Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Options
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
I have seen several other posts in here and elsewhere citing tire noise after just a few thousand miles. If these folks check they will find they are having the same "feathering" issue I'm am having.
FYI -- the regional Lexus rep had the b_lls to make this statement to me when the meeting was coming to an end. "Other than the tire issue its really an awesome vehicle isn't it"? I about fell out of my chair!
Thanks,
Dnnee
I need some guidance on the use of a Bluetooth Phone. On Lexus' site, it recommends Cingular service. I have had Verizon forever and do not want to change.
Can someone explain to me in simple terms if I buy a Bluetooth enabled phone and want to keep Verizon, if this will work with the phone in the car?
Can I somehow manually enter all of my names and phone numbers into the car or does it have to be linked from the phone?
(I am really clueless on this stuff)
Thanks
Do I need to change a setting or is this normal.
Also, the AM station volume seems low and muffled. Could my Sirius radio be interfering with the AM frequency?
Purchased both cars used with 30,000 miles.
The only issue I have with the 2002 is a lag shifting from 1st to second after a slow down to near stop, i.e. 5 to 8 mph, when it is just between the 1st and 2nd gear. The rpm has to come up to about 1,600 to 1,800 before the 2nd gear engages with a bit of a lurch. It feels like driving a manual transmission and you are slow to release the clutch between shifts.
There is no hesitation when starting from standstill. The shifts then are normal between 1st & 2nd. The dealer says there is nothing wrong, that it may be the ECU that adjusted to the previous owner. (The previous owner wanted a hesitation????) It is quite annoying. Manual shifting works just fine.
Any solutions? Can you reset the ECU to new specs?
Help ...... Harbo
ThankS! :confuse:
-----------------------------------------------------------
Question: Hello, My car is RWD. What is your recommendtion if I have two GOOD tires and two OK tires, on a RWD - which pair should go on the front and which on the back? :confuse:
-----------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for your inquiry. I recommend that you match the tires (brand/model) to the other two. Then you should put the new tires on the Rear. This will give you the most balance in an emergency handling situation. Please give me a call if you have any further questions.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Hi Rudy, Thanks for responding. The tires are all the same brand and stock - just that two are newer. wrt an emergency handling situation - it's not safer on a RWD to have the better tires on the front? :surprise: That leads the car when steering...
-----------------------------------------------------------
Your actually correct about that, but the reason the Tire Rack recommends the rears is RWD cars tend to oversteer ( This means the rear actually starts to come out and around in an emergency situation). If the rear end comes loose the car will do a 360 and at this point you have lost control of the car. When you loose control of the car you could end up in a bad situation. Hopefully this clarifies my reasoning.
I have a 99 gs400 and it has about 65k miles on it. my engine shutdown on me completely two times All the dash lights lit up and i can start it back up with no problem. Both times it happened when i was at a light. it has a new battery in it. Anyone had this experience or have any idea?
I also experience similar B.S. from Lexus dealer telling me it is what is designed. I told them, I will never purchase this car if the uncomfortable ride is started when it was new. No matter how you tell them. They always tell you it is normal. One day when the service advisor told me that I am not the only customer who complaint about it. Still after another test drive, the statement still list the ride is the same as new. What a joke!
Can someone tell me is it the damping or bushing (Stability bar or shock absorber) problem?
After the second winter, when we put the OEM tires back on, the car was extremely unstable at all speeds. Independent tire shop reported that the tires had an unusual wear pattern (slight cupping - can't see it but can feel it) which indicated alignment issues. Problem was present on both the winter tires and the OEMs. Back to the dealer, who agreed, and did an alignment at no charge. (BTW - Dealer said that alignment on the GS430 has to be done both for the front and the back. ) They also reported that my tire shop had put the tires back on in different locations than the original installation (this could be BS, I can't tell. Doesn't seem like that should make that big a difference). Dealer said that the tires will even out with use, and the ride should improve further.
Bottom line is I now have two sets of VERY pricy tires that are stil usable but somewhat compromised.
The car STILL does not handle as well as it should, possibly due to the wear on the tires or other yet-to-be-found issues. For the price of a Lexus, it seems to me that the suspension's ability to stay robust and stable is not what it should be.
