Just took my '95 LS in for 90K service at Lex Dealer. No known issues with car up to this point. Paid $1200 for normal maintenance (timing belt, etc). In process Lexus found that my front ball joint needed replaced, which was additional $690 and Rear brake pads $400. Told em go ahead and do both. In process of doing the work they found that the front left hub and bearing was worn-wanted an additional $700 for that-I held off. Day after getting car back from the brakework the ABS light on dash is lit up. Figured it got accidentally engaged when they did the brakes. Took car back in for the ABS light and was then told that they found an issue with the anti-lock brakes which would be another $700. Not sure what to do at this point. Seems like a lot of jack to throw down all at once. My question to everyone-does this sound normal for my car to have this much work needed at this point? I planned on spending the $1200 for the maintenance but didn't plan on $4K. I hope to drive the car to at least 150K miles if not 200K and want to know what additional money should I plan on spending for maintenance on my LS between now and then. Is this normal for these things to be going wrong at this point? Any opinions/experiences much appreciated.

 

you got taken...those prices are ridiculous...

 

I have a 1997 LS Coach... through out the life of my car all i did was change oil , brake and that was it!!!.. did a 90,000 mile service including timing belt at 100,000 miles!!! .. and all the problem they told me i had was a leak in the power steering and a leak in my right front shock... and they suggested me to replace it .. but i held up.. but other than that ... my car had NO problems and now its 120,000 miles and still going strong ... and quiet!!! so.. if you have all that problems .. you should get a second opinion and take it to another lexus dealer.. see wat they say.

 

My friend, I owned a 97 LS and when I got rid of it, it had 163,000 miles on it. I work for dealership (Acura at the time, then BMW, now Honda) I know how things are done it the dealership, and I know how much certain parts cost (rear brake pads for a LS cost about $100) but $400 for just replacing pads & cutting rotors is a bit much. My LS was purchased with about 50,000 milse on it and was service regularly at the dealer (had freinds there) but to have all those items "go bad" at the same time sounds like an over zealous (greedy) service consultant OR a technician who might be a bit inexperience in repairs/service and he created more trouble for you than trying to help you. The proper thing was to advise you of the things your car would need in the future, that would ensure them of a return visit from you. LS 400's really do not require alot of maintenance (change the oil & filter, replace pollen filter, tire rotaions, trans-brake-coolant flushes) the basics!!!! The service packages dealers have are sometimes mostly fluff. If you break them down, you can really save alot of money. Also that 90k service seems a bit high anyway. Find another dealer to take your car to. Your car will last you well into 200,000 miles. The car I had is still running around. I now own a 430 and plan to keep it until the 460 hits the streets. The maintenance on this one is just as simple as the other ones.

 

How do you change the rear high brake light bulb on 99 ls400

chuck s

 

dude

The price are killing you .... can u find another place to do ure repairs ...??

 

the ls is an exceptional vehicle. i cannot say what you did or did not need but i would question how they handled the service. let me go over your situation as i interpret it from being a lexus tech for 7 years. 1200 for a tbelt is a standard price, i dont know what they replaced but it should have been the tbelt, water pump and both timing belt idlers. the 95 ls400 is an interferance motor, which means if the tbelt breaks you will bend valves.
the ball joints on high mileage ls's is fairly normal although some techs will sale them before you need them, be careful there. that goes for brakes too. always if you can ask to see the items they are trying to sell before you purchase them. as a tech if i cant show you whats wrong, generally i wont sell it and im always willing to explain what im selling and even show you your car. now the hub and bearing.....ive seen a few go bad, alote of times you will get a roaring noise from the wheel bearing that is bad. for example.......l/f bearing is going bad and you hear the roaring noise. if you are going down the road and slightly weave to the right the noise will get louder, and if you weave to the left it will get quiet. the reason for this is....when you go right you are adding load to the bad (left front) bearing which causes the noise to increase, and when you go left you are taking load off the (left front) bearing which makes the noise decrease....also many times the wheel with the bad bearing will have free play. when the car is lifted you can grab the top and bottom of the wheel and pivot (push top of wheel with one hand and pull bottom of wheel with other...then switch pull top/push bottom) if the wheel moves thats also a sign of a bad bearing..... as far as the ABS goes, im willing to bet you have an abs sensor code....go ahead tell me im wrong. heres the catch they could have damaged the sensor wire when replacing the ball joints, i cannot tell you for sure the did, but they were working in that area and you did not have an abs problem before the repairs. you need to go into the service managers office and complain. he has the ability to goodwill warranty stuff and considering how much you just spent i would expect him not to want to lose you as a customer. try it and see, they give alote of stuff away to good customers.
good luck
later
jason

 

Atrain234,

I have to say that that is the biggest crock of Hoohay I have heard ...... I think your perticular mech is trying to pay for his summer vacation. Check with the General Service Manager and let him work out the "must have" and the "need later" items for your vehicle. I have never heard of so many things going wrong at the same time in my life........... unless of course you were running you LS in the" Great American Desert Rally" !!!!!!