jainla

You will have to use a very small screwdriver or maybe a paperclip to pry the clips out; there are two on the driver facing side and one behind. Then try this: Switch Mode Selection Procedures (1) Insert the key in the ignition switch and turn it from OFF to ACC. Within 30 seconds thereafter, perform steps (2) and (3) that follow. (2) Switch ON the audio MODE switch (press it) and successively hold it down for more than 10 seconds. (3) Perform the following steps within 5 seconds. 1) Press the channel switch twice or more. 2) Press the channel switch twice or more. The Mode switch is the one on the steering wheel, and the channel switches are the up/down switches above and below it. let us know if it works, the correct order for the 3 buttons is Vol+, Vol-, and Set.

Supposedly the NAV screen has an NTSC input but at that point you will be taking out a lot of functionality. The NAV screen on the LS also controls the HVAC and a bunch of other options; not sure if it's the same on the ES. If you didn't already have the NAV system then the carputer might be worth it but IMHO you are creating more problems than you will solve. I would think adding the upgrades to the existing system are less complex (and costly) in the long run than ripping it all out (also the carputer's sound will probably not be as good as the stock system with upgraded speakers). Also I would think it's less hassle to sync an ipod than to have to re rip or tranfer your entire music collection onto the carputer. But to each his own...There are a couple of people on the UK forum I think who have done this...just don't play World of Warcraft on the road!!

REEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR FFFTT FTTT... "Bowl of milk, Table 4...." It's only cars guys....only cars.... It most likley was only to irritate as was his next post and yours . I forget whom I am conversing with here and I should not expect a "Detailaholic" to be able to relate. Both you and RX both worked hard to pay for your vintage Lexus and I do not expect you to see things from my perspective :P I will move on to the LX470 threads and leave you, RX and Warren to your simple fun. :)

I haven't seen the DICE unit but I have the Vaistech unit in my LS430. The system comes up as an MD changer (you can set the emulation for different systems, I believe the latest ICE systems support CD-Text), and the playlists come up as discs. You can change to MD text mode where you can see the name of the playlist and the song on the screen, playlists can be changed like CDs/MDs and you can skip across the song list. The DICE units supposedly let you access your entire library; the Vaistechs only let you do playlists from the touch screen. You can also put it into a 'manual' mode where the controls on the ipod become active; but then you lose the ability to see the titles on the screen (you can still skip up and down however). There are some screenshots on the vaistech website. I love it...I'm this close to buying an iPod so I can just leave it in the car all the time. You can bluetooth the car with a variety of aftermarket kits; I used a Parrot 3200LS (you can see the doc in my post in this forum). Good luck!

You may be able to find these on techinfo.lexus.com. A 24 hour subscription costs $10 and you can download the instructions by PDF...hope that helps..

As promised; here's my detailed instructions on how I installed my Parrot 3200LS into my LS430. There is also a beginning section answering all the random phone questions and detailling what I could find out about the whole Lexus phone setup. The installation has the following features: Voice activated dialing (through carkit voice tags) Address book sync with my Blackberry 8700 on startup Sound through the left rear door speaker just like god (and Lexus) intended Microphone hidden in the overhead module out of sight Fold-away screen in the center storage box NO cutting or alteration of the car's wiring harness A connector for an external antenna (should I find a way to connect one to the crackberry) A very nice "L" wallpaper. I use it quite a bit; I'm thinking about going back in and removing the front plastic cover of the microphone to get slightly better sound quality, but all in all it's been great and worth the effort. lexus_telephony_pt1.pdf lexus_telephony_pt2.pdf lexus_telephony_pt3.pdf

Most of that sound is actually the stock engine, believe it or not. It's just that in most LS's you can't hear it; hell you can't hear ANYTHING from the engine room in my car until you wind the engine past 3500 RPM. The 3UZ-FE is an amazing engine...spends most of its time barely awake in these cars... :) I bet the exhaust system has been modified to allow more of the roar; which is very well done b/c it doesn't sound like a drag racer. I wonder if the sound was real location sound from outside the car? Only 350 hp though....I wonder if it will do more? I hope the people at the Lexus F division are taking notes for the LS-F......

