jbarhorst2

I am not so sure that it really protects the paint. My black SC gets hotter sitting in the summer sun than it does from the engine. I don't think that will cause you any issues. The engine blanket has 2 purposes. One is to make the underside of the hood look better. Some will argue that point, but to each his own. The "real" reason for the blanket is fire protection. The blanket is designed so that during an engine fire it will fall down on top of the engine and hopefully smother out a fire. It does not always work, but that is what its design intent is. I believe it is dictated in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). Tom

1997 SC300 117,000 miles.

There is a badge on the front fenders that designates this option. (Unless someone has removed them - only put on with adhesive like regular Lexus badging) You would not miss it. Since you are asking either you do not have it or someone has removed the badges. I drove one and it makes it feel like you are driving a BMW. I did not like it. Any Lexus dealer can look it up for you and let you know if your car has it. Tom

Pictures and information about 2004 updates in this week's newsletter on www.autospies.com Looks like bluetooth phone integration is finally here. Tom

I am from a GM family. My father worked for GM for 34 years. That's what I was raised on. I used to be proud to say that I had only owned Cadillacs. 1987 Sedan deVille, 1991 Seville STS, 1995 DeVille Concours, 1997 Eldorado Touring Coupe, 1999 Seville STS, 2001 Seville SLS. My first two I purchased used and the last four I drove right off of the dealer's lot. I was the youngest person to have purchased new cars from this dealer. However, the last 3 made many trips back to that same lot. All three of those cars were riddled with electronics problems. I even had the engineers down from Detroit to look at my cars. Each was different. Even though those 3 cars had many of the same systems, they didn't all act the same. Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn't. Should you have to be 6 inches away from your car for the keyless entry to work --- I don't think so. Should your electric steering wheel just decide to not work and then move while you are driving down the road --- I don't think so. Should the engine in your $54,000 STS simply die while driving down the highway at 80 mph --- I don't think so. The gauge cluster in my SLS died and they had to send it to Texas to be repaired. OK, no problem, right?? Wrong. In this age of overnight shipping it took them 30 days to return my car. All of this while I'M the one being labeled as the problem. While my car was at the dealership one of the final times it was damaged -- both rear doors were dented. The owner of the dealership told me that I damaged the car and was just trying to get them to fix it for free. He lost my business that day. And I never had a Northstar engine that didn't use oil (about 3 quarts in 5,000 miles) or make a lot of noise (cam chains). These are just a few of the problems I have had. I put 23,000 miles on rental cars in the 2 years I owned the 2001 SLS. My 1997 SC now has 114,000 miles on it and is running great. I bought it last year at my local dealer with 82,000 miles on the clock. Extremely good experience. I liked it so well that we went back this year and bought my wife a 2001 RX with Navi. I can definitely tell you that GM will not be getting my business any time soon (even with the discount through my father). I already have my next car picked out; a pearl white LS430.

97 SC does not have a key with a button. My 97 SC has a separate 4 button key fob (4th button is PANIC on the back). You can find replacements online or on e-bay (that's where I got mine). Make sure the FCC ID number on the back of the remote is the correct one for your car. The remote may look the same, but could have a different FCC ID code and will not work. My 97 SC has a code of HYQWDT-C. That should be the one you need. When you get the remote, I can give you programming instructions.

Thanks for all the comments. I bought the phone on Ebay for the SC. I was specifically looking for an analog phone because they actually work better than digital in my area. (I also have a digital phone for work.) Also, my wireless company wants to raise my rates if I switch to digital. It's cheaper for them, but they want to charge me more. Imagine that! I am going to use analog as long as the government says that they have to continue to offer it. (Currently 2007). Does anyone know if the antenna for this phone is built into the rear window? It looks like there is some sort of antenna built into the rear glass. (Separate from the defroster).

Any car built after 1/1/94 can be advertised as a '95.

Hi group. I am searching for a Lexus Fixed Mobile (Analog) phone to install in my 97 SC300. Does anyone know where I can get one? Is mycar pre-wired to accept this? Where do all of the components go? Thanks Tom