Hello all you LS430 guys and gals: I'm making the jump from a 98 LS400, and it has been a wonderful journey into the foray of all things Lexus. Honestly, the LS400 spoiled me forever and made riding in other cars feel like I was on a buckboard. Luxury and reliability all wrapped up in one excellent package, that is what I experienced with my LS. In 3 years, nary a rattle, and the only major replacement (if you can call it that) was the alternator.

I am stepping up just a little in the LS430, and from what I can gather, I can expect much of the same thing in the LS430, with a bit more luxury and refinement. For all you present owners of the 430, what has your experience been so far. I'd love to hear about your time with the car.

As for what color combinations I am looking at, the Saddle interior has me mesmerized. Little did I expect to like it so much. Exterior colors, well, the Briarwood Pearl strikes me as being very nice. What colors do you like - give me some feedback on what colors are pleasing to your eye.

I look forward to being a member of the LS430 club in the next month or so. Until then, I have to start searching, so if anyone comes across a clean 04-06, drop me a line. Cheers and a happy 2018 to all!

 

Well, welcome to our forum KY,

I've been a multi LS430 owner for a little over 3 years now. My 2005 (Mystic Gold) has 56,000 miles on it and pretty much sits in the garage most of the time, as my wife doesn't use it much. My 2001 (Millennium Silver), on the other hand gets driven extensively. I commute between Milwaukee and O'Hare int'l (155 miles round trip) and I put about 36,000 miles a year on it. I'm just shy of 180,000 miles. Reliability has been, as expected nearly perfect. I've done brakes/rotors, LCA bushings, transmission mount, fluids, and really that's about it, outside of oil changes. All preventative/normal wear maintenance items. You should expect the same ride to carry over from the LS400, and much of the interior will look/feel the same.
I too like the Saddle interior, but it's not that common. The exterior colors weren't a big deciding factor for me, as I was looking at the mechanics of the cars when I bought them. I've heard a few negative comments about Gold, but it doesn't bother me and my wife actually likes the color..
The Silver is a popular color, and it looks clean for a lot longer than other colors.

Be patient and keep an eye out, as there are still many low mileage LS's out there...

 

I purchased my car in Oct. 2016, a 2006 with 81k, and it was a self fulfilled prophecy, pretty much had no major issues in 20k miles and 15 mos., but do have all the minor issues that everyone else has had here. Meaning these vehicles seem to have been built consistently. It may be me, but it seems like these cars have gotten a lot less expensive since 2016, and of course the mileage has gone up overall on avg. Again, with 2006's being the newest cars in the 3rd gen, at 12 y.o., does it matter if mileage is 80k, 100k, 120k, etc., when most seem to believe 200k is a given, and 300k is a definite possibility?

The one thing that has been a pleasant surprise is that OE parts are mostly made in Japan, and they can be had for very good prices on eBay. Once a person finds an indie, for what they cannot DIY, they can pay reasonable prices. One achilles heel is the needed timing belt/water pump job every 90k. This is the first and likely only car that I will own that uses a timing belt, not sure what the engineers were thinking, I guess it's a early 90's design...again, my cousin stated there is a very limited audience who would drive your car (implying 60-65+ y.o.), which actually is an advantage imho, the creates a supply > demand condition....

Again I've said who wouldn't prefer an A8 or a 750 which often costs less than a used LS430? But being able to motor reliably without drama is not overrated...

 

Come on over! If you really are thinking of moving into the 430 then i dont think you'll be at all disappointed.

Purchased mine in 9/2016 with 65k miles. It's been about a year and a half almost, clocking in at 87k today. I drive much less today then i did a few months ago, but i was averaging 15k miles a year with my previous vehicle as well.

Practically zero driveability problems in that time.

A few age-related replacements here and there:
-Subwoofer speaker went kaput but that's super easy to fix. OEM replacement costs are fortune but good aftermarket products exist.
-My Passenger-Mirror motor swings out too much, but i don't use the folding tricks at all so i just snipped the wires (it is unfortunately not enough just to disable the folding modes with the dash mounted button). Maybe ill come back and fix it some other time. This honestly is the only major problem with my LS 430 at the moment.
-One of my front parking sensors seems to be going. It reads false-positives and beeps thinking that there is something in front of me. Sometimes it doesn't though. But you can disable the sensors with a button. This started happening when i went through a few inches of water near a strip mall so honestly the fault is most likely all on my own.

Otherwise nothing out of the ordinary. Oil changes, transmission fluid exchange (just once right after i bought it), new tires and rotation/alignment (i ran over a pothole on an on-ramp in the dark and got a flat with old tires), wash/wax, and a timing belt/water pump replacement (the only real maintenance to do) are all that I've done to keep it maintained.

Next on the agenda would be brake pads and rotors. I DO want to replace the lower front and rear suspension arm bushings, but mine haven't gone out completely just yet.

If you want ultimate reliability, i think i would stick with the 400. But the 430's aren't any less reliable mechanically. It's just the little things here and there that MIGHT fail you. But nothing severe enough to get you stranded.

