The G Man

BrooklineMark, I comes from a GX470, so comparing the GS350 to the GX470 is very unfair as the GX470 is a monster in the snow. Anyhow, the GS350 AWD is about what I would expect from a sport sedan in the snow, about the same as my old BMW 528XI. It will handle snow maybe up to 6 to 8 inches, the limitation is the runflat tires and the low ground clearance. I drove up to NH in that Feb strom we had, 6" of snow. We drove at maybe 45 MPH with no problem. The only time that the stability system beep at me was when I try to test its limitation coming out of a parking lot. The back end spin out maybe 4 inches and the stability quickly corrected it. I plan to run those OEM tire maybe another year and switch over to the Good Year F1 all season, those are suppose to be the best Z rated tires in the snow. Where did you buy your GS and how much if you dont mind me asking. Good Luck with your new GS.

BrooklineMark, I am the next town over from you, I am in Newton. I just bought the GS350 AWD 2 months ago. I read that CR report too. The CR report makes no sense, it rated the GS350 RWD as good and the GS350 AWD as poor. When ask why they rated the RWD good and the AWD poor, their response was problems with dash rattled and accessories. Which makes no sense at all since both the RWD and the AWD share the same dash components and accessories. I can tell you that the GS is as relievable as any Lexus out there. The biggest issue out there is the dash and windshield rattles. Most dealers have a very good idea as to how to fix it by now. Other than that, this car is great.

Good thing my wife runs on 87 octane :)

The rattle can also come from the center AC vent as well, have them wrap those in felt.

Thats how they are suppose to work, the driver side does not tilt down as far. I have no idea why they design it this way.

I ran on 89 octance on my last Lexus for a while. Its kind of pointless since you only save about a dollar on every tank full.

According to my calculation, the invoice price for a GS350 AWD with ML and nav and a bunch of other option is about $47750. Add the sales tax and it comes to $50734. That is assuming you can find a AWD in TX and that a dealer is willing to sell you a ML GS for invoice.

The GX does not have ventilated seats, but the new LX has it as well as the whole Lexus sedan line. I would think the next gen. of GX will have it as an option.

My guess is that you still have the old drive shaft. Since Lexus havent release a TSB for the 08 yet, technically, the dealer cannot fix it under warranty. If you camplain loud enough, they can try to get approval from Lexus HQ for the work, or you can just wait for the 08 TSB to come out.

No they havent sort it out in the 08 GS yet. My GS is only a month old and it did not start one time on the 1st crank. Havent happen since so no big deal. I heard there is a TSB for the starting problem now.

My guess is that 09 will be out in Sep or Dec. You wont know about the changes till probably Aug. Rumor is the re-design GX is due in 2010 or 2011.

Duckman, it will take a take a few tank full b 4 u will feel the slight diff. in power. I dont think you have done any damage to the engine since it will adjust timing when it sense knocking from the lower octane.

Your GS300's engine have a compression ratio of 11.5 to 1. That usually means you should be using premium gas. You can use the cheap stuff if your engine doesnt knock, but you will lose horsepower and gas mileage. Going from premium and regular every other tank is ok as long as you fill it up around at 1/2 tank. If you wait till its empty, you will not get the full horsepower benefit from the premium tank since it takes a few tank full for the timing to advance. BTW, the reports on Minnesota news is for cars that do not require premium and cannot take advantage of the extra octane, but thats not the case with your GS.

Yes, set and forget, thats the whole idea.

Dont know about Espresso Lube, but I would never take my GS to any Jiffy lube or any quick oil change places.

Lol, who in the right mind would compare a Lexus to a BMW M series. Wait until the GS-F come out in 3 years then you can compare, but I think the M will still handle better than the GS-F.

The Continental ContiExtremeContact are very good tires. The knock on them is that they have weak sidewalls, watch out for those sidewalk curbs :)

Just leave it in auto, the climate control will turn it on and off for you.