Normally I'm not a huge fan of body kits and mods for the LS/Celsior cars..I think they can easily look tacky. That said, I saw this on the UK site: I liiilke...listen to that engine....and that supercharger I"m sure doesn't hurt..

Yes, it's very similar. You will have to do the following: 1. Set the Emergency Brake 2. Remove the Little cap holding the shift lock button (a key or small flathead will do just fine). 3. Push the button and shift the car into D 4. Pry off the bottom panel of the console (with the seat heater/cooler switches); insert a trim pry bar behind the left or right side and gently rock the panel up and down (push on the top and bottom) until the side pops off; careful you don't crash into the shifter! Disconnect the large connector and set this piece aside. 6. Remove the silver trim ring around the transmission shifter (it just prys off) 7. Grasp the big wood trim piece at the front and pull gently upward, you may want to rock it left and right and the clips should release 8. Pull up on the clips at the rear; if your cupholder won't stay closed try not to have it crash into the wood. 9. Disconnect the ashtray/storage console lead on the right hand side of the shifter; set the large piece aside. 10. remove the cupholder after undoing the 4 screws. You may want to cover the center console trim piece with paper to keep from scratching it. Also cover whatever tool you use to pry the lower panel off with electrical tape; the wood trim scratches pretty easily (I used a clip from a CPU heat sink). I did this when installing my bluetooth car kit and found all sorts of crap down there (post-its, crumbs, etc). Hope that helps! Does anyone know if this procedure is the same, or similar, on the 2003 LS 430? MotionMan

Jim is correct; the other possibility (if it was the phone system that came with the 01-02) would be a Denso (Sprint) touchpoint 2200 (Yuck). The Nokia however is a GSM phone and as Jim said they are plentiful on the used market; just make sure to get one that is unlocked or was used on your provider. They were (are) great phones. If you have the dealer remove the phone they will change the 1,2,3 buttons back to the volume +/- and "set" buttons that came with the car. You can also do this without changing the key caps..there is a sequence that changes the programming of the Nav ECU to change the purpose of those 3 buttons. Let us know if the stock 6310i phone works....I'm curious as to whether or not they use OEM firmware or not.

Nope...they were both sliver. But if you were driving on San Vicente heading south and crossing Fairfax today that might have been you!! it wasn't this one you saw was it?

i saw one today parked in Santa Monica....and I saw another one driving to work a couple weeks ago. But thats IT so far...where are they? I agree with Steve they have impressive road presence...and both the cars I saw were silver LWB models...

I haven't seen any pictures on the web..you'll have to go to Borders or call Sewell in Dallas and order a copy of the "Lexus Story" book; they have some pictures of the early design sketches and pictures of some of the later prototypes. From my memory the early sketches look very zoomy; like a subaru SVX crossed with an ES250. Craig, good morning.....I do know there is a link on lexus's main website for concepts. I don't remember what models it showed(i haven't checked it out in awhile) but, it did show some pretty space age looking concepts. Anyway if you happen to find some of the supposed 450 LS proto's please post a link as i would love to check them out! Have a great day:)

Crap can fall in there and jam the mechanism. When I took my car apart to put the Bluetooth in I found a whole bunch of paper, some crumbs, etc. Someone on the forums even found a Bluetooth headset when they took theirs apart! The cupholder is a separate module that is easily removed should you have to replace it; but getting to it involves removing the bottom row of switches (with VSC and seat heaters) and then the entire veener surface surrounding the shift knob. Both pieces are held in place by clips; they just pop off. Just be careful when you remove them as the wood veneer is very easily scratched.

LOL--Just like computers that aren't computers without blinky lights. I agree; you could probably own a BMW or MB with iDrive and never find half the features buried inside the menus...occasionally I want a persistent display of what's playing on the stereo but otherwise i think Lexus has made the right choices as to what gets its own button and what goes on the touch screen. The LS460 without the touchscreen...now THATS a lot of buttons!!! I think it's just the tyranny of the windtunnel these days; sometimes I feel like the previous Honda Accord and previous BMW 5 series were kissing cousins...

