Andy's LS430 II: Return of Alexa

DruLS · January 25, 2020

So if you've been following my previous thread, you'll be aware that I unfortunately totalled my last LS after a few months of ownership, just after getting it all perfect. Well I'm glad to say I'm back in another LS430 and boy does it feel good to be home. So here she is in Black Cherry Pearl (looks less brown when the sun is actually out!)

98k with FSH. All Lexus dealers except for the last one which was independent. A few little issues as you'd expect, but nothing I can't take care of. The paint is in mostly great condition for it's age, and the undercarriage is much cleaner then my last one. And the alloys are mint.

The steering column adjustment is broken, but who's isn't. The passenger seatbelt doesn't move up or down. I don't think the AC works like my last one. And it needs a cam belt service. That's about it really. It drives really well.

Of course 3 miles after buying it this happened:

But knowing these cars I'm not too worried.

So I've just placed a massive order with Lexus Parts Direct. She's getting a full service, all new fluids, gearbox flush, diff oil change, new Battery, new belts etc. Also ordered a full set of discs and pads but went with Pagid instead of OEM. I've used them in all my cars and liked them, my last LS had them and ECP had a 50% discount.

Holding off on any LPG conversion for now. Due to change jobs soon so my commute might be less and make it not worth it but we'll see.

fred81 · January 26, 2020

lovely! do you have techstream? if not give me a shout, i'd be happy for you to borrow my dongle/cable and the required software

DruLS · January 26, 2020

13 minutes ago, fred81 said:

lovely! do you have techstream? if not give me a shout, i'd be happy for you to borrow my dongle/cable and the required software

Yeah I have a TechStream just haven't scanned it yet, thanks for the offer though 😊It's running perfectly so I doubt it's anything serious.

The-Acre · January 26, 2020

My all time favourite colour, looks fantastic!

DruLS · January 26, 2020

Didn't have time to set up TechStream but I did plug in my Carista dongle and got these codes.

So looks like a possible O2 sensor issue. To be fair I had these codes on my last car and it was down to an exhaust leak. I don't hear a leak but I best check before I start throwing money at it. I've cleared the codes for now so we'll see how it goes.

DruLS · January 31, 2020

Well what a workout that was getting all this in here.

So here's most of the stuff I've ordered for now.

So we've got :

6 litres of engine oil
10 litres of ATF
2 litres of gear oil (for the diff)
10 litres of coolant
Some new brake fluid
No power steering fluid (I forgot)
Spark plugs
Serpentine belt
Oil filter
Air filter
Pollen filter
A new Battery
Pagid discs & pads all round
Handheld pump (for ATF flush)
Turkey baster (not for cooking)
Various washers for the gearbox and diff
and finally some grease and gloves

Another big thank you to Daniel from Lexus Parts Direct for getting everything I needed out to me so quickly. If you're not using them yet you should. Remember they're a full dealership and so can sell any parts Lexus have in stock - if it's not on the site, just message them. They were very helpful for finding little things like specific crush washers and interior trim.

I need to redo all the work I did on my last one in preparation for the big European road trip I'll be taking in the summer.

I've still got a few parts waiting to arrive, from the USA to the UAE!

I'll be seeing my old car soon to pick some bits off it. The exhaust system is definitely going on as it's brand new and sounded fantastic. The LPG kit is going to be refitted with new plumbing and what-not only once it's been tested to ensure it's still safe.

I'll also be getting the new radiator, AC condenser and oil cooler as they're all intact 🙂

Got my new plates in, I'm going with a 12x6 plate (US size) because I personally think these cars look better with this size plate. I couldn't do it in the last one because some numpty used self-tapping screws on the boot, right on the ends of a UK sized plate.

cruisermark · February 1, 2020

Looking good andy.

I think I remember seeing this - was it in Bradford?

DruLS · February 1, 2020

10 hours ago, cruisermark said:

I think I remember seeing this - was it in Bradford?

