Some LS problems

[sspruell77]

I have a 2002 ls v8 and I have a few problems
1. My passenger door will not open from the outside.
2. My horn, and the other buttons on my steering wheel do not work. When I hit my panic button and lock button on the remote the horn blows.
3. Sometimes my car hesitates starting it turns over but wont start. After I take the key out and try again it starts and I can smell a strong odor of gas.
4. My right brake light keeps going out I change it and it works for a short time then blows again.
Can anyone help me and tell me what parts I may need and how much they may cost?
I really like this car the only other problem I have had was that I need a oil pan gasket, took it to the dealership they did it for $85 so hopefully I wont be spending my whole pay check.

[shorod]

Welcome to the forum!

There's a pretty good chance that the cause of the steering wheel buttons not working is due to a bad clockspring. This has been a pretty common issue on the LS, often causing the Airbag light to come on. Try searching this forum for the clockspring, instructions on changing this yourself (if so inclined) have been posted here before.

The hesitation during starting could be many things, you'll probably need to get that one checked out. If you have a fuel pressure guage, you should check the fuel rail pressure when KOEO, when trying to get it started, and then again KOER. Hopefully the fuel smell is due to unburned fuel coming through the exhaust rather than a fuel leak. Maybe your fuel pressure sensor is not working properly.

Is the brake light bulb burning out, or it just stops working? Ie: is maybe the connection loose and when you install a new bulb, you get good contact again for a short time? Any evidence that water is getting in there? How about the intensity of the parking lights? Is the brake light on the right side maybe staying on longer than it should? Have you verified from the owner's manual that you are installing the correct bulb part number?

-Rod