Wife is no longer confident in the car's overall safety or ability to handle properly (esp in emergency) and so we may replace it with an Acura or Infiniti, or bump down a notch to Honda.
Overall a very disappointing experience dealing with Lexus on this. When we've seen odd behavior of the car (weird handling problems, erratic acceleration and shifting), the service writer ALWAYS says that it's normal for the car, unless we have a report from a third party (like an independent mechanic).
So much for my rant. Hope you have better luck getting the issue settled. I recommend being very aggressive with the service dept at the dealer.
Just because, like 4WD or AWD, FWD will often initially get you up and going quicker/faster isn't an indication that you can stop or turn more quickly to help avoid an accident.
Once drivers of RWD vehicles learn how to feather the throttle (or Trac forces the issue) RWD vehicles tend to be safer overall since the front tires' contact patch is always dedicated to directional control. On the other hand if you drive a FWD or front biased AWD without a clutch then the AAA is currently recommending you practice and learn to quickly shift into neutral in the event you have an incident wherein loss of directional control is threatened due to engine leading or lagging torque.
More importantly this discussion started out being about the GS AWD model. The dynamic allocation of engine leading or lagging torque represents a significant design break through insofar as safety is concerned.
Google for:
SH-AWD
and watch the Honda video about the most perfect modern day AWD system in existence. Then watch it again and pay attention to when the engine leading or lagging torque goes into rear biasing in order to provide a more safe driving experience. The SH-AWD's engine compression braking mode should be most enlighting for FWD or front biased AWD advocates.
I am looking for mechanics or anyone who knows anything about alternators and how they are mounted, to reply back with their opinion on how the studs could break off and could this only be caused by human error. Like I said this dealer would've had to take the alternator off about 6mos ago when the changed the timing belt. They claim the problems would've arised before 6 mos if anything was going to happen at all.
Sorry for the long email. I am in tears and beside myself. I am still financing this car and can't imagine paying for a car that I can't drive. Lexus Corporate is agreeing to pick up 30% of the tab. If I'm lucky I'll get the other 70% in court.
It's a very strange feeling to have your car turn off when you come to a stop!
What did you end up having to do to fix this problem? Does it get worse over time?
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I just bought my first lexus, a used 02 GS 300, a month ago and this has now happened to me twice. The car seems to turn off as I come to a stop at a traffic light. No problem restarting, just very weird feeling!
I believe my car is officially under warranty until next february -- would this be a warranty issue?
Thanks for your thoughts on this!
your idle setting could be bad.
you might have a faulty ignition switch or fuel pump relay.
it could be your idle bypass valve.
it could be a connection to the ECU.
better bring it in.
Appreciate you could share your Lexus experience. I do have the same feeling that lack of confidence while driving my 2006 GS300 AWD. Dealer told me due to the weakness from the suspension parts, car will not drive like new. Problem is, my car already change its character in just less than 10,000 miles. This could be the differences between Japanese car and European car.
The steering wheel somewhat feel lighter than it used to be. I am not sure if this is related to why the car is so sensitive to the road surface. The suspension seems unable to absorb any road feel. It send the vibration direct to the under body. I try to change tire pressure every couple of days to see if I can find the right tire pressure. I tried from factory recommended 33 psi front and rear, 33 front/ 35 rear, 32 front and rear, 33 front/ 36 rear... I even put about 100 pound of old magazine and my golf club in the trunk to lower down the vehicle height. So far, I have not found the right tire pressure yet. Yesterday, I went back to the dealer to check the tire pressure on its demo car. It seems the dealer put 35 - 36 psi on all four tires. It is 3 psi higher than the factory recomanded tire pressure. The tire on the demo car is the same as my origin Dunlop 5000 RFT A/S came from the factory. Since I could not find the right tire pressure, I will now focus on the suspension system.
Hopefully, I do not have to give up this car. Which is only in my garage for less than 9 months.
I was hoping you might be able to narrow from your four possibilities a bit if I gave you a few more symptoms?
It has happened now four times in about 2k miles, so it's not very common, just very annoying.
