Greavett

Hey, Thanks for your feedback, I just figure that if people have sat down and made the time to register with the club to ask a question about the cars we all love. We owe it to them to try and help or offer advise. The reason many of us come to be on a site like this is for the procurement of information. If I join a forum to ask a question and I get no reply, within a week, I can say that there is a good chance I wont bother with that site again....after all what's the point. This site for example is run by people mostly in their spare time (I'm guessing!) and like all things in life we take it for granted that we can type a message with out abuse or negative comments etc. I aplore you guys for doing that, I've got no idea how you even start to make a site like this work!. And because I know nothing about it I will most certainly offer no advise on the matter. I have a genuine passion for vehicles especially the Lexus marque. I've beaten the drum for the brand for years. I knew nothing about them when I landed the job at Lexus HQ GB. Didn't take long to work out though that they are pretty special vehicles from many aspects. I love vehicular technology and how it is intergrated and enjoy even more trying to fix oddball problems on these vehicles. I'll be the first to admit I don't know it all and i'm not scared to say it. But what I do know has come about from sheer experience and time in the trade learning continuously. Some people love the service side of vehicles and I'd be lying if I told you that I don't. Especially when it comes to the jobs that dealers just don't do....like valve shimming??!!, but my passion comes from trying to fix wierd problems.....I find it exciting and very interesting. I've got to know how it works!! I started in the trade at 16 and i'm 36 now. It's impossible not to learn a fair bit along the way, and I'm sure that I can harness that knowledge to help others that can help me in other fields. So, i'm here, i'm free and i'm going to try and stay current with the site to help those (if I can) with some of the strange problems that only the most reliable cars in the world can suffer from. I'm not always right, but i'll give anything a go in the quest for more knowledge and the correct diagnostic. Simon

Interesting comment about the airbag cut out, both mine have them?

For sure, but it depends on how you determine the difference. Many ways to diagnose depending on what you think it is. It also depends on what experience you have of similar problems. But there is nothing worse than being told your looking for an engine vibration/loss of power when really you are looking for a chassis/wheel/tyre problem which has the same effect as an engine vibration say by creating a force for the car to overcome. They can feel very similar, and usually you can determine what side of the problem you are looking for,and the diagnostic takes a new route, as you can focus on what can cause the fault in the right place instead of guessing what it could be in both areas. I'm not digging at dealer mechanics here, but we used to fix a lot of problems at Lexus GB HQ that the dealers just couldn't fix. That's not to say that they counldn't, just that Toyota and Lexus products are so reliable and very rarely fail badly. This creates short commings in the diagnostic techniques needed to fix these problems. For example I would never check an injector with an oscilliscope at the dealer, but when your tracing faults that are abnormal and hard to find, you have to up the ante and employ techniques that are mainly lost at the dealer with bonus incentives and busy schedules. Any way, would like to hear more of the symptoms so we can try and get to the bottom of it. As it says in the post, Lexus baffled!! It's not ideal trying to fix or diagnose something over the net and even face to face with a customer. For this reason Toyota and Lexus service manuals have a distinct section of questioning that you are supposed to ask the customer to focus your diagnostic. It's not there to make you look stupid or customer feel inadequate but to determine where, how and when your symptoms occur. It is a very important part of the diagnostic and over looked more often than I would like to admit. But with the correct questions asked and the right answers given, the diagnostic can proceed easily and efficiently. The Japanese like to call it "Kaisen" maybe the wrong spelling though!!! LoL Simon

