LS400 Running Cold

[Chip L]

'90 LS 400, 256,000 miles.

Car warms up slowly and the temp gauge only gets up to one notch above
its lowest mark. I am located in the Carolinas (around 32F in the AM,
50F in the garage).

Also, the cabin heat output is very low. Fan is OK.

Coolant is topped up.

Thermostat?

Chip L

[Ray O]

Post by Chip L
'90 LS 400, 256,000 miles.
Car warms up slowly and the temp gauge only gets up to one notch above
its lowest mark. I am located in the Carolinas (around 32F in the AM,
50F in the garage).
Also, the cabin heat output is very low. Fan is OK.
Coolant is topped up.
Thermostat?
Chip L

Most likely.

[mcbrue]

May I ask how much work you have had to have done to the car to keep
it running for 256,000 miles?

I have just switched to a LS430 from a Mercedes S420 and it is a
terrible comparison. But the Mercedes cars would strand me by the
side of the road every so often. Lexus is not supposed to do that. So
I am wondering how much money and repair time you have to sink into
one of these to keep them going that long.

[old man]

FWIW
1) LS430 150k miles, std services - 2 light bulbs failed
2) LS400 200k miles, std services - radiator replaced

Post by mcbrue
May I ask how much work you have had to have done to the car to keep
it running for 256,000 miles?
I have just switched to a LS430 from a Mercedes S420 and it is a
terrible comparison. But the Mercedes cars would strand me by the
side of the road every so often. Lexus is not supposed to do that. So
I am wondering how much money and repair time you have to sink into
one of these to keep them going that long.

[Chip L]

My father bought the car used in 1990. The engine and transmission
have performed flawlessly.

The major issue has been the air suspension which went out 6 months
ago. The rear began dropping to the ground. Replaced L/R air strut
(OEM) $800. Soon after, R/R air strut began leaking. Replaces with
Rebuilt but air compressor also went out. New compressor was $1500
OEM. Bought used for $275.

Total to get air suspension repaired: over $2000. If I had known what
I know now I would have replaced the rear air suspension w/ Coil over
stuts.

All other issues have been minor/routine.
Leaking water pump will kill the alternator (about 240k)
A/C compressor

Chip L

BTW, new thermostat solved my heating problem. Very easy repair (10
minutes).

Post by mcbrue
May I ask how much work you have had to have done to the car to keep
it running for 256,000 miles?
I have just switched to a LS430 from a Mercedes S420 and it is a
terrible comparison. But the Mercedes cars would strand me by the
side of the road every so often. Lexus is not supposed to do that. So
I am wondering how much money and repair time you have to sink into
one of these to keep them going that long.

[mcbrue]

Thanks Chip. It looks like routine oil and service changes plus the
$2,000 rear air support thingy. You also said the alternator will need
to be replaced which I assume is about $700 and the AC Compressor
which I assume will be about $3,000. So that looks fairly cheap for
256,000 miles, about 3 cents per mile assuming the total is
2000+700+3000. Of course the routine maintanence costs are a bit
higher than that. One problem I see is that the costs have come long
after any extended warranty would cover them. I am surprised that
there were no electrical problems.

Thanks.

[Jerohm]

Post by mcbrue
Thanks Chip. It looks like routine oil and service changes plus the
$2,000 rear air support thingy. You also said the alternator will need
to be replaced which I assume is about $700 and the AC Compressor
which I assume will be about $3,000. So that looks fairly cheap for
256,000 miles, about 3 cents per mile assuming the total is
2000+700+3000. Of course the routine maintanence costs are a bit
higher than that. One problem I see is that the costs have come long
after any extended warranty would cover them. I am surprised that
there were no electrical problems.
Thanks.

You aren't talking about a Mercedes for heaven's sake ;-)

Actually the first generation Ls400s were not all that
electrically/technically complicated. The air suspension option was an
expensive mistake. I don't know anyone who had it, that didn't end up
pulling it out and retrofitting the car with standard suspension. The gauge
(needle) display lighting and temp LCDisplay almost always need to be
replaced. Actually it is the power steering pump that can fail and take out
the alternator. My Ls400 has about 235K and I figure that I have paid an
average of about $100/mo over the life the car or $1200 * 17 = $20.4K (maybe
a little less), which included ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING (oil changes, normal
maintenance, filters, tires, batteries, etc) except gas and insurance...
with the greatest expense between 120K and 180K miles. I still get about
16mpg city/24 Highway ... pretty much the same as day one.

[Chip L]

I rarely replace parts with new OEM. Its a 17 year old car. All of the
parts in it are used - for 17 years! I will typiclly rebuild, buy
used, our buy rebuilt. The Alternator was about $350 and the rebuilt A/
C compressor / new dryer was about $700.

If I had known how much the air suspension was going to cost, I would
have installed coilovers all around $1000.

I enjoy the car and hope to keep it for another 2-3 years (I put
30,000 a year on a car).

Chip L

ThanksChip. It looks like routine oil and service changes plus the
$2,000 rear air support thingy. You also said the alternator will need
to be replaced which I assume is about $700 and the AC Compressor
which I assume will be about $3,000. So that looks fairly cheap for
256,000 miles, about 3 cents per mile assuming the total is
2000+700+3000. Of course the routine maintanence costs are a bit
higher than that. One problem I see is that the costs have come long
after any extended warranty would cover them. I am surprised that
there were no electrical problems.
Thanks.