Tells Us About Your Car And Its Mods Or Problems

[House66]

I just picked up my 2001 GS-430 last night. It is pearl white with chrokme 17s and has the Levinson package. My short term plans are the SRT intake, wheels and tires, suspension and exhaust. I love the way the car looks, rides and runs. This is definetly a step up from my 1999 Volvo S70 T5.

House

[tuddy]

i just got my 02 gs300 sports design black/black I LOVE THIS CAR!! its so fun to drive. The car was onwed by an old guy beautiful condition some paint chips on the hood but what can you do its not a new car but everyone thinks it is an 04 or 05 lol i put the HID headlight kit in and tinted the windows 35% and i wanna add alil system nothng too crazy though...can someone tell me what i can add for alil more hp w/o voiding the warranty?? can i add a cold air intake?? things like that..again I LOVE THIS CAR!!! :D

[Rahim]

I just got a 98 GS400. Its Gold with the Beige interior...i know its not flashy but at least its classy. I dont have alot of plans for it cuzz i had to empty my bank account to get it...but it was worth it. I plan on changing the front grill to a Chrome one and maybe some 18's next summer. I love the look of the Wood steering wheel on the 2001 and newer (Canadian model not sure about the American Model) and if its possible to upgrade to it i'd want to do that to. Its got the nakamichi stereo, which is good enough for me.

[achafuen]

The problem seems very common. Weird for a car with that reputation. Mine failed at 70K.

1999 GS 300  - 1st and only owner

My GS has been a great car.  Style still looks good on the road vs. 2004 models.  100,000 miles with normal repair. (belts - brakes)  Handles well in snow for rear wheel drive.  Only failure at 102,000 has been the brake booster pump which to my surprise was a +$2200 repair.  I was able to find some used units; however, after having two ind. repair shops decline to install a used pump and planning on having another 3-4 years with the car.  The decsion was easy to make.

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[ecostello]

02 GS300 Sportdesign 23,400mi $27,900 certified pre-owned

2nd owner. bought 2 wks ago

Sewell lexus Ft Worth

Everything Stock

[DaGuNit]

New to the board... Just thought I'd say hello! I bought my GS400 in March of this year and I love it to death. Truly, a driver's car! It is a 1999 with 50k. The car has Eibach Lowering Springs, Blitz Nur Spec full system exhaust and a set of 18" OZ Wheels (front 18 x 9 , rear 18 x 9.5) It is in almost perfect condition.

Here are a couple pix.

I haven't had any problems so far other than one I "may" have caused on my own. I was wondering if anyone had any similar experiences. I maintained a fairly high speed (+100 mph) for a good 15 min and then, out of nowhere, this exit ramp to a long and straight highway approaches so I have to take it. At this point, I stomp my foot to the floor and hit just over 140 mph and I hold this speed for less than a minute when I notice a little bit of smoke in my rear view mirror. (Oh, *BLEEP*@!@!@) I pull over at the next exit and get out and open all doors and hood but only see smoke coming from right under the car about where the seats sit. It didn't smell like an overheat (temp. gauge was fine too) or rubber so my only two thoughts are I fried the cats or all the gaskets for the aftermarket exhaust system.

Any input would be much appreciated.

TIA

[91L3xus]

That car is very nice, as well as the NSX in the garage and the M3 next to the GS. I also couldn't help but notice the cop car in the first pic. Myabe he has something to say about when you saw smoke in the rear view?

[DaGuNit]

That car is very nice, as well as the NSX in the garage and the M3 next to the GS.  I also couldn't help but notice the cop car in the first pic.  Myabe he has something to say about when you saw smoke in the rear view? 

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Thank you.... the other two cars belong to the org. owner of the GS. Those pix are at his house in FL before I drove it away. The cop car belongs to the brother of the owner. He stopped by to say hi to the GS's new owner while he was on duty. He did have some nice rides and a nice place too. I have now taken one of his nice rides away.... It was a long trip from FL to Kansas City too but let me be the first to tell you, that was the smoothest, longest, straight-through trip I have EVER taken besides maybe a plane.

Your lex still runnin strong after 130k? That will be reassuring news if that is the case. I have heard great, great things about these cars.

