DaKa

It does suggest that you may have the start of a CAT issue as I reported a while back. I thought for me it related to my battery change, but perhaps like your oil change, it was just a coincidence. For me the light came on then off a number of times, eventually staying on permanently and the error code translated using my cheap OBD2 reader confirmed the issue was the exhaust CAT. My MOT is due end March 2020, so I will need to do something about this - seeing Pipecraft Exhaust in Basildon coincidentally tomorrow, so will give you an idea of cost soon should you suffer the same.

Re Ian's advice above - I also fell fowl of confusing my ride hide sensors when the car was jacked up. In short, never start the LS430 when the car is up for maintenance unless you know exactly what you're doing. Thankfully my jacks were trapped under the car on the jack points so I was able to lift the car again front and back and reset things. @Alec - did you get the Air fixed or opt for coilovers?

I will take it to the chaps at PipeCraft as I've used them a year or so back and they are very reasonable - always difficult to find a time when their ramps aren't occupied though. They fitted the aftermarket mid to rear exhaust system that others have posted on the forum bought from Ebay. MOT next due in Jan 2020, so sooner rather than later as aside from wanting to keep this car as long as possible, I need the engine management light off just in case there could be another problem. It will soon no longer be a teenager!

If you don't get satisfaction, I can recommend a place based in Benfleet Essex, 'Bonair AC specialist' that I used a few years ago when my LS430 rear AC pipe was damaged accidentally. They replaced the condensor (Lexus original) blanked off the rear AC (as the damaged pipe was above the rear diff and inaccessible for economc repair). The cost was circa £500 but 3 years on the AC is still super cold and I don;t miss the rear AC at all. If a pipe is damaged and accesible for repair, there are some excellent splicing kits for £20-30 - they work, but never ever use for brake pipes.

They've been collected and gone to a good home/Lexus enthusiast. 🙂

Rather than dump - I've 2 good tyres (I think ALPHA is budget brand?) with no puncture repairs for anyone who wants to collect them from CM13. Send me a personal message - my apologies to site administrator if I'm breaking any rules here - not selling these just giving away to anyone nearby in need of something with tread for the winter. I'll dispose of these end Oct if not needed by anyone

Is it for sale or did you have to chop it in with your new purchase? My 2001 LS430 could do with a mate in the driveway!

IT was a P0430 code on my reader I believe with the statement "Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank2)". The good news is that I flushed some Wynns and some other stuff through the petrol/Carbs and it passed it's MOT emissions at the second attempt. Clearly I will need to do something more permanent soon, but at least I can take my time to find the right priced replacement Cat.

My engine malfunction illumination turns out to be a warning about the lack of efficiency of my catalytic converter. It's a 2001 model with 140k so no great surprise! not being economical to buy a genuine replacement in the UK, has anyone recently purchased an alternative or one of the more reasonably priced USA imports that they can recommend?

Although disconnecting the battery again and reconnecting 10 mins later cleared the malfunction warning light, it reappears a few hundred miles later. I had the battery tested at Halfords and it was charging better than expected (Big plus and thanks to Halfords as they are sending me a £15 gift voucher o/a having to travel to/from their different stores and battery advice not being completely right). I had recently purchased a Yuasa generic fault code reader from Ebay (just £27) and can advise the error message was as follows: P0430 - Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank2). E.g. I'm going to have some issues with emissions at MOT. (It's a shame there's no allowance in MOTs for the miles covered annually as for me it's about 3,000). Can anyone suggest anything other than some Redex and a good run? I do recall hearing of a flushing system some garages offer but limited availability and expensive - no doubt cheaper than a new Catalyst fitted!!!

Well what do you know, some 6-7 weeks later, my engine management warning light returned yesterday. My question is whether there is an easy check to establish if I have a problem with my new battery (Halfords) or, if my alternator is not charging properly (leads/connections/earthing???). This is the battery purchased HB072: https://www.halfords.com/motoring/bulbs-blades-batteries/car-batteries/halfords-hb072-lead-acid-12v-car-battery-3-year-guarantee I'm now wondering if it was right (Halfords confirmed the specification) but I see they also have a Calcium rather than Lead alternative? At the moment the battery remains strong (engine turnover at start up is good) and there are no signs of problems while running. I'm trying to avoid the cost of a trip to the independent Lexus dealer and a scan, but don;t like driving anywhere with a warning light still illuminated.

I changed my front pads/discs about a year ago without issue. Assuming you definitely bought the correct pads/disc, a clunk normally suggests that the pads are not a secure a they should be. You must check they they where locked back in securely and all bolts tightened to a torque of FT. May I suggest if this is new to you to take it to ATS or KwikFit for a free brake test (suggest to them that you may ask them to fit the rears?) - I'm sure will help.

