AndreGide

Hi All,

I am new to the forum so please forgive me if this is in the wrong place.

There is a very nice 2003 LS430 with around 30k miles on it that I am interested in buying. Clean history with all records, original sticker, even the leather tag is still on the driver's seat. The man who owned the car (may he R.I.P.) maintained it regularly and always kept it garaged. The son now has possession of it and it is living outside unfortunately.

The car drives beautifully and is reasonably priced but there is a red airbag light on in the instrument cluster. I have no idea what the problem is but I imagine that it wont be a cheap fix. If I have to shell out $1k to fix it that is fine but if this is a sign that the car is going to be a nightmare to keep running properly I will probably look for something else.

I have owned almost exclusively European cars and I am tired of being nickled and dimed, which is why I am considering a Lexus. I would really appreciate any input. I always get cars inspected before I buy them but before I shell out a couple hundred bucks to have it inspected at a Lexus dealer I thought I would opt for the opinions of some LS owners.

usermel

I would as them about the airbag light and also contact a Lexus dealer and explain the cars issue and see if they can explain to you what the problems is and what the cost may be. Im sure someone hear has had there airbag light on and hopefully the will see your thread and give you an answer.

If not, I suggest asking as many questions as you need to before paying for the car. Maybe you can request a inspection at a Lexus dealer before you decide. Has to be some issue if that lights on. Dont buy it until this matter is clear!!!L.G.N.M

GLIDESUL

Yeah i would the dealer look at it before buying. If its the air bags its like 1000 each. If you dont mind spending that kind of money go ahead. Or you can do what alot of people on the forum are doing and convert to shocks/springs. Thats what i'll be doing when my air decides to go up. Its alot cheaper.

Jabberwock

If you are serious about the car, pay $100 bucks or so for Lexus to inspect it before you buy it. Any repairs that are big dollar ask the seller to pay or lower the cost on the car to compensate. Unless its a Lexus CPO car, don't buy any high dollar used car without an independent dealer inspection. If the seller balks at the inspection requirement, walk ..no run..away from the deal. The airbag light could be an easy $100 fix or just as easy it could be a $1000+ fix ...the dealer inspection will tell you exactly what is needed.

AndreGide

I just want to know if this is a sign that this car is going to be problematic. For most cars the best thing you can do to keep them in tip top shape is to drive them regularly. If you let them sit things will go wrong. I do not know if this is the case with a Lexus though. The car is 8 years old with 30k miles so it definitely sat.

The car does not have an air suspension, so it wouldn't be an airbag leak. I am referring to the driver/passenger airbag. I called the dealer and they could not tell me over the phone what they thought the problem was. The light is this red one above the fuel gauge.

I always have cars inspected before I buy them but I am working if it is worth the effort to go that far. If this was a Land Rover or a Jag I would have already walked away.

Here is a pic of the light I am referring to:

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x...101009_003.jpg

caddyowner

Welcome! I would get the seller to agree to let me take the car to a Lexus dealer or independent Lexus repair shop for a per-purchase inspection. Get an estimate to repair all of the things that may not be functioning on the car, including the airbag light. You can then negotiate with the seller from a position of knowledge. If the seller does not agree to this, move on.

I assume you are from Normandy in France. What is average yearly vehicle mileage in France? 12-15K per year is normal in the U.S., but in most of the country we have spotty public transportation and we use our cars for daily commutes and a lot more.

JimsGX

I wouldn't let it worry me. It could be the air bag, a sensor, or the spiral cable in the steering wheel. I'd work it into my negotiation using the worst case scenario. If as you say the car is already priced right, I think a 50/50 split for the estimated repair is a fair compromise.

I wouldn't consider this issue as a warning sign of more problems to come. As you already appear to know, these cars are very reliable with only a few common / minor problems shared here by all of us.

Jabberwock

Yep as Jim said it could be a simple problem - virtually anything in the supplemental restraint system could be throwing an error code not just the airbags. I had an error code like this come on in a different car and it ended up being a faulty seat belt buckle sensor (seat belts are part of the system). There is nothing about the error code per se that is indicative of a problem vehicle.

An interesting side note is that in the 1980's when airbags first appeared in cars they were viewed by the manufacturer as a 10 year lifespan device. Manufacturers were concerned (and rightly so) that after 10 years in the typical harsh car environment the plastics, electronics, ignitors, etc. would deteriorate like all the other parts of a car normally do, and then not function well when required.

Modern air bags these days are generally viewed as 15-20 year items....but I don't think there have been many or even any definitive published studies on airbag aging and reliability.

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

It might mean there is no airbag.
I had an ES where the light came on 2 weeks after I bought it.
I took it to the dealer 10 times before insisting there was a bag missing. The car had a clean record but I could tell it had been in an accident despite it's near perfect look. Eventually Lexus traded me out of the car after having someone from corporate come down....but they never admitted the bag was missing.
However, none of this affected how the rest of the car operated. If you can live without an airbag, buy it.

honeygee2

I am going to assume that the Normandy you refer to is overseas. The dashboard pictured is different than the one in my LS 430. The temp and fuel guages are separated on mine. Airbags are subjected to theft. Make sure you got one under there.

AndreGide

I saw the car again today and the airbag light was off so maybe it had to do with the fact that the owner was not wearing his seat belt when we went for a test drive. I am going to try to get it inspected this week.

My other concern with the car is that it has that very light grey interior and based on the looks of the drivers seat I would have thought the car had 100k miles not 30k. How difficult is it to clean the leather in these cars?

Jabberwock

If the car's interior is very dirty and seat shows wear at 30K, I would avoid it. To me low miles with heavy interior dirt and wear is a red flag that something is not right. Usually when something just doesn't seem right when looking at a used car it should be a red flag to walk away from that deal. There are really clean and well taken care LS430s out there if you are patient and wait for the right car.

AndreGide

I know what you are saying but this car has such low miles. Clean Carfax and detailed records. There is another LS430 that I have looked at that is flawless with 63k but that has an extra two years worth of driving under its belt.

JimsGX

Was the deceased owner disabled? Possibly getting in and out of the LS using a wheelchair? When people end up with chronic health problems, maintaining the leather in their LS probably isn't at the top of their to do list.

honeygee2

did anyone read post #10