moonrayker

Has anyone got a GS with this option on it? If so, have you tried it way out in the country on unlit roads, in the fog, in a blizzard? I drive in all these conditions and I am wondering how much the night vision system would help me out. If it offers extra vision in foggy conditions I definitely want this option, but if it's just there as something to keep up with the Germans and not of any real value then it becomes less attractive.

I just got a new set of Nokian Hakkapelita R winter tires fitted to my GS and they are awesome! Having them fitted at Kal-Tire turned out to be a nightmare though. I left the car with my wife to take to the local Kal-Tire whilst I went to work. The Orang-Utans in the service bay managed to break one of my locking wheel nuts. So the manager offered to replace it with a plain one. I said no thank you, I'd like the car to be returned to me in the condition that it was in before they had it. So they got a new set of locking nuts. Later on I get a phone call from my wife, "oh, they charged you for the new set of nuts". So I call the manager and ask him about this and he says, "well it's not my fault that one broke". So I ask him whose fault he thinks it is given that the car was in his shop and one of his guys broke it! He responds with something about not supplying aftermarket parts for free blah blah. :chairshot: At this point I no longer hear what he is saying because a red mist has descended. So I tell him that my wife is bringing the car back and he can take the f ******* tires off, shove them where the sun don't shine and put the old ones back on. He then gets off his high horse and offers to refund the cost of the locking wheel nuts. I accept and vow to myself never to set foot in Kal-Tire ever again. Despite the nightmare the tires are performing great, packed snow and polished ice intersections are hardly noticeable, I am waiting for some more snow now so I can give them a real testing. The car had Pirelli Sottozera W210's on it when I bought and they were darn good but starting to wear down (they were almost bald in the centre). Whilst the traction and braking were still OK with them, the lateral grip was starting to go and it was very easy to slide sideways. So I researched lots of posts and forums and found that it was a choice between Michelin X-ice2 and Hakka R. Michelins turned out not available so it had to be the Nokians, which were the ones I wanted anyway, just that the Michelins were cheaper. The Nokians are really quiet and ride very smoothly as well, just as quiet as my set of Toyo Versado tires I have for the summer. I would definitely recommend these tires to anyone looking for a good winter tire, just try to get them from somewhere that treats it's customers property with a little respect.

So which are the better build, 98-00 or 01-05? The 15K sounds a little light, I was allowing 20-25K. 6 speed is a waste of money? Don't agree on that one. I know that Lexus automatics are good, for an automatic, but for me that's the point, it's an automatic. I prefer to change the gears myself, I find it an integral part of whole driving experience. Did the 300 come with a manual gearbox?

I have a project in mind and would like to get some comments/advice/thoughts on it from other people. I currently own a 2006 GS300 AWD and whilst at times I love it, at others I hate it, specifically when it develops a rattle somewhere in the interior. Before I bought I test drove a 2004 GS430 and liked it but it hadn't been looked after very well and my head and my wife persuaded me to get the later, and much prettier (red with tan interior), GS300. So, I am thinking about a project car that goes a bit like this:- Obtain a 98/02 GS400/430 with all the factory options for as low a price as possible, don't care how many miles on it. Upgrade and rebuild suspension and brakes. Have the engine rebuilt and turbo/supercharged to obtain around 400bhp. Install a slick changing 6 speed manual gearbox. Install state of the art head unit. Re-upholster interior (depending on existing interior condition) Re-paint exterior if there is anything left in the budget. I doubt I will attempt any of this myself, I just don't have the time. We have a couple of decent performance shops locally so I would probably give it to them and let them get on with it.

Since I have owned my 06 GS300 AWD (March this year) it has been returning an average of 32.5 miles per imperial gallon, or 8.73l/100Km on the highway, which is the majority of my mileage. I don't baby it, I cruise at between 70-80mph, accelerate gently and give it occasional blasts up to 100 mph if I am overtaking something. The two things that make the biggest difference in mileage for me are headwinds, we have had a very stormy summer this year, and lately I have noticed that if I fill up with Shell, it makes a noticeable difference in both mileage (1-2mpg) and performance.

