Micholas

Okay so I think I may have cracked it. On another site a yank prefacelift owner who’s running a GROM on his ML system said his GROM went in to the main harness socket via a Y cable. Now I’ve come to the conclusion that the middle 5+7 socket on my head unit basically does nothing. There’s no way of selecting an additional aux and it certainly isn’t powering up the GROM. So I went looking on the American GROM website and they offer this ad-hoc Lexus adapter… Now this looked very familiar to me.. That’s right it’s my main harness input socket on the right.. This is my last throw of the dice really. So I’ll call GROM UK on Monday and see if they can supply one of these leads and then pray it works. There is literally zero information online and finding a prefacelift owner who even cares about fitting a GROM has been a challenge in itself. So fingers crossed by this time next week I may actually be able to listen to something other than the radio on my morning commute!

I’ve been surprised by how low classic Lexus’s are worth in this country. Considering how good of a motor they are.. and how nice the LS400 looks (not so much the LS430). Mercs and BMW’s hit rock bottom and then climb, in some cases massively. But Lexus’ seem to stay low. I see what LS430’s go for in America and it’s unbelievable. If I put mine up for sale I think I would struggle to get £4K.. and mine is very well maintained.

I’m thinking there must be a way of selecting the AUX/5+7 input, which would activate the GROM. Everything in the GROM manual asks for this, and on facelift LS430’s you can do this on the stereo.. but I don’t know of a way doing it on the pre-facelift stereo. Really I need someone who’s got a pre-facelift who’s fitted a GROM or something similar, and find out whether they just plugged it in and it was immediately active without the need for changing inputs.. this would indicate a faulty 5+7 socket on the head unit I’m guessing. Last time I just gave up and sent the GROM back, but I will get to the bottom of it this time!!

It was worth a try but unfortunately no luck. The CD changer is built into the head unit rather than a separate aux, so just says no cd ☹️ Here’s an image of the reverse for anyone who can spot anything wrong

Thanks for this. So I’ve got the correct lead now and same as last time it seems I’ve got no power to the GROM. Plugged it directly into the 5+7. Obviously on the head unit there’s no button to select AUX so I was hoping it would just automatically show up on my phones Bluetooth list.. but nothing. I’ve turned the car on, turned the stereo on and off.. tried pressing CD and tape to try and instigate something, but obviously they’re separate entities so just came up with ‘no CD, ‘no tape’ etc. What am I missing something here, or have I actually got a faulty head unit. Don’t want to order another; wait a week and then I have the same issue.

Sorry this is an essay but need some advice or comparisons if possible. I got a GROM unit a couple of years ago for my 2001 LS430 and it didn’t work, just wouldn’t power up. The GROM UK guy refunded me and said there must be something wrong with my head unit. 2 years later I’ve decided to try again. I emailed him and ordered, and it arrived with the TOY harness (his choice). Last night I went to fit and the TOY plug would not fit.. I’ve now sent him a picture of the rear of my head unit see below… He’s said I need a TOY1 harness which will go in the middle port. It’s worth noting that it’s the only port with nothing connected to it. The two leads that connect to the head unit occupy the left and right ports. However the strange thing is, that everyone other head unit I’ve seen online, pre-facelift and facelift alike, have only two ports and not 3! Like below.. Is there any logic behind what units have what socket set ups? If it doesn’t work again this time I’m going to get a replacement head unit as I want to get this done once and for all, but I can’t see how the TOY or TOY1 will fit these two port headunits. Any advice or anyone who’s encountered this? Much appreciated

Awesome! I think there’s a 3 week lead time but I’ll order one today! 👍🏻

Wow thanks so much. Funnily enough I emailed them and asked them the same question and they responded today saying they couldn’t supply one. Probably because the staff only look at the car names in the description like I did. Is the sound connection good? No impact to sound quality?

If anyone is suffering from the dreaded front to rear air con pipes leaking, there is a fantastic place in Kent which repair them. I hadn’t had air con working since I got the car. The R134 usually lasted a day before blowing hot air again. This summers heatwave prompted me to sort this out once and for all. A dye leak test identified the leak was coming from under the NSR seats. Seeing as the correct replacement is basically the same as front to rear brake/fuel lines, I knew this was going to be massive job, with fuel tank and rear subframe needing to be dropped. For jokes I called my local Lexus for a quote and they priced the job at a staggering £4500!!! They even stipulated that because the front pipes in the engine bay are mostly NLA, if they’re rotten or damaged, they wouldn’t be able to complete the job. Resigned to never having air con in this car, I happened to stumble upon an air con specialist in Gravesend who has a fix for this. They fit an uprated rubber hose from the rear dryer all the way to the front.. it takes about 3 hours, but cost a grand total of £300 all in!! The worst part is that they don’t have a waiting room so you have to wander the depressing streets of Gravesend for 3 hours (apologies to any members who live there). Now I don’t want to jinx it, but over 28 hours later I still have ice cold air pumping out of my vents. So a recommendation from me! They’re called Air Con Direct and they’re a good set of chaps!

Sorry to revive this thread.. but how did you get on with the BlueMusic? Is it any good? Do they do a pre-facelift version, I checked their site and everything seems to be 2003-07 onwards for Lexus LS. Maybe someone’s tried this on a pre facelift?

I’m intrigued now as to what it’s going to sound like with this new 800w sub. I’m no audiophile but I have always thought the ML system sounded a bit poor. Maybe something is broken 🥴 I certainly won’t be refreshing or uprating any of the other speakers though. I don’t think it would cost that much as pretty good modern aftermarket speakers that are probably better than the originals can be gotten fairly cheap.. but the time it’d take to access and replace every speaker on that system!! I’ll update with my thoughts when the new sub is fitted.

