Bykfixer

dc back in '98 I was about to buy a new 96 thunderbird. It was untitled even though it was two years old. As in it had never been sold. I opted instead for a 95 Ford Ranger because at the time that was more practical. In other words if the car above was built in 11/19 it could have easily sat unsold until 8/20. Perhaps it was a "program" car that got dinged and an unscrupulous dealer passed it off as a "great deal" to an unknowing other dealer saying they just wanted to clear their lot of new/old stock. Or perhaps Lexus of Cerritos sucks!! Now looking at the photo above I'd call that a dent not a scratch.

Agreed. It seems like something that would note resistance and reverse itself either did not work or should be installed. Example, my Ford truck has a preventive method to avoid an injury when rolling up the electric windows. If it meets resistance it not only stops but reverses itself. Water damaged sensor or not a dealer could have big problems if the worst were to happen. It sounds like Lexus may have 2 issues to solve. A failing sensor and if water is why, a leak issue to resolve. Best regards.

Moved to the 10-15 RX section in case others in the future have the same issue. Realizing this is an older model and subject matter is a cv axle, it's pretty much the same procedure. The dielectric grease is the secret ingredient. I've always used synthetic axle grease but will use dielectric from now on. Apply just a dab and work it in. Applying to the outside helps it seat better. Applying to the inside lessens the friction of the spinning shaft against a soft substance (the rubber seal). One year it took me 3 seals to figure out "Grease is the word"…… by the 3rd seal I could disassemble the hub assembly areas in 15 minutes. Practice makes perfect I suppose.

It's a feature to alert blind or sight impaired folks that a vehicle is moving possibly toward them similar to a back up alarm of a dump truck on a contruction site. It's something started in Japan in 2010 and the US in 2011. There will likely come a day where electric vehicles are required to produce a certain amount of noise to notify pedestrians with vision issues of automobiles approaching them.

Go to Lexus parts now and you can type in IS250 and look up the part number then type in IS350 and do same.

Man that would totally suck if my coworker were accosted in New York after surving 4 years of the onslaught by an oppresive regime in his home country.

Check the wires at the connector where the harness enters the door. There should be a rubberized cover over the connector clip. Pull that back and check for broken/frayed wires at the connector pins. Trouble is at times doing that is like opening the crawl space door of your home after a few years of not doing so…… scarey……point being the folks who produce wire harnesses for a number auto makers don't always pinch the wires properly so there are issues with broken wires at the pin at times.

The 4th of July is upon us once again. While most folks frolic about on the 4th doing the typical American thing……you know, drink beer, eat too much, get sun burned and watch fireworks, one of my coworkers has set out for New York. He is a young engineer from Afghanistan who helped the US forces rebuild stuff over there after things got destroyed after 911. At first he said it was not so bad. But at one point his life was threatened by hostile forces for siding with what he says they call "the great Satan". He said members of his family were brutally killed in order to teach him a lesson. The US government gave him the opportunity to bring his wife and kids to America. So this 4th of July he, his wife and children are going to travel to New York to witness the statue of Liberty. He told me that after being in America some 4 years his wife no longer fears running over explosive devices or being hit by sniper fire and wants to travel to "the big apple" he said in broken English. I will raise a toast of apple juice this year to him and folks like him who truely know life under tyranny. I hope everybody reading this enjoys the 4th this year now that the pesky virus seems to be largely under control. I'll stay home and help keep a labrador calm who gets nervous when the fireworks explode. He's 11 this year so he doesn't have that many more days left and I sure don't want him spending any of them in panic mode. I'll hook him up with a hot dog off the grill while we sit out back and watch a small bonfire. Happy 4th everybody.

When I first read this I was sipping coffee and sprayed it everywhere. Realizing just how dangerous this is your description Kate was a bit humorous. Funny as a heart attack I know, but your words painted a great picture. It reminded me of the time I was leaning on a chest of drawers for leverage one day and it fell over and I landed on a square corner. Ouch. But afterward I just had to laugh because it was better than crying. Glad you are ok and we appreciate the heads up.

If it has a snorkel on the front to suck in air and a big smoke stack sticking out of the roof on the rear for exhaust, you should probably avoid that one. Chances are it has been swimming once or twice.

I still use a map and a compass. Last time I tried navigation the barbecue restaraunt where I was to turn at was a CVS under construction.

