Baby ///M3

Hi everyone,

Well I've finally rolled the dice and decided to replace my SC400 with something more, if not equally reliable. The only car that I could settle with is the SC430.

After weeks of searching, I could not find the combo/mileage/year/price range I really wanted so I settled for a 2003' white/ecru with 77k miles. Beautiful car!

A few questions please.

1. When does the 04' production start? My car was produced in July, 2003' and I wonder if it's the last patches of cars made that year.

2. Does the master key have a Lexus logo engraved on it? The only key that comes with the car is a master key but it's completely black. Is this the way all SC430s have their keys?

3. Does anyone know where I should go to get another master key/spare for a reasonable cost?

4. My center console cupholder/coin tray seem to be stuck for some reason, They do not open unless I press really hard. I had the seller "grease up" the mechanism but it didn't seem to help. Has anyone had this problem before?

5. Am I able to turn off the "automatic tilt/telescope" feature whenever I take the key off the ignition? I would rather do what I can to decrease the wear/tear on the electric motor, as I don't mind leaving the steering wheel at the same place when I exit the car.

6. Is there anyway to test if my run flat sensors still work?

7. Would the 25mm spacers from my SC400 still work on the SC430 18' stock rims?

8. Has anyone heard of Capitol tires? My Bridgestone run flats were out of treads so I had the tire shop replace my tires. I originally wanted Kumhos or Sumitomos but they put Capitols on them instead. Arrrgh...

9. The sides on the LCD screen on the A/C appeared to have something smeared from the inner side of it. The lighting itself is fine and I can't tell this at nighttime, only during broad daylight. Is this a potential costly problem?

10. Could anyone recommend a good quick/easy leather conditioner/cleaner for the ecru interior?

11. I drove the car last night and the MPG section seems to show that I am getting only 10-11mpg on the car. Is this normal?

I know I have a lot of questions and I appreciate your patience to go through them. Any feedback is greatly appreciated in advance!

Thanks again!

Jon

Lexiss_sc430

iTrader: (2)

Congrats Jon, you will love your new 430


As for the tires, are they Capitol Negotiators?
If they are, then I would advise you get another set asap. My tire guy sold me a set of 4 a few years back and they were quite possibly the worse tires I have ever driven on. Traction even on dry surfaces was a challenge let alone wet, I would be scared to take the car out in the rain because it would be so unstable. The side walls were weak and would roll under cornering; this would cause the car to become unbalances and unpredictable. Over all I had those tires on for 6 months and could not wait to get rid of them.

As for the MPG, try to disconnect the battery to reset the computer. The lowest I have seen on my car has been 15mpg and that’s when I’m really pushing it.

For leather cleaners I use Lexol Products and they work very well on my interior.


Just let some air out of a tire and once it reaches below a certain point your sensors should go off.


The spacers from your old SC should fit perfectly on the 430

From what I know you cannot disable or turn off the tilt steering function, I have searched for a button or switch but have yet to find one.


Hope this helps

Habious

There's a C-BEST (dealer-only programmable option) setting for the auto tilt-telescope wheel.

Also, for the TPMS, there are two levels of activation. Let some air out of the tire and the TPMS light should come on. If you let even more out (not sure where the threshold is through) the light will blink and you'll get a "bong-bong-bong" from the car, like your door is open. The only trick with this test is be sure you're within arms-reach of an air compressor to fill the tire back up (I know, I know...seems like an obvious thing but, you never know!)

As for the MPG meter, have you tried to reset it and see what you get per-trip (Press and hold the button to reset it)?

The all-black key sounds like an aftermarket key. Both my factory Master key and my "eBay" Master key have a big, gold "L" on the back.

I will second Lexiss_sc430's recommendation of the Lexol products. They make a cleaner and a conditioner; both work very well.

aquanuke

Are you sure this is inside.

It comes with a non reflective coating across the whole climate control screen but this comes off very easily leaving bits mainly around the edges.

What I did is just take some house hold polish and remove all the coating which tbh you dont need and is much more tidy without it.

froggyluvr

I know this is going to sound like a dumb question, but did you check to see if the prior owner put some sort of protective film over the screen? I recently put one on and I know from experience that if you don't get it just right it can make the screen appear smudged.

Pearlpower

iTrader: (2)

Welcome aboard! Answers in bold.

Baby ///M3

Thanks to everyone for helping me with my problems.

You guys rock!

I am on my way to work now and will go over this thread and do a follow up post tonight. Thanks once again for now guys.

Jon

stw

congrats and good luck!

Baby ///M3

Lexiss_sc430:

Thanks for your inputs. If I remember correctly, you had a white SC400 back in the old days?

The tires are actually Capitol Sport UHPs. My heart sunk as soon as I saw these tires installed on my car when in fact, the salesman promised at least Kumho caliber ones. I've driven the car for a few hundred miles and so far, these tires ride okay if I don't push the car too hard. I hope that they'll last me at least 20k miles.