My first impression of your symptoms are exactly the same, a coil but that does not seem correct to me when it only happens at speed. I would ask you to get the vibration happening again, but this time put it in neutral and coast to a stop holding the revs at the vibration point. The reason I ask this is because if it is speed related, it may well be something to do with your airflow metering. Do you have a high flow air filter fitted? It shouldn't make a difference at all, but if your AFM is playing up it would definately have more difficulty understanding high flow high speed low throttle conditions. How sure are you that it is an engine vibration versus a chassis vibration? You say it's not wheels and that you've had them balanced. You can still balance out of round tyres. I've seen plenty of out of round tyres cause similar problems too. Need to spin them up by hand and check from the outside for any raise or fall in the tread and also from the front (looking directly at the tread). I've had vehicles that have out of round tyres Randomly vibrate, I think purely as the wheels and tyres find the perfect spot occasionally and unbalance the set up. I would remove the airflow meter and check the resistors in the intake channel for muck, should be clean and shiny. Don't use a rag or your hands just good fuel injection cleaner safe for EFI. Let me know how you go. Simon

Had nothing to do with Lexus air suspension, but Range rover ones used to give nothing but trouble. Height probably controlled with a height sensor on one of the suspension arms. Once predetermined height found stops compressor and suspension raising. Check for broken sensors or wiring. If you jack the car up with the jack so the wheels are free and try to set up the suspension, what happens then. Is it that the compressor just does not have the guts to lift it any more, or is that there is a leak which prevents it lifting more. Does the compressor run continuously, or does it stop. Lots of things you could probably do to isolate and identify problem. Let me know how you get on and i'll try and help you through with the knowledge I have! Simon

Cant recall wether it was a GS or an IS that I fixed a few years ago same problem. Ecu was in front of the battery normal driving ok when in traffic would cut out. 10-15mins later start up and all would be fine. Nothing listed in diagnostic tester (genuine tester). Read the first pages of electrical manual and like they all do, they give you hints and tips of how to treat electrical components and wiring also a few normal tests which we always overlook. One of the tests was using a heat gun to raise the temperature of the ECU. I had my doubts as i've never had an ECU cut out from heat. Any way did the test and before long you guessed it.....she cut out. I was in shock and waited for it to cool and it started. So ran the test again to be totally sure and kept the cold airline ready to cool it back down quickly again to try and restart. Bingo, it overheated, cooled it down and started up. Finally had to replace the ECU to fix the problem. So get yourself a heatgun and gently warm it up and see if you get the same results. Simon LS400 may have same problem but I believe that ecu is interior mounted?!

Hi All, Not sure how you all go getting nice looking dash mats for your rides, but I had a lot of trouble trying to find any at all. Both for the ls400 and ls430. Tried every Australian company, even those that manufacture. Any way, it took me a while to find one on the net but then I stumble across a fantastic website. They are in the US, all the mats are hand made, you have a choice of material ranging from, cheap normal dash mat stuff to really nice suede. Lots of colours to choose from and you can even add the "Lexus" logo and other logos too. I know your thinking, but they will be left hand drive mats!! Not so, there is a box to check to get it made in right hand drive configuration, costs extra, but no surprise there. Got one for the 400 in normal material, very nice, and plush suede for the ls430 even nicer. They even encorporate the solar sensors, only dislike is the dash mounted speakers ar covered, but that doesn't bother me. The look of the mat is so good, you really couldn't care less. Have a look for your model, i'm sure they can help. And I will say....you wont be dissapointed. At least you know it will be Be-spoke to your vehicle. Great Site. http://www.mrdashmat.com/ Simon

I agree on the basis that what it says is using you should be getting your 1000kms. But you have to realise that as good as Japanese electronics are, they would not be as accurate as you are hoping. From memory, they calculate from speed, and throttle opening, intake air. Now if you have larger/smaller wheels and or tyres fitted or problems with your Throttle position sensor etc this would give you strange readings also. I'm also pretty certain that when they do the lab tests that they have as little electronic load as possible, no aeronauticle drag etc. Some stretches of road here are always getting a head/tail wind, and that has a huge effect. A/C can take a bit off your fuel mileage also. And cruise control is never the most economical either. The 1UZ-FE engine was and still is one of the most fuel efficient V8's you can get, but you can't expect miracles lugging a heavy car around. I'm pretty sure you can purchase more cutting edge fuel metering technology which may give you a better idea of where your car is at! I remember seeing a driving tips advert in the back of an old Renualt hand book, saying windows, wheels tyres, etc. All simple stuff to remember costs fuel mileage. But it's often over looked when fuel economy comes into question. No help, just a thought process! Simon

