LS430 2001: Inputs for newbie after test driving LS430

ThePerfectionOfLexus · August 19, 2023

Hi Guys

I finally had the chance to test drive the Lexus LS430 for the first time, which I'm considering buying.
However, I have some observations, I've noticed during the test drive:

1: The RPM gauge was fluctuating a bit at the beginning of the test drive, but seemed to stabilize later on.
What could be the cause for this?
2: The speedo was a bit off with the reading, driving 130 km/h on the speedo, read about 122 km/h on the gps.
I've read, that this is common, and is not an actual problem, however most cars in Denmark are off about 5 km/h and not 8 km/h.
What's your opinion?
3: This one surprised me a bit. I've read, that the gearbox shifts should be unnoticeable/seamless, this was however not the case in my opinion.
Coming from a BMW e38 735i steptronic, I would say the LS430 is as smooth as the BMW in regards of shifting. You can feel the shifts, specially at higher rpm, but not much. Still, I wouldn't call it seamless.
Can anyone chime in, that has moved from e38 to LS430, or simply owns both to compare, if the shifts should be more or less the same between these two cars?

Thanks a lot guys, really appreciate your help.

rgds,

Mario

ColinBarber · August 19, 2023

1 - possibly the throttle body / MAF sensors / fuel injectors need a clean.

2 - Common for Toyota/Lexus - they have the speedo calibrated on the high side of the allowed regulations.

ThePerfectionOfLexus · August 19, 2023

5 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

1 - possibly the throttle body / MAF sensors / fuel injectors need a clean.

2 - Common for Toyota/Lexus - they have the speedo calibrated on the high side of the allowed regulations.

Thanks for the reply.
1: The gauge was fluctuating during driving, there was nothing on idle. I believe, a throttle body/MAF/fuel injectors would give some symptoms during driving as well?
Could it be something electronic, sensor related?

2: Thanks for letting me know, gives a piece of mind.

ColinBarber · August 19, 2023

1 hour ago, ThePerfectionOfLexus said:

The gauge was fluctuating during driving, there was nothing on idle. I believe, a throttle body/MAF/fuel injectors would give some symptoms during driving as well?

On idle there is very little air going passed the almost fully closed throttle body butterfly so symptoms are much worth than when driving. Throttle body clean is certainly where I would start but I'd also check hoses for a small vacuum leak and the coolant temperature sensor has also been known to cause fluctuating idle - but more common on the LS400.

3 - you would be able to feel the shifts under high rpm/engine load but should be very smooth at low rpm. Possibly could do with a transmission fluid change given it's age if it hasn't had one before.

ThePerfectionOfLexus · August 20, 2023

9 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

On idle there is very little air going passed the almost fully closed throttle body butterfly so symptoms are much worth than when driving. Throttle body clean is certainly where I would start but I'd also check hoses for a small vacuum leak and the coolant temperature sensor has also been known to cause fluctuating idle - but more common on the LS400.

3 - you would be able to feel the shifts under high rpm/engine load but should be very smooth at low rpm. Possibly could do with a transmission fluid change given it's age if it hasn't had one before.

Thanks Colin.
Will need to check it out, if I choose to buy the car.

In relation to the shifts. Yes, I would say, that the shifts were more noticeable under higher rpm, from 3k and upwards.
They were smoother in lower rpm, but still noticeable, kind of like butter smooth, just like the BMW.
Maybe I had the wrong impression, that the shifts should be 100% unnoticeable, from all the reading about the LS430.

The car has now reached 230k km, and the tranny fluid was replaced first time around 154k km, according to the owner.
It should still have around 25k km to go, before next fluid service, if the magic number to fluid change is 100k km.

polymoog · August 20, 2023

After my LS430 died I got a Jaguar XF with the 8-speed ZF transmission. I would the say the shifts on this are far less noticeable - often undetectable - than they ever were on my LS430.

The LS shifts were smooth but you definitely could feel them.

ThePerfectionOfLexus · August 20, 2023

1 hour ago, polymoog said:

After my LS430 died I got a Jaguar XF with the 8-speed ZF transmission. I would the say the shifts on this are far less noticeable - often undetectable - than they ever were on my LS430.

The LS shifts were smooth but you definitely could feel them.

Thanks for confirming this. I suppose the tranny is ok on this vehicle then, and gives me a peace of mind.
How is the Jaguar compared to noise, was the LS quieter?

polymoog · August 20, 2023

Mine is an X250 3.0DS. It's mostly quieter than the Lexus in the cruise. Very little wind noise and the engine is doing 1.5K rpm at 70-ish mph. The dominant noise is from the tyres - 20" wheels. On very smooth new tarmac at m-way speeds it's eerily quiet and much quieter than the Lexus. At lower speeds you can hear the engine and here the LS would be quieter. At m-way speeds there's quite some wind noise from the LS which is here it falls down, but the engine is very muted and tyre noise is usually fine. But overall the XF wins.

That said, I really miss my LS430. I loved the interior space and quality, the lovely leather, the whole wafty driving experience. Okay the fuel consumption not so much. But some days I wish I still had it.

