sunman2010

I purchased this car when it was about 165K miles about 18 months back. It runs super. I am not sure what kind of any major preventive maintenance work I need to get done for this car at this point. Is there anything related to transmission, engine (tune up perhaps?), wheel alignment? or anything at all I need to get done at this point? The only maintenance I get done is to get the oil changed regularly. It runs smooth, no problems whatsoever. But I am concerned if I should do something more at this mileage.

Any suggestions or advice is most welcome. I do plan on keeping this car in as much perfect shape as I possibly can and want to keep this car atleast for an year more.

Sonny

How do I check to find out if mine is a Pioneer system or some other make?

If you have a pioneer radio in it, your right, they are junk for the cost Lexus charges. Same thing happened to my 2000 gs300 in 2002 just out of warranty. Someone from this site gave me the same instructions to buy the lcd board from Pioneer (99 bucks at the time). It was but it was a very easy job to remove the radio and replace the board. Apparently the problem was at the electrical ribbon connection . Mine has worked perfectly ever since. If you decide to replace it yourself, I can dig up the instructions for removal. The middle console trim is a bit tricky unless you know how it comes out. Takes less than a half hour to pull out.

Thanks for your detailed post here. You are right, the dealer I bought from asked me to buy a new system from him altogether and said they dont replace the LCD screen only! Naturally, I refused.

I dont know if my system is Pioneer or not, how do I find that out?

In my view, these stereos are unquestionably defective. There is no legitimate reason for the LCD unit to require replacement--ever. The LCD unit on my GS300 has gone bad twice. The first time occurred when the car was less than 2 years old, and Lexus simply replaced the whole radio under the factory warranty. The second time happened just recently. There are several ways to take care of it when your LCD fails. Lexus does not repair the radios. If not under warranty, your dealer will charge you around $1500 or more, depending on the model, to replace the radio with a new one, or $700 to $800 for a rebuild (if they can find one). My unit was a Pioneer model. Pioneer will sell you a replacement LCD unit. Cost is about $109.95 for my model. I understand the work is simple, once you have the radio removed from the car. Just a few bolts to remove to take out the defective LCD and replace it with a new one. I am aware of two repair shops who will remove and replace your LCD unit (after you remove the radio from your car and send it to them). One is located in Florida and one is in Connecticut. I found the Florida shop from a post on this web site. I found the CT shop on ebay. Both charge $140 for the work. I understand they get wholesale pricing from Pioneer. I used the Florida one. I mailed the radio to them last Wednesday. They received it on Friday, replaced the LCD unit that same day, charged me $140 plus $20 for return shipping, and put it in the mail this past Friday. I'm supposed to receive it next week. The Florida company is Factory Car Stereo Repair, Inc. (407) 830-0777. The Connecticut shop is Jodis Repair Center (860) 953-1679. I used a local car stereo shop to remove the radio from the dash. That shop will reinstall it once it is fixed. Total charges from the local shop for r&r was $45.

I first posted the above last year.

Yes. The LCD screen is blank, I cant see anything on it. I am just using the controls based on what I remember from reading the instruction manual.

I have a 2000 GS300, the audio display screen is blank, but the Audio system works great. Its a Lexus factory system. Does anyone know if I can replace the only the display screen only or do I do have to buy a new audio system altogether? Pls advice.

Sunman

Are you refering to the LCD screen ?

Hello Lexus Clubbies:

I have a 99 GS300 with 150K miles, bought it from a Lexus dealer at 147k miles. So far going great. I noticed when I first shift transmission in the morning (cold start) or whenever the car has been sitting for several hours and I start, the transmission makes a slight 'thud' sound when I shift to D mode, or R Mode. This does not happen after the car warms up an hour or so later in driving. Rest of the time, when I shift, I dont feel anything meaning it is quite silent and smooth. Is this normal? Has anyone else experienced this?

Your comments and experiences would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance to you all.

Sonnyboy

I have a 2000 GS300, the audio display screen is blank, but the Audio system works great. Its a Lexus factory system. Does anyone know if I can replace the only the display screen only or do I do have to buy a new audio system altogether? Pls advice.

Sunman

Welcome to the greatest Lexus forum on earth Happy New Year !!!

Thank you, dcfish! Yes, this does seem to a good forum. I am looking to getting to know your forum members more.

Welcome to the club!

Thank you, Lexi Guru:-)

Howdy:

I just bought used a Lexus GS300, 1999 model, it has 147K miles. This is my first Lexus, I was going to buy a Merc, but got scared by the high and unpredictable maintenance costs and complaints I read on KBB and elsewhere. One of the reasons I bought Lexus is it seems more reliable and less day to day maintenance, most owners seem to be happy with their Lexus cars.

So far, I love my car! I like the quite drive, the Lexus speakers seem to produce crisp and clear and sound (didnt expect that from a factory based system), interior is squeaky clean for 147K miles. I find the ride feels much better on freeways than on city streets.

Just a brief at this point, I have a couple of questions but will post them seperately.

Sunny Boy