Been a mechanic for many years and I've never heard of retensioning a retracting seat belt. But that may just be because i've never had to or heard of any one else doing it. Mine is also a little lazy but I've found that the swiveling bevel at the selt belt return entry into your B pillar some times sticks and inhibits it's retraction. Other than that, it's a new belt I feel. Had a look and listing is $150 did a parts number inquiry in the site I use and it didn't come up. But even if that was American dollar, pretty reasonable for a new belt. Hope this helps! Simon

I've had the key inserted switch in the barrel for the ignition cause a drain before. Thinks the key is inserted and keeps voltage applied to accesories etc.? Does your steering wheel retract all the way when key out or even extend when key inserted? Other way is to fit your ampmeter and remove each fuse/relay in turn to see which circuit your draw is related to! Once amps drop you know you've found it! Two other possible causes both of which i've had in the past also. The alternator could be faulty, draining battery off. Had customer complaints of Range Rover doing the same thing. Came to the dealer four of five times for flat batteries, could never find the drain. Then by chance one trip, noticed a bit of a spark from the alternator. The other thing that I've had which was rather hard to find was a battery hold down clamp draining the battery. To check get a multimeter and with the negative lead held on the earth terminal, slowly run the positive lead across the battery. If your getting any voltage at all, then your batteries casing is leeching and therefore applying voltage to your clamp. It will only be small, not enough to cause sparking/arcing but will drain battery very quickly. Hard to find that one, and caught a few people out before it came to the shop. With the alternator, remove the main lead from it and see what amperage draw you have then. Simon

Strange side effects from jump starting a car, I would run through all the fuses in the car. Does it have a non factory alarm installed? It could be that which is causing your trouble?

That's no good, I would be checking all the main engine bay fuses first up. I say main becuase if you have nothing at the dash board, then you may have blown a main fuse which supplies your car with battery power. They are larger than usual and usually have a see-through glass/plastic for easy checking. Usually consealed in a plastic housing near the battery. Your handbook will tell you where they are located. Hope this helps Simon

Hi All, This problem reminds me of a problem I had on a Corolla that came into the shop a few years ago. The symptoms were similar but not exactly the same. Vehicle was ok when cold and when driven softly, but as soon as you gave it a gut-full it died and coughed and spluttered. Found eventually that the distributor oil seal had been leaking for some time. When the oil was cold (thick-viscosity) the car ran perfectly even when gunned. But once it had warmed up the oil was fluid enough to interupt the ignition spark and kill the car. The reason i bring this to the table is that during town driving your vehicle may well be hot, but the start and stopping would probably not be enough to make the oil run to the rotor and cut the ignition. However, on long breaking, such as highway cruising and pulling off the slip way it could possibly give you the conditions needed to re-inact the Corolla syndrome. It may be worth a look, seeing as the distributors....both of them run straight on the front of the cam sprocket, behind which sits the cam seals. Sounds like a tall tale, especially when you don't really see any oil leaking from around the cap area. But I can promise you, hot oil running in and around your distributor contacts definitely does not increase conductivity, it most positively decreases it to the point of ignition drop out. Take your dissy cap off and have a quick look. You don't have to buy anything and it shouldn't take you long to remove it from your diagnostics! Simon

HI,New member Simon Greavett, ex-lexus technician from UK previously worked on Lexus vehicles in UK training and technical centre. Have some new feature books which were handed out when a few of the older models were in current production. Giving you information of key feature updates etc. Love lexus and just trying to find enough cash to buy a newer one. Have a 2004 ls430 and 95 ls 400.