It only seems to happen when I'm decelerating (coming to a light or into the driveway).
It may be my imagination but I think I can hear the radio cut in and out a few seconds before the engine shuts off.
Last, if I release the brake and keep rolling, the car has come back on, and I just keep on truckin' down the road.
Pretty weird, huh?
Thanks again for your help!
I switch to Michelin Pilot A/S two weeks ago. Which is a high performance all season tire. This tire is quiter that the OE Dunlop RFT tire.
This morning, after my friend test drove my car. On the road, he told me the car drive like a 15K instead of current 50K. I told him that I have exactly the same feeling like him. My friend told me it could be a suspension problem because the car is vibrate and shaking in all directions. He does not feel full control of the car.
I keep asking myself, am I the only owner who has this kind of problem?
ride is silky smooth and quiet. I expect that the wear on the soft rubber tires will result in poor ride at about 10K miles or so just like my Jag. I have regular tires on the GS300 - Yokohamas.
only real issue is with either the transmission or throttle control in the mountains when it would jolt me. Not nearly as good as the Jag transmission.
At this point I just want to get some decent tires. What does everyone suggest?
Thanks!
I am not happy with only 10K miles of good ride on either car but not sure how to increase. Might try Michelins in the future on the Lexus.
Used to race on Pirelle's and Michelin's years ago. Might look at the new Carbon Fiber Goodyear at some point for kicks.
Those of you with new vehicles be sure to get the tires rotated so if they cupp you can make a case that they are defective.
Bough the Michelin Pilot Primacy, A LOT quieter and smoother.
Thanks for the tip to rotate.
I may also check the alignment.
Park Place Lexus in Plano did a "free" for the first time alighnment check and found camber, toe and rear measurements significantly out of alignment.
Since I drove over half of the miles on a recent trip, I must assume the car either loses alignment or my wife it something big (I doubt it).
Sooooo, glad it was found at 5000 miles and the tires rotated. I did get a "kind of" acknowledgement of a cupping problem occurring on the car. Might be the reason for the "free" alignment. The rationale was "sport suspension" are a little more sensitive......
What is your opinion. Thanks in advance.
The way the system works once the cabin nears your setpoint is this:
First, ALL incoming system airflow is CHILLED to as close to freezing as is possible. Keeping in mind that the blower speed is now likely at minimum the airflow exiting the A/C cooling evaporator is very likely to be below 40F.
Now the CHILLED airstream is divided, the major flow being routed through the HEATER section to be reheated and then remixed with the still COLD portion that bypassed the heat cycle. That results in a system outflow from the dash that is cool, cooling, but not so cool as to be discomforting.
There are two reasons for using what seems a very wasteful and inefficient system. First, it is basically impossible, at least economically, to regulate or modulate the level of cooling provided by an A/C refrigerant cycle. It is much easier to regulate the reheat/remix levels of the airflow.
The second reason is to dehumidify the incoming airflow to a more comfortable level for the passengers.
If you find that the automatic mode of the Lexus climate control system provides inadequate cooling capability you can control it manually in a way that improves the cooling capability quite dramatically, at the same time reducing the cooling load on the radiator, and improving FE.
Simply turn the temperature setpoint to maximum cooling (the system will then automatically switch from fresh to recirculating airflow) and then use the blower speed control to regulate the passenger cabin's comfort level.
If the dash outlet airflow is too cold for your comfort then you can manually re-route it to footwell mode.
Now the A/C compressor will not cycle nearly as often as before resulting in less HOT refrigerant to be cooled via flowing through the condensor in front of the radiator.
Therefore the A/C is a lot less likely to be automatically shut down due to rising engine water jacket temperature on an extremely hot and humid day.
You might also find FE improving in the range of 5-10% using this method.
For those Lexus climate control systems that do not have a hot water flow shutoff valve in line with the heater, like my 2001 AWD RX300, you can add additional cooling capacity by adding a manual shutoff valve inside the engine compartment to prevent any inadvertent radiant heating of the system airflow via the nearby HEATER inside the system plenum.
You can cross that one off as a source of potential concern.
Good luck.