Lexus LS430 Review | Why Does everybody Want one of These?

[@DolanAndGoobyFTW]

ppl who do their research on cars want an ls430 and the lx470. honestly the dream combo

[@OrbiterFan]

I have 2001 ls 430 122k miles and 2006 lx 470 260k miles. I love the combo

[@salvadormatus4907]

I have a 2008 Sequoia and a 2023 GR Corolla. Hoping to add an LS430

[@peytonaaron3026]

I got the ls430 and the lx470 on some nice wheels would be a good combo or a 4Runner

[@Chcotco]

I have both and a GX470. You are right!

[@dariog36th]

I have that combo. Both are 2005.

[@keetkeety4103]

I own a LS430 base model, I bought from original owner with 83k miles for $4000. Dealer quoted $2400 for rear main engine seal replacement because of leak, dinged bumper, I had bumper cover painted, shocks, cushioned all speakers, now the car is a jewel... Owner didn't want to pay $2400 repair rear main seal, an bought a new RAV. She had all records from Lexus since she purchased new., I have owned for 5 years. Car has been solid no major issues, Do all my own work replace TB, plugs now at 113k still runs smooth as silk...

[@evanvanleeuwen6912]

The reason your seat moves to a different setting when you unlock the car is because the previous owner has programmed it into the key fob. There is a sequence in the owners manual to delete that and reprogram your setting to your key fob. So if for example your wife last drove the car with everything in her setting, and locked the car, when you unlock the car with your key fob, the seat, steering wheel, exterior mirrors and seat belt height automatically return to your setting when the car unlocks. Check your owners manual for instructions on how to delete the previous setting and then reprogram yours. It is a great feature.

[@Manskilz]

I own a 2002 ls430. The ABS light can be recalibrated with whats called a handshake. You take a paperclip and put one end into the number 3 upper terminal on the OBD and the other end into the number 13 lower terminal then turn the ingnition to the on position. The display should read " Recalibrating ABS" . This worked on mine. Go figure a paperclip. Lol.

[@beardedreviews]

Ok, I am going to try this!!

[@beardedreviews]

I was googling this trying to find it but I could not. Are the pins labeled 3 and 5 in the OBD port?

[@Manskilz]

Yes the pins are numbered. Sorry. 3 upper terminal and 13 lower terminal.

[@EddieV-on8qs]

Nice Lexus LS430, congrats on finding a great model. I'd be interested in a review on your upgraded music head-unit... great mod to bring that interior to the 21st century.

[@beardedreviews]

Yea I'll be rolling out videos for it here soon!

[@servantofgod3058]

I'm getting one of these soon, it's absolutely one of the best lexus cars ever produced !

[@jw4111]

Understated elegance! Well made.

[@lexusls4305]

Great video - we also have a silver with black interior. Black definitely hides the age. We've had our 290,000 mile 2001 LS430 since 2019. Reliable and cheap maintenance. Love it!

[@beardedreviews]

Yea the black leather helps, but it's also a higher grade leather as well. So that should help too

[@bjohnson42069]

I own a 2001 that I bought with 126,000 miles. Mint. Original owner. I have 156 now, and I will never own another vehicle again! I want a fleet of these

[@beardedreviews]

they really are great cars

[@truonghthe]

the LS430 is the best LS ever built in term of luxury, great blend of electronic controls and reliability. The reason the 04-05 has been more sought after is the improved 6spd auto provided better MPG than the pre-facelifted model 5spd. LS460 is a nice car if you can afford to keep replacing control arms every 60k-80k miles.

[@MrGriffin23]

Nice ride! I’ve always liked those. In regards to the memory on the seats. I heard that you can reset the functions of the seats by “Initializing” using the seat buttons to the move the seat all the way forward, back and the recline options as well (but there is a specific order, mine was an example). Basically what it’s doing is setting parameters for the seats prior to you setting your own permanent ones. Not sure how true that is but that’s what I read. I have a set of BMW seats in my 71 Chevelle, so I’ve done a lot of research on various seats I could’ve swapped in my old school.

[@beardedreviews]

Ok I will look into that. I didn't think about the seat maybe having a reset sequence

[@aurorajones8481]

LC500 to this as well. Hillarious you did that.