REEEErrrrrr....."Bowl of milk, table four.....":chairshot: Anyway back on topic i think I understand what RX is getting at. BMW and MB, love them or hate them have a certain *it* factor. Part of that is the decades of history that both brands have in the marketplace; and also the willingness to rebel against that history. The Germans currently are moving very aggressively towards the ultra modern design language that they think will lure younger buyers. The recent S and 7 series cars have been dramatically different from past versions, and people seem to either love it (S, although the current car looks a little riced out for my taste) or hate it (poor 7 series and it's Bangle butt). Either way you can't ignore them. It's a risk but brands have to evolve to remain current. Just ask Jaguar. Lexus doesn't have that *it* factor---yet. Until recently the Lexus cars were sold as Toyotas in Japan and I think their exterior styling suffered a bit so they could have that 'Toyota Family' look. Only recently has Lexus been formed as a separate group inside Toyota with it's own stylists and engineers. While I'm sure many technical parts will continue to be shared with Toyota, Lexus is creating its own identity beyond merely being a marketing organization to becoming a more separate division and a worldwide brand. L-Finesse is the first step in making Lexus cars stylistically and asthetically different from Toyotas. I think as time moves on the brand identity will become more fully formed; and Lexus will feel confident enough to take styling risks like the Germans do. The same extends to the interior as well-- MB and BMW used to have more normal, conservative interiors but now not so much. I admit I was very taken with the idea of iDrive, until I actually tried to use it. But even if it bombs it gives BMW something distinctive in the marketplace. Too bad MB took Comand the same way; the controller is smaller and I think harder to use but the menus are simpler. Lexus chose to eschew this rush to modernity and avantgarde design with a more conservative approach; so there may be less zing in the interior but after sitting in both of its competitors it's really the car I'd rather live with on a day to day basis. And I don't care what anybody says MB interiors have been on a steady downward spiral since the accountants took over circa 1995. I do wish there was some more common elements between all the L finesse cars; but the LS I think looks much better in person than in certain photographs....

In that price range people are paying for performance; and I think the perception (for whatever reason) is that if you can afford an $80,000 car you can afford the additional $1000 a year it costs to fuel it compared to a Camry. The LS460 is already more efficient than many V6 sports sedans; and the V8 hybrid will be more efficient than some V6 AWD cars while giving almost V12 performance; so one could argue that Lexus has given us the best of both worlds. The MB UK site lists the combined urban/extra urban for the S350 as 28 and the S550 as 24. If the S550 gets 16/24 in the EPA cycle than the S350 is probably like 19/28; almost exactly what the LS gets. The S350 takes 7.2 seconds to get to 60 vs. 5.5 for the S550; most people will spend the extra money for the faster car. In almost every car in the luxury or prestige luxury class (Mercedes SL, BMW 7 series, Audi A8) where 2 engine options are offered the larger one always sells better; in some cases much better. Also the faster car will have better resale than the slower one; so it doesn't make sense to spend the R&D money to create a car for such a niche market. Bear in mind that the Audi, MB and BMW cars come in several different trim levels in Europe--we only get the highest trim level here. So while an S Class here starts at 85k it may start in Europe at substantially less (with less features of course). Also in certain other markets larger engines are subjected to increased tax; so for cars that are spending most of their lives in livery or taxi service the increased tax benefits and FE offset the performance drop of the smaller engine. With Lexus's focus on technical leadership, moving up market and being head to head with MB and BMW they won't move the LS downmarket by installing a smaller engine. The only way I think they could do that without 'cheapening' the image of the LS would be to drop the GS450h powertrain into the LS and create an entry LS450 or even *gasp* LS400 (assuming this was technically possible). It's unclear however how much fuel efficiency you'll really gain; and the increased cost of the hybrid powertrain means that any price difference would be minimal (it might be even more expensive). The RL is not marketed as a snowmobile. I think the SH-AWD is biased more to FWD, and with the funky rear wheel acceleration putting chains on the back tires probably won't get you any additional traction; also I bet the weight distribution is more biased towards the front. Plus the wide high performance tires on all these cars will give them crap traction in the snow anyway.

