1993 Lexus LS400 Problems

THE FIRST TIME MY ECU FAILED WAS WHEN I WAS PARKED I WANT TO DRIVE AND THE ENGINE WOULD NOT GO ABOVE 1000RMPS. I GOT THE ECU REPLACED THIS WAS AROUND 2013. THE SECOND TIME WAS A MONTH AGO. I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK HAD A HUGE THUD IN THE ENGINE AND THE SAME THING MY CAR COULD NO LONGER GO ABOVE 1000RPMS AND COULDN'T GET THREW THE INTERSECTION. THE CAR BEHIND ME HAD TO SLAM ON THERE BREAKS BECAUSE MY CAR HAD LOST ALL POWER. I MADE IT HOME AND WAS ABLE TO GET A TOW TRUCK. BY THE TIME THE TOW TRUCK ARRIVED THE CAR WOULD START BUT THEN COMPLETELY DIE. TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC THEY HAD IT FOR A WEEK SAID IT FIXED ITSELF. ONE HOUR AFTER I GOT IT THE CAR STARTED TO ACT UP AGAIN. THE CAR IS BACK IN THE SHOP. THEY HAD TO SEND THE ECU OUT TO GET REPAIRED. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND APPARENTLY THE PARTS LEXUS USED ON THE ECU ARE FAULTY AND LEEK. CAUSING THE MOTHERBOARD TO SHORT. I STILL HAVE NOT GOTTEN MY CAR BACK AND DON'T KNOW IF THE CAR WILL BE FIXED ONCE THEY GET THE COMPUTER BACK. PLEASE RESEARCH MORE AS THIS IS NOT A CHEAP FIX AND FOR IT TO HAPPEN TWICE....WHICH I'M SURE YOU ALREADY KNOW IS NOT SOMETHING COMMON TO HAVE TO REPAIR ON A CAR LET ALONE TWICE. WILL SEND MORE DOCUMENTATION ONCE I GET MY CAR BACK. OR FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME.

DASH FUNCTIONS DON'T WORK AT TIMES. SPEED, FUEL LEVEL,ETC ARE NOT INDICATED WHEN CAR IS AT REST OR MOVING. THIS HAS BEEN A RECURRING PROBLEM WITH THE RESULT THAT I FEAR DRIVING THE CAR AND WON'T SELL IT AS IT IS NOW. AT AROUND $1800 TO REPAIR WITH NO GUARANTEE THE REPLACEMENT IS NOT BUGGY, I FEEL BETRAYED AND DISMISSED BY TOYOTA.

THE INSTRUMENT PANEL ON MY '93 LS 400 IS NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. SOMETIMES WHEN IT IS COLD IT WON'T LIGHT UP. IN ADDITION, THE SPEEDOMETER AND THE TACHOMETER ONLY WORK SPORADICALLY. I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM WITH LEXUS VEHICLES FOR YEARS AND I WANT TO LEND MY VOICE TO THE MANY WHO HAVE ALREADY EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM. THIS HAS TO DO WITH A DESIGN FLAW IN THE MANUFACTURING OF THIS COMPONENT AND SHOULD BE RECALLED. THE DEALER WANTS ALMOST $2000 TO REPAIR A PROBLEM THAT SHOULD NEVER EXIST. THE WORST PART ABOUT THAT IS THAT THE NEW MODULE WILL HAVE THE SAME DESIGN FLAW THAT THE OLD ONE HAS. EVEN MY '58 CHEVY HAD A SPEEDOMETER THAT WORKED. I BELIEVE THAT LEXUS HAS TAKEN A HEAD IN THE SAND ATTITUDE TOWARD THIS PROBLEM AND SHOULD BE MADE ACCOUNTABLE.

