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78 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers about Soarers/SC400

Updated 17 June 2000

Answers to Questions 1 - 25

Important Warning

1. Can I change the Multivision screen to display English instead of Japanese messages?
Unfortunately, no. The Multivision screen is only fitted to the Japanese specification Soarers. Overseas markets, such as the USA, receive these cars as Lexus SC400 and not fitted with the Multivision screens. Therefore, there was no need for Toyota to make screen chip for it (or control buttons) in the English language. Or it could have been the other way around, not having the English chip made it impossible to offer the car with the Multivision screen outside Japan.

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2. And what about the Japanese check/warning messages in the combination meter?
The messages are generated by an integrated circuit in the meter and there is no hope of rewriting them in English. The best we can offer is a translation table showing the original Japanese messages against their English equivalent. The table is shown in the Startrade Soarer Owner's Manual supplement and also supplied on a laminated card for easy storage in the driver's sun-visor.

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3. Can I get the CD maps of Australia or other countries for the Soarer GPS navigation system?UPDATE AT Q66!
Again, no. After researching this topic in some depth I can now say that, contrary to what other people say about the imminent availability of such maps, the present situation is as follows. The digitized map information is generally available but the maps must be stored on CD in a precise format so that the car navigation system can read them. At present CD maps for Australia are not in the required Soarer format. Any solution for the Soarer will probably require replacement of the GPS and Navigation Computer components of the Soarer System. This has been done, on one or two occasions, in the UK, and details may be seen on www.gpss.co.uk/asontv.htm and other pages.

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4. Can I get the Lexus SC400 badges for my Soarer?
Yes, Startrade Australia can supply either chrome or gold plated genuine Lexus badges. Each set contains four or five pieces: the front and rear L (of different sizes), rear Lexus nameplate and model designations SC and 400 (some sets have SC400 as one badge whilst others have them as 2 separate badges).

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5. How can I get the cruise control modified?
We need to receive the cruise control box in Sydney so that the modification can be done by a qualified electronics technician. The black box can be found under the dashboard slightly to the right of the steering column. It is clearly labelled SPEED CONTROL and fastened by two M6 bolts to the car firewall and connected by a single plug to the electrical harness. Once the box is removed, the car can still be driven without it. The modification turnaround time is 2 days.

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6. What is the right automatic transmission fluid for Soarers?
Toyota ATF TYPE T-IV fluid as specified for the four-door LS400 sedan. It is sold in a 4-litre white can (Toyota part No. 08886-01705) and available from Lexus dealers at a price not much higher than the ordinary Dexron fluid.

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7. What is the use of the red button located in front of the gear shift lever?
The red button enables movement of the gearshift lever from P position when the engine is not running so that the car can be moved (for a push in the garage, for example). Normally the ignition must be on (or engine running) and the foot brake depressed before the gearshift lever can be moved from the Park - the red button is an override for this safety feature.

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8. What is the use of the REMOTE switch located in the lower dash panel next to the steering column?
The switch is for the remote locking (transmitter is in the key, if you are lucky to have the original key). When the switch is OFF, the remote locking is disabled.

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9. Can I replace the Soarer digital combination meter with the Lexus SC400 analogue combination meter?
No. The meters may be physically the same but they are not electrically compatible. The Soarer connector plugs do not fit the Lexus meter sockets and the differences extend further than just the incompatible harnesses.

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10. How can I fix a Soarer faulty combination meter suffering from the problems described in the main page?
Malfunctioning combination meters can only be repaired in Sydney. The faulty instruments are fixed by a qualified electronics technician. The repair turnaround time is 2 days.

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11. Can I get a set of English control buttons for the Electro-Multivision?
No. FAQ1 above explains why.

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12. How much are the Lexus SC400 Owner's Manual and Startrade Manual Supplement?
The Lexus SC400 Owner's Manual is A$75 and the Startrade Manual Supplement is A$30, plus postage.

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14. What are the wheel alignment specifications for a Soarer?
The front wheels adjustment figures are: caster: +1 deg 15 min; camber: +0 deg 30 min; toe-in: 0.1 deg (plus minus 0.2 deg) or 1 mm ( plus minus 2 mm). The rear wheels figures are: camber: -0 deg 53 min (plus minus 45 min), max. side to side difference 0 deg 30 min.; toe in: 0.4 deg (plus minus 0.2 deg) or 4.5 mm ( plus minus 2 mm). The Lexus Repair Manual has several pages with pictures devoted to the wheel alignment.

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15. What is the use of the ON-OFF switch located in the boot on the left side of TEMS equipped cars?
The switch in the boot is for de-activation of the TEMS air suspension. This is recommended when the car is being lifted on a hoist by the sills, leaving the wheels hanging in the air and suspension fully extended. After lowering the car down to ground again the switch should be switched "ON", otherwise a red warning message that the air suspension system is disabled is displayed in the combination meter.

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16. How does the maximum road speed delimiter work?
The original Soarer design has a built-in limitation in the Engine Control Computer to restrict the maximum road speed to 179 kmph in order to comply with Japanese road rules. A small circuit housed in a box with a back-lit LCD speed display (see photograph) can be connected to the Engine Control Computer to overcome the original speed restriction. A concern has been raised about the Engine Control Computer not having the fuel mixture and ignition timing data required for operation above 179 kmph. The answer is that this type of engine management data is already present in the Engine Control Computer programme because these parameters are required for delivery of the maximum power output of the Soarer engine in lower gears when the original maximum road speed limit is not exceeded. Our testing confirmed that with the delimiter installed, Soarer acceleration over the 179 kmph threshold is uninterrupted, virtually undetectable and the engine runs smoothly up to the maximum speed of about 251 kmph.

