LS430 telescopic steering does not function

[Ray Barratt]

Hi All. Just acquired my first LS430 and I love it 🙂 The only niggle is the electric telescopic steering does not function at all. I can’t hear any attempt of the motors trying to engage so I am not sure why this function would be disabled but how do I check this ?

[Malc]

11 hours ago, Ray Barratt said:

not sure why this function would be disabled

Ray hi, welcome to the Club  .........  searching many posts on here will explain that it's not disabled, it's probably just kaput sadly

It's quite an expensive fix if you can't live with it's " dead " position .....  rake up and down and telescopic, in and out 

another owner on here with a Ls430 will hopefully engage in this chat and explain something better and more useful from his own experiences

Best wishes whatever with the outcomes 

,,,,,,,,,,,,,if you bought the car from a garage or a trader then straight back there for it to be fixed methinks

Malc

[steve2006]

Hi Ray and welcome to the LOC.

As Malc has mentioned this is a fairly common problem and is due to the motors failing internally.

Replacements from Lexus are very expensive at over £400.00 EACH although working secondhand ones appear occasionally on fleabay.

Amayama.com will supply them for around £180.00 each including shipping plus VAT.

Replacement also involves a strip down of the steering column which is DIYable with moderate mechanical skills or a good 2 hours garage labour.

A lot of owners have manually positioned the steering wheel to their liking by turning the motor drive shafts then disconnected the motors electrically which may be the case with yours. 

[Herbie]

Just for general interest, here is the disassembly of a late model Lexus steering column. I don't think the video mentions which model or year of car it's from but what an absolute marvel of engineering!

 

 

[mikey2001]

41 minutes ago, Herbie said:

Just for general interest, here is the disassembly of a late model Lexus steering column. I don't think the video mentions which model or year of car it's from but what an absolute marvel of engineering!

 

Great video! Someone in the YouTube comments apparently looked up the Denso/Lexus part numbers, and said it appeared to be from a RX350/450h.

[Ray Barratt]

Well guys I suspected it would be a lot more than a simple fix .... Fortunately the column is in a position that suits me just fine so no doubt this is a job that will not get done any time soon. My son who works for a Toyota dealer advises that the motors are available as a Landcruiser item as they use the same ones and under Toyota are less expensive that their Lexus counterparts. Great response from like minded Lexus members and I look forward to learning all about its benefits in due course 😁

[hockeyedwards]

2 hours ago, Ray Barratt said:

Well guys I suspected it would be a lot more than a simple fix .... Fortunately the column is in a position that suits me just fine so no doubt this is a job that will not get done any time soon. My son who works for a Toyota dealer advises that the motors are available as a Landcruiser item as they use the same ones and under Toyota are less expensive that their Lexus counterparts. Great response from like minded Lexus members and I look forward to learning all about its benefits in due course 😁

This is the game I play, find part number and search across Toyota to find a car that shares it, think I enjoy it a bit too much...

[Ray Barratt]

Hi Kieran. I will be utilising my son’s position at Toyota a lot to do exactly that 😁👍

[steve2006]

Living in Derbyshire with the Toyota factory nearby I know many people who work there ( or at RR) and in the past have asked if they can get parts cheap....the answer always being no.

Got me thinking and I remembered this Johnny Cash song, I wonder if this has ever happened?

 

[Herbie]

I don't know about a full car but I do know two separate people (who didn't know each other but one of them was my own dad) from two separate companies who gave their respective apprentices a 'project' to do.

The apprentices were given the plans and drawings to build a boat trailer. Both sets of apprentices were marked on the respective projects when completed, then my dad hooked it up to his car and drove it straight out past the gatehouse security guards, as did the other guy at the other company.

I don't know about the other guy but my dad had his boat and trailer for about 15 years before it became too much for him due to ill-health.