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The lead attorney is Laura Digirolamo <lmd@KirtlandPackard.com>. You can email her to get on a list to receive an email with the web link when it is ready.
Today we went out in the LS in the morning but did not turn the heat on in the seats. The heat system was "off" ... totally. No fresh air running on the seats, nothing.
For lunch we went out in our '03 BMW 530 that has unheated leather seats. The BMW seats felt much colder through the same layers of clothing.
Both cars were parked in the same garage.
Could it have something to do with the perforated leather? (strange but possible)
Same clothes, same long wool coat, striking difference in the comfort factor.
Any ideas why the BMW seats felt colder than our LS430's seats withOUT the heat turned on?
ON the other hand you are sort of comparing apples and oranges. I'm sure you are aware that cloth seats never "feel" cold, perforated seats are sort of "half" cloth.
Thanks wwest, that would explain the difference. Duh . . . why didn't I think of that, but I had a feeling the holes had something to do with it.
http://www.scmagazine.com/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=newsDetails&a- mp;newsUID=bc5789cf-e448-4a6e-bee9-a5dd291405ed&newsType=Late- st%20News
http://www.kirtlandpackard.com/v710
It also contains an input form on which you can describe your own experiences and complaints.
I hate lawsuits but in this case I'm hoping it may do us some good.
The dealer claims that all the keys worked at the outset (I never tested them). The service dept was closed.
Question is - does anyone know of a method to reaquaint the keys to the car without going to the dealer? The manual doesn't really cover this.
Lexus is following the trend of other auto companies towards larger wheel sizes purely for cosmetic reason at the expense of ride quality. This is a hot button for me because we recently purchases a RX330 and were forced into the 18” wheels. The shorter sidewalls have a significant impact of the tires ability to cushion the ride. Many of the squeaks and rattles we are experiencing in the RX330 are due in part to the road impact forces being transferred to the cabin.
We have been told we can custom order a vehicle with 17” wheels but this limits our ability to negotiate on the price. Swapping wheels is not really an option. The tire pressure system, brake system and navigation system are all calibrated at the factory to the installed tires.
Honestly it sounds like your salesman is feeding you nonsense. I have 17" wheels with snow tires mounted on it right now. No trouble whatsoever. In fact the bolt pattern has not changed from the '01 so 17" wheels should fit fine..
I had those W rated tires on my '02 LS430 with Sports Suspension..At $268 a piece I wasn't very thrilled with them..Michelin Pilots would be a better bargain. What's even more ironic is that the car is electronically governed to 135 MPH..So, I have trouble seeing the use for those tires!!
I don't see how changing a set of rims should require ordering a different car. Back in '02 when I objected to the Sports Suspension and 17" inch wheels the dealer offered to swap the 17's for 16's off another car..Surely Lexus dealers have 17" wheels on hand for their cars! I'd be quite firm with them on this issue.
Hope this helps,
SV
When we bought our '03 BMW 530 the saleswoman told us that anyone buying the 17" or 18" tire is encouraged to buy "tire insurance" due to the higher risk of blowouts when hitting potholes as well as damage to the wheel rims themselves. I don't need that kind of worry, with or without insurance.
BTW, Consumer Reports magazines does not care for the larger size performance tires either on wet or snowy roads. CR says they're great on dry roads but awful on wet. That was good enough for me, along with the pothole issue.
Perhaps it is time to get on edmunds' car search for dealers in your surrounding area, who might have exactly what you want. We bought our BMW this way. We knew exactly what we wanted, called the dealers for their "best price" and ended up doing the negotiations over the phone--a much better way to negotiate IMHO. Never saw the car until we went down to pay and take possession.
Don't be afraid of hurting the salesman's feelings. Clearly he is not losing sleep by worrying about your feelings. Once they have your money and sold a car, they're focused on the next customer. It's their job.
GS 350/GS 460 Spring 2005
IS 250/IS 350 Fall 2005
ES 350 Spring 2006
GS 450h Spring 2006
LS 460 Fall 2006
I hope this helps you all with the limited flow of accurate new model release dates from Lexus.
