1994 Lexus LS400 lights problems

Filed Sep 25, 2011 · Electrical, Lights · 163,000 miles · IN

I have a 1994 lexus ls 400, on days when the temp is below 70 degrees the cluster lights do not come on. When the vehicle warms up, which the time varies, the cluster lights flicker for several minutes and then they go on. When its colder they don't go on at all. It is impossible at night to see any gauges. Not sure why nothing is being done with lexus on this.

Filed Jan 10, 2011 · Electrical, Lights · 85,000 miles · LA

1994 lexus ls400 instrument panel lights not working when cold, and now even in the summer it takes longer for the lights to come on. In colder weather my lights don't go on until the car is driven approximately 60 miles. I cannot see how fast I am going, and the safety of road construction workers is a huge issue and I want to maintain a safe the safe legal speed. The odometer doesn't register, I don't know how much gas I have,. This continues to worsen and my fear is that eventually I will have no lights at all. Have checked into many web sites and seems to be a common issue, very expensive to repair.

Filed Nov 5, 2010 · Electrical, Lights · 210,000 miles · IL

1994 lexus ls400 instrument panel lights not working when cold, and now even in the summer it takes longer for the lights to come on. In colder weather my lights don't go on until the car is driven approximately 60 miles. I cannot see how fast I am going, and the safety of road construction workers is a huge issue and I want to maintain a safe the safe legal speed. The odometer doesn't register, I don't know how much gas I have, the mileage is incorrect. This continues to worsen and my fear is that eventually I will have no lights at all. Have checked into many web sites and seems to be a common issue, very expensive to repair.

Filed Sep 29, 2009 · Electrical, Lights · 90,000 miles · ID

Lexus instrument panel lighting failure results in driver's inability to accurately determine vehicle speed. The issue has been ongoing in my 1994 lexus ls400 for several years. The vehicle has approximately 123000 miles and started at approximately 90000. In colder weather especially, the dashboard readout is invisible for approximately thirty minutes. When the passenger compartment is sufficiently warm they do function properly. This is a hazardous condition. Toyota motor company refuses to recognize the defective nature of their product and wants approximately 1200.00 to replace their defective part. There are thousands of consumers with exactly the same issue I've described on various lexus owners websites. It is a safety issue and should result in a vehicle recall to correct the matter.

Filed Jul 12, 2009 · Electrical, Lights · 86,341 miles · FL

1994 lexus ls 400 dash lights do not come on. Where as you cannot tell how fast you are going. Also the gauges do not work. If the engine gets over heated , there's no way to know. As I am 74 years old with the gauges not working I have run out many times. I feel lexus should take care of this problem. This a safety issue.

Filed Jun 19, 2004 · Electrical, Lights · 89,000 miles · OH

I had a 1994 ls400. Every morning, upon a cold start first time, my instrument cluster does not light up immediately. The following instruments are completely dark:- tachometer (needle is moving) speedometer (needle is moving) outside air temperature (dead) fuel level indicator (dead) odometer (dead ie no mileage incrementing) d, 2, l gear position not showing (p, r, n is ok) cruise, power ec indicators not showing usually after 15 minutes of continuous driving, the lights will flicker for a minute and then come on for the rest of the drive. The process is repeatable every day. This is a major safety concern as I have no idea at what speed I am driving at or the amount of gasoline that is in my car. My wife is afraid to dirve the car with this problem as she may be stranded anytime.

Filed Jul 1, 2003 · Lights · 180,000 miles · SC

Electronic guage cluster fails when starting up in the morning. Once the car (dash) warms up, the needles and lights flicker and finally turn on. Unable to see fuel guage, mileage and tach.speedo for up to 20 minutes after startup.

Filed Jan 16, 2003 · Lights, Visibility · 79,000 miles · MI

I have a '94 lexus ls400 on which the instrument panel display does not function at low temperatures. It will take up to an hour of driving before the instument panel lights up and the gages become visible. One has to note that this is a neon-lit instrument panel which will be totally dark day or night when the lighting does not work. The user will not be able to see any warning lights, vehicle speed and fuel level. This is a systemic problem with "90 to '94 model years and possibly later ones also ( I personally know of at least 10 cases). Lexus is quoting $1,200 to $1,600 to repair this defect. Based on the price tag, many people will be reluctant to have it repaired and consequently there will be motorists on the road who will not know what speed they are going or whether they will run out of gas. I belive that this is a safety defect that should be corrected by the manufacturer through a recall.

Filed Jan 9, 2003 · Lights · 44,000 miles · WI

When starting vehicle and engine is cold, the dash gauges do not operate. After vehicle engine has warmed, the dash gauges start to flicker and eventually come on. Without the dash gauges, you do not know how fast going, if cruise is engaged, how much gas, the temperature of engine, etc. Took to dealer and the part that needs replacing is a meter assembly circuit board (part # 83247-5a050-rp). After research, I found that the -rp of the part number means the circuit board has to be programmed with my current mileage. Further investigation shows that when the dash in not operating, my mileage is not being registered. I think it is poor design to store odometer reading in flash memory (I have verified this by recording odometer reading when dash was operable. Drove about 15 to 20 miles, when dash not operable, and verified that the odometer had not registered the mileage). I have gone to many lexus related sites (clubs, bulletin boards, message boards) and found this to be quite prevalent.

Filed May 9, 2002 · Lights · CA

When it's cold outside vehicle has no dash board lights, making driver unable to read signal. He wouldnt know fast he is going or how much gas they have left, etc,.