More than half of all cars costing $30,000 or more are leased, and as you approach the $70,000 mark I bet that number gets substantially higher. I bet it's a combination of people wanting to drive a nicer car for the same monthly payment, not wanting to hold on to complicated cars for too long, and certain tax advantages that leasing has over purchasing; particularly if you own your own business or your company is providing you with a car. With most luxury cars its been my observation that if they are purchased people hold on to them for a while; but it could be that these kind of people (who purchase rather than lease) just tend to hold on to everything until it dies (I admit I fall into this category) . Otherwise most people who lease them just lease another one. There are certain advantages to leasing; i.e. convenience; the opportunity to drive drive something new every few years, and the fact that your car never really gets old enough to need major maintainence. But financially unless the tax advantages are compelling buying a car and just holding onto it will until it dies almost always comes out better in the end. I guess it depends where you are in life and what your priorities are. More things on a car does in fact mean more things to break. But the LS seems to be holding up well; and every year the number of defects per car in the Initial Quality survey goes down, so they are getting better at building them. As for (extremely) long term reliability the quality and frequence of the maintenance is also a factor. The boards on Audiworld and Benzworld are full of things you expect to be broken on 3 and 4 year old cars though....to my knowledge we don't 'expect' anything on a Lexus to be broken at that time. I agree though that as much as I love my LS I don't know if it will still keep going after 26 years like my old MB does. You could try it; that destination charge you pay means they pretty much can drop-ship the car anywhere you are. It doesn't have to be the dealership that sells you the car. I read an article online somewhere (Businessweek maybe) that says that car dealers are just having a tough time in general right now. More educated consumers means that they have less margin to hide in when negotiating price; declining sales of domestic brands are hurting dealerships that sell those cars; and the rise of internet retailers is also putting pressure on margins. Most dealers make far more on service than they do on sales; and selling the most reliable cars means Lexus dealers can't overbill corporate for nearly as many repairs as MB and BMW currently can. :P Mercedes does have great lease deals from time to time b/c their cars have a high residual value at the end of the lease (as to Lexus, Acura and BMW); I never can tell how they determine this value because it's almost always less than the cars fetch on the open market. I would only lease an MB b/c at this point I wouldn't want to own one not under warranty. Lexus refuses to build many more dealerships b/c they want to protect the investment of the original owners. Lexus dealers have some of the highest per-dealership sales and service volumes in the country. My dealership is a complete zoo everytime I go over there; so their attitude could just be a function of them being absolutely slammed with customers. 11 years ago there were less customers but probably almost the same number of dealerships. Yes Jaguar is desperately in need of customers. Ford has spent a fortune on it and it's STILL not making any money.My MB dealership experience was ok, not great. The rep was really pushy, and told me he needed to sell another car to get his bonus that month (huh?). The Lexus guys were friendlier but I don't know if they took me seriously (Acura apparently did not; I walked out of the dealership after waiting 20 minutes to drive a car). The Lexus guys 10 years ago were fantastic; they never asked for a license or any insurance information they just gave you the keys and said go. Back then they were not the #1 selling luxury brand so they had something to prove....not not so much it seems.

This is a dumb review. They are not comparing apples to apples here. This happens alot, they order the sport packages on the MB and BMW and then get the all season radials for the Lexus and whine about the lack of grip, etc etc. The only criticism I can agree with is the lack of steering feel; and that I think the quickness and accuracy somewhat makes up for that. The MB has more grip but its ponderous around town. And even after spending most of this weekend figuring out the iDrive in my friend's new 750Li I still don't like it. Also many of the 'advantages' they gave to the other cars disappear in the real world where we have things like traffic and potholes. Maybe they really are out to get the LS460? The interior, the fit and finish are still the best in the world; and they rate minimal mention here. This review is like putting 5 minivans into a drifting competition.... Harumph! :chairshot: And vis-a-vis the sales question the first month LS460 sales in Japan were NINE TIMES what Lexus had hoped for. I wonder if it does as well here.

It's indestructible. It's outlasted 2 of my brother's cars, 4 of my father's cars, 3 of my mom's cars, 3 pets and 4 presidents. The freon in the AC needs to be recharged (or changed to non-freon operation) but after 25 years and 190,000 miles it still starts on the first crank. The brakes still feel firm and responsive; and it runs almost exactly the same as it did when I bought it 12 years ago. In that time it has broken down exactly 3 times; 2 of which were the alternator biting the dust (I'm on my third one) and I replaced one starter at 175,000 miles. I've had it towed twice (once when my brother ran it dry and couldn't figure out the little air pump that you need to use to remove air from the fuel line). My mechanic just replaced the timing chains and about 3 years ago he changed the glow plugs. That's it. The LS430 was one of the only cars I've driven that feels as well put together; I wonder if I'll end up owning that for 12 years too....:)

