1994 Lexus LS400

1994 LEXUS LS400 INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTS NOT WORKING WHEN COLD, AND NOW EVEN IN THE SUMMER IT TAKES LONGER FOR THE LIGHTS TO COME ON. IN COLDER WEATHER MY LIGHTS DON'T GO ON UNTIL THE CAR IS DRIVEN APPROXIMATELY 60 MILES. I CANNOT SEE HOW FAST I AM GOING, AND THE SAFETY OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION WORKERS IS A HUGE ISSUE AND I WANT TO MAINTAIN A SAFE THE SAFE LEGAL SPEED. THE ODOMETER DOESN'T REGISTER, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH GAS I HAVE,. THIS CONTINUES TO WORSEN AND MY FEAR IS THAT EVENTUALLY I WILL HAVE NO LIGHTS AT ALL. HAVE CHECKED INTO MANY WEB SITES AND SEEMS TO BE A COMMON ISSUE, VERY EXPENSIVE TO REPAIR. *TR

1994 LEXUS LS400 INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTS NOT WORKING WHEN COLD, AND NOW EVEN IN THE SUMMER IT TAKES LONGER FOR THE LIGHTS TO COME ON. IN COLDER WEATHER MY LIGHTS DON'T GO ON UNTIL THE CAR IS DRIVEN APPROXIMATELY 60 MILES. I CANNOT SEE HOW FAST I AM GOING, AND THE SAFETY OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION WORKERS IS A HUGE ISSUE AND I WANT TO MAINTAIN A SAFE THE SAFE LEGAL SPEED. THE ODOMETER DOESN'T REGISTER, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH GAS I HAVE, THE MILEAGE IS INCORRECT. THIS CONTINUES TO WORSEN AND MY FEAR IS THAT EVENTUALLY I WILL HAVE NO LIGHTS AT ALL. HAVE CHECKED INTO MANY WEB SITES AND SEEMS TO BE A COMMON ISSUE, VERY EXPENSIVE TO REPAIR. *TR

LEXUS INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTING FAILURE RESULTS IN DRIVER'S INABILITY TO ACCURATELY DETERMINE VEHICLE SPEED. THE ISSUE HAS BEEN ONGOING IN MY 1994 LEXUS LS400 FOR SEVERAL YEARS. THE VEHICLE HAS APPROXIMATELY 123000 MILES AND STARTED AT APPROXIMATELY 90000. IN COLDER WEATHER ESPECIALLY, THE DASHBOARD READOUT IS INVISIBLE FOR APPROXIMATELY THIRTY MINUTES. WHEN THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT IS SUFFICIENTLY WARM THEY DO FUNCTION PROPERLY. THIS IS A HAZARDOUS CONDITION. TOYOTA MOTOR COMPANY REFUSES TO RECOGNIZE THE DEFECTIVE NATURE OF THEIR PRODUCT AND WANTS APPROXIMATELY 1200.00 TO REPLACE THEIR DEFECTIVE PART. THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF CONSUMERS WITH EXACTLY THE SAME ISSUE I'VE DESCRIBED ON VARIOUS LEXUS OWNERS WEBSITES. IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD RESULT IN A VEHICLE RECALL TO CORRECT THE MATTER. *TR

I HAVE A '94 LEXUS LS400 ON WHICH THE INSTRUMENT PANEL DISPLAY DOES NOT FUNCTION AT LOW TEMPERATURES. IT WILL TAKE UP TO AN HOUR OF DRIVING BEFORE THE INSTUMENT PANEL LIGHTS UP AND THE GAGES BECOME VISIBLE. ONE HAS TO NOTE THAT THIS IS A NEON-LIT INSTRUMENT PANEL WHICH WILL BE TOTALLY DARK DAY OR NIGHT WHEN THE LIGHTING DOES NOT WORK. THE USER WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SEE ANY WARNING LIGHTS, VEHICLE SPEED AND FUEL LEVEL. THIS IS A SYSTEMIC PROBLEM WITH "90 TO '94 MODEL YEARS AND POSSIBLY LATER ONES ALSO ( I PERSONALLY KNOW OF AT LEAST 10 CASES). LEXUS IS QUOTING $1,200 TO $1,600 TO REPAIR THIS DEFECT. BASED ON THE PRICE TAG, MANY PEOPLE WILL BE RELUCTANT TO HAVE IT REPAIRED AND CONSEQUENTLY THERE WILL BE MOTORISTS ON THE ROAD WHO WILL NOT KNOW WHAT SPEED THEY ARE GOING OR WHETHER THEY WILL RUN OUT OF GAS. I BELIVE THAT THIS IS A SAFETY DEFECT THAT SHOULD BE CORRECTED BY THE MANUFACTURER THROUGH A RECALL.

WHEN STARTING VEHICLE AND ENGINE IS COLD, THE DASH GAUGES DO NOT OPERATE. AFTER VEHICLE ENGINE HAS WARMED, THE DASH GAUGES START TO FLICKER AND EVENTUALLY COME ON. WITHOUT THE DASH GAUGES, YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW FAST GOING, IF CRUISE IS ENGAGED, HOW MUCH GAS, THE TEMPERATURE OF ENGINE, ETC. TOOK TO DEALER AND THE PART THAT NEEDS REPLACING IS A METER ASSEMBLY CIRCUIT BOARD (PART # 83247-5A050-RP). AFTER RESEARCH, I FOUND THAT THE -RP OF THE PART NUMBER MEANS THE CIRCUIT BOARD HAS TO BE PROGRAMMED WITH MY CURRENT MILEAGE. FURTHER INVESTIGATION SHOWS THAT WHEN THE DASH IN NOT OPERATING, MY MILEAGE IS NOT BEING REGISTERED. I THINK IT IS POOR DESIGN TO STORE ODOMETER READING IN FLASH MEMORY (I HAVE VERIFIED THIS BY RECORDING ODOMETER READING WHEN DASH WAS OPERABLE. DROVE ABOUT 15 TO 20 MILES, WHEN DASH NOT OPERABLE, AND VERIFIED THAT THE ODOMETER HAD NOT REGISTERED THE MILEAGE). I HAVE GONE TO MANY LEXUS RELATED SITES (CLUBS, BULLETIN BOARDS, MESSAGE BOARDS) AND FOUND THIS TO BE QUITE PREVALENT.