This is probably the same one that Lexus Spares Direct are probably fitting to my housing. Shame I didn’t find this before.. ah well it’s only money. How’s your sound? Is it still poor once all operating correctly?

I finally got a car audio specialist to take a look at my ML set up. Issue was the sound would cut out when the volume was slightly raised. Had tried a replacement good amp but still the same. Anyway within 25 mins and at a cost of £60 the tech diagnosed it as the parcel shelf sub. Despite the sub looking in good shape with no tears or signs of damage, it had in fact blown at some stage of its life and the amp was cutting the sound out to protect itself. He diagnosed it by cutting all the speaker wires at the amp and then playing the radio one speaker at a time. So he left the sub isolated and I got uninterrupted music for the first time since owning the car.. Now I know there’s no mid bass because of the missing sub but God the sound quality on these systems is poor. Imagine paying all that money back in 2001 and this was what you got. Anyway I ordered a Paul Frost special Sub from eBay, and tonight removed the old one. I went a bit medieval but I in no way have the time to remove the whole rear interior. As per some others have done, with a Stanley blade, a ruler and a magic marker.. I cut around the perimeter of the sub catchment on the parcel shelf. Takes a bit of wriggling and the bottom left bolt was a pain to remove, but got there in the end. This will now go off to Paul tomorrow and hopefully I’ll get a new one next week so I can hear Mark Levinson in all his glory!!

Haha very good! Well this post prompted me to call a car audio specialist in Crawley who are going to come out and have a look. They claim that they used to repair dozens of ML audio systems in RX’s back in the day. They’ve also said it sounds like a speaker, and they’re going to isolate each speaker at the amp wiring to see what one it is. Apparently when a speaker is faulting the amp goes into some protective mode and shuts off the sound. But they’ve quoted me between £66 and £132 so I’m not complaining!! I’ve never had proper car audio in this car since I’ve got it, so if they diagnose it for that it’ll be a steal!!

Man do I hate the ML sound system in LS430’s. My sound cuts out if the volume is barely turned up. Gone through 2 second hand amps that both do the same thing. Can only run it on the front two speakers at low volumes. Separately I also tried to buy one of those GROM Bluetooth adapters. That didn’t work at all, so GROM told me they think my stereo head unit is faulting as well. I’ve never had a car where I wish I could just walk in to Halfords and give them some money and get them to fit a decent head unit. Unfortunately on this car, you can’t do that, you just have to put up with it!! 😭

I managed to get what looks like a good conditioned used front air strut. From my numerous posts here you may recall that my OSF strut is sweating fluid. I’m thinking of tackling this job this weekend. Any advice going? I’ve seen a YouTube video of a guy doing the passenger side, but I’ve read the OS can be a real pain. Do you have to unbolt the control arm? Is there a lot of access space to disconnect the air line? Any tips to make easier on myself?

It was done by the previous owner. The place that I use to do the LPG servicing specialise in LPG systems, but don’t strike me as being wizz’s at technical V8 diagnosis.

So next on my list is to finally sort this out. About a year ago an EML came on, after a plug in it was ‘P0171 System Too Leak Bank 1’. Quite common and equally stubborn apparently. If I clear the fault I can literally go 2 months without it appearing.. but then it’ll come back, usually when I’m doing motorway miles. Looking at the DTC chart, the amount of parts that could impact this and should be replaced is absurd. Injectors, AFM, Coolant Temp Sensor, all 02 sensors and ECM. Even though you should replace one then check, then replace the next and check etc. knowing my luck it’ll be the last part that fixes it. Maybe I should start at the bottom 😉 The airflow meter and temp sensor are cheap and easy enough, but the others will all end up costing me a fortune. I would just take it to the dealers to see if their software can pinpoint the exact cause, but they won’t do any engine diagnostics on my car because it’s got an LPG conversion! Anyone had any experience with this? Noticed any trends? Obvious fixes?

Interesting. I changed the front pads and discs and didn’t use shims (think they weren’t even there), or the replace the fixtures with a new fitting kit. But my brakes have started squeaking. My rears need doing now so I was thinking of getting them, but it adds another £120 to the job! Won’t know until I strip it whether they’ve been kept by the previous owner.

Guys Can you let me know if you do shims and the fitting kits when you fit new pads and discs? I’ve never had a car where these are required and Lexus Parts Direct said they seldom sell them.. but they are listed as needed parts when you do these jobs.

Brilliant video. Appreciate you taking the time.

In my experience these motors are very indicative of the LS430 as a whole. Awesome engine and running gear.. but poorly constructed and unreliable ancillaries and creature comforts (re. Lock actuators, window motors etc.) In my case.. you replace one steering motor and then a few months later the other goes. Whilst replacing the motor there are also a number of surrounding parts (holders and plastic bushes) you should also replace. I also hear the motor doesn’t last long so expect to do the same again in 5 plus years. The original owner of my car replaced both back in 2016 at great expense and they’ve all failed again since. I believe the mechanism etc. is quite primitive and the plastic bushes get caught up in the shaft movement, and they also run dry from lack of lubricant. So to summarise, unless you seriously want that function.. it is not worth the money or the continual hassle. However if you really want it, it’s not a hard replacement and there are lots of how to guides online.

There’s oil in shock absorbers and when the seal on the shaft is worn it lets oil out and means the dampening affect is hindered. LS430 shocks are an air bellow and standard hydraulic shaft in one.

Thanks Malcolm. I’m probably going to suck it up and pay Lexus Swindon. Always been drilled into me that you should replace both sides when dealing with air suspension.. but yeah I’ll think I’ll be sticking with one this time 😉

Thanks Steve. Lexus parts direct has them for £900. Better than most but still a third of the cars value. But I guess it is what it is.