don_L

Thanks, I was beginning to believe there was no life out there. I'm actually looking for a key to a LS400 98 to 2001. Cheers, Don

Has anyone purchased a Key for a LS,...at any price?

- Turn the Over Drive ON Overdrive will actually gain fuel economy as it allows the engine to turn less revs meaning less fuel and air. - Use A/C A/C consumes power on any car and power requires fuel. It's a luxury that has to be purchased. - Driving NOT like a Grandpa (not 30km/ph) Driving with a 30k/ph average mean that you are doing a lot of stop and go. Could mean 100k for 10 minutes and then bumper to bumper stop and go traffic, ripping around cars for 50 minutes which will eat up fuel like a vengence. Not exactly grandpa stuff. You have only traveled 30 ks but may use 8 liters during that hour, (24l/100ks)as compared to driving 100kph continuously for an hour which will use the same 8 litres but you have traveled 100 Ks. consamption is going to be what? 30L/100km which is prety mach will give me a fll tank (70L!!!) on 200km?!!!! To be able to get 30L/100km you would have to be giving it a pretty hefty floggin all the time in a start stop driving senerio. this is disaster!!! Is there any way of improving fuel consamption? apart from the normal stuff ( no AC, don't hold braks ...) The only answer to economy is smoothing out your driving habits. If your the type that likes jack rabbiting around, a well geared 4 or 6 cyl light weight car is possibly the go for you. But if you want the luxury of a great riding car that has the power to perform as well, you just have to learn how to drive it to match your wallet!!! Weight+ drag + required power, pretty well dictates fuel requirements. For instance, I just filled my car up, drove to melbourne and back, (about 160k's) drove around town yesterday for about an hour, even did a couple of pretty good tire smoking burn outs (with the VSC off) and just had a look at the trip computer which said that I have averaged 11L/100k's so far on this tank of fuel. I can live with that. :P

For around 30 or so you can buy a pretty decent 98 LS if you look really hard. Anything with the Quad Cam V8 will be fairly economical in reference to future repairs as it's fairly bullet proof. I have even seen some really nice 95 to 97 models for 20's and by the time they have reached that age and if the previous owners have treated them good, most of their depreciation has been spent. So you will not tend to lose a lot on resale in the next couple of year or so compared to newer models. I wouldn't be afraid to entertain this car even with k's upward of 200000 at this age. This car can easily reach half a million with good maintenance. The LS would be a great family car as well. If you drive them for any length of time, you will be so spoiled you will tend to judge everything else by that standard. To me this is the ultimate driving car and I think you will find most every LS owners would have this opinion. I also drive an SC and love it. I will keep it for years as they are solid, no rust, stainless exhaust, V8 quad cam vehicles with great performance and handling but as soon as you mention a baby seat, the practicality goes out the window as it's two door access to the rear seat just doesn't seem the go to me. My next suggestion in that price range, as a really nice family/sport would be a 2000 or 2001 GS300. Really nice car. Find someone that has one and take it for a drive. Good economy, decent power, comfortable ride, great interior, sporty handling but still smooth. I could write a book, but I'll pass in for someone else's thoughts now. Cheers,

The ES was pretty good on fuel all around, but on the highway they were pretty close to the same. Both had and onroad fuel comsumption of around 7 to 8 litres per 100 k.If I drive around town averaging 30 kph with lot of stop and go traffic then comsumtion on the LS is up around 18. If you average it all out I'm usually get 11 to 12 overall. If I keep my foot in it and thrash it pretty good around town it can easily go over 20litres/100k, but then we all have to realize that if we want to make power, it requires fuel and if you want to make more power, it takes even more fuel! The LS is fully capable of making power and all too willing to accept the fuel you feed it. If you are getting those sort of economy figures, I've got a pretty good image of the driving style that drove it there! hehe! In fact, I'll bet I could drive mine to worse figures than yours. So if you compare the ES to the LS on fuel, the ES was not as capable of producing power so the economy has to be better, but it is not as satisfying to drive if you are wanting a bit of grunt, you just have to save those horsepower moments for the exception instead of the rule. Cheers

Owned an 93 ES300 for a year or so. It's a nice driving car but I'm not a fan of the front wheel drive V6.The engine is slanted to the rear and the back head gasket tend to sit in oil, which eventually causes it to leak. If you have to do a roadworthy only to be told that you have an oil leak and it's going to cost you$2500 to have the gasket replaced!! Not fun. Other than that, it was a really nice car but I like my LS better, but that's like comparing oranges and apples.

As and owner of one of these supurb vehicles for the past several years, I can tell you that it is one of the most mechanically sound cars I have ever owned. The factory V8 is just about as bullet proof as they come. I don't know of anyone that has ever blown up one of these engines and neither does the service department at Lexus. During my years of owership, I have not had to do anything but normal servicing to the car. There are a few things that you should look for when purchacing one and they are common to all Lexus/Toyota soarers or GTs. The air con grills tend to crack, the uphostery on the doors above the speakers tend to split, and the LCD panels are prone to black out. The front suspension bushings will need to be replaced if they are squeeking which is normal for them to need replacement at this age. All of these are repairable but you might as well find one that is in good shape to start with. Parts are not really hard to come by as the engine is also available in the V8 Landcruiser and these cars can be serviced by Toyota which is a lot cheaper than taking it ot Lexus. Any other help can also be had thru the Australian Lexus Soarers club. How decent any car is, would be dependent on who has previously owned it, but these cars are pretty good at taking quite a bit of abuse and still go strong. Cheers

I'm in Geelong, Victoria, Australia Been a member of ALSC for several years so have just joined Lexus Owners Club. Started out Lexus life with a imported and rebadged soarer GT that I love and still own. Last year purchased a ES 300 that I traded up a few months ago for a series 4 LS400 and it is beginning to be a toss up as to which one I like better but definately for different reasons. Recently ordered a woodgrain dash kit for my RHDrive LS400 from MimoUSA (DON"T DO IT) who just couldn't get it right, sent me a kit that didn't fit any car on this earth, decided to not return calls or mail and stiffed me for my money, so I finally found AlkaPlus who had their engineering and colour match correct and shipped the kit out without any bother. Looking to add rechromed LS430 wheels from LA Wheels as soon as I can find the chunk of change needed for shipping. Most of my mods are aimed at keeping my Lexus cars at showroom level, so anytime something starts looking a bit worn, I'm looking to either replace, re-cover, repaint, or dent doctor it. Saturdays are polish and detail day. Cheers, Don

I've just had the guts fall out of one of my two Master Key Remotes and am down to one key. The case cracked at the holding screw and the back flipped open, losing the electronics while it was being carried thru downtown by my wife while shopping. Retraced all steps but my precious internals could not be found! I have found blank programmable replacement keys in USA but have had one company ask if the Australian Lexus LS400 key uses the same transmitter frequency as the US models. Does anyone know this piece of Information or where we can purchase new Master keys in Australia for a series 4 at a decent price?