Our previous two cars, the '98 Volvo XC70AWD and '98Toyota Avalon, allowed us to drive down a steepish hill in the neighborhood, without foot on the accelerator, and the cars would pick up enough speed to get us up the next mild incline. A silly game of sorts, but it brought some excitement and challenge into the boring drive home at the end of the day.
In our '05 LS as well as our '03 BMW 530, it's a no-go. Both seem to stay in the gear they started out in. Both have the capacity to manually shift gears instead of leaving it in "D" and I wonder if this is the reason.
Did the Toyota and Volvo actually shift gears as the car's speed increased on a mild hill even though the accelerator was not being pressed?
This has puzzled us and we figure someone on this forum will know the answer. Thanks!
Despite all these concerns, it's likely that once Sony has a great standard, Toyota will built some great voice command MP3 device into our flagship.
In the meantime, enjoy the Mark Levinson!
Paul
Please send your daytime contact info to jfallon@edmunds.com by Friday, February 11, 2005.
The Porsche Boxster requires oil and filter change every 20,000 miles or 2 years, using 0-30W Mobile 1. I strongly suspect that the LS engine is every bit as well made and the quality is as good as the Porsche engine. Or maybe not? I couldn't get a good answer from Customer Service. I have my suspicion of what's going on. Maybe someone can truly enlighten me on this quandary.
Thanks
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Check out the December 2004 issue of Car & Driver, Csaba Csere's "The Steering Column", p. 13. He has an interesting discussion about Toyota's recent "sludge-damaged engines" issue. Points to Toyota research that "many" of these so-called damaged engines were in leased cars with 30-40,000 miles. Looks like many never had their oil filters changed and had oil change interval problems (i.e., the leasees weren't changing their oil like they should).
Toyota also determined that owners/leasees weren't following the "severe service" intervals as needed.
An excerpt:
"So how is an owner to determine the threshold between 'normal' and 'severe' service? Toyota concluded that an owner couldn't be expected to know and has since revised its oil-change shedules for all its vehicles to 5000 miles."
Sounds like corporate BS to me.
I always tend to do maintenace on my leased cars at "decent" intervals of around 7,500 miles. Still though, I've been known to skip a service visit or two. The fact that I do not own the car doesn't help my motivation much.
As to sludge-damaged engines, I suppose these cars were not of the "Certified Pre-Owned" types.. don't those "supposedly" go through a 3 Zillion point inspection prior to resale? I'd think they'd pick up on the fact that a car hasn't been serviced regularly during the certification process -- unless that process is a bunch of marketing baloney.
Like I said back then, there's no sludge issue with Toyota's other engines. Why did these Toyota/Lexus owners choose to neglect those particular models. It didn't add up on my calculator.
As to "So how is an owner to determine the threshold between 'normal' and 'severe' service? Toyota concluded that an owner couldn't be expected to know and has since revised its oil-change shedules for all its vehicles to 5000 miles". The owner's manuual clearly spelled out the difference between normal and severe service--decernable by any 4th grader. Or maybe it's presumed that Lexus owners haven't reached that mental ability and would simply accept any explaination, however lacking.
If owners do not get an oil change in 40,000 miles or on a regular basis, why would mandating a 5,000 mile schedule induce tham to do otherwise?
There are 5 differences between the
LQ (Custom Lux) and the PT (Modern Lux) pkgs: Dynamic Radar, Pre-Collision, headlight washers, power door closers, and laminated glass, all of these on the LQ pkg., making the price increase $2500/invoice and $3000/retail.
I'd like to know from a consumer point, what real difference would these things make in a driving experience or any other aspect? I'm mainly referring to the pre-coll and radar. I already assume the others are price- increase excuses, but are these 5 extras worth the extra $2000-3000??
I own a fully-loaded '99 LS with 98K miles, and all scheduled maintainances performed up to date.
