nc211

I found this through Google. I recently leased a new 2009 LS about a week ago and wanted to see what others were saying. For the last 6 years I leased 2 VW Phaetons and spent a lot of time on the Phaeton forum at VW Vortex, I was one of the original people on that forum. We were a real tight group of enthusiasts and I would have remained a Phaeton owner if they still sold them in the US. I'm still going through separation anxiety even though the LS is a competent car. My last Lexus was a 98 GS400. The good thing about the LS is the 8 speed which makes it comparable with a German car in regards to instant satisfaction. My key attraction to the Phaeton is no one knew I was driving an $80K car. If you aren't familiar with the Phaeton, it was the brainchild of Ferdinand Piech, the grandson of Ferdinand Porche. He wanted to design and build the best luxury car on the planet. He's also the guy who spearheaded the Bugatti Venron, the fastest production car. The Phaeton shares the same chassis and electronics as the Bentley Flying Spur. I always referred to it as a Hybrid, because it contained Lamborghini brakes, Bentley chassis and Audi drive train. Build in an all transparent factory in the Dresden East Germany art district.OK, that's out of my system. I'm now a proud (hopefully owner of an LS ;) Welcome to the club, and enjoy that sweet LS460 you got! I have a feeling you'll either love it, or be bored with it, all for the same reason: No more dealing with Lamborghini BREAKS, BENT-ley chasis, and AUDIFUL drive train issues! Hahaha....Sorry, I couldn't help myself on this one! We're Toyota guys and gals here....we get kicks out of our reliable cars! PS: Watch out for SW03ES...he'll steel your car!

I find nothing wrong with the "Subaru" badge, honestly. They're a unique brand that has always remained true to their character. Nobody can compete with their DNA, which in my mind, puts them in their own category. They're not like Hyndia or Kia, who simply rip off design cues from luxury segments to make a cheaper version of an existing product. When I had my Outback, everybody loved it! Chics thought it was cool, guys loved the utility of it, and I loved the uniqueness of it. I'm serious, I'd trade that 4runner in the driveway for one in a heartbeat, if my wife wouldn't throw a fit. She's more focused on "brand image" than I am. I don't see "subaru", I see AWD speed buggy that is very comfy, safe, capable, and extremely reliable. Plus, looks good in any situation, from camping along the beach, to the country club. You put your foot into a turbo charged Subaru, and you'll be watching traffic in your rear view mirror. The former Outback XT would hit 60 in the mid 5 second range. You try to spin out the AWD system, and you'll be having a ton of fun! I drove mine in 9 inches of snow in 2000 down in Wilmington. I couldn't get the tail to swing around. It would kick out about 45 degrees, then the AWD system would simply snap it back into place. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get it do to a 180 donut. I'm bias to their assembly plant though, as my dad was responsible for bringing Subaru to Lafayette, Indiana in the early 80's to begin with. We use to live their (moved to OKC in 1984), and he got the city and state to issue the tax incentives to Subaru that brought them there. It's still there, and is one of the most beloved employers in that area. They're simply a solid company, build solid products, don't follow the mainstream, and will simply run circles around the vast majority of automobiles on the planet - all day long.

SK, are you saying the GS series does infact have those two little rotor screws that the LS has too? I have yet to put my new rotors and pads on my GS, and have asked about those screws "remembering the trouble they caused for my LS when they weren't reinstalled". I called a dealership to confirm what I was hearing, that they don't have them. They confirmed, but I'm still not convinced, knowing first hand the difference between a Lexus with them installed, and a Lexus without them. Yours has them? My new rotors (oem) show the two holes. My manual says nothing about them. I'm worried that once I start this process, I'll get in there and realize there are supposed to be those screws, and I won't have any handy - causing a trip to the dealerhsip and prolonging the project. Hoping to get to it during the 1st week in November.

Sorry, I've missed this thread.... It was about $750 out the door. I bought the cross terrains, they seem to be the ones that last forever! Very quiet on the road. Really, can't go wrong with them. They've also got the lowest rollover risk rating, and I can vouch for them being excellent in the rain, which was very important to me.

But not a lot of independent choices and interaction, always under the watchful eye of the "system". Wake County (Raleigh) has been going back and forth with this year-round system for the past few years. It has caused a lot of heartburn, heartache, and just down-right costly mistakes to the county's school system. It's driven quite a few families away to other counties and states. I never heard anyone say anything positive about it, and everyone seemed to fight it on the grounds of !Removed! up summer camp for the kids, to intruding on family time, to the lack of faith and trust in the additional amount of time their kids will be spending with "teachers". Obama needs to cool his jets on thinking "his" way is the only right way. It's discounting the private sector, and now it's starting to discount the parenting ability of the "general" public. I'll be damned if ANYONE from the political world knows 1/1000th of what I know when it comes to living your life in a moral, honest, and legit fashion. Hands off my son and my family, Obama. Not everybody thinks you're as great, as you think of yourself.

