I own a LS430 base model, I bought from original owner with 83k miles for $4000. Dealer quoted $2400 for rear main engine seal replacement because of leak, dinged bumper, I had bumper cover painted, shocks, cushioned all speakers, now the car is a jewel... Owner didn't want to pay $2400 repair rear main seal, an bought a new RAV. She had all records from Lexus since she purchased new., I have owned for 5 years. Car has been solid no major issues, Do all my own work replace TB, plugs now at 113k still runs smooth as silk...
The reason your seat moves to a different setting when you unlock the car is because the previous owner has programmed it into the key fob. There is a sequence in the owners manual to delete that and reprogram your setting to your key fob. So if for example your wife last drove the car with everything in her setting, and locked the car, when you unlock the car with your key fob, the seat, steering wheel, exterior mirrors and seat belt height automatically return to your setting when the car unlocks. Check your owners manual for instructions on how to delete the previous setting and then reprogram yours. It is a great feature.
I own a 2002 ls430. The ABS light can be recalibrated with whats called a handshake. You take a paperclip and put one end into the number 3 upper terminal on the OBD and the other end into the number 13 lower terminal then turn the ingnition to the on position. The display should read " Recalibrating ABS" . This worked on mine. Go figure a paperclip. Lol.
Nice Lexus LS430, congrats on finding a great model. I'd be interested in a review on your upgraded music head-unit... great mod to bring that interior to the 21st century.
Great video - we also have a silver with black interior. Black definitely hides the age. We've had our 290,000 mile 2001 LS430 since 2019. Reliable and cheap maintenance. Love it!
the LS430 is the best LS ever built in term of luxury, great blend of electronic controls and reliability. The reason the 04-05 has been more sought after is the improved 6spd auto provided better MPG than the pre-facelifted model 5spd. LS460 is a nice car if you can afford to keep replacing control arms every 60k-80k miles.
I own a 2001 that I bought with 126,000 miles. Mint. Original owner. I have 156 now, and I will never own another vehicle again! I want a fleet of these
@@beardedreviews I own a 05 gray on gray premium package w/same wheels as yours. (Didn’t want GPS) Overpaid at a used car dealership $14k but I want what I want. Bought with 108k, now 132k. Been to Fl. Keys twice and Boston once. Going to Toronto soon to see my gf. This car eats asphalt like a fat kid eats cake. Looking for a blk on blk cream puff to put in storage because I’m selfish lol 😂. I want to keep a fleet of 2 at all times. Again, selfishness.
Great review! I test drove an '05 LS 430 yesterday. Couple things that caught my attention were that the lower control arm bushings are worn, and I couldn't find any sign of a timing belt replacement. The car has 118k miles. Another thing is that the steering wheel was all cracked, but all other wood trims looked fine. But like you said, steering wheel replacement is probably a matter of $300. Oh, and the brakes felt super mushy. All in all, I think the $13k (plus fees and tax) that the dealership is asking for it is a bit too much.
The LS 430 is a great example of how Toyota actually overbuilt the Lexus vehicles, which is a good thing. The LS 400 was built like a tank, very solid vehicles. I serviced these Lexus vehicles as a Lexus Dealership technician and they are really reliable overall and really luxurious compared to their Toyota counterparts.
Nice ride! I’ve always liked those. In regards to the memory on the seats. I heard that you can reset the functions of the seats by “Initializing” using the seat buttons to the move the seat all the way forward, back and the recline options as well (but there is a specific order, mine was an example). Basically what it’s doing is setting parameters for the seats prior to you setting your own permanent ones. Not sure how true that is but that’s what I read. I have a set of BMW seats in my 71 Chevelle, so I’ve done a lot of research on various seats I could’ve swapped in my old school.
