Ls400 air suspension . Reliable ?

Tiagospies87 · August 6, 2022

Hi there I’m looking a 1999 ls400 with 50k miles . The car have the air suspension option , it’s working on for now but I’m a little scared about it in the future , I’ve been looking online for parts and it’s very expensive . How long should inspect it to last ?

It’s there aftermarket options for the air struts ? Quality conversion kits available ?

thanks in advance !

Malc · August 6, 2022

welcome to the Forum tiago . someone with knowledge of air struts on a Ls400 will come to your assistance quite soon . it's quite rare and unusual

I've always had conventional set-ups and the springs do sometimes crack and need replacing

Air sometimes causes issues and can be expensive to fix but at 50k miles, well, that's a very low mileage for a Ls400 BUT at 24 years old who knows what age related issues can appear " out of the blue "

someone will be along soon I'm sure to give you sound advice

Best wishes

Malc

Tiagospies87 · August 6, 2022

Thank you ! I’ve been fallowing the forum for a while jeje

That’s what I thought . 20 something years for rubber even Toyota rubber it’s a long time !

On the other hand . I don’t know how good is Toyota supplying parts for older cars call it classics maybe . I have a lot of experience with bmw and Mercedes’ in this area and so far so good ( I also own a e34 m5 3.8 )

43 minutes ago, Malc said:

welcome to the Forum tiago . someone with knowledge of air struts on a Ls400 will come to your assistance quite soon . it's quite rare and unusual

I've always had conventional set-ups and the springs do sometimes crack and need replacing

Air sometimes causes issues and can be expensive to fix but at 50k miles, well, that's a very low mileage for a Ls400 BUT at 24 years old who knows what age related issues can appear " out of the blue "

someone will be along soon I'm sure to give you sound advice

Best wishes

Malc

Malc · August 6, 2022

there's a few useful suppliers mentioned here .......... LexusPartsDirect and Amayama and Rockauto each of which delivers OK within and to the UK........ if you can't get the parts from Lexus itself ........... the other suppliers are often with OEM product, often with Toyota stamped on the parts themselves .... these are good suppliers and keen pricing too, often much better value than from the Main Dealer

other products are BluePrint but whilst many buy these my own experience has been a bit naff over the years .......... I've owned and run a Ls400 ( my 3rd ) now for over 20 years and this one has done 240k miles coming up and I've had her 11 years from 123k miles about ... and I bought her from a member on here at the time too :thumbsup:

An Ls400 can be a brilliant car to run and to own with good and regular servicing and some preventative care too over the years ..... immensely reliable and comfortable, safe and economic to keep going .... mine's on E5 fuel, not sure if the 1998 model can use E10 tho'

Others here with air struts and a Mk4 98 car will be here soon to welcome you I'm sure

Where are you based btw ?

Malc

steve2006 · August 6, 2022

Hi Tiago and welcome to the LOC.

Air suspension tends to give little warning of imminent failure, maybe dropping on one side overnight is the first time you know there may be a problem.

Starting the car will generally pump the suspension back up to normal height and this could continue for months in this state but eventually the air strut will fail.

Any suspension issues however tend not to leave you completely stranded the car will remain drive able with care and get you home.

Parts are now becoming obsolete from Toyota and remain expensive ( over £1000.00 typically for a new air strut if still available) and if one does fail others may follow.

Conversion to coil springs is a popular option with kits costing around £1200 to £1500 but you will of course loose that air suspension magic carpet ride quality.

Air suspension was generally only fitted on Japanese market models.