The invoice price for a GS350 RWD with pretty much everything in it except for the Pre-Collision System invoice at $45300. Add the Lexus advertising fee and it should be aroung $46000. Start from there, but I would not pay more than a $1000 over invoice.

I use to take my GX470 to a Toyota dealer for maintenance, the GX470 has the same pwertrain as the 4Runner. The problem with bringing the GS to a Toyota dealer is that they dont have the right parts.

I believe the manual 1 to 4 is just for all the other lighting besides the gauge cluster. The gauge cluster has its own sensor and cannot be adjusted. The rain sensor's sensitivity cannot be adjusted, but I have read some where thats you can disable the auto rain sensor and use the sensitivity adjustment as a intermittent adjustment. When the rain sensor acts up, I usually just switch it to low to wake up the sensor and switch it back to auto. If that doesnt work, I just leave it on low. Try the voice cammand " address " on the nav. it works really well. You can input address while you are moving. I thought that the GS's fob can be problem to a driver's momory seat position, meaning that once you open the door with a certain fob it will go to the preset memory seat position. I would double check that function with your dealer.

When you are out of warranty, just dont use the tilt function. I find the tilt function kind of useless anyways.

If you have done business with the 1st body shop and was satified, I would just use them. Ask the body to use the procedure as the dealer even if it will cost you more.

Power wise both the 350 and the 460 are very close, I think the 460 is 0.3 sec. faster from 0-60. When fully loaded, the 460 have quite a few extra options and cost around $10000 more. The 460's standard option which is not on the 350 are: Adjustable shocks, better quality leather, VDIM, varible ratio steering and electric brakes. One option for 460 that you cannot add to the 350 is the active power stabilizer system, which let you go over bump softly when you are going straight and automatically stiffen up the suspension when you are taking a turn, it works pretty good. I guess it depends on what you can afford, go for the 460 is you can afford it. You should go to KBB or edmunds to find out what the invoice price is for the car you want B 4 you walk into the dealer. The GS are selling at $0 to $1000 above invoice right now. Good Luck

Member123, I can see why your dealer ignored you, these are problems that they cannot do anything about. Intermittent wipers can be program by the dealer to change the sensitivity adjustment to intermittent adjustment, yes, having a auto and manual would be ideal. The auto headlight's sensitivity can be adjust by the dealer, but I dont think the time delay is adjustable. It is designed that the delay is longer enough that when you drive under a overpass, the lights wont turn on. Of course, if you stop under a overpass for 30 sec. or more, the lights should turn on. Nav system, what year is your GS, the 2008 doesnt have that I agree button anymore. The lock out functions while driving can be hack with a aftermarket product if it bothers you that much. BTW, the voice command still works for blue tooth and Nav while in motion. AWD Steering: The GS is 70% power to the rear wheel, so you should not get that front wheel drive feeling. You may need some new tires if they are worn. Does you GS have run flat tires. You could be also just getting use to the electrical power steering. Anyway, I use to have a Acura too, and Acura always handles better than a Lexus and they have a better nav too, but I know all of this b 4 I bought the GS. The auto tilt mirror function can be disable if you push the middle of the left right mirror adjustment switch. Cassette Player are very useful for people who listen to audio books on long trips like I do. Ash tray: Since I am a non-smoker, I would rather have another storage compartment. Instrument Cluster Illumination: Instrument Cluster is not control by the dimmer adjustment. There is a sensor underneath your 3rd brake light that control the dimming of your gauge custer. Drop Down Console: The Drop Down Console is a neat idea. Imagine all those buttons on your dash, it will look too busy as in Acura's dash board design. I think Lexus did a good job in hiding some of those button to give the dash a nice clean look. Steering Wheel Switch Lighting: Give it a while, you will have all switch memorized like I did. Seat Memory: The idea here is when you are driving and hit one of those seat buttons by mistake, nothing will happen. Just adjust you seat while you drive and set it when you park.