Alright, so some of the Lexi' have a problem with the vinyl coating coming off of the trim along the roof and along the windows on each side of the car. Some call it the roof drain. Toyota calls them "moulding, roof drip side finish center" "RH or LH" and they run $300+ each side. If you must have new they can be found at Lexus Parts Now in the body/side moulding section way way down the page. The coating is much like a color matching electrical tape stuck over the brushed alluminum alloy pieces. They are held in by a clip that fits in the gutter and the trim piece snaps onto the clips. Depending on your model the number of clips may vary. End treatment may vary as well. On my 2g GS 300 the trim runs from the bottom of the rear window to the bottom of the front window. To remove you start at the front using a door panel popper tool. A plastic one is less likely to scratch your paint. I used a metal tool with a credit card between the tool and the car to get one started. You just pry up at each clip. Now not having any replacement clips in case one (or more) breaks I chose not to pull off the pieces yet 'cause those suckers are $40 each! Ouch. Instead I elected to use an inspection sticker remover scraper tool to peel mine off. At first I peeled it off like electrical tape using my finger nails and tugging the vinyl but it kept breaking every few millimeters at times. With the razor blade scraper tool it left little to no sticky as well. Just carefully scrape with the razer and in about an hour you'll have a nice brushed alluminum trim piece along the sides of the roof and windows. To remove the sticky you can use a charcoal lighter fluid, WD40, goof off or finger nail polish remover soaked paper towel. I used a product called Citresol. Acetone probably works best but since I smoke cigarettes while I work I prefer not to use highly flamable acetone very often. You might want to use latex gloves while removing the sticky too. I really didn't see a need for safety glasses. When done just use a spray bottle loaded with water to wash away any remaining remover product. It took about two hours and I kept a recepticle nearby to place the strings of vinyl and used paper towel. Using the razer tool along edges ends up creating a bunch of strings of vinyl. A few hundred little pieces of vinyl strings needed to be brushed off the car too. Now if you want the color match back Dupli-Color makes a good product that'll get you a pretty close match. I'm going to brush rustoleum oil based flat black on a pair whenever I find some at my local junkyard. Sun bake the coating and the brush strokes melt away. One could also use plasti-dip spray paint if there's a color they have one likes. It's a simple process of lightly sanding the trim with a 220 grit paper and wash the metal after. If you want to spray the trim while still on the car just use painters tape and newspaper to mask things off. But it should be done under a roof,carport or some kind of cover to lessen the liklihood of dust or bugs getting on the fresh paint. I used a 00 steel wool on mine to get the brushed alluminum to look like stainless steel. A bit more time spent may have actually raised some shine like chrome but I stopped after scraping it longitudal from end to end a few strokes to remove some weathering in places the vinyl had flaked off. The brushed alluminum look Not too shabby This will do nicely for now.

Recently at my work I drove two nearly identical 2018 F-150 ford trucks on the interstate. One has 33k miles, the other 72k miles. Same tires, same engine/tranny, seats, shocks, the works. We had them both built to our specifications in early 018. One arrived in August, the other in October that year. One commuted 60 miles each way the whole time while the other a lot less, hence the huge gap between miles on them. Now the one with 33k drove like a dump truck. All bouncy, and loud while the front end had a mind of its own. Seats were like sitting on a 5 gallon bucket. The other drove like a nice car. Nice n smooth, steering was positive, seats were comfy, one tire went "fuh fuh fuh fuh" the whole time like those jacked up monster truck wanna be trucks yet it rolled perfect. It was the darndest thing. The only difference in the trucks is the one with 33k has a carbon fiber bed cover while the other one has a fiberglass bed cover. The one with 33k used to be my company truck before the explorer mentioned above. I had it in the shop for a month while Ford engineers and technicians tried to figure out an issue that cost them thousands in new parts when it was simply a loose wire. I picked it up and drove it to the office and remembered quickly what a drag that truck was to drive. Then I drove the twin to that one back to the office and man, what a treat that truck was to drive.

Bulldozer

After giving it some thought, and stating for the record I do not know how to actually do the swap I would say it can be done. Yet it would not likely be a simple plug-n-play swap. The computer would differ from the 350 to 300 plus whatever additional wire harness items would go along with the more modern engine. It's likely the axles up front would differ if only because the block of the bigger motor would make axles for the smaller motor too long, or at least those would be on my list of things to find out. The stock air box may differ enough to require one of those chrome thing-a-ma-jig intake hoses. Would a radiator set up and tranny cooling line setup require modification? Would stock motor mounts from the 350 work in the 300? As you can see there are lots of things to consider.

Always start with the easy stuff……clean it.

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carplay was introduced in March 2014. So perhaps what you seek is akin to converting a dvd player to blu ray. In other words it would be likely you need to buy an 014 or later infotainment system.

The Toyota is a well built automobile. The Lexus are a fine example.

One option is the second hand market.

The cooling system builds up pressure as temperatures climb, much like a crock pot on low. At times the pressure is relieved and when it "burps" sometimes a little coolant escapes. In extreme heat the cooling fans may not be enough to keep the coolant from overheating while the A/C is on at idle speed. While moving the air crossing the cooling fins helps the system work better.

Nice!! Thank you. Oh and that clip is often called a Jesus clip. Short for "Jesus where'd that clip go?"

Hopefully this guys video can lead you and your son to a solution.

Are you running it on premium fuel?

Moved to 06-012 GS section in case GS owners of that era have issues specific to that genre and can share their know how.