ambermarine

Hi Guys Sounds like a great idea I know a good venue as well . The Mottram Hall spa and golf in Cheshire. It as a great spa centre for the wives that way we should have no problem dragging them along. What about next May two nights.

Hugh I think you are getting a bit out of kilter on how the finances of a manufacturers franchise are derived and shared The profits and costs are pooled in a franchise sales and servicing , believe it or not the lowest profits are from the sales of individual cars in percentage of gross turnover The last figures I had privy to was a £2k profit on a 2014 Lexus flagship model costing £110k In terms of marketing and promotions Lexus Uk only provide basic funding for that, usually on new model launches the individual dealerships bear the cost of any local promotions and are expected to contribute towards national advertising. If you compare the staffing and front of house levels required to run a franchise rather than an independant service shop with two mechanics and possibly a part time bookeeper/receptionist it is easy to see the differentials The franchise as also to meet targets on sales and movement of inventories that a small independant does not have to worry about as most of his work comes through one door and out of the other usually by word of mouth or the odd advert in the local rag . Lexus also have a say in what costs and charges are presented to the customer as they see thier prestige product as just that and do not want it being seen as any run of the mill marque, this philosophy was borne out by the early split of Toyota franchised dealerships selling Lexus models in the late 90s which raised the anti in franchise costs. If you look at the servicing and repair costs world wide for Lexus you will find they are on a par with the UK taking into consideration currency fluctuations. I am saying one should try to get a better price than was first offered for the job required but the other side of the coin is if you want quality you have to pay for it and if Lexus was'nt providing quality we would'nt be having this discussion.

Hugh It is heartwarming to hear you have found a specialist who as no problem or is phased by the complexity of a job. The issue over dealership prices is a constant gripe in most peoples eyes but in the dealerships defence they have massive overheads in comparison to a small operator who basically works from one job to another.If you look at the fixed costs of running a dealership with all the franchise costs staff costs and site costs it is understandable that thier labour and parts rates will be higher . As for the description rip-off I draw the line at that(not your words) In my experience the dealerships ( I have dealt with different ones in twenty years of owning a Lexus) are approachable and will if spoken to in a negotiating tone will try to come to some arrangement. If that is not possible than by all means try to find a good independant and there are more of them now than when I first started with a Lexus but personally if my Lexus requires the attention of a trained Lexus technichan then its Lexus that will be doing the job.

Hi Phil Google the no 84450-16080 and lots of suppliers will appear for this switch .It is the listed part no for europe on the TOYdiy parts reference for Lexus ls400 97-00.

Lurch If you look through the archives on my posts you will find a comprehensive analysis of this problem I posted on the subject earlier this year June/July and again in November when another member raised the issue. The replacement switch is £85 from Lexus but can be sourced for half that price elsewhere.

Matthew There are two pumps one for screen and the other for headlight washers and the reservoir serves both. Get someone to press the button whilst you put your ear to the reservoir (remove the lid)if there is no sound the pump as probably given up on life.You will need to remove the engine undercover to get at the pump and its circuit connections water and power, make sure you have power here before moving to next step. It might be possible to remove and replace the pump with the reservoir in situ but not having had a pump problem I cannot be sure .I do know it is possible to remove the float meter device in situ but that is located on the bottom of the reservoir .The pumps are located on the side and could be difficult to get at. update; Having looked at the schematic diagram of the reservoir the windscreen pump is located on the leading edge of the reservoir adjacent to the front bumper behind and underneath the headlight. It is probable that the best way to the pump in situ is by loosening the mudguard liner at the front and easing it out of the way .If you use this method you will not have to remove the engine under cover just loosen the piece of under cover that sits below the reservoir to give you enough access.

Pete The battery drain on the mark 4 is inevitable ,the security system drains the battery even though it is a small amperage .I discovered this the couple of week after I bought the car two years ago. It got me from Cheltenham (where I got the car) to Scotland but only just on a knackered battery. I then bought a brand new spec battery and that went flat within ten days,the supplier replaced it and the replacement went flat within ten days. I now use an intelligent 2amp output charger and that as done the job perfectly ever since. I soon realised there is no point in trying to illminate this drain its more hassle than its worth. If we use these cars occasionally which is not what they were designed for this phenomenom will raise its ugly head.

Phew! glad we don't have that feature on LS400s ,could be lethal to cyclists.

I can well see why you are p------d off,the thought of driving to Hamburg in the new year dreading the anticipated warning light does not make grounds for a happy occasion, which emphasises my point regarding engine replacement . You have given them a go at sorting it and it looks like a fail they should now respond in a decisive manner and eliminate any more stress this problem could load on you. The manufacturers warranty they cover your car with is after all an insurance cover for them they get paid from an insurance company if they have to replace the engine they don't fork out the cost from their own pocket .

