Leaderboard

I have posted this potential defect description on the "rattles" topic, but I think it's a good idea to start a new topic. The problem is as follows: Just a few days after I've changed my tires for winter ones, I found strange sound and intensive vibration when I'm cruising with a constant speed, about 90 kmph and when an engine is running low, on about 1200-1400 rmps. I don't know, why this effect wasn't appearing on the summer tires. Before changing tires, I met some guy with his IS300h, and he was telling me, that car is great, but when he changed tires to winter ones, the car drives completely different, that he feels like riding on a bad made tarmac. When I meet him, I was on summer tires, so it was clear to me that he has got bad tires, but I have now different tires than he had, and I have the same vibration. Update: On this Saturday I was in the Lexus Service and the service mechanic heard and feels this sound and vibration from the first seconds. Then we checked other IS 300h ("demo car") from the salon on another winter tires. Definitely,the same vibrations and sound are present, happens on the same speed and rpms. My service center wants to check if there are any other records of this issue on Toyota. I'll inform you about any update. Dominik.

Kids are well known for that phrase of course, but I can totally relate to them all at the moment: I ordered my first Lexus on Monday - an (ex-demo - can't afford/justify brand new this time, at least) IS300h Executive and am picking it up tomorrow morning. Can't wait. Only one more sleep to go . . .

Hugh To further illustrate how far ahead of the opposition the LS400 was in the 1990s here is another two firsts. It was the first production car with factory fitted on board GPS navigation and the first V8 engine with VVT-i.

Jaques, I use 5W/30 fully synthetic and change it every 7,500 miles. Being fully synthetic it could last quite a bit longer but I like the thought of 'good' oil being in there all the time. I also use a Mahle or Toyota oil filter. As to tranny fluid, Toyota type IV, Mobil 3309 or Comma ASW 3309 are the recommended oils. All three are to the exact same spec. When you change the tranny fluid only a fraction over 2 litres will actually drain out. You have to do multiple drains to change all the fluid.

Diff oil changed and "clunk" is gone!

Jaques, welcome to the forum. Just to let you know only U.S.spec LS 400's are OBD2 compliant, ours are OBD1 even though there is an OBD2 type port under the dash. Daft I know, but there it is. To read codes you have to 'jumper' either the OBD port under the dash (it is easily accessible) or the black oblong looking port near the fuse box.(has a flip up lid). You can use a paperclip to do it and you read off the number of coded flashes on the dashboard. As to a technician being killed by LPG (explosion?) I simply don't believe that story, sorry. I've never ever heard of anyone being killed by LPG. They are making excuses. If you are prepared to travel a bit, I would thoroughly recommend a small independent Jap car specialists called Japex. They are in Kings Langley near Hemel Hemstead. Best garage I have ever used. They know LS400's inside out and are happy to work on LPG cars.

mine jolts between P and R, i was told one of the diff mount bushes was worn, as the garage had it on the ramp to check it, the tranny mount was fine.

I'm no expert...but boy am I a consumer. I want and expect a tyre that will take me across temperature ranges. I'm not in Siberia or deep cold Canada or US. In the UK I don't want the choice. Give me a tyre for all seasons. As we have had since tyres began.

I only realised about this gizmo when I took SWMBO keys by mistake, and as I sat in the car the damn seat and steering started to fold me up!, I'm 6'4 and good lady is 5'5!

Heres my grill i done yesterday

In addition to the comprehensive answer given by ambermarine I would add a equally important reason for using the recommended oil - peace of mind. If the recommended oil had been used you wouldn't now be wondering whether that is the cause of the problem you are experiencing. Of course it is entirely possible that there is no connection between the fluid and the whine... Personally, given how critical these items are, I would stick to the manufacturer recommended ones. Quite recently I had experience of how little known the Lexus is - I was having the car recovered to the dealer to replace the starter motor and the recovery service mechanic felt he wanted to start the car rather than have it recovered. He correctly diagnosed a starter motor problem which he felt he could temporarily resolve by fidling with the starter motor. After a fairly thorough search (that did not involve taking everything apart) he had to give up because he just could not find the starter motor! (yes, the recovery service was one of the two major national ones and the mechanic was not a teenage newbie either) I know we all want to save money but there is also the saying that: "I'm too poor to buy cheap things..". Personally, if this was my car I would start by changing a.s.a.p. to the correct fluid - given the robust build of the car you will probably get away with it.