Oddly enough I ended up going back on saturday with a friend of mine. They had to take one of the 7 series bimmers out of circulation because the passenger side door refused to close completely. Doh! After another couple hours of watching the 460's run around the track I must admit the new styling is growing on me. It's not as formal and a little more flashy than the 430 but it's a good looking car. The second time around the LS460 still felt precise and settled around the track. i wish the 460 had the steering feel of the BMW but otherwise it still feels well controlled, especially next to the Mercedes. It also was the most comfortable car to sit in. I would be intrigued as to the possibility of the XM nav being made available in the 430 series. I suppose it's possible to replace the NAV ecu on the AVC-LAN bus but I'm wondering if the resolution difference in the screens would matter. I think its an intriguing opportunity for a 3rd party vendor....Vaistech are you listening?

Numbers don't really tell the whole story; the LS460Ls with the tiny trunk option loose space at the front behind the seats; so that the trunk becomes short, wide and deep. It's still got space; but there's not that much usable space. Try to put some medium sized suitcases in there..its a tight fit. They should offer fitted luggage like a ferrari.. :chairshot: The LS460 does not have the rear seat cooler or exec options so it's trunk will always be larger than the L model. I bet the hybrid with Exec seating has almost no trunk; maybe they can make the fuel tank a little smaller and put the batteries there? Also comparing it with an LS430 is a little unfair; it has the largest trunk in its class. Better look again....it is significantly smaller. We used to travel in a 98 LS400 with a 14cu/ft trunk, so its all plenty big to me lol. Honestly, I saw no need for more trunk room in the 460 I looked at. The differences in style alone FAR outweigh the 2 cu/ft difference in trunk space to me.

i know that when you play a CD you have a 'record' option to save the songs; not sure how you set the album and track names however.

