25 July 2002

LINKS TO

• Enquiry, Prices and Order form: Please complete and e-mail us this form with your requests
• Modifications available: Max. road speed restriction and cruise control limitation removed, FM radio diversity antenna modification to improve reception
• Technical manuals for sale: Owners manual, EMV (TV) screen operating manual, Repairs manual and Owner's Manual supplement available
• TV screen repair: Repair to blank TV screen (Electro Multivision screen)
• Soarer fixes and repairs: Fixes for common problems found in Soarers
• Car accessories: Lexus badges, key-rings, floor mats, CD magazines and wood-grain kits
• Scam of The Year Something to avoid when buying an imported Soarer
• FAQ: Answers to 116 common questions

  Modifications available
  

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  Toyota Soarer coupes offered by Startrade Australia can be modified by:

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  removal of the cruise control restriction (the max.cruising speed setting eliminated)

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  removal of the maximum speed limitation (the built-in restriction of 179 kmph lifted)

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  fitting of a special road speed indicator with full speed range display and mph capability. (The original speedometer display is not capable of indicating higher than 199 km/hr by design). The LCD speed indicator is combined with the circuit to remove the maximum speed restriction. For accurate speed indications the package allows fine adjustment to take into account different tyre sizes. It can also be set to indicate the road speed in mph rather than kmph if desired.

  

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  fitting of an FM expander box to receive Australian FM radio broadcasts. (The original FM radio range does not extend beyond 90.0 MHz).

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  Startrade Australia offers compliancing service to Soarer owners importing their own vehicles. Telephone, fax or E-mail enquiries are welcome.

  Back to                                            See details of individual modifications at the Enquiry page

  Technical manuals for sale
  

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  Copies of supporting technical documentation are available for sale, such as:

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  Lexus SC400/SC300 Owner's Manual (230 pages);

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  translation of the original japanese Electro Multivision (TV) screen operating manual with colour screen shots and explanations of all functions (40 pages);

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  original Lexus Repair Manuals (2 volumes with approx. 1,100 pages each), including basic wiring diagrams, complete engine and electrical systems diagnostics etc.; and

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  Startrade Lexus/Soarer Owner's Manual supplement showing the differences between Lexus SC300/400 and Soarer combination meters and providing translation of Soarer japanese language error messages in the combination meter.

  Back to                                            See details of individual modifications at the Enquiry page

  TV screen repair
  

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  A failure occurs in the Electro Multivision screen (EMV) where the screen stays blank. Often the touch-screen functions remain operational but the control buttons are not displayed on the screen making control of the air/cond, ventilation and stereo system near impossible.

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  Sometimes the EMV screen works fine but the touch screen feature does not respond properly.

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  At other times one or more parts of the screen does not display the coloured rectangles, e.g. controls of the ventilation and/or audio systems.

  A repair is now available to faulty screens.

  Back to                                            See details of individual modifications at the Enquiry page

   

  Soarer fixes and repairs
  

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  Indicators in the combination meter

   

  A failure occurs in one or more sections of the combination meter (instrument panel). Most often the bottom line in the LCD panel displaying the clock, check/warning messages and mileage information will not illuminate properly. Sometimes it works OK when the ignition is switched on and then stops working.

  At other times it does not illuminate initially but recovers after several miles of driving. A reliable fix for this condition is now available. For repair we need to receive the faulty combination meter. Complete instructions for removal of the combination meter from the car are now available online with detailed photographs showing each step. If interested, please e-mail us for access.

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  Air-bag warning light

  when the battery is disconnected for an extended period, the red air-bag warning light will illuminate in the combination meter (instrument panel) and stay on whenever the ignition is on. It is possible to reset the air-bag warning light.

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  Poor FM radio reception

  Cars are often modified during the compliancing process to improve FM radio reception. However, it is not widely known and appreciated that Soarers have dual radio antenna systems. Invariably only the main antenna circuit gets modified. Reception of Australian FM broadcast then becomes possible but the high quality radio does not perform to its full potential. Fading and dropouts are common complaints. We have developed a modification to the diversity antenna circuit to bring the FM radio reception up to the Lexus standard.

   

  Back to                                  See details of individual modifications at the Enquiry page

   

  Car accessories
  

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  Original Lexus SC300/400 badges are available in chrome or gold-plated versions.

   

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  New floor mats in sets of four (2 front and 2 rear) with the word LEXUS embroided on the front mats are now available in a selection of colours.

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  Wood-grain kits for the centre console and door switches can be ordered for GT, GT-L and LTD models fitted with or without the Electro Multivision (TV) screen.

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  CD magazines for the remote 12CD stacker are in stock.

   

  Back to                                  See details of individual modifications at the Enquiry page

   

  Scam of the year
  

  This photograph shows an interesting attempt at altering the odometer display. The last digit in the odometer total display was disabled to show a much lower mileage. One can only wonder what to think about a car with an odometer incrementing once every 10 km. Obviously the daily counter still worked normally but did not display the usual decimal point and 100's of meters. When demonstrated and sold, the display of this car was probably in the daily counter mode. NOTE: In our experience the total odometer reading in any Soarer cannot be trusted. The total mileage information is stored in a Nippondenso chip located on the main printed circuit board in the combination meter. The combination meter can be replaced easily and we know it for a fact that the chip can also be erased or any other value stored in it to represent the total mileage. There is no way to tell if the milage info is genuine. Full service history from Japan would be most helpful in this regard but, unfortunately, is never available. These cars have to be bought "on condition" and not on what the sellers say or odometers show.

  Back to                                  See details of individual modifications at the Enquiry page

  

  E-mail: info@startrade.org (Please read FAQs first)