Yes, that's the one 🙂

DruLS · February 7, 2020

Hey everyone, I have a couple little issues with the new LS I was hoping somebody could help me with. I'm not sure if the two issues are related or not.

First of all, one of the rear doors is deadlocked and cannot be opened from the inside or out. All other electronics in that door work, electric windows, speakers, outside lock button etc. It's intermittent, I can occasionally get it to unlock but most of the time it's locked and I'll need that fixed before the MOT. I'm guessing it's the door module, I've had MK4 Golfs and Boras and anybody familiar with those will know that's a common issue.

The second issue I'm having is that while driving, or anytime the car is just on the doors will lock. After that they'll keep trying to lock randomly while I'm driving as if somebody is pressing the lock button. I took the Battery out of my key to rule out a faulty key but that's not it. Unsure if it's related to the door issue but has anybody come across this before? Not only is it annoying listening to it, but as I have only 1 key at the moment I'm afraid one day I'll lock myself out. I deiced my car this morning, luckily remembered to wind the window down. Good job I did because by the time I had finished the car had locked itself.

DruLS · February 13, 2020

I know it's a bit of a Marmite thing, but my Gold emblems arrived today (all the way from the UAE). Personally I think the Gold looks good on some colours. I never would have done this to my silver one, but I think it might look good against this colour. I guess we'll see when I get round to putting them on.

DruLS · February 17, 2020

Well, further improvements are going to have to take a back seat. Hit a pothole the other day. Car made some noise but didn't think it was that bad until it got very loud. Turns out one of the wheel studs broke off and it's caused absolute carnage. Ruined an entire corner of the car, brakes, handbrake shoes, backing plate, handbrake cables. It's in the garage now and it's been there a few days. Awaiting a big bill, and I've had to hire a car in the meantime. I'm not having luck with Lexus like you guys are. Might forget about it and buy a Clio or a Corsa like everyone else 🤣

steve2006 · February 18, 2020

23 hours ago, DruLS said:

Well, further improvements are going to have to take a back seat. Hit a pothole the other day. Car made some noise but didn't think it was that bad until it got very loud. Turns out one of the wheel studs broke off and it's caused absolute carnage. Ruined an entire corner of the car, brakes, handbrake shoes, backing plate, handbrake cables. It's in the garage now and it's been there a few days. Awaiting a big bill, and I've had to hire a car in the meantime. I'm not having luck with Lexus like you guys are. Might forget about it and buy a Clio or a Corsa like everyone else 🤣

With pot hole damage the camera would be straight out and a claim to the local council submitted for the total repair costs!

With regard to your earlier post regarding the door lock problem and the auto lock activating it will 99% be the motor having failed in the door lock actuator (I had the exact same symptoms on my rear door some years ago).

You can buy replacement motors from eBay sellers and replace it for a few pounds, the rear doors are easier to remove the lock than the fronts.

Door lock removal

steve2006 · February 18, 2020

Motor replacement

DruLS · February 18, 2020

Thanks for the tips guys, I’ll get on that!

In regards to claiming for damages, I was hopelessly lost without a phone so this one is on me unfortunately 🙁

genius149 · February 19, 2020

Unless the council have filled the pothole in, I imagine you can go back and take a photo of it - unless it's on a busy dual carriage-way of course.

DruLS · February 20, 2020

On 2/19/2020 at 12:27 AM, genius149 said:

Unless the council have filled the pothole in, I imagine you can go back and take a photo of it - unless it's on a busy dual carriage-way of course.

I was so lost I don’t even know what town I was in. I couldn’t find that spot again if I wanted to, and haven’t put my dash cam in yet so I’ll just have to eat this one. Real shame.