[91L3xus]

Yup, she's still running well, as long as I maintain it enough, which I like doing anyways.

"Stress relieving" as some ma say, but fun too.

I've only had the car for about 3 months and have put 2,500 miles on it, that's how much I love it!

Congrats on your purchase, it's a beauty. B)

[robertGS400]

Maybe you can help with this problem. The dealer says $3200 to fix and Lexus Customer Service says they can't declare it a mfg defect? My 98 GS 400 is not happy and neither am I. Is there a solution?

Aug 24 2005, 05:04 PM Post #5

New Club Member

Group: Members

Posts: 1

Joined: 24-August 05

Member No.: 20,183

Car Model:GS400

Location:SC

Warn: (0%)

I have the same problem on my 98 GS400 and the dealer is saying the cause is a Evaporator Core Heater Box. The Lexus Dealer is quoting $3200. I told him he may have hit his head....What did you end up doing?

QUOTE(GS300Fan @ May 15 2005, 08:26 AM)

I had moisture on my passenger floorboard (2001 GS) and figured it was a clogged A/C drain line. Dealer called and told me I had a cracked case around the evaporator core. First of all, how does the case crack without any impact? I guess it's possible, but wouldn't it take some force to crack it?

Second of all, it's very expensive to replace (10-12 hrs labor), but another repair shop suggested it could be repaired by just sealing the crack with an apoxy (epoxy?) sealant that is actually stronger than the plastic case itself.

Has anyone heard of a cracked case, or know how it could happen?

Can anyone shed light onto what my best alternative is (excluding the obvious cost savings)?

[danny boy]

whats up everybody i'm new to this lexus club and i got a 2001 midnight green gs300. I bought it brand new in 2001. I love the car, its got 37,000 mileson it. I had a problem with it in the past, like 2 of my o2 senors went out but it was ok cause the car was still under warranty. The problem i still have is my rear taillight burnt bulb light keeps coming on when there aren't any burned bulbs. I got a srt intake with ecu and a hks hi power exhaust, I got 20 inch alba's, and eibach springs that drop it an inch and a half, I upgraeded to hid with oem yellow fog lights. Inside my car i got a pioneer flip down head unit with a premier 6 disc changer and a pioneer dvd player and 2 head rest monitors. In the trunk i got custom box with 3 12inch L7 kickers with a fosgate 1500 watt bd amplifier and a fosgate 200 watt 4 channel amplifier for my mids and highs. My future plans is to get a srt turbo kit and a body kit.

[chips229]

Hi just adding to the thread.

My cars a Jap import a mk1 Aristo TT.

Ive had the car for around 6 months or so,problems to date are the heater matrix has been leaking so ive got to get that fixed in the near future :cries: its not going to be cheap.

I also have a starting problem from warm,engine starts fine from cold no probs.If the engines switched off when warm and left for a few minutes its a real pain to restart,engine always starts fine but the idle falls away and it runs lumpy sounds like its missing,so could be overfueling .I took the idle control valve off when i had the car first and soaked and cleaned it in some spirit,someone said that might do the trick...but ive still got the same problem.....ive read alot of people have had the same sort of problem with starting and have replaced the ICV(idle control valve)and other sensors and its still not cured the problem....

Ive also cleaned the inlet throttle body but its no better..

Its a great car apart from those problems....

Cheers for now chips.

[lecomte]

Hi

New to the forum.

99 GS400 - Cinnabar Pearl - Cashmere leather interior. L-Tuned Performance Edition. All options except NAV.

Oh...and it has

L-Tuned (dealer installed) performance shocks, springs, exhaust, & steering ECU

HRE Hub Extenders (rear)

Goodridge stainless-steel brake lines

Window Tinting (rear doors and rear window)

SRT Cold Air Intake

JL Audio replacement sub-woofer with MTX amplifier.

2nd Owner. First owner took exceptional care and the car was flawless upon purchase. Excepting of course, those high speed pits on the windshield and

the nose.

Well...I have owned two cars in my life I have like more, the more I drove them.