INSTRUMENT PANEL IS UNREADABLE--LIGHTING IS COMPLETELY OUT. *JB

RECENTLY THE CAR BEGAN TO STUMBLE UNDER ACCELERATION WHILE DRIVING UP A HILL OR MERGING INTO TRAFFIC OR MAINTAINING SPEED WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE. I INITIALLY THOUGHT IT WAS A FUEL SUPPLY ISSUE SO I CHANGED OUT THE FUEL FILTER, WITHOUT ANY IMPROVEMENT IN THE PROBLEM. I WAS GOING TO CHANGE THE FUEL PUMP ALSO AND WHILE RESEARCHING ON THE INTERNET I LEARNED OF A PROBLEM WITH BAD ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITORS INSIDE THE CAR'S ECU (ENGINE COMPUTER) WHICH CAN MIMIC A FUEL SUPPLY PROBLEM. I AM A TRAINED ELECTRONICS TECHNICIAN, SO I REMOVED AND DISASSEMBLED THE VEHICLE'S ECU AND REPLACED 2 CAPACITORS (COST, LESS THAN $1) THAT I COULD SEE WERE BAD (LEAKING ELECTROLYTE FLUID). I TEST DROVE THE CAR AND THE "FUEL SUPPLY PROBLEM" WAS GONE, IT DROVE NORMALLY AGAIN AND DID NOT STUMBLE WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS PRESSED. I ORDERED THE OTHER 5 OR 6 ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITORS IN THE ECU (FROM AN OUTSIDE SOURCE, THE DEALER WILL ONLY SELL A COMPLETE ECU FOR $2000 PLUS) TO HOPEFULLY PREVENT FUTURE OCCURRENCES. IN CONCLUSION, IT APPEARS THE BAD CAPACITORS ARE THE RESULT OF A "LARGE-SCALE INDUSTRIAL ESPIONAGE FOUL-UP". NOT A JOKE! THIS RESULTED IN DEFECTIVE CAPACITORS BEING USED IN MANY ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLIES (CONSUMER ELECTRONICS, AUTOMOTIVE, HOUSEHOLD, ETC.) UNTIL THE ISSUE WAS DISCOVERED, SEE WWW.BADCAPS.NET FOR THE STORY. I FORGET WHERE I LEARNED OF THE CAPACITOR PROBLEM ON THE LS400, BUT IT WAS JUST BY SEARCHING ONLINE. SO BASICALLY, LEXUS IS CHARGING CUSTOMERS OVER $2000 TO REPAIR A SAFETY ISSUE (THAT IS CAUSED BY LESS THAN $5 WORTH OF PARTS (RETAIL COST) AND A LITTLE SOLDERING SKILLS/LABOR) THAT WAS THE RESULT OF IMPROPERLY DESIGNED/MANUFACTURED ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS FROM THEIR SUPPLIER. *TR

I DROVE MY CAR TO WORK ON THURSDAY. AFTER WORK WHILE I WAS DRIVING HOME, I SMELLED GAS. WHEN I GOT HOME THE CAR WAS SMOKING UNDERNEATH THE HOOD. MY SON ALMOST OPENED THE HOOD TO CHECK THE SMOKE; HE BURNED HIS FINGER. A PASSERBY TOLD HIM NOT TO OPEN IT BECAUSE IT WAS ON FIRE. MY SON CALLED 911. I DON'T KNOW HOW OR WHY THE FIRE STARTED, BUT IT STARTED UNDERNEATH THE HOOD. I HAVE HAD THIS CAR FOR 5 YEARS. I HAVE NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS. CAN YOU TELL ME IF THERE ARE ANY RECALLS FOR THE 93 LEXUS, LS 400. I NOTICED A RECALL FOR THE 95, WHERE A FIRE CAN START UNDERNEATH THE HOOD. IS MY YEAR FINE. THE CAR IS TOTALED. *NM

THE FIRST TIME MY ECU FAILED WAS WHEN I WAS PARKED I WANT TO DRIVE AND THE ENGINE WOULD NOT GO ABOVE 1000RMPS. I GOT THE ECU REPLACED THIS WAS AROUND 2013. THE SECOND TIME WAS A MONTH AGO. I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK HAD A HUGE THUD IN THE ENGINE AND THE SAME THING MY CAR COULD NO LONGER GO ABOVE 1000RPMS AND COULDN'T GET THREW THE INTERSECTION. THE CAR BEHIND ME HAD TO SLAM ON THERE BREAKS BECAUSE MY CAR HAD LOST ALL POWER. I MADE IT HOME AND WAS ABLE TO GET A TOW TRUCK. BY THE TIME THE TOW TRUCK ARRIVED THE CAR WOULD START BUT THEN COMPLETELY DIE. TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC THEY HAD IT FOR A WEEK SAID IT FIXED ITSELF. ONE HOUR AFTER I GOT IT THE CAR STARTED TO ACT UP AGAIN. THE CAR IS BACK IN THE SHOP. THEY HAD TO SEND THE ECU OUT TO GET REPAIRED. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND APPARENTLY THE PARTS LEXUS USED ON THE ECU ARE FAULTY AND LEEK. CAUSING THE MOTHERBOARD TO SHORT. I STILL HAVE NOT GOTTEN MY CAR BACK AND DON'T KNOW IF THE CAR WILL BE FIXED ONCE THEY GET THE COMPUTER BACK. PLEASE RESEARCH MORE AS THIS IS NOT A CHEAP FIX AND FOR IT TO HAPPEN TWICE....WHICH I'M SURE YOU ALREADY KNOW IS NOT SOMETHING COMMON TO HAVE TO REPAIR ON A CAR LET ALONE TWICE. WILL SEND MORE DOCUMENTATION ONCE I GET MY CAR BACK. OR FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 1993 LEXUS LS400. WHILE DRIVING AT A LOW RATE OF SPEED, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. AS A RESULT, THE VEHICLE DROVE OVER A CURB AND CRASHED UP A SLOPE NEAR A WOODED AREA. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. IN ADDITION, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL NOISE HEARD NEAR THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE AS THE VEHICLE SURGED AT AN EXTREMELY HIGH RATE OF SPEED. THE FAILURE WAS REPORTED TO THE INSURANCE COMPANY AND THE MANUFACTURER. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED AND TOWED TO A COLLISION CENTER. THE CONTACT WAS WAITING ON A RESPONSE FROM THE MANUFACTURER REGARDING THE UNINTENDED ACCELERATION FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 201,600.