DruLS · February 21, 2020

Good lord we're not off to a great start with this car. It's taken a week for the garage to fix the mess that pothole caused. The last estimate I got was close to £1000. It would have been more, but luckily my mechanic managed to repair the backing plate. Apparently Lexus wanted about £350 for a new one. I was due to collect it tonight, but got the news that the calliper was seized and would need replacing. Hopefully it should be ready to collect tomorrow, but it looks like I'll be eating beans on toast for a while 😂. To top it off, after receiving this news the post man arrived with a speeding ticket for me. Nobody to blame but myself, but still annoying. Fingers crossed I can go on a speed awareness course.

On the upside I did get some goodies today. My front plate mount arrived from the US as I want to run 12x6 number plates. Apparently this is one of 3 that was available in the US in this colour.

I also got some parts from the crashed Lexus. The man who bought it only wanted the engine, so we came to an agreement I can take some parts I need from it. I have the custom exhaust I had made, along with the cats as the flange was modified and so this won't line up with stock ones. A little bit of polish and she'll be as good as new. Unfortunately the exhaust is one piece, so I need to decide if I should try to fit this myself or get a shop to do it. I would have just paid somebody to do it if I could separate the sections and fit it in the car, but I'd have to rent a van just to transport the thing.

I also got the intake manifold along with the front end of the LPG system (injectors, ecu etc).

I will be taking a visit to the old girl soon to take the rest of the LPG kit out, along with a few other parts such as the radiator, ac condenser, trans cooler and a few other little bits and pieces.

The-Acre · February 21, 2020

Well let's hope everything goes well from now on! So do you know which parts have been replaced after your pothole encounter?

DruLS · February 21, 2020

Just now, The-Acre said:

Well let's hope everything goes well from now on! So do you know which parts have been replaced after your pothole encounter?

From what I understand, the rear disks and pads (luckily I had already bought a set), the handbrake shoes and all the associated hardware, handbrake cables, wheel studs, a new calliper and god knows what else. Basically if there was a part in that corner of the car, it was broken.

DruLS · February 22, 2020

Just shy of £1200 in total for all the repairs. She drives great now, but if anybody would care to feed me for the next month or so that would be greatly appreciated 😂

DruLS · March 7, 2020

Another turn for the worse. The previous owner has put a Battery in, appears to be the wrong size. Wasn't tied down, protective covers on the Battery were not on. Car was acting really weird electrically, all the electrics going haywire and shutting off while driving. Didn't know what it was until I saw a burn mark in the paint on the bonnet. It's been shorting against the bonnet and has melted (although not blown) the main 140amp fuse. I have a new genuine Battery and a used fuse box I'm swapping in today. Hopefully that fixes it and this hasn't caused any other damaged anywhere. Luckily the car seems to run fine for the most part now it's not shorting. It still looses electrical power sometimes for a moment, but I'm guessing this half blown fuse can't handle the current the car needs. Fingers cross I can fix it today, wish me luck.

DruLS · March 7, 2020

This is why some people shouldn't work on their own cars. Not only had this fuse already blown, but instead of replacing it they simply stuck a big piece of metal in there. I was wondering why the replacement looked so thin in comparison. This was a disaster waiting to happen. I got off lucky, fixed everything and the car seems to be working fine now with no issues. Fingers crossed it stays that way.

The-Acre · March 7, 2020

Wow, you were lucky!

DruLS · March 7, 2020

7 minutes ago, The-Acre said:

Wow, you were lucky!

Absolutely. Would have been just my luck to loose another car! Luckily I can't see any other damage to the wiring, alternator and stuff seems to be working fine. I left it running with everything electrical on (which usually caused the car to loose power) and so far it's been fine. So fingers crossed I escaped any serious damage.

DruLS · March 27, 2020

Not much of an update as I've been stuck inside due to the virus, but this week was my last week working due to redundancy so I'll have some time on my hands until my next job to get everything in order. Car got an oil change and a new air filter before it started getting too cold. Also got my new Battery tie down installed so fingers crossed there should be no more electrical nightmares. Hopefully the weather keeps up this weekend so I can finish the rest off. Hope everyone is staying safe at the moment!