1990LS400

I used the word "vast" to describe the percentage of people in the tech field I work with who use Android phones - all six people in my "office row". Most of the people I know who use iPhones are not at all technically inclined or are techies who have iPhones only because their children also have them. I thought it was humorous today when I found that our highest regarded scientist, a "young" (30's) PhD nuclear physicist, prefers a Samsung phone running Microsoft Windows. My C.P.A. wife has an iPhone 6. She is not at all into technology and she expects me to help her. I've come to regard her iPhone 6 as sort of an "Android Lite" - simpler to operate, limited functionality, limited available of applications. I don't think that the iPhone is bad at all - it may well be better for the masses. Trust on this - I hated DOS! (and hated programming in machine language and Assembler too). For sure, the best operating systems do not always prevail. Early versions of Microsoft Windows were a complete joke compared to IBM's OS/2 which was rock solid stable. Windows won and few people remember OS/2.

I don't regard using 4 or 5 quarts of oil in 500 to 600 miles as a "little problem". Something is very wrong and a mechanic should be able to quickly figure out where all that oil is going. I doubt that using heavy oil is going to help if your engine is using oil at such a high rate.. I suppose you could try "straight weight" 40W or 50W if you can find it if you don't want to spend money on identifying and fixing the problem but I doubt if your engine would start in those warm Chicago winters.

Does Apple CarPlay work with Android phones? The vast majority of the people I know use Android phones and wouldn't touch an iPhone - odd how most people who work in tech are that way.

No. The bases of HID and halogen bulbs are different and the optics usually are also different.

It's nice to see that "Fiat Chrysler" is continuing the extraordinarily long Chrysler legacy of manufacturing and selling $#!+ and then leaving their customers in the lurch. A $105M fine isn't nearly enough: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/27/business/fiat-chrysler-faces-record-105-million-fine-for-safety-issues.html?_r=0

The following page has the offset spec for the 2014 model year GS 19" wheels: http://www.wheelsandcaps.com/p-51878-aluminum-alloy-wheel-rim-19x9-74270.aspx Wire wheels on a modern car? You must have a rare GS350-XKE.

Here is a link to a thread containing my recent response to this recurring question: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/86720-single-screen-in-es300h/?hl=auto#entry486491 It's been the same for all Toyota/Lexus navigation systems for many years.

The maintenance schedule for the 2004 ES330 is at http://drivers.lexus.com/t3Portal/document/omms/SMG103_MS0001/pdf/om1sourc/2004om/04maints/41g1smt.pdf Changing the transmission fluid is not in the regular maintenance schedule although it is sometimes specified for some models when the vehicle is used under "special operating conditions" such as trailer towing, especially poor roads and commercial use. I would probably change the transmission fluid at 90,000 miles even if it was not mandated since it is cheap to have done and I tend to practice "overkill" on transmissions and differentials. It kind of bothers me that newer vehicles made by Toyota do not have transmission dipsticks - no longer possible to check the fluid level of newer automatic transmissions.

I totally agree that non-OEM modifications can absolutely trash a car's resale value. However ... added window tint has become very mainstream and does not seem to detract from resale value unless it is unusually dark, illegal or in poor condition. The people who we sold our last three cars to seemed to like that the windows were tinted. My wife was critical when I had my first LS400 tinted and said that it looked "gangster". She quickly changed her mind and wanted her Camry's windows tinted. When she bought her current Prius wagon, she wanted its windows tinted RIGHT NOW. When I removed the tint from the front passenger side window of my 2000 LS400 early last year after the tint failed, she wanted "her" window re-tinted ASAP. Needless to say, I had the front side windows of our new van tinted last year right after I took delivery. SUV's and vans can have tint of their rear and rear side windows in the glass - SUV and van manufacturers install factory tint that appears to range between 20% and 30% light transmission but there does not appear to be a legally mandated darkness limit. Unfortunately or maybe fortunately, the tint percentages of all windows of regular passenger cars and the front side windows of SUVs and vans are regulated by the individual states. Sometimes the tint laws of adjacent states are very different. For example, Washington state allows 24% tint on the back and all side windows of passenger cars. Kansas, where I live, allows a maximum of 35% tint on the same windows. Barely five miles from where I live, Missouri has no limit on how dark tint can be on the back and rear side windows - 0% is legal. I don't know the percentage of light transmission on front side window factory tint but I suspect that it is around 85%.

WOW, that is nice and an incredible find. Do you still have that older LS400 that you bought during a previous manic episode? If you do, why not sell it and keep the LS430? Maybe you'll come to like "pie".

I found numerous photos and the ZW company website when I Googled "ZW wheels". It looks like they have an incredible number of wheel models.