I was just gifted a 2003 base model with the Grandpa interior. This is my 6th LS. Need I say more!!? My thoughts on the black leather vs beige is that the black showed ALL the dirt and was hotter so I actually prefer the beige even though it might not look as good. I was putting on 40-60k/yr and I'd run them until I got tired of them and then get the next one. I always got them used because there is no sense in buying a new car and putting that kind of miles on it. The youngest one I got rid of was an LS 400 with 250k and the transmission went out. I had the dealer put in a "new" transmission (which I later found out was a factory rebuild) and it never shifted the same so I sold it. All the rest were sold at ~350k. One LS430 needed a trans at 300k and I had a private shop rebuild it and it was "OK' but never shifted like the original. I feel like my transmissions died earlier that need be because on those cars I sat in Miami traffic and the heat was incredible! After I insulated my battery and provided some air to the battery I got a battery to last a year. Interstate was great at replacing them for free but said it was the heat that was killing them. In Miami, I had brake fluid, trans fluid and coolant changed every year because of the heat problem. I'll be putting in the Seicane for sure. I can live without a backup camera because my crashcam already has one. Anyone have experience with Techstream software/OBD2 setup? I understand it can reprogram the Canbus so DRLs with LEDs dont flash and fix things like the ABS light being on etc. www.obd2gate.com/products/autel-maxivci-mini-vci-mini-bluetooth.html and I believe there is a free app for your phone. I strongly recommend replacing the idler pullys and water pump when you do your timing belt. I had my belt changed then 15k later an idler pulley froze up which took out the timing belt and 6 valves. It's cheap enough and you're in there anyway. I put 20" wheels on one of my 430s and had the windows at max legal tint. It looked BAD!!! It ate rear tires even with a good alignment job. I put bigger brakes with ceramic pads and braided stainless brake hoses on it (R-1 Concepts) and it made a HUGE difference!!! I'm glad to be back in another LS430!
It may be the smart key that's programmed to a personal setting. If you have both fobs, see if it does the same with the other. Possibly read the manual for the answer. Also, many don't know this, but there are a number (15+) of features that the dealership can change with their computer; for example, I had them change how long the mirror lights stay illuminate, which doors (driver only vs all vs just left side) unlock from the driver handle and I had them turn off the daytime driving lights (that yellow looks dated). If an advisor doesn't know what you're talking about, I'm sure the technicians know all about the ability to change the settings on the 430; something you can do by yourself in today's cars.
@@beardedreviewsyeah bidirectional scanner - I use techstream I got for like 30 Turning off telescoping steering wheel on entry will save your wheel motors
the cl and ul have double paned windows is one thing the other trims do not have. also your key is programmed to the seat, just hold the memory seat button and hold lock or unlock on your key and it should beep. would definitely like to see a revkew of the new head unit
ohhhhhhh!! Dude thankyou. I need to try that out! And yes they do have the double paned glass. I am going to be making a video soon about the differences
I found 2 White LS430s on a reputable lot - a 2004 with 141K and a 2006 with 124K. I bought the '04 because it had chrome wheels with the gold accents and the maintenance records were tight as a banjo string. Took forever to save the dough but it's the best auto purchase I ever made. And this was after I drove my 91 LS400 to 450K before she just became too expensive to fix. If I had the cash I would've bought them both.
The trim is Antique Walnut and it came with CL and UL packages starting in 04 on cars that had black interior. I changed the steering wheel in mine too. The lighter wood was just totally lame that Lexus let that decision leave the factory. It appears to me that your seat is auto adjusting because that position is programmed to that particular key. (likely the previous owner). Once you close the door after its been started it sets to the position assigned to that key. You could disable this feature through the stock navigation screen. Not sure if you can do it through the aftermarket radio you have. Im a LS guru of sorts. Used LSs are the only car ive bought since my first purchase in 2004. A used 2000 LS400 with 44k miles which i still own with 370k miles today.
Is it the thing where you tap the screen a bunch of times to get it into the secret menu diagnostic thing? Thankyou for the info on the trim! You know alot more about these than I do
@@beardedreviews It was just buried deep in the "convenience settings" menu. You may still have access to it with the aftermarket unit but i couldn't say as i have no experience there. What I would try, is just setting your memory to the key. It should just overwrite the old and solve the issue. Key has to be in the ignition and you just hold Memory 1 and the door lock button at the same time for 3 secs. This is the Key memory procedure for all Lexus vehicles.