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE BRACKETS USED TO HOLD THE HOOD OPEN FAILED TO KEEP PRESSURE AND ALLOWED THE HOOD TO CLOSE WITHOUT WARNING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED.*AK

MY COMPLAINT IS ABOUT THE LEXUS AUTOS THAT I OWN AND OWNED IN THE PAST. IT INVOLVES THE GAS CYLINDER THAT HOLDS THE HOOD UP. AFTER A FEW YEARS THE GAS LEAKS OUT MAKING THE HOOD A HAZARD BY COMING DOWN ON YOUR HEAD UNEXPECTEDLY. IF IT IS A WARM DAY, IT STAYS UP A LITTLE LONGER THAN A COLD DAY. I HAVE TO USE A PAPER CLAMP TO HOLD THE HOOD UP. I TOOK THIS PROBLEM UP WITH THE LEXUS COMPANY WITH NO INTEREST. SO I AM TAKING IT UP WITH YOU PEOPLE. WHY DON'T THEY USE SPRINGS LIKE THE OLDER CARS USE. THEY NEVER COME DOWN UNEXPECTEDLY. *NM

WHILE TRAVELING ON THE INTERSTATE AT NIGHT-TIME, THE LIGHTING ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WENT COMPLETELY DARK AND IT BECAME IMPOSSIBLE TO READ ANY OF THE CARS INSTRUMENTATION SUCH AS VEHICLE SPEED AND WARNING INDICATORS. AT VARIOUS TIMES SINCE THEN THE GAUGES IN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL HAVE ALSO BECOME UNRELIABLE, THESE INCLUDE THE FUEL LEVEL GAUGE, THE SPEEDOMETER, AND THE TACHOMETER. AT TIMES THEY WILL NOT MOVE FROM THEIR "0" SETTING, SUCH AS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS POWERED OFF, UNTIL THEY WARM-UP OR YOU BANG THE DASH WITH YOUR HAND AND AT OTHER TIMES THEY WILL NOT WORK AT ALL. THE LIGHTING PROBLEM STILL OCCURS ON THE INSTRUMENTS ALSO. THE DEALER SAID ALL THEY COULD DO WAS REPLACE THE INSTRUMENT PANEL AND COMPONENTS IN THE DASH AT A COST OF OVER $2000 PLUS LABOR, SO OFTEN I JUST HAVE TO GUESS HOW FAST I AM DRIVING OR HOW MUCH FUEL IS IN THE CAR AS THE REPAIR WOULD BE ALMOST AS MUCH AS I PAID FOR THE CAR (THE INSTRUMENTS WERE WORKING WHEN I PURCHASED THE CAR). *TR

WHILE DRIVING OR WHEN FIRST STARTING THE VEHICLE THE WHOLE DASH WILL GO DARK AND NOT LIGHT BACK UP OR KEEP FLICKERING. YOU ARE UNABLE TO SEE HOW FAST YOU ARE GOING OR ANY WARNING LIGHTS AND THE GAS GAUGE DOES NOT WORK WHEN THE DASH LIGHTS GO OUT. DRIVING ALONE IS UNSAFE AND EVEN WITH OUR 2 CHILDREN MAKES IT VERY UNSAFE NOT KNOWING HOW FAST YOU ARE GOING AND FUEL GAUGE NOT WORKING SO YOU COULD RUN OUT OF FUEL AND LEFT STRANDED WITH KIDS ON THE ROAD. MANY COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN MADE ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND LEXUS REFUSES ANY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THIS PROBLEM AND SOMETHING REALLY NEEDS TO BE DONE! *TR