[@beardedreviews]

we did the same switch???

[@lugburz7539]

Great review! I test drove an '05 LS 430 yesterday. Couple things that caught my attention were that the lower control arm bushings are worn, and I couldn't find any sign of a timing belt replacement. The car has 118k miles. Another thing is that the steering wheel was all cracked, but all other wood trims looked fine. But like you said, steering wheel replacement is probably a matter of $300. Oh, and the brakes felt super mushy. All in all, I think the $13k (plus fees and tax) that the dealership is asking for it is a bit too much.

[@infinitepants314]

the cl and ul have double paned windows is one thing the other trims do not have. also your key is programmed to the seat, just hold the memory seat button and hold lock or unlock on your key and it should beep. would definitely like to see a revkew of the new head unit

[@beardedreviews]

ohhhhhhh!! Dude thankyou. I need to try that out! And yes they do have the double paned glass. I am going to be making a video soon about the differences

[@SeventeenSeventySix]

After watching Car Care Nut restore a 2001 LS430 with 600,000 miles on it, I wanted one.

[@eclassauto901]

My next car I'm buying because of reliability. Love your car collection! I own 2 Escalades, 89' IROC-Z and want a TA WS6 as well.

[@beardedreviews]

We're almost car twins!!

[@shiloh5199]

The LS 430 is a great example of how Toyota actually overbuilt the Lexus vehicles, which is a good thing. The LS 400 was built like a tank, very solid vehicles. I serviced these Lexus vehicles as a Lexus Dealership technician and they are really reliable overall and really luxurious compared to their Toyota counterparts.

[@NewsCat2024]

The best car I ever owned. It drives like butter. The feeling is indescribable.

[@beardedreviews]

they are quite smooth

[@joer1678]

Post facelift comes with a 6 speed transmission

[@constantinesaddlebrook8068]

I found 2 White LS430s on a reputable lot - a 2004 with 141K and a 2006 with 124K. I bought the '04 because it had chrome wheels with the gold accents and the maintenance records were tight as a banjo string. Took forever to save the dough but it's the best auto purchase I ever made. And this was after I drove my 91 LS400 to 450K before she just became too expensive to fix. If I had the cash I would've bought them both.

[@jasonholt9239]

It may be the smart key that's programmed to a personal setting. If you have both fobs, see if it does the same with the other. Possibly read the manual for the answer. Also, many don't know this, but there are a number (15+) of features that the dealership can change with their computer; for example, I had them change how long the mirror lights stay illuminate, which doors (driver only vs all vs just left side) unlock from the driver handle and I had them turn off the daytime driving lights (that yellow looks dated). If an advisor doesn't know what you're talking about, I'm sure the technicians know all about the ability to change the settings on the 430; something you can do by yourself in today's cars.

[@beardedreviews]

I'll definitely have to look into that! I wonder if it's something I can code in with a BiDirectional Scanner.

[@grandtheftauto1233]

@@beardedreviewsyeah bidirectional scanner - I use techstream I got for like 30 Turning off telescoping steering wheel on entry will save your wheel motors

[@joshriver75]

The trim is Antique Walnut and it came with CL and UL packages starting in 04 on cars that had black interior. I changed the steering wheel in mine too. The lighter wood was just totally lame that Lexus let that decision leave the factory. It appears to me that your seat is auto adjusting because that position is programmed to that particular key. (likely the previous owner). Once you close the door after its been started it sets to the position assigned to that key. You could disable this feature through the stock navigation screen. Not sure if you can do it through the aftermarket radio you have. Im a LS guru of sorts. Used LSs are the only car ive bought since my first purchase in 2004. A used 2000 LS400 with 44k miles which i still own with 370k miles today.

[@beardedreviews]

Is it the thing where you tap the screen a bunch of times to get it into the secret menu diagnostic thing? Thankyou for the info on the trim! You know alot more about these than I do

[@joshriver75]

@@beardedreviews It was just buried deep in the "convenience settings" menu. You may still have access to it with the aftermarket unit but i couldn't say as i have no experience there. What I would try, is just setting your memory to the key. It should just overwrite the old and solve the issue. Key has to be in the ignition and you just hold Memory 1 and the door lock button at the same time for 3 secs. This is the Key memory procedure for all Lexus vehicles.