Trying to find either a black on black or silver on black like yours. 04 and newer. Impossible lol. Convincing the girlfriend is another issue. Lack of parking ha. I have a 2 door tacoma 4x4 and it's great for work and winter but the ls430 on long trips would be great.
The seat issue your having is because THAT particular key your using is NOT the #1 key. This car originally comes with 3 keys, that’s why there’s 3 memory seat controls on the door panel. Just program all 3 memory seats the same way. It’s should fix your problem.
Aircraft rated? I have 25 years in the Aviation maintenance field. Please tell me what that means. Did Lexus actually market this engine as an option to pull and put into an airplane? what am I missing here? Or are you saying that it has the same required reliance as say a Lycoming?
The 3UZ-FE is an engine you could take and actually put into a light aircraft, and I believe it is because of how balanced it is maybe? I'm not totally sure, but there are longer write ups about that particular aspect if you were interested
Such a sweet car. I do sales so I drive around 25k miles a year. I’ve been looking at an ‘04-‘09 Lexus Rx 350, ES 350 and LS 430. Such a difficult decision bc all are amazing vehicles
Honest question: How come you’re mentioning several issues on this, but there are ES 350s all over RU-vid and people aren’t mentioning a bunch of problems?
I just bought one at a auction for 500 bucks. Its only got 69k miles and somehow the engine is locked up. Seems super odd for such low miles. But other than that the body and interior are perfect. How do I tell what trim it is and would it be worth putting a motor in
Sounds like it was beat on make sure the rest of the car is good based off a mechanics pre purchase inspection and if the transmission and rear differential don’t seem to be showing signs of failure it would probably be worth it there just really robustly built cars so the issues after would most likely be few and far between just make sure you put a good engine in there spend the extra few bucks on that for sure doesn’t need to be new just make sure it’s not a cheap junk motor with a ton of miles
Look at the rocker switches and driver-passenger seat heat control knobs. A UL model will have seven rocker switches in addition to the two seat heater/cooler knobs, a ML will have five along with the heater/cooler knobs,, a CL will have three switches and the heater knobs only increase/decrease heat, they don't have the option to cool the seats (no red/blue graphics, only red).
@willyshirts1459 I think it’s worth another engine. If you’re doing it yourself, there are a lot of very low mileage 3UZ’s in Japan that you can drop into your car that would cost hopefully less than just buying another one. My 2002 UCF30 has 65,000 km and I’m the second owner, and I find lots of engines when looking online for parts. I really, really like my car and plan on bringing it to the states and driving it til someone makes me an offer I can’t resist, which I hope never happens 😅
The problem with old cars like this is the poor gas mileage, relative to modern cars. If old cars like this did everything exactly like they did but gas mileage goes to 30+ MPG I would consider them. But, alas, old tech is old tech for a reason.
After driving MB/Jaguar for 40 years, I bought a dealer maintained 2010 LS 460L w/82K because of the Toyota reliability! WRONG! It has been the least reliable car I have ever owned! The latest problem is the ABS module! It was a design flaw from Lexus. They gave a 10 year warranty from the date of manufacture. I'm out of course! Putting in a used unit is not an option because of the design flaw. My only option is replace it because the normal brake booster is inside the ABS module! Dealer cost is $3800! I wished I had bought a 430, but I do like the 460 styling much better!
Beautiful car. Have a ‘04 LS430 for 2 years now and it is BY FAR, the finest machine I’ve ever come across. Praying for your door actuators to never fail LOL. I hear they are goofy expensive, so go knock on that wood veneer. :) Sometimes the entry level 430’s are safer bets to avoid repairs….think: air suspension, door actuators, stereo, obsolete nav to name a few. Yet, even so, any 430 is money wisely spent if the previous owner kept up with maintenance. Highly recommend Car Care Nut for serious work if you are near him.
I also thought I needed a tranny In my 05. Took it to a shop and they chants solenoid and replaced the fluid. $925. 10k mi later still runs like a champ.
