'03 Lexus LS430

[pedrosixfour]

Hey folks.

 

My Dad was offered the above motor for reasonable money along with his '99 Merc E300 TD (the single biggest P.O.S. I have ever had the misfortune of knowing).

 

The LS currently has about 65K miles on it and I believe it has conventional suspension (or am I wrong in thinking these only had air suspension as an optional extra).

 

Just wondering has anyone had much experience with this particular model?

 

Anything to look out for, anything looming on the horizon with regards to the mileage?

 

I've had a bit of a look around it already and took it for a spin down a real piss-poor piece of road to get a feel for the under-pinnings but the owner was looking for silly money at the time and I had a feeling the deal was never going to happen so I didn't delve that deep. It looked pretty straight and drove very well, everything electrical seems to work as it should.

 

But with the new offer Pops is pretty damn tempted to do the deal as he always liked the Lexus and has heard good things about them but the Merc has really opened his eyes to the joy (horror) of a car with powered everything and he doesn't want to make the same mistake twice.

 

Any guidance or experiences you care to share would be greatly appreciated.

[Suprab1]

I seen a thing about the LS lexus before & they are supposed to be bulletproof. Quieter than a rollsroyce & more reliable than any of its german rivals.

[GreaseMonkey]

The LS430 is a fairly reliable car but here are the things that I have known/ could go wrong on these:

 

Height Sensors on Air suspension models, mainly the rear ones corrode/ sieze up, causing the rear of the car to jack itself right up. These are pricey part to replace but easy to change.

 

Check for worn rear Air suspension dampers, this can make the car "wallow" or bounce when going over the slightest of bumps. This can be checked by pushing on the tailgate and seeing how quickly the damper recovers the spring rebound, it should be fairly firm. Airbag Shock Absorbers are £600 approx each from memory.

 

Oxygen Sensors can fail, mainly the ones on the exhaust manifolds can go and can be very awkward to remove, especially if it pulls the thread out with it.

 

The VSV for ACIS Valve & Tank assembly can malfunction, only noticed engine light on but no noticiable difference in driveablity. Again pricey part, and pricey to replace as the Intake manifold has to be removed as fitted beneath the intake manifold in the center of the V bank as is the Starter motor which can play up when starting hot.

 

Front to rear Air Conditioning Pipes can corrode causing poor cooling from A/C, Mainly in the area around/ between the N/S/R Door/ wheel arch. Again very pricey part to replace/ have fitted, and a very awkward job to do as propshaft/ fuel tank etc have to be removed to replace.

 

The electric Tilt & Telescopic Steering Column can give up/ seize, can be repaired as most are down to the screw threads on the motors running dry of grease.

 

Headlamp Bulbs are the HID Gas discharge type, these can fail. This can be seen at night as the bulbs give off a red/ pink tinge/ hue on the beam pattern when they are on there way out. These can be £120 approx each from memory.

 

Door window glass on very early LS430's used to delaminate/ go milky at the bottom of the glass.

 

Front brake Pads and Discs tend to last 12-15,000 miles approx. Rear brake pads 25-30,000 miles approx.

 

Check the Auto Wipers Function as can be faulty after being refitted incorrectly if a windscreen has been replaced and transparent Gel pad hasn't been replaced.

 

Front tyres wear on the edges quite a bit which is normal especially if only used on short trips/ urban driving.

 

The car itself if serviced correctly to Lexus service schedule can be very reliable/ alot of car for the money and the faults mentioned above are known but not ridiculously common like some other makes.

 

Tis all I can think of from memory from working on these cars, not all woe not a bad car, just worth keeping in mind.

[edge]

A 2003 car with 60k miles should be almost as new. These wear very well and my 95 with 120k drove brilliantly. The chance of something major going wrong is very low ESP when compared to mercs. Toyota/lexis seem to be able to do the electrical thing right.

[pedrosixfour]

An absolute wealth of knowledge.

 

You sir are a gentleman for taking the time to post such a ream of information. I'll pass it on to the head man and let him chew on it for a while.

 

Suprab1 & Edge, this is the general feeling I get from the owner's clubs I have looked at. Some owners drove German marques for 40+ years but came to Lexus after being disappointed with reliability and such.

 

Thanks for the replies guys, it's greatly appreciated.

[tbourner]

You sir are a gentleman for taking the time to post such a ream of information. I'll pass it on to the head man and let him chew on it for a while.

 

Bare in mind these lists can put people off where fear isn't necessary, same as looking on forums about a car you're interested in; you only ever hear the bad stories and not the hundreds/thousands of happy people. Send him this message as well as balance:

A 2003 car with 60k miles should be almost as new. These wear very well and my 95 with 120k drove brilliantly. The chance of something major going wrong is very low ESP when compared to mercs. Toyota/Lexus seem to be able to do the electrical thing right.

[pedrosixfour]

Bare in mind these lists can put people off where fear isn't necessary, same as looking on forums about a car you're interested in; you only ever hear the bad stories and not the hundreds/thousands of happy people. Send him this message as well as balance:

 

Nah.

 

He is mine to toy with.