1992 Lexus SC400 from North America - Comments

I bought the car privately from a lady who got herself a new SC430. The SC400 was sitting on her driveway for 3 years. Her son in-law changed the timing belt, radiator, 4 rotors and the water pump as a general maintenance before selling it. The 12 CD Changer that came with the car did not have a cartridge inside it. I Called the Lexus dealer who quoted $2,000 + 15% tax for a replacement CD changer. So I bid for a Lexus 12 CD Changer on Ebay and won it for $286 from a private seller in Toronto. He also installed it for me. I still have the old one. The paint on the wheel arches and door trims was worn out, I guess due to sitting idle for 3 years. I took it to a good body shop and got the whole car repainted for a very reasonable price. Also got the interior of the car detailed. Now the car looks like new. I'm loving it. I also need to replace one of the rear speakers. I can do it myself. There is condensation problem inside the front lights. But I am not really worried. As general maintenance I changed the oil and filter, all the Spark Plugs and the Air Filter.

SC400 is a smooth car. Too heavy to be a fast sports car like Eagle Talon TSi, Mustang GT, Corvette, etc.. It is more like a luxury car that looks gorgeous. Lexus SC400 takes around 6.9 seconds. Slow for a V8. It is so smooth that I feel frustrated sometimes as it does not roar like my old Nissan Maxima 3.5 SE. I don't push it hard as it is very heavy and also because I want it to last a long time. It is fuel efficient for a V8. The Nakamichi Premium sound system is nice. I cleaned the engine manually using WD40 and cloth without using water in anyway. SC400's and jet spray engine wash do not go well even if one covers the electrical parts well. It does not handle well in rain or snow. SC400's are rare, but one can use the LS400 parts for it. As on another comment, buy one, fix it up and it will run another 150,000 km.

Update on my posting...It has been 1.5 years since I owned my Lexus SC400. All I did is change oil, filter regularly and that's it. Nothing has gone wrong so far except the "Traction Off" and electrical light comes on by default. Not really worried as I always switched off Traction Control. I can see from my research that other SC400 drivers also experience this problem after driving this car for over 200,000 KM. Not a big deal. One of the reasons Traction Control can go bad if you got wheel alignment done through a non-lexus dealer and the job was done poorly so the car's T-Control goes haywire and shuts off. I am planning to take it to my local Lexus dealer to get it scanned and fixed. Another problem I find is that I am so obsessed with it looking spotless, I keep on spending too much time cleaning it with proper cleaning stuff. Anyways, I would still recommend this car to anyone.

Update. For the Traction Control and Electrical light on I took the SC400 to my local Lexus Dealer for a computer scan. They ran it and found that the main O2 sensor was bad. This, they said, can cause the Traction Control to go off. Weird. All connected I guess. This is costing me $650 for 2.5 hours of Labour for diagnosis and installation, and $318 for parts. Expensive. But I can also see that I could have bought an OEM (non-lexus) O2 sensor for around $75 from elsewhere, but this is a Lexus and I don't want an OEM part on my machine. Funny thing is that my car is running faster with this problem!

I have a '92 as well and had the exact same problem - O2 sensor - and ended up paying about what you did. Its funny, reading these posts, I see all the ghosts I've dealt with and the ones that I will have to deal with in the future.

UPDATE: I've had MY SC400 since Mar 2005. Since replacing the main O2 sensor nothing went wrong until recently. The car skids on rainy days on just slight turns. (I use very good tires). The struts clank while driving on bumpy roads. One of the engine mount is either worn or loose. When I shift gear from P to D it thumps. I want to sell my 1992 SC400 and buy a 1998 (or up) SC400. It's a beautiful car and I still love it.

My 1992 SC400 has covered 338,000 km. It's still a pleasure to look at and to drive. I also have a buddy with about 400,000 km on his SC400.

My car NEVER sees the inside of a Lexus dealership, as I have a good mechanic, who accesses all the repair info he needs from Mitchell manuals on their website. General maintenance comments:

1. Moisture in the headlights. Caused by deteriorating sealant between the two parts. Early on, the dealer tried drilling extra drain holes in the headlight assemblies, to no avail. What does work is (wait for this) heating the headlight assemblies in the oven at about 150 degrees, which allows you to separate the assembly into two parts using a butter knife. You then clean the male and female halves, replace with a good automotive silicone sealant and reassemble. You'll have to reheat a few times to remove the old sealant. Much cheaper than new assemblies.