Just got back from 5 hours in the California sun at Taste of Lexus LA. For anybody in the LA area they are doing another event next weekend due to demand, so go to www.tasteoflexus.com and register if you missed this weekend and still want to go. Come early though as the lines were longer than I remember last year. I came to this event to “see, touch and drive the unprecedented new LS460” and compare it to its 2 top German competitors, the BMW 750i and Mercedes S550. I actually drove the cars in reverse order. Some thoughts: The Mercedes initially felt very awkward; it’s a huge car. I haven’t driven an S Class in a long time; but this car feels the same as many mid size Benzes I’ve driven; some body roll, but very good handling with lots of grip and a progressive feel. Amazingly enough, as I got onto the course and really pushed the car it started to feel smaller and more responsive. The ride is smooth but not floaty; and the air springs allow a bit of roll, but all in all a fine performance. Sporting, but not sporty. The 750i was definitely sportier. Flat cornering, quick response, it begged to go faster (like all BMWs which probably explains why so many people who own them are crap drivers). Power did not seem quite as strong as the Mercedes, but certainly adequate for daily driving. I bet on the real (crappy) roads of LA it probably rides like a yak, but impressive on our little track. I drove the SWB LS and then later the LWB Air spring model. Whatever concerns I had about power and the 8 speed automatic shifting constantly are gone; this car feels like a rocket. It might not be the fastest car in the group but it certainly feels the fastest and most responsive on the throttle. While I think my LS430 has decent handling the LS460 is very much improved; the awkwardness I sometimes feel in tight turns is gone, and the steering is very quick and responsive. The car is more fun to drive fast now; and it feels more up to the challenge; although it does not tempt you to do so the way the BMW does. The LS didn’t quite feel as connected to the road as the Benz and the Bimmer; there is not much feedback from the steering; and it didn’t feel like it has quite as much grip as the Germans but that could have been the tire choice; I chirped the tires several times in the LS but not at all on the other cars. The LWB model with the air suspension on sport felt better; less roll and more catchability. The active steering made the car feel more responsive and somewhat more agile than the SWB model; I can’t determine if the feedback was any better. The brakes were terrific; better than the GS with a more natural feel than the E500 they had last year. Take that Sensotronic! The steering at low speeds on both cars feels a little overboosted, but it drains away quickly at speed. This may contribute to the car feeling much less ponderous at low speeds than the Mercedes. The LS handling is very good; I’d say overall better than the Benz but still not as athletic as the BMW. If they could figure out a way to give it the grip of the Benz and some more of the BMWs steering feel with the classic LS ride they would really have the holy grail of ride/handling. However since I sit in LA traffic for much of my life these improvements would be largely academic…but nice to have nonetheless. However waiting for the green flag was where the tables really turned. I can add my universal disdain for the German’s odious fascination with the control knob. You get maybe 2 or 3 minutes to set up the car before you go onto the track. I tried to shut off the AC in the MB so I could hear the engine…nien! I wanted to change the radio station in the BMW so I could hear the vaulted logic 7 sound system while we were waiting to go out onto the track….verbotten! Granted if I had time to sit there and scan the rows and rows of identical looking metallic buttons (MB) or twist and click my way through the menus (BMW) I might have succeeded. In both LS’s I had adjusted the seat and was listening to my favorite radio station with the AC set perfectly by the time I put the car in drive. Easy peasy lemon squeezy….why can’t they all be that simple? I know I drive one so I had some clue of where to look; but I've driven several Benzes over the years and that S-Class was like being at NORAD. The LS 460’s interior really is breathtaking; even compared with the UL LS430. The choice of textures, shapes and materials creates a very rich feeling in the cockpit. The steering wheel leather feels like silk; those 3 hours of polishing must really make a difference. The wood is exactly the same high quality as the holographic trim in the LS430. I still miss the articulated cup holders though. :cries: The MB interior looks nice but still feels cheap to the touch; the BMW has nice materials but the design and layout is still awkward. The pavilion had a pre-production LS460L with the exec seating package; I can report that the ottoman works well however its use reduced the LS to a 3 passenger car. This is good because forget about carrying luggage for more than 3 people in the tiny trunk. Oddly enough the day before I had the chance to ride around (but not drive) in a friends’ brand new LS 460L. The satnav with traffic is really cool, and on the road it seems as quiet and smooth as the LS430, perhaps even a touch quieter. The rear seat room is really cavernous now; however the vibrating massage in the rear seats is gone if you don’t order the Exec Seating package (and it seems to only be for that right rear passenger). Pity; I hope it returns soon. All in all very impressive; while I love my LS430 and hope to drive it for a while, the LS 460 is more of that same goodness; with a dash of sport thrown in. Taking in the aesthetic and ergonomic factors as well as on the road dynamics I think it beats both the Germans overall. I know which car I’m getting next!! I’m going to go stand in line now at Quickie Mart for Lotto tickets….

I think you have to weigh the cost (financial and time) of the upgrade vs. what you are going to get out of it; and that evaluation will be different for every person. My LS was a HUGE upgrade in every way from the car i had before; ride, handling, power, everything was an improvement by a factor of 2 to 5. So the bang for every upgrade buck was (for me) tremendous and a compelling reason to buy the car. The 430 to 460 upgrade however, while measurable, the bang for the buck factor (for me at least) is not nearly in the same league, so I don't think I could really justify the cost; at least not at this point in my life-- I can park myself thank you very much, and I never ride in the backseat so the ottoman would be lost on me (it doesn't mean I won't take one if someone is giving one away however :) ). For someone else; however the cost may be trivial, and they may really need the new features (they get driven around alot, they MUST watch DVDs, or they are just a REALLY BAD parallel parker). So for them the bang for the buck factor would justify the cost of the upgrade. So far though the LS has not gone through any radical transformation like the 7 series or the S-Class have; and that keeps the day to day driving experience somewhat similar. While it as been 16 years since I drove the original LS400 on a rainy day I can still remember that it drove much like my LS430 does. Does the new car run faster, handle better and have many more luxury features? Yes. Is it a night and day comparison in day to day operation? No. And I think that's smart; it keeps buyers who want that kind of a car coming back for more. In styling and asthetics however, i will agree with Steve that the LS460 is the biggest step forward the LS has taken since its inception; and while I think that will certainly bring buyers from other makes the previous more conservative LS seemed to suit many buyers just fine. I think we are also hitting the law of diminishing returns here: the original LS400 was (and still is in many ways) so good that I'm not sure how much better it can really get.