1997 Lexus LS400 LS from North America - Comments

I own a 97 LS coach, 100000 miles. Bought it with 70k. Love the car.

The only complaint I have is no fault of the car. My driving habits are, lets say, questionable and I am very hard on brakes. 3 sets of pads and over heated rotors in 30k I thought a little excessive! I finally opened my wallet for a new set of cross drilled and slotted rotors and ceramic pads front and back. Now my fast stops are effortless for this 4800 lbs wonder machine. I don't think there is a better car in this class in the world. Toyota set the benchmark for all to follow with this car.

"Just out of curiosity, I wanted to know how much to change a starter and an alternator down the road... $1200 for the starter and installation and 1500 for the alternator and installation... What the &* (#$&!! are these OEM parts that expensive. Not, but I have to admit these cars are not really easy to work on when it comes to replacing these two items... I hope they can last until I save up some money or just get more familiar with the Chilton's repair book... hehehehe.

Please post more comments and let me know more about what parts break if any."

I hear the alternator fails on the early model years (I think 1995 and earlier) because power steering fluid can leak onto it. The great thing about the LS 400 is that it's an enthusiast car so there's so much information available for it. Some websites are:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com

http://www.clublexus.com

http://www.lexls.com

There is a guide to replace the alternator, just search for it. And I have seen alternators from internet suppliers for a couple hundred. Just make sure you buy from a reliable source, check the forums for online supplier reviews. For most parts like this I think local suppliers really like to mark up their prices.

For basic repairs I think it's much more worth it to do them yourself, and it's easy to find answers to your questions on those forums.

Best of luck with your purchase!