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Took advantage of the nice weather and gave the car a good detail over the weekend which consists of. - Snow foam then wash - Iron X - Power rinse - Clay Bar - Wash and dry - Polish - Wax Also cleaned and treated the leather and polished up the tail pipes. Only managed to take some photos today, the car is very dusty by now. Excuse the parking, I did move the car back into space after taking the photos. And one with my other toy

It strikes me that our cars have been unfairly tagged with the extremely competent but soulless name for too long, almost damning with faint praise. I of actually think the ls400 is dripping with personality, the problem has been that is is personality from a culture we don't live in, so it's personality sneaked under the radar. Think about it's main attributes....space and quietness, serenity, inner peace....if you were a Japanese car designer designing the best car in the world, what two characteristics would you make sure your car had?....the two any executive in Tokyo or any bustling city screams out for...space, and serenity. Space is at a huge premium in Japanese cities, as is peacefulness. If the car is to be a true luxury car it must relax its inhabitants, protect them from their normal environment, allow them to breath out, relax....we never really got that over here because space is available to all...to the Japanese businessman leaving a crowded building, walking through the crowded streets with car horns and voices going, the lexus must have seemed like a welcome Sensory deprivation cocoon....the engine whispers even under load and the cars performance is as powerful as any heavyweight judoka....it just has manners, doesn't shout about it.... The Japanese have a fascination for mechanical integrity we just didn't have when the lexus came out. A luxury car for us was a beautiful looking jag with ford switchgear or an overly ostentatious rolls Royce that had been living off a hundred year reputation for an excellence it no longer really provided. Neither were overly concerned with ergonomics nor did either give a damn about the feel, the operation of their switches, buttons etc. Japanese culture puts things like this above traditional looks etc, which we will come to next. Japanese luxury cars through the ages have not been beautiful, they have been big, square rigged cars with big, sometimes ostentatious grilles....they took this idea to its zenith with the ls400... I bet out of all the countries it was sold in, it stuck out and commanded most respect from its looks in it's home country. Designed to be non fussy, designed not to stand out, but with that Japanese love of a look at me grille minimised so the lexus did not look like a caricature of a saloon car but a cohesive, obsessive design. We like our luxury cars to shout look at me. The Japanese like them to be excellent, aesthetics has always come second. I would argue they nailed both with the ls, it's not till you live with one you appreciate what a master class of design it is....vast yet perfectly proportioned....much lower than you think, very aerodynamic whilst keeping those traditional Japanese attributes, it's built in spoiler/boot lid lip being a case in point.... I bet the Japanese thought the ls400 was a huge car with a huge personality....THEIR personality....it drips Japanese culture, it's personality is steeped in a tactile integrity that can be sensed by all who drive or, are lucky enough to own one....just as a jag, or a Bristol can be said to represent English culture, and just as both until recently, had almost become a pastiche, a caricature of said culture, the lexus ls400 represents Japanese culture and personality to a tee...and lexus has continued to do that with their options without becoming a caricature... No personality?....my cars loaded with it...

For me personally....£79 a month is great for my peace of mind. I know they are supposed to be bullet proof cars but IF something went wrong we could be talking serious money.

I'm tempted to keep the money in the bank. I have another car if it breaks down. Famous last words maybe. Life is such a gamble eh?

BCM (Body Control Module) part number 89211-30020? All parts from models built between 01/2005 to 08/2007 should be compatible. One of my Celsiors has a UK spec engine ECU fitted JDM ends in 50 and UK in 60 but it works.

Hello and welcome to the LOC. The engines on these cars have had quite a few serious problems resulting in Lexus extending the warranty period if the car has a FLSH. Ask your garage to check the oil and coolant for signs of head gasket failure while it is there. A common problem with poor response is a well clogged EGR valve which is fairly easy to access and clean, there is even a video tutorial on Youtube.

yes - if they put all the info in there it would save them alot of hassle aswell taking calls and repeating same info over and over again

When buying these cars, I would only ever pay top money if it is in full working order and it has a very thorough service history (preferably Lexus dealer) I have been reading from some enthusiasts about the value of LS400s being on the up and whilst I think they are amazing cars and far better than the German equivalents, I think it's unrealistic to expect these to increase in value. But good ones and low mileage ones are certainly in good demand right now. I recently purchased an LS430 which is over 10 years old but it's only got 44k miles on the clock - the previous and only owner used it mainly as a weekend car

Mine says I'm your BOSS ........YOU'RE FIRED :) :) :)

the clicking is the solenoid activating. Looking at the repair manual it seems the solenoid and control unit are combined in one unit. If it isn't just a case of it being stuck which can be freed then be prepared for a large bill, with labour it could be a two or three hundred pounds to fix at a dealer.