2. The Nakamichi sound system is controlled by an amplifier which mounts in the trunk under the 12 CD player. Moisture can accumulate in this area if the drain tube becomes plugged, which will damage the amplifier. Repair shops will not even try to repair a water damaged amplifier. I got a replacement from a bone yard in Quebec for $ 100, but check now to save aggravation.

3. At one point about a year ago, the transmission was "skipping" from first to third. My friend had experienced this and it was solved by replacing the #2 solenoid in the transmission, which is easily accessible through the transmission oil pan.

4. New struts about 40,000 km ago made a big difference.

UPDATE: After reading your post I am now suspecting the shocks as well! I will change them soon. Also, my car was hestitating since last week. I was worried that it could be the transmission or the timing belt cause I have already replaced the plugs with platinums, plug cables, air filter, etc. 6 months ago. Previous owner also changed the timing belt before selling it. This morning I decided to give it a last shot by replacing the air filter. I found a plastic bag inside the intake blocking the air passage. I am not sure how it got there. I then took the plastic bag out and replaced the air filter. Car is back to normal again. Thank God, I saved big time.

UPDATE: I have been hearing some funny noises when going over bumps or uneven roads. I suspected the rear shocks which I replaced for $160 each + $360 labour. It did not fix the problem. Then the mechanic showed me that all 4 bushings for the front and rear lower Control Arms have worn out. Very expensive to replace those, as I would have to buy the 4 Control Arms and then replace them. Each Control Arm costs something like $500 OEM or $750+tax dealership. Plus I would have to pay the Labour cost. I am wondering if I should replace them and spend a bomb or just sell my SC400 and buy a newer one. Or else my car is in awsome shape. Looks and drives awsome.

'Rescued' my 1992 SC400 in a trade for a 1996 volvo. Despite 184k miles, and a lack of upkeep... the car is in surprisingly decent condition.

Engine still makes good compression, doesn't burn oil, and still makes 20+ mpg despite being a v8. Interior is tan, and pretty bad. Everything works, but cosmetically there's a lot of room for improvement.

Doesn't shift smooth (1-2 shift), and the dreaded "check engine' light is on, as well as the ABS light, and the o/d light flashes (code 3-6)

Took it in to Lexus to be scanned ($167 later) this is what they said:

Solenoid #2 in the transmission is heading south (replace trans)

O2 sensors on the left bank (pre and post cat are bad)

Speedometer bit the dust ($1500 for new gauge cluster)

ABS ECU is bad (but can be driven without ABS)

Generally car is in rough shape

Lexus quote $8400.

So being the mechanically inclined person I am..

Solenoid #2 $45 from a scrap yard

02 sensors $40 from a friend's parts car

ABS ecu: (used money for beer, I don't need ABS)

Speedometer: $398 for ARK design speedo/tach stand-alone.

So aside from time and a few misc parts (trans pan gasket, tranny fluid, hunting down wiring diagrams online; my car runs beautifully, pulls hard, and shifts smoothly, and it cost me about $500 (not including aforementioned beer)

The SC has timeless lines, and people still have a hard time believing it's 16 years old. a little silicone sealant fixed headlight humidity.

Coming from a hardcore street/drag/drift culture, after driving the SC I won't be going back to a civic or 240sx anytime soon.

I have an SC400 with 130,000 all original miles.

I love this car with one exception. In the heat it doesn't want to run. Like 3 o'clock in the afternoon sun. I mean it turns over and 2 seconds later it dies. In an experiment to see if if the heat caused the problem, I let cold water run across the hot hood for about 1 minute during the hot part of the day. And sure enough the car started great and ran fine until I turned it off. Tried to start it again. It ran for 2 seconds then died. Without the water I may start the car 20 times before it stays on. What is it? Hot air in the intake, vapor lock, sensor, I am lost?

UPDATE: I have since removed my old front bumper and put in a brand new 1999 SC400 bumper, replaced the front fog lights, and put in brand new rims and tires. The car looks great.

I purchased grey leather paint cans from Ebay and re painted the leather seats. Looks new. Overall the car looks better than ever.

Also I had a leaking power steering pump. I purchased Lucas Power Steering Pump sealant which closed the leak. But the leak damaged my alternator. I called Lexus, the price was too high to get it replaced. I shopped around on Yellow Pages and found an Electrical Shop which took off the alternator, rebuilt it and put in back on for $300. Not bad.