Newbie. New Ls Owner.

[kwahaus]

Greetings. New to forum. Just bought an '06 LS430 to replace an '07 ES350 lease that is ending. Flint Mica over black, modern luxury, smart access, 18" chrome wheels. Has only 30K with original warranty until late November.

Saw on Ebay as a new car trade-in at Classic BMW in Dallas. Originally purchased from Sewell and serviced regularly. Doug Robins at Classic couldn't have been any more professional and easy to work with. The car was as represented and looks practically mint. He even filled it up for my trip home. I live in the Kansas City area and drove it home today — an 8 hour drive. Here a few observations.

1. Great hi-way cruiser. Fuel mileage is impressive for such a large, powerful car. Averaged 27 for the trip and 30 at one stretch. Also made it all of the way on one tank with some to spare. Thanks, Doug.

2. Seats are a real disappointment. Too hard, too flat and just not comfortable. I've had Volvos, Acuras, Audis and even Volkswagens with more comfortable seats. Maybe I just need to get used to them. I thought the seats in the ES were poor...but these may be worse.

3. Center arm rest is uncomfortable. The padding is way too thin and the piping that goes around the top hits my arm at an awkward angle and is kind of a nuisance.

4. I'll probably need new tires before too long. Ride was good, but could be better.

5. Nanny navigation is silly. Fortunately, I found the nav override online and was able to use it. My son was riding shotgun so he did the set up. Got my phone paired, but without a phonebook, so far it's not too useful. Interestingly, the '07 ES (non-nav) allows more use while driving.

Don't mean to sound so negative, I had really high expectations for the car, and these small issues, while disappointing, hopefully wont distract from many years of happy driving. Cheers.

[1990LS400]

Consider buying some non-chrome wheels for winter use. When I bought my 2000 LS400 when it came off a three year lease in 2003, its chrome wheels had been trashed by our Kansas City winters and the salt used on the roads here. Buy some dedicated snow tires too -- they have the mountain/snowflake symbol on the side wall ... makes a world of difference even in our moderate winters and helps immeasurably if you have to drove a little north into Iowa/Nebraska like I do. Now is a great time to buy winter tires -- price reductions are in the Spring.

I use summer -- not all season -- on my summer chrome wheels (the trashed chrome wheels were replaced under the car's original warranty) ... less noise and expecially better handling and braking on wet roads. Look at the noise ratings on Tire Rack's website.

Play with the seat adjustments -- your LS430 has a bunch and a little more than my 00 LS. The main complaints I've heard about the seats are from larger, stockier guys. I've had three Mercedes and three Volvos (I even admit to one VW) and the seats in my LS are at least as comfortable as those -- but I'm tall and fairly light. My biggest complaint with most Lexus vehicles is the seat cushion length -- wish it was more like the Mercedes S-class.

I can't comment on the armrest since I keep both hands on the steering wheel in the "10 and 2" position -- likely a carryover from my limited experiences on races courses and a bit of training.

Instructions on downloading phone address books for many popular phones are at: http://www.lexus.com/models/LS/accessories/bluetooth.html

If you want a neat accessory for your Bluetooth phone, most of the components of the Bury System 9 are available on eBay -- very similar to and from the same manufacturer as the Bluetooth Complementary Kit sold by Lexus dealers in Europe. Interchangable snap-in cradles are available on eBay for most popular phones and the kit keeps the phone charged and adds an external antenna. Here is one shown in an LS460: http://www.lexus.co.uk/range/ls/accessories/interior.aspx Installation instructions and part numbers for the LS430 are at http://www.lexus-tech.eu/ under "Accessory Installation Manuals".

If you haven't found him already, get to know Ben Bennett at Exact Performance in Mission. Ben's people have been maintaining our Lexus and Toyota vehicles since he left the Lexus dealer in about 1996. Ben even found my current 00 LS400 for me back in 2003 at one of his indie dealer friends only a couple of hours after I gave him detailed specifications on color, mileage and equipment.

Enjoy your LS.

[99 Mystic Gold LS 400]

2. Seats are a real disappointment. Too hard, too flat and just not comfortable. I've had Volvos, Acuras, Audis and even Volkswagens with more comfortable seats. Maybe I just need to get used to them. I thought the seats in the ES were poor...but these may be worse.

This is the exact reason I never bought a 430 and sold my 460 after owning it for only 3 months. Being 6-4, 290 lb. could be a contributing factor, but my '99 seats are still very comfortable to me. Keep playing with the adjustments and you will probably find the right combination - when you do find it, be sure to save the position on your pre-sets.

[GKLCPA]

I've read others complaining about the LS seats being hard and uncomfortable. I can certainly say that's not my experience. Maybe it's the vintage LS I have (1996) but this is the most comfortable car I've ever owned and I've not had to do a lot of seat adjustments

[kwahaus]

Jim,

Thanks for the thorough reply. I'll be looking for an extra set of wheels/tires for winter. I really prefer the non-chrome 18" wheels and would rather run those most of the year. But relegating the chrome wheels for winter duty is probably backwards, as far as durability is concerned. I did notice yesterday that the spare is the original aluminum wheel and not chrome.

I still have about six months of factory warranty, so I will be using the local dealer for a while. I will look up Ben. I think long term, I'd be much happier with an honest, competent independent mechanic. Although, my wife has her Acura service at Superior Acura and they do a good job...the exception to the rule?

Still perplexed on the seats. Seems like the seats pre-2001 are universally praised, while later years are mixed bag.

I'll also check out the phone link. I have an iPhone, and although it's paired, I don't think it works with the phonebook.

If you don't mind, where in KC do you live? Is there an active Lexus owner's group here?

Thanks.

[jainla]

I'll also check out the phone link. I have an iPhone, and although it's paired, I don't think it works with the phonebook.

Nope. Maybe version 3.0 of the software might work but right now you can't.

If you have bluetooth on your computer you might be able to export your addresses to a .vcf file and then upload that to the car. When I 'sent' the phonebook of my blackberry to my computer i got a phonebook.vcf file with all the addresses in it.

Good luck!

[kwahaus]

I'll also check out the phone link. I have an iPhone, and although it's paired, I don't think it works with the phonebook.

Nope. Maybe version 3.0 of the software might work but right now you can't.

If you have bluetooth on your computer you might be able to export your addresses to a .vcf file and then upload that to the car. When I 'sent' the phonebook of my blackberry to my computer i got a phonebook.vcf file with all the addresses in it.

Good luck!

I've got an old Treo that I could put some contacts on. Anyone know if I could then upload those contacts and then use my iPhone later? I'd duplicate the names and numbers, of course.