[@beardedreviews]

@@joshriver75 dude thankyou. I'm going to try that!!

[@lydellleopold5884]

What kind of head unit do you have for the car?? I see it has apple car play

[@korbendallas4232]

Nice collection.

[@JS-bp3up]

Trying to find either a black on black or silver on black like yours. 04 and newer. Impossible lol. Convincing the girlfriend is another issue. Lack of parking ha. I have a 2 door tacoma 4x4 and it's great for work and winter but the ls430 on long trips would be great.

[@beardedreviews]

Yea it floats, would be a super comfortable road trip car

[@jonschlegel2961]

Where are you at? I have one for sale with 89K miles in L.A.

[@burningknuckle26]

still want one.

[@snoolio]

Where’d you get the CarPlay from

[@KaiSpeedshop]

Link to the steering wheel?

[@upperleftnorthwest4278]

Can you make a video on the headunit? Looks like the climate is intergrated into the unit?

[@beardedreviews]

Yea I will be doing that.

[@Mattacking]

I second this. Im picking one up tomorrow and want a new unit@@beardedreviews

[@russelltaylor3282]

Your seat adjusts may be to Programing of you key fob.

[@beardedreviews]

Ok I will look into that!

[@spencermunson6044]

Nice car I wanted one so bad but couldn’t find one in good shape so I bought a 2015 gs instead

[@nicks1169]

You found a black interior with non air suspension? Gem

[@beardedreviews]

got lucky :)

[@natlovell122]

Such a sweet car. I do sales so I drive around 25k miles a year. I’ve been looking at an ‘04-‘09 Lexus Rx 350, ES 350 and LS 430. Such a difficult decision bc all are amazing vehicles

[@beardedreviews]

I would say LS or RX depending on what you need the vehicle for

[@natlovell122]

@@beardedreviews 50% in town driving, 50% highway

[@beardedreviews]

@@natlovell122 I mean like you just have to figure out if you need the cargo space of the RX or not

[@stevestudley5685]

My side mirrors are buggy. Thanks for the tip.

[@beardedreviews]

Yea glad I could be of some help!

[@EnlightenedRogue]

I could afford to jump to the LS & yours is a beauty but I’m sticking with my boring 2010 ES 350 that just runs & runs.

[@beardedreviews]

hey it's all toyota guts :)

[@yeboaachampong3158]

Name of the Radio. Where can I find one

[@michaelsalzer4362]

Aircraft rated? I have 25 years in the Aviation maintenance field. Please tell me what that means. Did Lexus actually market this engine as an option to pull and put into an airplane? what am I missing here? Or are you saying that it has the same required reliance as say a Lycoming?

[@beardedreviews]

The 3UZ-FE is an engine you could take and actually put into a light aircraft, and I believe it is because of how balanced it is maybe? I'm not totally sure, but there are longer write ups about that particular aspect if you were interested

[@mrnumber1b224]

Hey bro what a reasonable price for one exactly like yours because some of these prices are ridiculous. Thank for your feed back.

[@beardedreviews]

I paid around 8K for mine I believe

[@KaiSpeedshop]

Got the exact same car with UL package if you interested. Asking $9k

[@mrnumber1b224]

@@KaiSpeedshop Unfortunately I am trying to avoid the UL..otherwise I would negotiate with you. I do appreciate you reaching out tho..

[@mrnumber1b224]

@@beardedreviews thank you for the feedback appreciated it my friend.