Congratulations :) Can't wait to see the pics

Does anyone know how this actually works? I mean, I know that it "learns" your driving style and adjusts throttle response and shift points accordingly. I was wondering if it learned different shift patterns in the different ECT modes. So that if you drove lightly in normal mode for a while and then aggressively in power mode for a while, would it learn 2 different shifting patterns for the 2 different modes?

So my scientific test of driving with the ECT button on power all the time was foiled by the weather. The week I tried it we had high winds, rain and snow, which affected my milage far more than any settings or driving style. Bah.

I can feel the difference in throttle response on my car as soon as I press the ECT Power button. I like the feel of the car when it's in that mode but I assume it's just the same as putting your foot in it further when it's in normal mode. I have not had my GS very long and I am still experimenting with it, I just finished a tank of gas driving like my Granny, i.e. sticking to the limits or under, accelerating very very gently etc etc. and very boring it was too. I gained around 2mpg compared with my "normal" driving, which is steady acceleration most of the time and cruising as fast as I can get away with safely, and without incurring tickets. Currently I am running an experiment to find out what difference it makes if I leave it in "Power" mode all the time. After that I shall drive a tank or two just using the sequential gearchange and my brain to decide when to shift, to see what difference that makes, if any. I'll post the results as soon as I have any.

This general degredation in product quality is a real shame, what was once a rock solid brand synonomous with quality becomes tarnished as the company loses sight of what it once stood for. I don't think this is limited to cars either. The machine shop where I work has a number of Japanese machine tools, Mazak to be precise, who also have a name for high end, quality machines. However, we have had numerous problems of all kinds with the machines we have, one of which is made in the USA and the others in Japan, not something you expect from a product of this reputation and price bracket.

I don't have an HS250 but I would say that the car should NOT lurch in any direction when you are using the remote start. Does it do that normally, i.e. if you don't use remote start? There should be a section in you owners manual telling you how to program the garage door opener function. Neither of my door openers works with my GS, the dealer tells me they are too old, although one is only a year old. As for the iphone, can it normally transmit music via bluetooth? Or is the bluetooth only meant for the phone functions?

So I've had my 06 GS300 for a few weeks now and it has several rattles. The dealer fixed a couple of them but there is still a persistent one on the left side of the steering column. So today, I arranged to take it in and go out for a drive with one of the techs to show him what it was I was concerned about. Of course, today happened to be a warm and sunny day and, guess what, there was not a rattle or a squeak or even a hint of noise to be heard. It's almost like the car knew what was going on somehow and thought it would make me look foolish. Are we sure the AI is just limited to monitoring the shift patterns......

So if you throw this car into a corner too fast, it skids. Is that a surprise to anyone? If so, what are they doing on the road at all? I know that the issue is the function of the traction/stability control, but no accessory or computer system is an excuse for driving like an idiot. No matter what systems a car has, ABS, VSC, traction control, or anything else, these are there to aid in driving, not to remove the responsibility from the driver or to save the vehicle in any situation.

I think I am going to keep it. The more I drive it, the more I like it, and the rattle is only noticeable over very rough surfaces and more so at low speeds, around 30 mph, once it's up to highway speed then the bumps don't seem to induce so much rattle. I am finding myself thinking up excuses to drive it somewhere and looking forward to the drive to and from work. The family like it as well, my son loves the stereo, although he can't connect his ipod to it (shame) and the wife thinks the seats and the ride are very comfy.

Hello there, just bought my first ever Lexus, something I have been aiming at for a very long while. It's an "06 GS300 AWD, red with tan leather, not quite fully loaded but enough to keep my happy. Picked it up on Wednesday 24th and so far I am really enjoying driving it. It has a couple of dashboard rattles, which I didn't expect, but the more I drive it, the more I like it. I particularly like the lights coming on when you walk up to it in the dark. Everyone at work thinks I won the lottery or had a fantastic pay rise this year, but the truth is that it cost less than most people pay for their trucks, it's just that its a Lexus so it looks classy and drives a whole lot better than my truck.