RECENTLY THE CAR BEGAN TO STUMBLE UNDER ACCELERATION WHILE DRIVING UP A HILL OR MERGING INTO TRAFFIC OR MAINTAINING SPEED WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE. I INITIALLY THOUGHT IT WAS A FUEL SUPPLY ISSUE SO I CHANGED OUT THE FUEL FILTER, WITHOUT ANY IMPROVEMENT IN THE PROBLEM. I WAS GOING TO CHANGE THE FUEL PUMP ALSO AND WHILE RESEARCHING ON THE INTERNET I LEARNED OF A PROBLEM WITH BAD ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITORS INSIDE THE CAR'S ECU (ENGINE COMPUTER) WHICH CAN MIMIC A FUEL SUPPLY PROBLEM. I AM A TRAINED ELECTRONICS TECHNICIAN, SO I REMOVED AND DISASSEMBLED THE VEHICLE'S ECU AND REPLACED 2 CAPACITORS (COST, LESS THAN $1) THAT I COULD SEE WERE BAD (LEAKING ELECTROLYTE FLUID). I TEST DROVE THE CAR AND THE "FUEL SUPPLY PROBLEM" WAS GONE, IT DROVE NORMALLY AGAIN AND DID NOT STUMBLE WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS PRESSED. I ORDERED THE OTHER 5 OR 6 ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITORS IN THE ECU (FROM AN OUTSIDE SOURCE, THE DEALER WILL ONLY SELL A COMPLETE ECU FOR $2000 PLUS) TO HOPEFULLY PREVENT FUTURE OCCURRENCES. IN CONCLUSION, IT APPEARS THE BAD CAPACITORS ARE THE RESULT OF A "LARGE-SCALE INDUSTRIAL ESPIONAGE FOUL-UP". NOT A JOKE! THIS RESULTED IN DEFECTIVE CAPACITORS BEING USED IN MANY ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLIES (CONSUMER ELECTRONICS, AUTOMOTIVE, HOUSEHOLD, ETC.) UNTIL THE ISSUE WAS DISCOVERED, SEE WWW.BADCAPS.NET FOR THE STORY. I FORGET WHERE I LEARNED OF THE CAPACITOR PROBLEM ON THE LS400, BUT IT WAS JUST BY SEARCHING ONLINE. SO BASICALLY, LEXUS IS CHARGING CUSTOMERS OVER $2000 TO REPAIR A SAFETY ISSUE (THAT IS CAUSED BY LESS THAN $5 WORTH OF PARTS (RETAIL COST) AND A LITTLE SOLDERING SKILLS/LABOR) THAT WAS THE RESULT OF IMPROPERLY DESIGNED/MANUFACTURED ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS FROM THEIR SUPPLIER. *TR

THE VEHICLE SPEEDOMETER LIGHT ON THE DASHBOARD APPEAR ON AND OFF INTERMITTENLY WITHOUT PRIOR. PLEASE FILL IN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION DEALER IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. TS

DRIVING WHILE IT WAS RAINING THE VEHICLE SPINNED AROUND AND HIT THE GUARD RAIL, THE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. *AK

HAD A FRONTAL COLLISION, AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. TT

CONSUMER STATES SHE EXPERIENCED A FLAT TIRE, SHE TOOK TIRE BACK TO WHERE IT WAS PURCHASED AND THE STORE REPAIRED IT, CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE INTO LOCAL DEALERSHIP AND WAS THEN ADVISED THAT THE TREAD WAS WORN, CONSUMER WAS ALSO EXPERIENCING CONTINUAL AIR LOSS, WHEN CONSUMER REPLACED THE TIRES SHE WAS ADVISED THAT THE TIRES SHE HAD WERE HIGH PERFORMANCE TIRES FOR RACING SITUATIONS ONLY NOT FOR NORMAL DRIVING. *JB