[@beardedreviews]

never a problem@@mrnumber1b224

[@jaysha2435]

Wow, you are making me think twice if I should sell my LS430, ironically, i want a LC500

[@scapulartech9347]

My dad has a 2006 ML silver on grey

[@willyshirts1459]

I just bought one at a auction for 500 bucks. Its only got 69k miles and somehow the engine is locked up. Seems super odd for such low miles. But other than that the body and interior are perfect. How do I tell what trim it is and would it be worth putting a motor in

[@faizzdb]

Sounds like it was beat on make sure the rest of the car is good based off a mechanics pre purchase inspection and if the transmission and rear differential don’t seem to be showing signs of failure it would probably be worth it there just really robustly built cars so the issues after would most likely be few and far between just make sure you put a good engine in there spend the extra few bucks on that for sure doesn’t need to be new just make sure it’s not a cheap junk motor with a ton of miles

[@cikadavid1735]

Look at the rocker switches and driver-passenger seat heat control knobs. A UL model will have seven rocker switches in addition to the two seat heater/cooler knobs, a ML will have five along with the heater/cooler knobs,, a CL will have three switches and the heater knobs only increase/decrease heat, they don't have the option to cool the seats (no red/blue graphics, only red).

[@aidanpedersen9379]

@willyshirts1459 I think it’s worth another engine. If you’re doing it yourself, there are a lot of very low mileage 3UZ’s in Japan that you can drop into your car that would cost hopefully less than just buying another one. My 2002 UCF30 has 65,000 km and I’m the second owner, and I find lots of engines when looking online for parts. I really, really like my car and plan on bringing it to the states and driving it til someone makes me an offer I can’t resist, which I hope never happens 😅

[@wpeneyra]

The UL has a bunch more stuff like cooler, seat massage, more rear vents, rear center controls, etc... Dope CL nonetheless 🤙🏽

[@dutchyjhome]

Congrats! Now that's a fine automobile that will last !

[@beardedreviews]

dang right :)

[@epiclifesociety]

Honest question: How come you’re mentioning several issues on this, but there are ES 350s all over KZbin and people aren’t mentioning a bunch of problems?

[@jewel9797]

I just got one an hour ago I think it needs a transmission

[@beardedreviews]

oh crap...

[@lonnyrueckert8237]

Care to share what you paid? Or did i miss it?

[@beardedreviews]

It was right around 8-9K I believe. It's been like 3 months since I bought it I believe

[@lonnyrueckert8237]

Hey Thks for sharing. Nice job. I know you didn't get it in FL 😂 It's very difficult here.

[@beardedreviews]

Lol no it was in alabama. I had it transported to me@@lonnyrueckert8237

[@23_payan]

I just bought one for 750 bucks 😅 I get it delivered Monday 5/6

[@richardgreene3460]

After driving MB/Jaguar for 40 years, I bought a dealer maintained 2010 LS 460L w/82K because of the Toyota reliability! WRONG! It has been the least reliable car I have ever owned! The latest problem is the ABS module! It was a design flaw from Lexus. They gave a 10 year warranty from the date of manufacture. I'm out of course! Putting in a used unit is not an option because of the design flaw. My only option is replace it because the normal brake booster is inside the ABS module! Dealer cost is $3800! I wished I had bought a 430, but I do like the 460 styling much better!

[@beardedreviews]

Yea the 460 looks way cooler, but so many more problems than the 430

[@Zephyrdaze1819]

Beautiful car. Have a ‘04 LS430 for 2 years now and it is BY FAR, the finest machine I’ve ever come across. Praying for your door actuators to never fail LOL. I hear they are goofy expensive, so go knock on that wood veneer. :) Sometimes the entry level 430’s are safer bets to avoid repairs….think: air suspension, door actuators, stereo, obsolete nav to name a few. Yet, even so, any 430 is money wisely spent if the previous owner kept up with maintenance. Highly recommend Car Care Nut for serious work if you are near him.

[@khankhaaaan]

So sorry about your experience with the 460, you went with the exact wrong model. The 460 is an inferior car to the 430.

[@burningknuckle26]

460 is not as good on relibility. 430 is near perfect.

[@joer1678]

If you buy a 460 has to be after 2011

[@Lodimerg]

I got grey interior

[@vonwolfe1310]

That sucks. I think I got the same.

[@Lodimerg]

@@vonwolfe1310 I agree with you but anyway this car is great.

[@maxvassar9575]

Bro got bored of an lc500 so he got a 430?

[@beardedreviews]

I got a LS430 and two other cars :)

[@FabianEspinosa-oo4gh]

Hi ma'am.....