markham51

The latest version of the Garmin street pilot is the 2610. It has a touch screen interface which is nicer than the Street Pilot III. Magellin makes a new touch screen unit too that is supposed to be good. Both are very new and maps are much better than my 3yr old version.

SW03ES: At my dealer a Lexus tech changes my oil. I talk to him most times after he does it. My dealer has a "jiffy lube" type setup for the Toyota crowd, but a Lexus never sees that area (it is all glassed in so customers can watch the oil being changed on their car. Each Lexus gets their oil changed in the Lexus mechanics bays. I guess I am spoiled if that is not the case in other dealerships.

Why don't you look at a portable unit. I bought a Garmin Sreet Pilot III a few year ago and it is excellent. They do everything the permanently mounted units do (and more) and you don't have to make a new investment every time you change vehicles. Even though most of my vehicles now have built in navigation systems, the PP3 is still used by my kids when they take long trips and need a good Nav system. The newest versions are even better than the one I have, are a lot cheaper and you won't have any installation costs.

Some Lexus dealers rip you off big time. If you have more than one in the area, compare the costs. You will always pay more than a Jiffy Lube, but I believe there is value to having a Lexus certified mechanic check out your vehicle. My (Toronto) Lexus dealer charges only about $60 per service and a fully qualified technician works on my car. If there is any problem, I know my dealer will back me up because I have established myself as a valued customer at both ends of the shop. On the other hand, the dealer near my winter home in North Carolina is pricy and generally incompetent. I could go on and on about them and my amp problem but I won't. My daughter used to service her IS300 there and she had the same problem. Crazy prices and useless service advisors. (my blood pressure is rising as i write this!) As far as synthetic or regular is concerned, I think it comes down to how often you change your oil and how hard you push your car. I change my regular oil every 5K miles and I have never had any issues with any vehicle I have ever owned. But then I never keep my vehicles for more than 4 years and don't run them particularly hard. I did have a WS6 Trans Am once and I ran Mobil 1 in it. After having it for 3 years and putting less than 5K miles on it, I realized that the Mobil 1 was probably a waste of money. Still, as a person who owns a "fleet" of vehicles I can understand those who want to go with the best.

When the radio is on, you get a music start, stop, start, stop every few seconds. When the radio is turned off, you hear a loud "pop" sound every 4-5 seconds. It is loud enough that I had to get them to disconnect the amp all together. Lexus finally has the new amp at the dealer. Hope to have everything back in shape by Tuesday.

Where did he mount the antenna, and how did it look? Was it permanently mounted or held by magnets?

SW03ES: Yes, I ordered the XM kit at the same time I had the problem diagnosed. Since the dealer is about 2 hours from where I live, I always try to do as many things as possible at one time. XM parts have arrived but still waiting for the amp (2 weeks now). Supposed to be in any day, they are blaming weather at this point. I just hope the amp is really dead and it is not some wiring problem that blows it out again. 99LSGUY The 01 LS430 is being sold, so it won't be around much longer. But I do have an SC430 which sits beside the LS and they do make a pretty pair.

:( My 04 LS430 arrived from the factory a few days ago with a dead audio amplifier. My dealer ordered a new one and it hasnt come in yet. The amplifier in my 01 LS430 died 2 days later. Coincidence? I think not! Someone out there doesn't want me to listen to the radio.... Anyone else have this problem?

I have 50K miles on mine and still going strong...

Thanks VF, While I never leave the ignition on when refueling, it is possible that the gas attendant is not properly closing the gas cap and when I try to start the car it trips out the computer. It was interesting to note that once when this happened (to my wife) the gas attendant went and checked the gas cap to ensure it was tight, so he thought it could have been caused by a loose cap. I am taking the SC into Lexus next week to get them to check out computer codes and see if they can figure anything out. If this happens again during refueling, I will check the tightness of the gas cap myself. Thanks for the lead...it gives me a great place to start. The fact that it happens only on refueling makes a lot of sense in this case....gas cap opened...

I own an SC430 and LS430. Occasionally both cars will not start after being refueled. This has happened twice in both cars, three times for me and once for my wife. Twice in the winter and twice in the summer at different gas stations. The LS has 40,000 miles on it and the SC only 2,000 miles. Both vehicles will only restart after applying the "flooding procedure" in the owners manual. To restart the vehicle I have to crank the engine for 30 seconds with the pedal to the floor, wait for a minute or two and then crank the engine without applying the gas pedal and it then it starts. Has anyone else experienced this problem?