I BOUGHT A CAR FROM LEXUS DEALERSHIP ON JUNE 26, LESS THAN 3 MONTH AGO. IT IS A 1993 LEXUS LS400 WITH 67400 MILES ON ODOMETER AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE. LAST SUNDAY MY FAMILY: MY WIFE, DAUGHTER AND MYSELF WENT FOR A 4 DAY VACATION TO LAKE SHASTA. IT WAS OUR FIRST LONG TRIP IN LEXUS. UNTIL THEN THERE WERE ONLY UP TO 50 MILES TRIPS. AFTER ABOUT TWO HOURS OF DRIVING AT 65-70 MILES PER HOUR SOMETHING HAPPENED. WE HEARD SOMETHING FELL OUT FROM THE CAR AND I BARELY HAD THE CAR UNDER CONTROL. WHEN I STOPPED THE CAR WE SAW THAT THE TREAD OF LEFT REAR TIE IS DESTROYED/MISSING. SOME OTHER PARTS INCLUDING LEFT REAR DOOR ARE DAMAGED/MISSING. I SUPPOSE IT HAPPENED BECAUSE THE RADIUS OF THE TIRE INCREASED WITHOUT THE TREAD. WHEN WE DROVE BACK SEPTEMBER 13 THE SAME HAPPENED WITH THE RIGHT REAR TIRE. AGAIN, AFTER 2 HOURS OF DRIVING AT 65-70 MILES PER OUR WE HEARD A PART FELLING OUT. THE TREAD OF RIGHT REAR TIRE WAS DESTROYED. SOME OTHER PARTS WERE MISSING/DAMAGED/SCRATCHED. BOTH TIRES WERE INSTALLED WHEN I BOUGHT THE CAR. THEY ARE THE SAME MAKE: COOPER LIFELINER CLASSIC II.( DOT NUMBER: TIRE SIZE: P225/60R16 )

I BECAME A VICTIM OF A CURBSTONER ON AUGUST 30, 2004, WHEN I BOUGHT A USED VEHICLE (93 LEXUS LS400, VIN: [XXX]) FROM A "SUPPOSED" WASHINGTON AUTO DEALER. HIS DETAILS ARE AS FOLLOWS: [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] HE DID NOT CHECK ANY BOXES ON ODOMETER DISCLOSURE/TITLE EXTENSION STATEMENT, AND TOLD ME THAT VEHICLES OLDER THAN 10 YEARS ARE EXEMPT FROM MILEAGE STATEMENT REQUIREMENT. HE WROTE DOWN EXEMPT IN PLACE OF ODOMETER READING. WHEN I CHECKED WITH THE LEXUS SERVICE CENTER AFTER THE PURCHASE, THEY GAVE ME THE HISTORY OF THE VEHICLE WHICH SHOWS THAT THE MILEAGE IS 230,086 INSTEAD OF 86,223. I PAID $6,951 BY A CASHIER'S CHECK. I USED EXPERIAN AUTOCHECK SERVICES AND THIS ODOMETER DISCREPANCY DID NOT SHOW ON THEIR RECORDS. MARK VAYNER INTENTIONALLY AND MATERIALLY DEFRAUDED ME. UTILIZING THE E-BAY MOTORS VEHICLE PURCHASE PROTECTION PLAN, I AM WRITING THIS LETTER TO FORMALLY COMPLAIN ABOUT THIS ODOMETER FRAUD. NOW, WHAT CAN I DO AT THIS POINT? PLEASE LET ME KNOW. THANKS. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX]. *AK UPDATED 07/25/2012 *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

VEHICLE WAS AT COMPLETE STOP, AT SPEED 20MPH APLLIED THE BRAKES, EXPERIENCE BRAKE LOCKUP VEHICLE PULL VERY HARD TO RIGHT IMPACT 1:00 POSITION. TT

THE FRONT SEAT BELT BECAME UNBUCKLED WITHOUT PUSHING THE RELEASE BUTTON. ALSO, FRONTO SEAT BELT GOT STUCK IN THE LOCKED POSITION. *AK

1993 LEXUS LS 400- DASH ILLUMINATION FAILS, PREVENTING DRIVER FROM SEEING SPEEDOMETER, TACHOMETER, GAS GAUGE, ENGINE WARNING LIGHTS AND GEAR INDICATOR. THIS IS A VERY WIDE SPREAD PROBLEM IN THIS VEHICLE AND A RECALL IS REQUIRED. *AK

1993 LEXUS LS 400- DASH ILLUMINATION FAILS, PREVENTING DRIVER FROM SEEING SPEEDOMETER, TACHOMETER, GAS GAUGE, ENGINE WARNING LIGHTS AND GEAR INDICATOR. THIS IS A VERY WIDE SPREAD PROBLEM IN THIS VEHICLE AND A RECALL IS REQUIRED. *AK