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17. Can the additional LCD speed indicator show speed in mph rather than kmph?
For high accuracy of speed indications it is desirable to adjust the speed display to take into account different rim/tyre combinations fitted to the car. Wheels of a larger rolling diameter cause the speed indications to under-read and smaller sized wheels cause it to over-read. The delimiter with LCD speed display has a provision for fine adjustment of the road speed sensor signal. In fact, the internal adjustment circuit in the delimiter was designed in such a way that it is possible to enter a correction constant high enough to achieve speed indications in mph (or even knots) rather than kilometers per hour. Our customers in UK and Ireland may find this function useful.

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18. Can leaking headlamps be repaired?
Yes. The headlamp must be removed from the car (there are two nuts for each lamp accessible from the inner guard). The joint where the plastic lamp housing is glued together (close to rubber seal near the perspex lens) can then be sealed with the application of a thin running glue, such as Superglue. After drying it is a good idea to repeat the sealing along the whole circumference of the joint. This will prevent moisture entering the headlamp assembly.

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19. Can the TV in Soarer LTD be converted to receive Australian (or other countries' PAL) TV signal?
       UPDATE AT Q66!
As far as we know, at present the TV can not be converted. The Soarer TV receiver was designed to work with the NTSC system used in Japan and USA, among other countries. This is quite different from the PAL system TV used in Australia, N.Z. and parts of Europe. We understand several groups of technicians in Australia and overseas have been trying to develop a conversion so that the Soarer TV could play with the PAL signal. It is difficult as a new PAL receiver must be installed with a PAL to NTSC converter to drive the original Multivision screen. This is proving costly and power consumption of the modified set-up is quite high. Additional problems concern the location of the original Soarer TV antennas in the rear side glass. In experiments they did not provide a consistent and sufficiently strong signal for the PAL receiver to enable quality TV reception. We believe a working conversion will become available once these difficulties were resolved. Watch this space for future updates.

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20. Can I get the original Soarer badges for my Lexus?
Yes. The Soarer comes with a red front emblem (lion with wings), rear oval Toyota sign and the Soarer nameplate badge. We can supply the full set in chrome or just the "Soarer" nameplate badge. Please note that Soarers have additional badges on the sides behind the front wheels reading either GT or LTD but these are always retained on Soarers re-badged as Lexus. This is because Lexus does not have any badges there and holes in Soarer bodywork would have to be filled and painted over. The side badges are not available as we get the Soarer badges from Soarers converted to Lexus badges.

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Q21. Can a permanently blank TV screen (Electro Multivision screen) be repaired?
Yes. Repair is available either to the faulty screen or by exchange for a good screen. Contact us for details.

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22. Can the touch-screen function of the Electro Multivision screen (EMV) be repaired?
Yes. Repair is available either to the faulty screen or by exchange for a good screen. Contact us for details.

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23. What forms of payment do you accept (credit cards, cheques, etc.)?
Sorry, we do not accept credit cards. Payments from Australia can be made by cheques, money orders or telegraphic transfer (T/T) to our account and from overseas by international bank drafts or T/T. As a general rule, payments must be received before we dispatch orders.

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24. What about supercharging or turbocharging a Soarer/Lexus V8 engine or using an upgraded computer chip
       for the engine management system?
Sorry, we know nothing about supercharging or turbocharging Soarer/Lexus V8 engines. As for the upgraded computer chip, our only experience is with a modification to the Engine Control Computer by Japanese company Mine's. This was not a simple chip upgrade but the computer was modified by installing an additional printed circuit board hooked up to the original boards. A special spacer was required to be mounted to the computer housing to allow the original lid to bolt on again. The Mine's modification proved a worthwhile improvement to the running of the V8 engine. For details please search the Web for Mine's or another company in the same business called Blitz. We cannot help any further on this. See update about supercharging in Q29.

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25. Can you supply the Owner's Manuals, Repair Manuals etc. for the Soarer 2.5 litre twin turbo version?
No. To the best of our knowledge the 2.5 litre twin-turbo Soarer (JZZ) was never sold officially by Toyota outside Japan and English language manuals simply are not available. Spare parts manual in English for 2.5 litre twin turbo is not available for the same reasons. The closest model to the 2.5 litre is the Lexus SC300 sold in the USA with the same body and a 3.0 litre naturally aspirated engine. The same body with a V8 engine is sold in Japan as Soarer GT/LTD (UZZ) and as Lexus SC400 in the USA. The Owner's Manuals in English we can supply are for the US version SC300/400. I believe the Owner's Manual for Lexus SC300/400 (A$75) covers the 2.5 twin turbo with the exception of the engine details. Our Startrade Soarer Owner's Manual supplement (A$30) shows the different Soarer instrument panel and, more importantly, contains the English translation table for the Japanese instrument panel warning messages. The 1992 Lexus Repair Manuals for SC400 we sell do not contain any reference to the 6-cylinder engines. The 1996 Lexus SC300/400 Repair Manual deals both with the V8 and 6-cylinder models but only with the 4.0 V8 (1UZ) engine and 3.0 litre (2JZ-GE) naturally aspirated engine.

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