Benaywood

It was the steering lock! What a doughnut. More amateur requests this time next week.. At least I can travel first class to my meeting tomorrow now and not nick my wife's Golf for the journey..

Hi, It's been a while since I have sought advice from the elders, (or quite likely youngers)... My last power steering problem was just a hose issue and a quick £60 fix so hoping this is simple... My key does not work, it lets me in, moves the steering wheel in to position and the little red light flashes but then nothing.. I can't turn the key. I've tried my spares and still no joy. Is this what a key battery failing feels like (I thought it would turn but the immobiliser would kick in), or is it something to do with the ignition barrel? Hoping it's a cheap fix, my mechanic says the car may not be long for this world and I want to enjoy a few more months before I need to make a decision 😢... As always any help is greatly appreciated. Ben

Ah good point. I'll check in the morning -Thanks

HI all.. I've been loving my old 98LS so much lately, can't stop singing it's praises but today, it has let me down .. No warning but when started her up today, I thought I had a flat as the steering was so heavy, but checked the tires and all in order. Wrestled her in to a parking space, no odd noises, waring lights, leaks or anything but just a big effort to move. It seems serious but wondered if anyone had experienced similar power steering 'outages' and how they got them fixed? I'm looking for good news stories,like you took it to Halfords and they fixed it for £20 but I'm bracing myself for a big bill..

Interesting idea Illogan and thanks for getting back re Rock Auto Alan - nice car choices btw! I think I have a plan going forward though.. I've ordered two bearings form Amayama as there was play picked up in both wheels for the last couple of MOT's - they should be here in a couple of weeks and I'll get them fitted when I get the front brakes done with whatever my mechanic suggests but may treat them to the Lexus UK ones as currently 30% off. (2 Bearings are £115 delivered for the pair (original Toyota) using the same serial no as the Lexus UK ones at £155 each). The UCA's, I think I'll wait a couple of months and do either the one that's on it's way out or the pair, as it seems to be the general advice to get them done together (I guess they've both been on for nearly 25 years now!) - Amayama Toyota originals I can get for £372 delivered for the pair vs £550 each from Lexus. I'll get those fitted by my mechanic who should be able to fit for a decent rate. I'll get the bushes done probably at the same time as UCA's and get the geometry finally sorted at Blackboots. It's had something up for a while and inner tyre wear put paid to the last tyres in about 9000 miles so I'm keen to get it done as I'll be using the car for more frequent long journeys. I will report the above as costing between £2-300 so the wife will not question whether we need to swop out of my old barge that has brought me so much joy over the last few years. Many thanks for your suggestions, it was useful to think it through...

Much appreciated Malc, and thanks for your earlier post re Amayama and er.. my wife!! It's an ongoing discussion and I've bought the car, (and her?) a year's grace if I get this fixed without her finding out how much I'm spending..

I had a good chat with them and absolutely trust the advice but the bearing was urgent/don't drive with the UCA and Rear bushes probably OK to drive for now but definitely need doing if I'm going to sort an underlying alignment issue it has. I want to keep the car as I love it, I don't mind paying to keep it well maintained but £5-600 for the UCA is 'punchy', price wise so interested in good value alternatives..

After a couple of years of pretty low cost motoring I'm faced with a bit of a bill or two.. I took my 1998 MkIV (S20 BHH) in to Blackboots to hopefully get the tracking done but I was told (in a very nice way!) that I needed to get a few bits done before it would be possible/worthwhile. The list in order of urgency was: 1. NSF wheel bearing (very urgent).. 2. OSF UCA or 'A' Arm as they termed it. 3. Rear hub bushes (both sides). I do have a contact/trusted friend in the trade who can arrange fitting at a fair price so I was hoping to order some parts to undercut the Lexus OEM prices which would be a bit of a stretch to do in one hit. So I was wondering if anyone had any experience of Rock Auto they could advise on? 1. The bearing is proving harder than expected, I was advised those on Euro car parts are not great and they appear to be a little scarce through a couple of trade ordering systems. I'm minded to just bite the bullet and get the OEM one for £160 as it's the most urgent thing and rock auto seem to be out of stock - is that stupid or does anyone have a good tip that i could get in the next week or so? 2. The UCA - OEM is £5-600!! Rock Auto seem to have one by a company called Moog for £85 plus whatever taxes and postage there is (about £50 postage). Are they any good or is it a false economy? 3. The Rear hub bushes I feel I may as well order, I don't think they're wildly expensive but I can't see what I am ordering from Rock Auto? Does anyone know what I should look for? Oh and I need brake pads and discs front and rear (front urgent, rear can wait a little) - does anyone have a good link to a good alternative to OEM (that appear to be ok value at the moment, discounted 30% to about £200 for rears and about £180 front). Any help is appreciated - my wife is badgering me to get rid of my car and I am arguing the case that it doesn't cost me anything in monthly payments but a large bill like this will weaken my case.... Ben

Yes that sounds likely Pete, I'll ask if they can have a look when it's next in for its service. It certainly behaves like a loose connection, it's just finding someone with the skill to know where to look! I guess you're right, I can make a little template for each function, though to be honest it's only AC that I tend to ever change and I can flick just about remember the order my CD's go in they so rarely change!

Thanks, I've just had a new battery done actually after a bit of down time over the lockdown. It made no difference I'm afraid, it's live with able but a little annoying..

Hi All, Just a quick call for any recommendations again.. My Sat Nav/Audio/Air Con screen on the 98 LS400 works, but it intermittently loses the picture. It can go for a whole journey with me being able to see the screen, and then other days it won't come up or it will fail during a journey. There's no pattern I can see to it working or not. I have found I can still adjust the Air Con on the blank screen if I know where to press (there seems to be some power illuminating it but no pictures) and everything seems to be working just fine. It's been like that since I got it and it's not really bothered me but it would be good to know if anyone else has had this problem and were able to get a cheap fix? (I'm south East near Watford so any recommends local would be great but happy to travel). Any help appreciated.. I've just found the inner walls of both right hand side tyres are worn to the fibres so 2 x tyres tomorrow and hoping it's not expensive suspension work needed which may leave me a few pennies to get this sorted.. All the best Ben

It probably should be under warranty, under normal circumstances I might make more of an effort to chase but given I'd repeatedly let it run flat, I got it in Wales, and the current 'situation' I think I'll write it off. I have to say I rather enjoyed 'opening the taps' last night on the recommendation of my mechanic though so that makes up for the loss a little and it's nice to have it all back functioning perfectly again..

New battery seems to have cured it, it was less than a year old but got a good price on a new one and they checked to make sure all lights were back to normal. I was advised that there was fault code showing a 'lazy oxygen sensor' (I need to have things simplified for me so they may know exact technical term) and they've suggested putting some premium fuel and giving it a thorough blast to clean out the cobwebs!

Thanks Bren, yes I rather think that's the case. Annoying as it was only a year old, I don't have a drive so can't keep it on a trickle charge and keep the battery in I'm afraid. I'm thinking I'll need to get my hands on a battery quickly as I think there may be a rather large surge in demand as all these cars are croaking in to life again..