 128 point check. Then I turn to my fiance and tell her how reliable of a car a lexus is and she tells me I could have bought a new hyundai every year with the money I spend on maintenance + upgrades... then I turn to her and say "hyundai aint no lexus"
Like I say, if you don't maintain your car, don't even bother upgrading.