That's a new one! I had both a 1990 and a 2000 LS400 tinted and the price wasn't much different than for our Camry and Prius. I don't remember any interior trim being removed on either LS400. I had the two front side windows on my 2000 LS400 re-tinted just before I sold the car in 2014 and that took maybe 30 minutes. Tint prices don't seem to have risen much over the past 20 years where I live. A word of caution. I regret having the back window of my 2000 LS400 tinted for three reasons. 1) The back window tint interfered with the automatic dimming of both the interior and exterior rear view mirrors. 2) The rear window tint deteriorated over time and could not be replaced inexpensively and without damaging the defroster wires. I had the installer use a cheaper non-metalized tint on the rear window so that it would not interfere with the phone and radio antenna imprinted on the glass. Maybe the more expensive metalized tint would not have deteriorated but the installer warned me that other customers had complained about poor radio reception after metalized tint was installed. 3) Glare of headlights from following vehicles off the defroster wires. The defroster wires are apparently pretty darn thick and this is a common complaint. I didn't have the rear window of my 1990 LS400 tinted due to it having the extraordinarily rare retractable roller shade option. When we had our Prius tinted in 2012, I did not have its rear window tinted and I doubt that I will ever have tint applied over defroster wires again.

There is a press release PDF on www.lexus.com that goes into quite a bit of detail about dimensions and available technology of the 2016 RX. Whether or not a hitch for a 2015 RX will fit a 2016 RX is anybody's guess. Toyota sometimes keeps hitch attachment points the same when models are redesigned and sometimes makes them completely different as with the last GX470/GX460 redesign. Yours seems like an unusual question. Do you have a hitch for a 2015 RX and are now wanting a 2016?

I didn't think that the redesigned 2016 RX was even out yet. Is it?

I see a bunch of right rear tail lights on ebay.

www.toyodiy.com shows the "y-pipe" (part 17410-46580) for the 2002 IS300 fitting: Europe, General 01/1999-06/2005 LEXUS IS200/300 GXE10,JCE10 17-02: EXHAUST PIPE N. America 05/2000-06/2005 LEXUS IS300 JCE10 17-02: EXHAUST PIPE General 09/1999-11/2003 TOYOTA CROWN JZS175 17-02: EXHAUST PIPE -------------------------------- So ... if you live where the IS200 was sold, it looks like the y-pipe for it might fit the IS300.

There is an article on the IIHS website about the unexpected degree to which AFS is reducing property damage - something else to want on my next vehicle! http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desktopnews/crash-avoidance-features-reduce-crashes-insurance-claims-study-shows-autonomous-braking-and-adaptive-headlights-yield-biggest-benefits

Each of the three Covercraft shades I bought from AutoAnything lasted over ten years but the IntroTech Ultimate I bought last year seems a bit better made and more reflective. Get some good tint film installed on your front side windows if you haven't already. I have 35% but I would rather have the 28% that is legal in Florida.

The Garmin is mounted on a Pro.Fit Bravo Ball which is attached to a modified (drilled out) Pro.Fit Legend bracket. The Samsung S3 phone is in a Samsung Infuse charging cradle attached to a vehicle specific Kuda leather phone console. I no longer have the 2000 LS400 and no longer attempt to use vehicle specific phone mounts since my wife and I no longer use the same phone models and we both now use protective cases on the phones. We now use iOttie phone holders in our vehicles. The Garmins are not used in our current vehicles since they all have OEM in-dash navigation systems but we still use the Garmins in rental cars.

Member dcfish sells Lexus navigation systems but he has not been online lately. I just now sent him a PM that has a link to this thread.

I would be surprised if "Lane Keeping Assist" was not available on the Japanese market IS. Japanese market vehicles often get more features than the US. LKA goes beyond lane departure warning and nudges the car back into its lane. Last time I checked, the only Toyota-made vehicles available with LKA in the US were the Prius sedan, LS460L and LS600hL.

Have you checked to see if your brake lights are working when you have to use the shift override button? (Throwing a towel on the back window can make easier to see if the high mounted stop light is lighting up.) If your brake lights are not working, the most likely cause is a defective brake light switch on the brake pedal lever - fairly inexpensive part.

www.toyodiy.com

One of my standard spiels is to tell people that they need to own at least one convertible during their lives and that it might as well be red. My first car and first convertible was a red 1964 Triumph Spitfire convertible. OK ... calling a Spitfire a car might be a stretch - "Spitfire" should have been spelled with an "h" instead of an "p". The SC430's retractable top addresses most of the issues I had with convertibles - wind noise at highway speeds, water leaks, theft of anything left in the interior, use on very cold and very hot days, damage from bird droppings and falling limbs ... Are we sure that this SC430 isn't just a figment of your imagination? Pictures or it didn't happen!

You live in Texas? The IS300h hybrid has never been sold in the U.S. although I would not be surprised to see it offered in the U.S. in the future. The brochure for the 2013 IS sold in the U.S. can be viewed at http://www.lexus.com/documents/brochures/2013/2013-Lexus-IS-Brochure.pdf Based on this brochure, emergency braking (Pre-Collision System) was available as an option only on the IS-C convertible and the IS-F. I do not see Lane Departure Warning listed as being offered on the IS in 2013. Toyota is expanding the availability of emergency braking systems and lane departure warning and assist systems over the next several model years: http://phys.org/news/2015-03-toyota-price-automatic-safety-devices.html