The first was a Porsche 928. And the second one this one. "The Beast". I've put 26,000 miles on it in the year I've had it. What a blast!. 500 mile runs through the rain to arcata, ca and back (same day) - 3 times. Runs to Tahoe, Santa Barbara, and my clients who are scattered all over the bay area. The only mistake I've made was putting Potenza S-03's on it. They lasted 5,000 miles. Even my Porsches would get 10k out of a new set of tires. C'est la vie. I went to a harder Yokohama....they're at 20k and starting to go, but I can live with that.

The only problem I've had was a lot of vibration in the front end. New set of rotors ($760.00) solved that. Vibration re-appearing as the tires age.

I drive this baby hard and use the touch shift constantly. An absolute animal on the freeway. Capable of easy passes on on-ramps. Climbs hills like a sunovabeetch... Eats up and spits out BMW's. Only car I've ever owned that could do a 500 mile run and leave me wanting to do another 300.

Need to take care in the twisty's...it's a heavy car. But I'll trade off the Porsche handling for power, comfort, and a ride that sure isn't your mother's Lexus.

So why am I here? It's due for a 90k service. I'm a pilot, not a mechanic, and am curious if there is anything I should know beyond the obvious like timing belt, and water pump, given that the car has a few mods.

Will leave you with a couple of pic's (taken at 89K and change). This car still looks awesome. I even got pulled over on one Arcata run, the cop walked around the car, complimented me on it...asked to look in the trunk..probably for drugs...and told me to put a plate on the front of the car. Never even asked me for my license and registration.

Simply an awesome automobile. My previous car, an Acura TL-S went through 4 transmissions in two years and was towed away for repairs on no less than 8 occasions.

Le Comte...

PS - don't leave home without an excellent radar detector

oh...and here are the pics at 89K

[March]

Anyone know how to program from miles to kilometers on a 2006 gs430? Bought a US car and live in Canada. Nav is easy to change but miles and temp not a choice.

[tropepepepepepe]

I recently bought a 2006 gs300 for myself for christmas. I just had the wheels chromed and the windows tinted. I'm waiting for them to come out with intake kits and exhaust systems. Im eighteen years "OLD"

[Blingologist]

Hey guys, I'm new to the site and thought I'ld introduce myself. My name's Kipp and I own a 1998 GS300. I'ld say mine is average for this crowd, cars in good shape, no mods except for the rims. 20x8.5 fronts and 20x9.5 rears. out of all the cars I've owned, this car doesnt handle nearly as nice as what I would expect. I havent invested any money into the suspension though, and I dont think I will. Still undecided. There are lots of nice lexus's on this site though, very impressed. Stay pimpin!I

[SGISL3V0E0R06]

List your model, year ,

# of owners ,

price when bought and from where

lenght of ownership and attributed problems and repair costs.

Also mention where you had it fixed ( lexus, independent, midas or diy).

When it was done.

Any mods done to the car and its costs.

If desired your age and insurance you pay.

If you have any picutes in the gallery put links in the post so we can have an idea about the car.

Please only post once and if you have a question either pm the member or make a new thread .

This will keep the page from being filled with excess.

HI

Have a 06 GS300 2wd fully loaded with mark l system,xenon and all bought it have almost 4k on it now i have no problems on it except for the moonroof making tweaking noise when youre twisting the car entering a driveway,lexus said theyre gonna do a 5k mile free oil change and ill tell em at that time to see what theyll do with the problem.

anyways i just signed in to this forum and for those of you that dont know me <im thinkin everyone>i work in automotive service so if i can be of help to anyone in the so cali area <los angeles> let me know and my brother is also a car broker so if you guys need a new car im sure he can hook you guys up.

keep up the good work guys

Ken

[greekkoukla418]

I recently bought a 2006 gs300 for myself for christmas. I just had the wheels chromed and the windows tinted. I'm waiting for them to come out with intake kits and exhaust systems. Im eighteen years "OLD"

I am new to board and having several and i mean several problems w/ my 2006 GS300 AWD...... Rattling from the dash.. clunking noises coming from the front end and yes my moonroof does not work properly.. I hit close or down and it opens.. The deal has had it about 6 times and have tried to fix these problems and to no evail... they are not fixed

As far as your problem, there was a bulletin sent out to all Lexus Service Depts and they fixed that problem for me, even before it became a problem.