I rode in a new 750 il this past week while on a business trip. Not only is that thing so overly-complicated to figure out, the gear selector is on the steering column just like the turn signal switch, and figuring out which gear you're in is not so easy, as evidenced by the guy driving it (the owner) thinking he was in park, when in fact he was in reverse, but the seats were hard as bricks! Nice interior, obviously, cool looking, but not as "refined" in the smoothness category as a LS, not even my old 95. Might have been those monster-honker wheels though with the low profiles. Great looking car, VERY hi-tech.

Go drive an outback in hurricane rains at 80mph...you'll buy it on the spot, I guarantee you! I drove my 99' from Wilmington, NC to Charlotte back in 99' DURING hurricane Floyd, which flooded the entire state (was driving while it was flooding). I never went below 60 mph in that thing, and wasn't one bit scared or nervous about it. They're simply AMAZING to drive in bad weather. They actually drive better in bad weather. From that night forward, I called it the "Magical Water Spider". I loved mine. Only reason I got rid of it was because it was underpowered when I moved to Birmingham in 2001. That's when I got my Maxima. The Outback was one of my best vehicles I have ever owned. Infact, if my wife wasn't so resistant to the stigma of a station wagon, that 4runner sitting in our driveway would've actually been an Outback XT (turbo model). I will have another one in my life, I promise you that! PS: In the 40k miles I put on it, not a single problem, not even a blown fuse.

Have you checked out the Mazda SUV's? I think it's the CX9? I rode in one in DC last year that a client owned....it was very nice, rode well, was quite, and very comfy.

Ok....he's lost me with the whole year-round and longer school days for our kids. Sorry, but we're not the nation we are because our 5th graders know the Black-Sholes option pricing model. We're who we are because we know how to interact with eachother in a free society (albeit at times not in a good way). No way I'm going to let a "teacher" have more influence over the skill set and path of my children in this world, then me. Not going to happen, ever, never. Saying "I know how to do something" has two meanings. One has been told how, the other has done it. Two seperate learnings learned in the approach, but only one produces positive results. Need an example? Harvard...... Harvard has actually formed a class to study why nearly 80% of the corporate failures of the past 24 months have all been lead by Harvard grads. Knowing, and doing...two seperate things. Plus, not to mention (and we all know someone like this), that person who is sooo book smart, but lacks the social ability to apply those smarts in a real-world setting, so they end up in the "drop out" zone. I've got a cousin like this. A true Mensa member, IQ off the charts, always studied, always listened. She's now 35 years old, and just might actually finish her undergrad this year (17 years later). She knows everything, but lacks the social skills to not freak out when asked to take a test on the material she knows. Take away the social ability of our children, and you take away our unique ability as a nation, if you ask me.

You better hope IS400 doesn't see this post, otherwise you'll be dead-man-walking!

The toyota website shows the hid's as an "option", so maybe you can option them into the car? Honestly, my dad bought our first minivan in 1987, a Chrystler.....we've had one in the family ever since. They're simply fantastic for families and for hauling stuff. In fact, if you have two or more kids, I'd almost have to say a Minivan is right up there with a baby seat!

What do those engine codes tell you the problem is?

Recently, as in it's shaking the first time you're driving it since the procedure was done? If so, you've probably just got a little brake grease on the rotors, which should burn off shortly, just keep your distance from others for a little bit. Same thing happened to me on my 4runner when I changed the pads and rotors. Hit the highway, hit the brakes, and the thing went nuts. After a couple of days, the shaking was gone and hasn't come back since (last february).

Two cars come to mind immediately with that kind of budget. First, a fully loaded Sienna, the "Lexus" of the minivan world. Don't need to "sell" with words here, we all know it's a Toyota. The other, is the new Ford Flex. I have no experience with one, haven't seen too many of them, never seen the inside of one in person. BUT, from what I hear from my colleuges in Southern California, they're all the rage! Fidge in the back seat, plenty of power, lots of toys, great ride, great drive, lots of room. Plus, it's a Ford, so you know you can negotiate more than with a Toyota. The danger there though, as with most American cars, is the depreciation hits. They're so new, and Ford seems to be changing and tweaking things on a yearly basis these days, there's no telling what it'll be worth in 12 months. Especially if they put in that new Eco-Boost turbo engine in it. That's what killed my 01' Maxima's value, when Nissan swapped out the 3.0 V6 for the 3.5 a year later (and the headlights). I've driven a couple of those Buick Enclave cross-over suv's on business trips, fully loaded with 6 grown men. Was very impressed by them, and prefer them under those types of situations (especially in DC with tight traffic).