Here are the rough costs for scheduled maint:
30K mile -> ~$150
60K mile -> ~$600
90K mile -> ~$1300
These are costs based on my location here in So Cal.
Have changed tires (2x) and rear brakes, along with regular oil changes at 5K mile intervals. That's been it.
Oh, the timing belt was changed at the 90K-mile service, along with a few other things.
Hope the above helps you with your '99....
the dealer COULD NOT balance the tires . the factory quotes a nonsense fix that fixes nothing . lexus will go back to the 17" quickly .
the dealers in my area are meeting with the factory monday ( wash to ny ) .
In your case, rather than change the tires, you had them change the car. A bit drastic, but an effective solution nonetheless
Just curious as to why nobody suggested changing the complete set of tires?
i wanted the 17" wheels and a set of michelin mxv4's with an " h " rating .
however , at that point i was tired . every time i was at the dealer's , someone came in to scream about their new '05 ls with 18" wheels and dunlops ... while the factory denied a problem ?
deceision : no 18" anything for me . i wanted my ls to ride and perform like an ls .
I agree that I wouldn't want summer tires. Are the "W" rated tires all-season? Are there any 18" tires that are not problemmatic?
On a separate note, why is Lexus offering a $750 cash incentive to only recent college grads? How many recent college grads can afford an ES/IS 330 let alone LS430? Am I missing some thing?
they are all season tires
there is an upcharge on the factory monroney sticker of about $190 to upgrade the 17" standard ( as on a 2004 ls ) with the standard size all season fat dunlops .
you'll notice on the upper passenger side exterior windshield , notifying a purchaser not to expect much more than 20,000 miles on the optional 18" wheels and tires . they are tall and thin and ride like driving over railroad tracks ( even on a smooth boulevard blacktop).
to know if there's a problem ? most of the cars i have tested , have an apparent wheel balance problem from 60 to 72 mph ... with a shimmy , bounce , and outright grumbling . i drove one car that did it's thing at 25 mph . dealers other than mine tell me customers complain the ride isn't like their old ls and don't speak of balance problems or out of round problems . very well COULD BE MY DEALER DOES NOT HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE OF BALANCING OUT OF ROUND TIRES ON THEIR SOPHISTICATED BALANCERS . if you are experiencing no problems , it's a good chance you have 17" with normal size dunlops . all the ls430's were shipped to the states with the 17's until early december or so when the 18's started coming in .
mitchell rowe
also check for drift to one side or the other , and what i coined the wandering desert camel ... where the car just wanders from side to side like mindless robot .
item # 2 : the $ 750 cash rebate for a college graduate in the last 90 day's . no you are not missing anything . obviously it's an ABSOLUTE PHONEY REBATE . ONE WOULD HAVE TO BE AN MD SPECIALIST IN HEART SURGERY TO AFFORD A LEXUS WITHIN 90 DAYS OF GRADUATING COLLEGE .
obviously there's a clown in the marketing department . maybe the same clown who took a perfect car , the standard of the world , and
stuck some bicycle tires with a life on the vehicle to satisfy the college graduates who will take their rebate and buy new wheels and tires ?
mitchell rowe
Make sure the dealer is using a Hunter RoadForce balancing machine. They are the best in the business and can balance practically anything. I bought my '05 LS in Dec but it's been on snow tires ever since..I'll have to see what it does once it's back on the normal rims..I would have prefered the 17" wheels..I don't see the need for 18" on this car, especially when the car is governed to 130 MPH!!! (Why is it that the ES goes to 143?) My older LS400's were limited to 150..
Usually the dealer is good at resolving these matters..They switched the tires in my '92 LS when I bought it because of vibration issues to Bridgestone Turanzas..Ditto with my '98 LS (To Dunlop Sp 5000's)..
As for the cash incentive..Maybe for leasing purposes? I don't of many grads even Harvard ones that could afford 35K in cash immediately after graduation..Maybe they're getting loans or leasing..
SV