My MPG has risen up to close to 19 or so and I am pretty happy so far. It's actually getting a better MPG than my SC400.


Habious:

Thank you! Could you tell me how much it cost you to buy another master key on eBay and to have it programmed by the dealer? I guess the fact that this car came with only one key just makes me somewhat nervous.


aquanuke & froggyluvr:

You guys are probably right! I haven't had the time to examine my LCD screen carefully but they could be smudges from an old film screen protector. Is there any mild cleaner that I can use to remove these smudges. I remember my SC400 having the same problem and nothing I used was ever able to get rid of them.
Either way, I really hope that I don't have to take the unit apart just to clean the LCD screen. Or else I may just have to leave it as is.


Pearlpower:

Thanks for your reply. If I could ask an additional question. I had a chance to play with the navigation system for a brief amount of time today. When I hit the button "nav. voice", I didn't really hear anything. I remember my Mercedes' unit being able to project a human female's voice in providing directions. Does the SC430 do the same as well? Or?...

And last but not least, thank you stw!

Jon

Habious

SC430 Key on eBay

They run about $60.00 uncut and unprogrammed, on eBay.

You have to get 3 things done for the key to work.

1) The key has to be cut by a locksmith (my dealer wouldn't/couldn't do it). Call around before you make a trip. The locksmith has to be able to cut "laser-cut" keys (don't ask me why they call them that, they DON'T use a laser to cut them...that would be cool!)

2) The dealer has to program the immobilizer transponder chip in the key. If you skip this step, the key will fit in the ignition, the key will turn and the car will crank but, it'll never start (no fuel going to the engine).

3) The remote that's built into the key has to be programmed to unlock/lock the doors. My key came with step-by-step instructions to do this without having to go to the dealership; I never got it to work. Tried it like 5 times (there are like 12 steps...open the door, close the door, open the door, close the door, put the key in, take the key out, etc. I think it was a joke put together just to make me look stupid in the parking lot of the locksmith but, I digress.)

$60-70 - Key, shipped
$10ish - Get key cut by locksmith
$80ish - 1 hour of labor by the dealership to program the immobilizer and remote

Dealer charges like $250+ for the key, already cut + labor to program.

FWIW, I was told that my dealership was "required" to provide with a minimum of 1 Master key and 1 Valet key when they sold me the car. Since it was a used car, they couldn't guarantee what it would come in with. Some come in with all the keys (2 Master's and a Valet). Mine came with just 1 Master. They gave me a Valet key free; I bought my second Master from eBay.

SC430GA

When I bought mine 2,5 years ago, the dealler lost master key and during delivery had only valet key. After the argument they went to previous owner to check for second master key. In the meanwhile I found out that if you have just a valet key they can not program new key and have to replace ECU unit what is about $2.000. I would say to have a second master key is a good insurance policy.
In my case the first owner found another set of master key but the plastic was broken and I paid the dealer about $270 to order and program the new key. The Ebay seems to be least expensive.
Good luck and congratulations on new ride.

Yes

Listen to Obama. I usually get around 15 mpg normal city driving. Lately, I've been around 12. I checked my tire pressure this morning. Sure enough I was under-inflated. After putting air in, I reset the the mpg and got 17 driving to work.

froggyluvr

Last month I bought a 2004 SC430. The dealer only had one master key. After doing some research, I bought a new master key from an ebay vendor. I paid extra for a genuine Lexus key, not a knockoff. I provided the VIN and he cut the key for me but I had to program the key for both the ignition function and the remote function. The total cost was $150 which is half what the local Lexus dealer quoted me.

Programming the key was a hoot. I thought the instructions were a joke but they worked. It's something like, put the key in, open the drivers door, turn the key 5 times, close the door, reopen and close 5 times, etc, etc. The sequence has to be done in a short time or you have to start over. It took me a few times, but the key works perfectly. I replaced the battery in the old key at the same time. From what I understand you do NOT want to be without at least one working master key or it gets very expensive.

If you want the ebay vendor's name and / or programming instructions, let me know and I will help.

Baby ///M3

Thanks again for your help, guys.

My MPG has since jumped to 19.1 after just a few days of driving for 500 miles or so. I am happy.

I am still puzzled by the "Map Voice" function. It's the button to the left underneath the nav screen. When I press the button, am I supposed to hear a voice guiding?

I'll start shopping for a new key soon.

Does anyone know if I can also get a valet key on eBay as well? As much as a 2nd master key is desirable, I would also like to have a valet key as back up.

Jon

Roofless

It's been awhile, but there's a place in the settings to turn the voice on/off. If it's turned "off," I believe it renders that button useless. There's also a volume bar on the screen - you need to make sure it's turned up.