Michael As I said in an earlier post on this problem the engine as been set up wrong at initial manufacture .The weak spring is not the cause but a symptom and is now recurring because something is not right along the line.The sophisticated set up that is vvt-i as been around a while on the LS400 and the 430/ 460. That being the case it is not new technology and any gremlins within the engineering design will have shown a long time ago. The fact that as far as can be seen it as only occured twice in the history of the product points to a fault in the set up, it does'nt take much in terms of thousands of an inch in these machine environments. I would ask Lexus to take a serious view as to replacing this engine because it looks like they hav'nt solved the problem and you do not want the rest of your life devoted to that.

alanr I take your point on the mark 4 and with only 27k on mine I am hopefully a long way off worrying about this issue but when my mark 1 had its pump changed by Lexus I complained about the sealant being used as it was oozing out around the joint. The service manager assured me that was the way it was done as per repair and replacement spec. To be fair I also bought a genuine Lexus mark 1 pump as a standby off ebay a couple of years later and that box contained a gasket I eventually sold it on ebay five years later to someone with a land cruiser. There are obviously different views on this subject but I can say the mark 1 did another 70k on that sealant without any leaks so it as its place I suppose.

The Lexus Ls400 does not respond to kick down until the engine is at normal running temprature so you will not get that kick in the back as you would when the car is warmed up.This was especially prelevant on the mark 1 which only had three forward gears and overdrive. It may have something to do with the electronic throttle on the Mark 4 (the mark 1 was mechanical) with regards to the slow uptake and the gentler feel . I have not noticed anything untoward on my Mark 4 . Try to work between snow setting and normal drive and check if there is any noticable change before normal engine temprature is reached.

Apart from the plurocrats that feed off the EU gravy train there is no money in Belgium, never as been.

I think some of the people that do these abortions have a world of there own thinking pattern .Firtly ;how is it there are only four in the world when there are thousands of LS400 and Celsiors in the four corners of the globe Secondly what makes it worth more than £2K when the inside looks like a herd of cows have camped overnight and the oustide looks like they ran over it. This guy needs to get real and will probably find another classic car to ruin and scrapped this one.

With regard to the water pump replacement, there is no gasket requirement as they reccommend the liquid gasket application,which is an industry wide dicipline nowadays and much more relaible than a gasket. As far as the water pump replacement goes I would strongly urge replacement at the second cambelt change interval as my LS400 Mark 1 stripped its cambelt 14k after the second belt change when the water pump siezed and from all accounts is the only LS400 to have done this.

I can see why they went bust.

Hugh Are you leaving the car on battery management charge when not in use The Mark 4 is notorious for running the battery down on prolonged periods? say 10 days without use. The throttle is electronic on the Mark 4 it was changed to that on the vvt-i engine launch. The choke will run the engine initially at about 12-1500rpm until it is about halfway to running temprature If you are running on low amperage starts the ECU may be getting spikes whilst the alternator is taking up the strain recharging the battery,all power systems are served by the battery not the alternator Get a fully charged battery installed and see which of the malfunctions re-occur . The problem with the starter could also be a symptom of a weak battery.

Pete Have you checked the wheel bearing ,if it is growling when brake free it could be a bad ball but not bad enough to scream yet. Will not show a lot of play either.

Hi Mr Good job we have this forum and its different views sorry for the misinfo must have got my wires crossed so to speak. With regard to seat removal which I doubt there are as you say four bolts to the floor with carpeted plastic caps that need firm removal.

Hi MR With regard to the amp it was on the earlier model Ls a seperate unit located on the petrol tank bulkhead located behind the boot liner. I think on the Mark 4 it is an integral part of the Audio unit located in the dashboard and removal of the whole module is nessacary to get at the wiring plugs. If I am correct in my theory the removal of the Nav/audio station is fairly straightforward and there is archive in the forum on how to remove this unit ,it is the same as removing the earlier audio Modules that didn'nt have a screen.

Yes Brian I could actually meet up with you as I live a wave away from Loch Lomond but I will be in Florida for my annual 3 month American experience. Enjoy the Scottish hospitality and have a safe trip.

The fact it as had a respray dictates it as had a upholstery job including a new steering wheel .There is little of that car that is original. Looks corporate owned from the mileage( 50k annualy) and no expense spared in keeping its stature somewhere in a company . The things that have kept any Lexus of that stature being achieved in the UK is our climate and the bloody awful roads.

With regard to the wood on the steering wheel, I thought about changing my Mark 4 to one with wood until I read a couple of quotes off the USA Lexus forum .They seemed to diss the idea as they are uncomfortable on the hands in stressful situations ,driving in heavy traffic or poor weather conditions. I can see the reasons for that, we tend to grasp the wheel when things get stressful ,The cost of a new one is mind boggling and matching the wood veneer of the rest of the interior would be difficult on a second hand unit. So i'll stick with the black leather which seems to be softer than on my earlier Mark 1 that eventually wore away in the two o clock position .

Colin The only good thing to come out of this saga is the security aspect of the Lexus LS400 .Any would be theives reading this are going to think twice.

Pete Should not be expensive getting the brakes checked at any of the outlets that specialize in that category,stick with the car and ask to see the brake area when it as been stripped down they are duty bound to explain what the problem is before they do any work. The problem could be a number of things but vibration and noise are usually signs of wear and breakdown of contact parts ,pads or discs, the shims are more to do with anti- squeal but can cause vibration if gungy. Check to see if your hubs are getting hotter on one side than the other,this is the sign of a sticking caliper and can cause vibration as the disc will warp over time if the problem is not addressed.