carguyay

I am in and out of mine 2,3-4 times a day and if the steering wheel is not left at correct say 2 and 10 it locks up. Most cars do but none of my past cars did it daily. Way to sensitive. Really a pain in the ***. Moving the wheel back an forth while turning the key gets old. Also replaced wifes battery in smart key and reset low tire twice from cold temps. Yes glove box door is bad but only when getting out one of my 3 manuals or the dvd . Quite you bet if the music is of I will hear paper move in the ash tray he he .Just like a beautiful women I still love her. ha. Black/Black modern sport 18 chromes with 4200 miles in 9 weeks.

LS430inTX

My '03 is similar. If the steering wheel locks with any amount of tension, either left or right against the lock, I will not be able to turn the key. I have to turn the steering wheel just enough to release all tension in either direction in order to turn the key. I did not know this was "typical" of a Lexus when I first bought the car. I almost got stranded in a parking lot because of this "feature."

MJA1951

I 've also had the Tire Pressure monitor go off twice since November, once in about 2 inches of snow, and once when it was cold. Overall I'm very impressed with my LS and other than a slight rough cold idle, but the Tire Pressure monitor is the one thing that seems poorly designed. If you look in the manual, the conditions which they claim could set it off is almost anything.

My service rep said it doesn't even check the air pressure, but uses sensors to check a difference in tire rotation to set it off. And it doesn't even tell you which tire it senses is low. I asked my dealer to just disconnect, but they said they couldn't. I'm thinking you will just ignore it if it keeps on going off when there is no problem.

I'm interested in where Lexus goes with the system because I would think they will be getting a lot of complaints if our first few months is any indication

MJA1951

I forgot to ask. How much is it to replace the battery in the SmartKey?

JPI Racing

Lexus have this feature in the SC430 long time ago. Now it's staring showing in the Ls430. You will need to air up tires to 35 psi, that way when the temp drops your light won't come on. Anything below 28 psi will make the light to come on. I think this is a great tool to have on your Ls430. Enjoy.
JPI

MJA1951

I've been told by the service department that this system is different than the SC system. That one uses a small battery in each wheel and a sensor in the tire stem to monitor the air pressure.

The system in the LS only monitors the tire rotation and when it detects a different amount of rotation from one tire over a certain period of time, it turns on the warning. This system does not know how much pressure is in each tire and when the warning light goes on, it doesn't even tell you which tire it had detected.

I've heard from Corvette owners who have the system like the SC, that when the battery goes out or the sensor is damaged it costs a few hundred dollara to replace, so maybe that is why Lexus is trying this system.

Although I've only had the system a few months, my opinion is negative. Since it doesn't tell you which tire it thinks is low, you really can't tell if it's a false reading unless the tire is very low. So you just reset the indicator and go. In the manual, it states some of the conditions which could set it off are drving in snow, very cold tempatures, very hot tempatures, and other things. I would rather put up with the expense of the other system for the accurate information.

JPI Racing

You the right the SC and LS. But on the SC it doesn't use a battery. There is a tire pressure ECu, and It will pick up the frequency from all four tires. You can't really tell the tire pressure unless you have access to Lexus Diagnostic scanner. Or check it manually. The sensor on is not cheap, it runs about $250 each.
JPI

LS007

It's good to know I'm not missing out on the new LS's tire pressure monitoring system. About a year and half ago I added the SmarTire (www.smartire.com) pressure and temperature monitor with remote display to my '02.



The sensors are mounted inside the wheel rims and DO NOT connect to the tire stems. The controller allows you to switch tire locations when tires/wheels are rotated.



Sold at TireRack.com http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/...artire_all.jsp

Beowulf

Your expreience mirrors mine, carguyay. The first time my wife tried to drive the car, she spent 30 minutes trying to start it _in our garage_! She finally called me at the office, extremely frustrated! I stopped by during lunch and found the problem, but this situation seems to surface more often with this car than any others in our experience. Her former BMW would do it, but only on rare occasions; my Corvette also does it, but very rarely. With the Lexus, it's at least two or three times a week. Also, the force with which the wheel has to be jostled is a quite a bit more than other vehicles in my experience. Still love the car, but it's a minor annoyance (major the first time it happens to a new driver, like my wife).

carguyay

mikealaimo, I toke my wifes smart key with the 500 page manual and sat at my desk and changed the battery. I didn't use the Lexus special screw driver which I guess would be plastic. Simple to do then I walked next door to walgreens bought new one $3 and I was done. It took longer to find the page and go next door for the battery then to do. I also removed her key ring as the manual suggested. It just lays in the bottom of her purse with all the other stuff down there. ha