ThePerfectionOfLexus · August 26, 2023

On 8/20/2023 at 10:32 PM, polymoog said:

Mine is an X250 3.0DS. It's mostly quieter than the Lexus in the cruise. Very little wind noise and the engine is doing 1.5K rpm at 70-ish mph. The dominant noise is from the tyres - 20" wheels. On very smooth new tarmac at m-way speeds it's eerily quiet and much quieter than the Lexus. At lower speeds you can hear the engine and here the LS would be quieter. At m-way speeds there's quite some wind noise from the LS which is here it falls down, but the engine is very muted and tyre noise is usually fine. But overall the XF wins.

That said, I really miss my LS430. I loved the interior space and quality, the lovely leather, the whole wafty driving experience. Okay the fuel consumption not so much. But some days I wish I still had it.

Well, I happened to buy the car last night, and drove it home for approx. 300 km.
The transmission shifts very smooth in lower RPM, but rougher during acceleration, seems normal to me.

Some other things came to my mind on the way home.

1: The RPM gauge isn't actually fluctuating as previously mentioned, but it kind of bounces when letting of the gas, on it's way down from 3k rpm and above. Seems to be normal according to some other threads/only the needle itself, due to not being able to keep up with the quick shifts. Although I've never experienced this with other cars.

Can anyone confirm, if this actually is a "feature" on the LS430?

2: Am I supposed to feel any difference when changing the 3 possible modes:

Suspension = Sport/Norm
Height = High/Norm, tested setting this to High activated the air compressor. I didn't test anything further, just switched back to Norm.
ECT = Pwr/Snow, tested this last night, couldn't really feel any difference.

Malc1 · August 26, 2023

48 minutes ago, ThePerfectionOfLexus said:

ECT = Pwr/Snow, tested this last night, couldn't really feel any difference.

On my old and ancient Ls400s I always drive in PWR mode as it seems to strangely make for better mpg ...... not sure I can feel any difference to power, acceleration whatever tho' .. maybe that's just so subtle !

Malc

steve2006 · August 26, 2023

Suspension = Sport/Norm
Sport stiffens the suspension damping so should reduce body roll during cornering
Height = High/Norm, tested setting this to High activated the air compressor. I didn't test anything further, just switched back to Norm.
You should see the car lift higher when switched to high and lower back down in normal mode, check all 4 corners do this and wheel arch gaps are equal both sides. Compressor should kick in when going to high, hissing noise as air is released going back to normal.
ECT = Pwr/Snow, tested this last night, couldn't really feel any difference.
Basically transmission moves off in 2nd gear in snow mode to help prevent wheel spin.

The car you have purchased appears to be a pre facelift model so a 5 speed transmission, the facelift ( 2004- on) models has the 6 speed sequential transmissions which mine has and is ultra smooth on shifting.

From looking at your picture of the car I hope you have now moved it, taxiways are only for aircraft movements not Lexus parking 😀

DomTurner · August 26, 2023

2 hours ago, ThePerfectionOfLexus said:

ECT = Pwr/Snow, tested this last night, couldn't really feel any difference.

In my facelift (6-speed) PWR mode will increase the throttle response quite a bit and it will stay in a lower gear for longer. I have also noticed that in more "spirited" driving it will also downshift for you under heavy braking - when ECT is in it's normal mode the car will not downshift under braking unless you are going down a hill, at least from my experience.

ambermarine · August 27, 2023

The ect power is there for safe overtaking when you floor the pedal in normal drive it will change up the gears after initial kickdown .When you floor the pedal in ect pwer it will down shift but stay in that gear so as not to lose forward impetus whilst overtaking or similar manouveres.

Malc1 · August 27, 2023

This seems all very very subtle manouevering to weak to a very sensitive driver the immense power the V8 gives in sometimes oddball ( but quite normal ) driving

I'm not at all sure that I would, in the moment, find myself thinking about flicking that switch whilst my mind is concentrating on some instant and maybe unexpected driving situation occurring

Maybe that's why I leave mine ( in my Ls400s ) in PWR mode permanently ...... and the mpg seems better too !

Malc

DomTurner · August 27, 2023

3 hours ago, ambermarine said:

The ect power is there for safe overtaking when you floor the pedal in normal drive it will change up the gears after initial kickdown .When you floor the pedal in ect pwer it will down shift but stay in that gear so as not to lose forward impetus whilst overtaking or similar manouveres.

I find myself using the "manual" mode to lock it into a lower gear, usually 3rd, if I am preparing to overtake.

ambermarine · August 27, 2023

1 hour ago, DomTurner said:

I find myself using the "manual" mode to lock it into a lower gear, usually 3rd, if I am preparing to overtake.

The ect pwr button is there for that purpose as stated in the owners manual.

DomTurner · August 27, 2023

2 hours ago, ambermarine said:

The ect pwr button is there for that purpose as stated in the owners manual.