PS- the heated front seats in these things are really not that great. My friends 2005 Equinox he got for $100 has two modes of heat settings, and the highest is enough to be almost too hot after 5 minutes. The highest heat settings in the LS 430 barely gets warm enough after arriving at work. Not fun when temps have been -20F for the past week and a half. I do not know if this is a "fault" of my LS or LS 430's in general with these climate-controlled seats.

 

Hey there and welcome. I just recently made the jump from LS400 to LS430 a month ago. So far, I am loving the upgrade. I miss my LS400 an awful lot but as flawless as the LS400 is the LS430 is so much more luxurious, refined, comfortable, smoother, quieter, faster, better handling, etc. Just when you thought they couldn't make the LS anymore perfect, they took the perfection to another level. It's remarkable how much they improved in such a short period of time. So far, I have had no issues with reliability. I think the saddle interior is gorgeous and Briarwood Pearl looks great.

 

LS430 is years ahead from LS400.. Period.

 

Good luck in your quest to find a 430. Find a color that YOU like and don't worry about what we think about it. You'll always find someone on the internet that absolutely hates whatever color you choose. As for the saddle interior, as mentioned, they are not at all common so you might have a hard time locating one.

As for maintenance, there is always a lot of chatter around here about timing belt replacements on this car. Keep in mind that Lexus does NOT require a water pump replacement, nor a idler pulley replacement, nor a belt tensioner replacement with the first timing belt service which is recommended at 90K miles or 9 years. One could argue that its easy to replace those parts if you are going to replace the belt so why not do that at the same time? The choice will be yours...

 

I love my ls430 it's a great car no complaints maintenance wise just flush all fluids and do normal maintnece such as t-belt, power steering flush, brake fluid flush etc and you should have problem free owner ship.

Don't worry about what other people's opinions are get something you think is appealing and go from there you have to drive it everyday not us. Same with modifications if you choose to do so just mod it how you please.

If you have any questions please ask there is a vast wealth of knowledge in the ls430 section and almost everyone is willing to give a helping hand so happy hunting and make sure you post pics of your new ride when you get it.

 

Gentlemen, thank you so much for the feedback on your individual experiences with the LS430. It's good to get confirmation on what I suspected about the vehicle, which was that I will be stepping up a grade from the LS400. To imagine that Lexus could improve on an already excellent platform, it's almost hard to believe. But with a few of you present owners giving me insight into how they drive, it crystallizes for me that this car will be everything I want, and more.

As for color choice, as some of you point out, going with the color that is pleasing to my eye is really all that matters. My LS400 is silver, and while I love it for its ease of cleaning and staying relatively spotless, I am looking for a change in that department. The three exterior colors that I am liking so far are the Briarwood Pearl, Bordeaux, and Flint Mica. While I loved the pearl white that came with the LS400, I am not getting the same warm fuzzies from the white on the LS430. Mind you, I understand pictures can only convey so much. Interior colors, well, Saddle and Ecru are looking very nice.

Of all the above, the Bordeaux was perhaps the biggest surprise for me, as I would not have guessed that I would take a liking to it. OK gentlemen, more feedback please. What color surprised you the most when you got to see it in person, up close? Pictures can only tell part of the story, so which color dazzled you once you got to see it with your own eyes. Inquiring minds want to know . . .

 

The LS400 is the granddaddy of them all and a game changer that changed the luxury market forever. I consider the 430 the pinnacle of what the original LS400 designers intended for the LS to be. After that, I have no idea what the hell Lexus was thinking.

 

don't get the popularity on this forum with briarwood pearl. it's brown. If I could have chosen my color I would have blue or the black cherry (purple?) white or moonlight. silver is nice but the black is too hard to keep clean and nice looking. but I also do not like the saddle interior so maybe it is just me.

 

I agree with you I think the saddle interior is atrocious looking as is the briarwood pearl i feel the dark blue they have is a much better looking color, but to each there own.

 

Color combinations are sure to bring up many people's preferences, and thus the beauty of such a topic. What one person finds appealing, another might find completely appalling and vice a versa. I actually got the Briarwood Pearl and Cypress Pearl mixed up, and upon using the search button clarified the difference between the two. Myself, I like both the Briarwood (brown) and Cypress (green).

Other possibilities I am also liking, however. The Black Cherry Pearl and Blue Onyx Pearl are both distinct and surprisingly striking. Let's continue this subject, as I am enjoying hearing feedback from you all.

 

My search for an LS 430 will end tomorrow 450 miles from home with the purchase of an '06. Of the 50 or so used cars I've bought, color has never been a determining factor, pro or con, in any acquisition or rejection. In contradistinction, color has always played a major role in my dozen new purchases.

As it happens, the LS looks great (or at least good) in all of the palate colors. After swearing off ever owning another black vehicle due to high maintenance, the '06 is, naturally, black. That's ok because it bears the FAR more important characteristics of being an original owner, no hit, and fully service documented machine. Although neither is perfect, Carfax and the Lexus website dealer service history feature were tremendously helpful in my long distance search.

 

Do you plan to keep them both?

As much as I love the 430, the 400 is such a fine car I couldnt imagine choosing one over the other.