There are instructions on how to wire to make this 8 OHM

Pretty sure this is the one I got and it is excellent https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Polk-Audio-DB-8-Inch-750-Watt-4-Ohm-SVC-Marine-ATV-Car-Subwoofer-DB842SVC/302764766359?epid=5020319796&hash=item467e2fb497:g:t6gAAOSwo8BbGr~E:rk:3:pf:0

I will check the details (I think I either create or added to an existing post on the same subject) but for me about a year ago now I replaced my subwoofer with a 'POLK' USA sourced import costing only circa £50 including import taxes. The quality was 3-4 better than the standard and is still great. It was difficult to fit for 3 reasons. 1. It was difficult to remove the back seats, but for me only made hard because the base of the rear seats on one side didn't want to pop up. The plastic push fittings were doubled and took a long large screwdriver to wedge it up. 2. The replacement subwoofer needed a little trim of 2 x small sections of the rm so that it fitted flush into the existing bracket (no big deal 2 mins with hacksaw but a little worrying if you're doing it right?) 3. You needed to follow the wiring instructions carefully with some spare speaker wire and crimps to double the AMPs (again 5 minute task easy). I will dig out my purchase and post the link.

It turns out that I've been lucky, as it seems to have been only that the battery wasn't charging properly, and it was just the battery, not the alternator. New battery fitted (the old battery was probably older than I thought circa 7 years) and everything great again. My daughters boyfriend had persuaded me last night to by the new i30N Hyundai (he's collecting is next week) so it will just have to wait now until something else goes wrong on my Lexus - it could be a while then! Do I need to touch wood or cross fingers?

Last night the malfunction indicator lit up on the dash of my 2001 LS430 while wafting around at about 30 mph.. I guess that I will need some plugin computer check for the error code, perhaps it could turn off again (he says hopefully!). Would anyone know what the most likely cause for this may be? The car is certainly in need of a service but otherwise its running smoothly and nothing noticeable sound or performance wise? Thxs

You need to check some of the posts I've listed and commented upon. There is a Polish Ebay selling German made LS430 exhausts delivered to your door for circa £150. A couple of guys on this forum including me have had them fitted - waste of time getting the old one welded at this price!

Strange that they would remove the shield as part of a service unless they were changing the cooling system - Lexus designed a small access hatch for the oil filter to be changed. The problem with independent garages it can sometimes be more hassle than it's worth to get them to admit an error - at least you can give bad feedback if you complain and they don't offer to help.

I used Bonair also - they changed my compressor and insisted it had to be a genuine Lexus part and that meant £220 for the part! It's very unlikely to be that the aircon/compressor can't be fixed by specialist dealing with auto aircon solely as stated above. Good luck

They really should have cleaned up all the hub when the new Mintex rotors where fitted - it could be this - it was enough to resolve my wobble when I changed all my front braking 6 months ago on my LS430 2001. However, the stresses that are applied to such a heavy car at the front on the bushes while breaking are massive - they almost certainly will improve the holding and handling when braking/cornering as would a struct brace. My previous SC430 needed the same a year ago (now sold) and I bought the upper/lower control arms and track rods ends from Ebay - not the cheapest but quality parts that stated OEM or similar with good feedback and UK seller - some of the parts delivered were manufactured by Toyota but much cheaper than from Lexus - they were a easy to fit. If you pockets are deep buy original otherwise perhaps the same seller would make sense? a2zmotorspares - lower control arms (Pair £58) doctor_car - Track Rod ends (Pair £58) ziggy-a2z - Upper Control Arms (Pair £95) Good luck

Be sure it is leaking? I had an LS400 that I bought from a relative circa 2004 (it was a P reg 1996) - the first thing I did was to take it to Lexus, Woodford Green for a full service and new Belts. They advised that the sump had a leak and wanted circa £200 to fix it - that was a lot of money to me then so I said no thanks. It never once in the 6 years I owned it afterwards dripped a single drop on my garage floor. Subsequently an independent mechanic advised me that the little oil on the sump was likely caused by some careless filling up, where the spilt oil or filter change residue had eventually worked its way down the engine to the bottom of the sump. Suggest cleaning it up with some degreaser and checking that it is definitely leaking through the pan seal? Best of luck.

Good spot - always nice to have options if your unlucky with air ride suspension. It's not clear what the total cost is (or at least I could see it)!

Not sure of your location Rob, but I used a company that I believe is a local franchise of a national company 'PaintIt'. For me they operated out of a workshop between Brentwood and Billericay. The wheels where acid stripped, cleaned/repaired if needed, powder coated, sprayed inside and out and lacquered with the tyres refitted and balanced. This was 18-20 months ago at a cost of circa £280 they came with a 3 year warranty and are still immaculate so I believe that the warranty will not be called upon.

It may be a case of servicing the box as per youtube link below but before any attempt to refill fluids you obviously must find out where the leak came out (pipe may have split) but more importantly why it overheated in the first place? It may have been a split pipe that caused the overheating. Best of luck!