I use to live in Raleigh too (Apex) until this past February when I was transferred to sh*tcago. I've got your cousin vehicle, a V8 4runner. You can't go wrong with Michelins, but you can go wrong with the dealership. Contact Merchant tires or Discount Tire instead of the dealership. I replaced the ORIGINAL Michelins on my 4runner (70k miles +/- at that time) in February before making the drive up here. I paid about $750 for them from Merchant Tire, which includes the free balance and rotation service for life. They can align it for you too. I didn't have to replace the original tires, as they had probably 25%-30% of the tread left, but considering what we were moving too, and the time of year, I didn't want to take the chance. Go with Michelins.....don't go the dealer route (unless this is a business vehicle and it's a write-off). What color is your GX? PS: Michelins are about the only tire I've come across that don't transmit any more sound into the cabin from driving on concrete (540) to blacktop. They're very quite, have one of the lowest roll-over ratings, last forever, and simply are the perfect tire for the vehicle. I've read other posts on the 4runner site of folks getting other brands (Bridgstone, etc), and all seem to be replacing them around the 40k mark. That alone, justifies the cost of Michelins.

you're going to sue him? How about the guy who gave you a clean bill of health on the car during it's "inspection" that most folks do when buying a used car from an individual? What, no inspection report? Oh, that's not gonna look good. Any research done prior to buying the car? No? Oooops......

Because if you have a car capable of going 140mph, and decide one day to find out and wreck, and the investigators realize it wasn't just your own stupidity that killed you, it was your tires that blew out at 120mph due to the lower-then-the-car-can-go speed ratings on them....guess who's gonna get sued....

Wait....they do? ! I need to get a couple of grand back from Johnson Lexus in Raleigh!!

Well....hmmm...we're coming to the end of September and no real movement in the price of oil....hmmmm <_< But, I did see this article today - Oil Industry Sets a Brisk Pace of New Discoveries! That's a good sign! http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/24/business...24oil.html?_r=1

My GS's engine shakes the entire car when I come to a stop with the a/c off (idle speed of 500 rpms). I turn on the a/c (which kicks up the idle speed to about 700 rpms), and it stops. Nothing about the manner in which the car operates suggests anything else but motor mounts. I've got approximately 58k miles on the car. Age is the enemy on mounts, not miles. Mine is an 01'. I've got the mounts (and an army of other new parts) waiting in the garage for me to find the time to do the repair. I had to replace the mounts on my former 95' LS400 around 2004. What I did, was to buy them online (ie parts.com) and took them to a local garage. Infact, I believe it was a gas station garage. They charged me $75 each to install them ($150 total), and I never had a problem. The driver's side mount, is a mother to get at, and if you don't know what you're doing, you can smash your hand up there, as was nearly the case for the mechanic who changed mine on the LS. He had some busted up knuckles when he was done - about an hour later. Motor mounts are one of those repairs that all cars face, so it's a pretty common repair. Therefore, I was ok with a local indi mechanic doing the work, instead of a more expensive Lexus mechanic. Other stuff though.....I'd be cautious. Not so sure how I feel about a guy off of craiglist....

Keep in mind, our perception is slanted, considering we're all Toyota owners/fans. The closest I've come to owning a Ford was our former 07' Mazda 3 GT, with a Ford engine and transmission. Toyota has nothing on that car, in that segment, that in my opinion can come even close to it. So if their new Focus platform is the same or even remotely close to the Mazda 3, then I'd say they're probably already there in that segment.

Moreover, how dirty was the intake? I'm curious about my 4runner with the same 4.7 V8, and given the fact that these engines do not have a egr system recirculating hot exhaust air back into the combustion chamber. Was yours pretty dirty?

Copycat! Happy birthday amigo!!!

www.parts.com you order them, have them shipped to your buddy, and he can forward them on to you. Much cheaper than going the full retail route at the local dealership, especially for something like air suspension parts!

Ouch! I didn't know they had airbags in the trunk either! KF, even if you did have collison coverage, the insurance company would total this one out too, because the cost to fix it would easily exceed 50% of today's general market value for the car. Even if you did fix the cosmetic damage, the mechanical will probably haunt you for a few thousand dollars more. That's just not a shot to the sheet metal, but a shot on that back corner piece of the frame that most likely jolted through the entire car. You've probably got some weakened, if not broken, mounts and such. I'd be willing to bet that back wheel has some control arm, half shaft, and possibly differential damage hidden now too. It's almost better to take a hit on the front of a rear-wheeled drive car, and vice versa. Sorry man! Oddly enough, more first cars end up like this than not. That's why most 16 year olds get the family hand-me-downs or older cheaper cars to start out with, because at point, odds are, it's going to get damaged during your learning curve behind the wheel. Good thing here is that your folks allowed you to get a big and heavy cruiser that can take a hit. Can you imagine what a hit with this kind of force would have done to a civic or VW Golf? You might have been hurt!