Please tell me if you have any of the problems i have listed above or if anyone has heard of these problems .. I am in great despair and very upset about the car :cries:

[Fidel Castrol]

I've had my 1994 GS 300 almost a year now; it has just over 40,000 original miles at this time. It's in great shape, although Hurricane Wilma put about 2958% more scratches and dents to my car.

The more I drive it, the more I like the car. It has zero problems, other than a CD changer that's inop. I'd like to look into a trunk-mounted multiple disk/CD changer that will play MP3s encoded from CD-Rs. If it works well with the harness supplied for minimal install time, that's a bonus.

The only mods it has is the driver, the most important upgrade a car needs! Now that I'm done bragging about my non-existant race driving skills, I'll let the next GS owner show their car.

[pakundo]

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...album&album=223

hello all..new here too...so far my cars prob is the 20s installed,,,,getting tire system check...need to take it back to the dealer to reset...

[donbl]

"moonroof does not work properly.. I hit close or down and it opens.."

I have the same problem on the moonroof but I think it is operator error. I am going in for 5000 mile service and will see if I can get it resolved - fixed or trained.

Will let you know if I find a solution.

[Supercat]

I have a 2002 GS300 Sport Design (SD) in Silver with Black/Grey/Blackwood Interior. I bought this car in May of this year and am LOVING it! I was looking for this exact color combo, but up until I bought the car, had no idea that the SD model even existed. It had only 19000 miles on the ticker and the original warranty was to expire in August, so my first mod was to purchase an extended warranty for 6 years / 70000 miles. I really don't drive a lot so this will definitely cover me while I own the car. Honestly, I can't imagine ever selling this baby!

I've loved the GS ever since the first generation. I had a 97 ES300, and loved that car, but the mileage was getting up there and after talking it over with the wife, I decided to sell it and look into my dream sports sedan. I paid 23k for this car and it's by far the best vehicle I've ever driven. I have friends who've had this car, who are now driving Mercedes E500s, and both want to get back into GSs once their leases are up.

Now for the fun stuff:

First thing I did was to install a rear spoiler (looks stock), then tinted the windows.

I just bought a carbon fiber roof spoiler, carbon fiber B pillar inserts, and the chrome rings for the head and tail lights. I wanted to get the carbon fiber c-pillar garnish, but the only ones I've found have either "Tom's" or "ARISTO" on them. I'd prefer plain garnish ones, so I'll wait and see if they're ever produced.

I contemplated getting a different grill, but after looking the car over and seeing what's out there, I decided to stay with the original chrome grill that the car has on it now (thus the decision to go with the chrome head/tail light mods)

Next up: Wheels and Stance. I've been looking at wheels and tires, as well as options for lowering the car. I can't seem to decide what wheels to go with. Right now I have stock 17"s and they look amazing. At first I wanted to go up to 18"s, but I don't think it will make much of an impact, so I'm going with 19"s. I live in NY and my biggest fear is bending a rim. I think the 19"s will be a good choice.

As far as lowering it, I'm looking into the Eibach lowering springs for now. Eventually, I might go with the Tein coil overs.

Interior-wise, I think the car is perfect and will leave it stock. I like the alternate piping on the seats (in dark grey) as well as the black-wood accents. As you can tell, I'm a BIG fan of carbon fiber. If I did anything, I'd replace the covers with carbon fiber leather, but in the same color combo.

Under the hood? Well, I hear there's a supercharger out there...but the wife thinks I'm already a speed freak and it's the only thing she's "requested" that I stay away from (oh, and a motorcycle - lol). I know it would only get the car up to about 320hp. Nonetheless, she works in insurance and after hearing all the horror stories out there...

But, being the Carbon fiber (CF) nut that I am, I'm definitely going to get the CF covers for the upper intake and anything else that I can find to accent the motor.

Thanks for reading!

JJ (Long Island, NY)

[06gs430]

haven't been on this forum for a while, too busy with the daily drama of life. here are some recent pictures.

[Ronalder]

I have strange wheel vibration at 60MPH

[06gs430]

I have strange wheel vibration at 60MPH

aftermarket or stock wheels? has car been lowered or anything?