Yep, but I'd prefer to know what gear I am in and I would rather not have to wait for it to kick-down. Also I find that if it does decide to kick-down, it can shift into 2nd with only say 500-1000 RPMs until the redline so it'd be faster to keep it in 3rd and use the lower end torque of the engine without the gearbox having to shift twice. The added bonus of the engine braking in 3rd is nice if you happen to step north of the speed limit.

ThePerfectionOfLexus · August 27, 2023

On 8/26/2023 at 1:09 PM, steve2006 said:

Suspension = Sport/Norm

Sport stiffens the suspension damping so should reduce body roll during cornering

Height = High/Norm, tested setting this to High activated the air compressor. I didn't test anything further, just switched back to Norm.
You should see the car lift higher when switched to high and lower back down in normal mode, check all 4 corners do this and wheel arch gaps are equal both sides. Compressor should kick in when going to high, hissing noise as air is released going back to normal.

ECT = Pwr/Snow, tested this last night, couldn't really feel any difference.

Basically transmission moves off in 2nd gear in snow mode to help prevent wheel spin.

The car you have purchased appears to be a pre facelift model so a 5 speed transmission, the facelift ( 2004- on) models has the 6 speed sequential transmissions which mine has and is ultra smooth on shifting.

From looking at your picture of the car I hope you have now moved it, taxiways are only for aircraft movements not Lexus parking 😀

Thanks. What you've mentioned, works as expected.

Yes, it's a pre-facelift 2001 model.
Don't worry, the car has been moved long ago. That picture is taken directly from the sellers ad 😀.

steve2006 · August 28, 2023

18 hours ago, DomTurner said:

Yep, but I'd prefer to know what gear I am in and I would rather not have to wait for it to kick-down. Also I find that if it does decide to kick-down, it can shift into 2nd with only say 500-1000 RPMs until the redline so it'd be faster to keep it in 3rd and use the lower end torque of the engine without the gearbox having to shift twice. The added bonus of the engine braking in 3rd is nice if you happen to step north of the speed limit.

The post facelift with the 6 speed does display the selected gear on the dash when in sequential mode, no paddle shift however just push and pull the selector lever for up/down shifts.

The pre facelift models used the 5 speed from the previous LS400 model I believe.

BigBoomer · August 29, 2023

You are all forgetting that the LS was designed as a chauffeur driven LIMO. 😁
Most of the time the air suspension and engine management is in wafty mode.

Normal ECT is designed to give you smoother shifts and not to change gear more often than necessary.

Power ECT is for speed freaks like me and Malc.
It raises the shift point in each gear and sharpens throttle response a bit, but only really noticeable when you push it HARD.

Snow ECT pulls away in 2nd and also disables the ABS below 20Mph. It's designed to reduce wheelspin and enhance stability and control.

Sport stiffens the damping in the air struts. Again, you will only feel a difference if you push it HARD into corners.

High Height raises the car 2.5cm in all 4 corners. If you leave it in High, the car lowers itself to normal when you hit 40mph for more than a few secs.
The air suspension also lowers itself a further 1cm when at sustained speeds of over 55Mph to improve fuel economy by reducing drag.
High also increases the damping to reduce roll. High is intended for rough road use.

If you really want to feel the differences legally, take your LS to a track day and learn to throw her around.
Yes, you will get passed by most of the others there but quite a few (including you) will be surprised at how well the behemoth corners when pushed in Power/Sport/Normal-height mode.
You will also learn that the VSC and Traction control (that will both save your bacon during incidents on the road!) are a PITA on a Track Day. 🤣

ThePerfectionOfLexus · September 2, 2023

Thanks for all the input guys, appreciate it.
I've had the Lex for a week now.

One thing I've noticed. Despite being in Power ECT mode, the engine doesn't seem to rev above 6k RPM at kickdown and full throttle. Isn't it suppose to reach approx 6.500 RPM or even around 7k, please check my video below?

DomTurner · September 2, 2023

2 hours ago, ThePerfectionOfLexus said:

One thing I've noticed. Despite being in Power ECT mode, the engine doesn't seem to rev above 6k RPM at kickdown and full throttle. Isn't it suppose to reach approx 6.500 RPM or even around 7k, please check my video below?

My facelift 430 will not exceed 6,000 RPM under full acceleration either. That video looks completely normal to me other than the bouncing gauge needles, which I think is a common issue on the pre-facelift.

ThePerfectionOfLexus · September 2, 2023

28 minutes ago, DomTurner said:

My facelift 430 will not exceed 6,000 RPM under full acceleration either. That video looks completely normal to me other than the bouncing gauge needles, which I think is a common issue on the pre-facelift.

Thanks for confirming that, Dom.
Yes, my RPM gauge is bouncing, seems normal on pre-facelift. Don't know, if there's actually a fix for it?

Malc1 · September 2, 2023

The “fix” is to drive more rationally methinks !

Malc 🥲

Tulpen · September 2, 2023

33 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

The “fix” is to drive more rationally methinks !

Malc 🥲

Exactly, Malc. The LS was never designed to be driven like a Golf GTI......these are classy ladies. In my 26 years of LS ownership, I have never needed to use max revs. A gentle squeeze of the throttle, coupled with that wonderful V8, is more than sufficient.