_tjp_

Yeah, I know how rough it is to wait for your order to come in. Here's my black/cashmere 350

Hmm, I went through my manual set and there's no such card. I know what you're talking about though. AAA Auto used to offer those. But I didn't get one from Lexus. to say simply, i belive it can start the car. It should be inside that fatty leather manual holder. It should be in one of the slots, and its a back up key. It can unlock the car and star the car also. The pop out key can insert into the ignition, and then you have to hold that credit card size thing next to the ignition and then turn the key. Its a backup, ur not suppose to use it regularly and you should have one.

I would be all over this, except for the fact that you have to take your dash apart. Plus, it may void the car's warranty?

I have hooked up my iRiver mp3 player and my PDA to the AUX jack. The sound quality is perfectly fine. I know that if you connect your player to the power jack at the same time (to charge) you get a ground loop and get very bad sound. You either need to not connect the power when listening or get a 12v car adapter for your player that also isolates. There is another very nice solution for iPods: http://www.vaistech.com/ This company sells a device that interfaces the iPod to the NAV screen. It does requires that you pull the entire NAV/Audio system so you can plug in their cable. Plus it's $300. But it is pretty slick.

I had the "clear bra" installed right after I took delivery. My previous car, a BMW really suffered bad from stone chips. I had the BMW for 7 years (silver in color) and it was so bad, it looked like somebody had sprinkled salt on the bumber. My new IS is black and I was determined not to have this happen again. The Lexus dealer contracts this out with a special installer. They installed it on the front bumper, the front 12" edge of the hood and fenders. Plus they put it on the front edge of the mirrors, and even the top part of the rear bumper that is just below the trunk opening. Prices vary, but I have seen figures from $450 to $1,000. Of course, the cheaper prices usually only do the front bumper and hood. When you are 6-8 feet away from the car you can't see anything different. Even when you are up close, the light has to be just right to notice the seam of where the plastic ends. I have had the car 2 months and so far no problems or chips. I've been watching the forums and I have seen a lot of threads complaining about stone chips. So, I recommend this you seriously consider this. . Interestd in the clear bra also. Has anyone had one put on

I don't see any way a device plugged into the Aux port could drain the battery withthe car off. The audio system is shut down. I have used the "Fast-Trak" transponder here in the SF Bay area without any problems. I have the transponder sitting on the dashboard. I don't have it fixed to the windshield as I hate the look of it.

Depends on who you want to believe. Lexus originally stated 5.6 Then Car & Driver's review stated 5.3, so Lexus started quoting that time. But I have also read another review (I think it was R&T) that gave a 5.4 time

Yeah, I know about the pedal & parking brake dance. But come on, who's going to do that everytime you start the car?

I have done a lot of test driving with the 325i manual. The inside ergonomics of the BMW was a little lacking. As stated above the interior of the Lexus is much nicer. I had a lot of trouble shifting in the BMW with the high center console getting in the way of my right elbow. Really annoying. Plus, the iDrive is such a bad design. I wanted NAV in my new car and the BMW version was sadly lacking compared to the Lexus interface and features. But I am also 6' tall and I find the back seat room in the Lexus very tight. If someone wants to sit behind my drivers seat, they better be less than 5' tall, otherwise they aren't going to have much luck. When driving 4 people in the IS, I have to move my seat way up and scrunch up, so the person in back can sit. Unlike the previous post I really like the rear tailights of the IS. The only detail I would like to change in the IS, is a way to disable VDIM. But that isn't a big deal for me. You really have to hang the car out there to get it to significantly interfere with your driving. At least that's my experience.

Congratulations. I ordered a black/tan with NAv. The dealer also told me 6-8 weeks. In fact it got here in 3 weeks (took delivery last Thursday). Hopefully, yours will arrive early also. :P Love to see some pix when you take delivery, Congrats on the purchase

Congratulations! I just took delivery of my IS350 on the 19th. Now I just need to get past this break-in period. Good Choice, Congrats

This is from the Accerssories section of the Lexus website. From this angle though, you can't really see the ugly seam between the trunk & spoiler. Sure would like to see pix of that spoiler.:whistles:

Congrats on your new car.

Ahh, jeese. This is not good. I went to another Lexus dealership and just put a deposit down yesterday for a 350. I specifically asked them about this lip and they said it was only an option and they were unaware of any cars coming in with them automatically. The lip is shown in the Lexus Accessories pamplet. It's not that big, it's just that it doesn't look like an intergrated or factory installed spoiler. It looks like the ones that are glued on with a very noticable seam. I don't know. If my car comes in with one of these I may tell them they can keep their car.

Placed my order today for an IS350 with Prem Package, 18" wheels and Navigation. Black with tan interior. They are estimating 6-8 weeks. I want to thank all the people here who have helped with my questions (specially Bartkat). Thanks.... javascript:emoticon(':P', 'smid_13') smilie

I have a Magellan Roadmate 700 that I like. Very easy to use and has an internal hard drive that holds all of North America. Sometimes there's a glare on the screen though (needs some kind of a sun shield) PC Magazine did a review of aftermaket GPS units not too long ago. You might want to check out their website at pcmag.com. If I remember right their layest review liked the Tomtom the best. I think it went for about $800.

I was at the dealer yesterday and they were telling me that all future IS deliveries are going to have a trunk lip spoiler installed. He showed me one on an IS350 that just arrived. I didn't care for it at all. It looks like an aftermarket add-on. It looks as bad as the Mazda Miata body kit. Has anyone else heard of this? Or is the dealer just try to force options on me? Are there any known high speed stability problems with this car, like the Audi TT had?

Bartkat, Jeese, I wished I had played with this more when I did my test drive. One more question. What happens if, lets say you set the range to be at 2 (in Sport mode of course). Then when you start off, you shift from 1st to 2nd. The car will hold in 2nd. Then using the lever you shift to 3rd. Does your shift range now move to 3? Will the car hold in 3rd gear now? If you want to experience the redline cut off, try gear 2 and run it up. Won't be going so fast. :D I like the feature. I use it a lot just gearing down for redlights and stuff and on a twisty road, it's real handy. You can also change gears by pushing the gear shift lever forward and back in "S" mode.

Thanks Bartkat. I get it now. This seems like it will be a handy feature when you want to do some "spirited" driving.

Not the orange ring, but the "high gear limit". That's what I don't completely understand how it works. As you mentioned, if I select a gear. Lets say 4. What exactly does that do. Does that mean the car will shift normally on gears 1, 2, 3, 4 and then not shift above 4? Will it stay at the rev limiter in 4? I seem to remember during my test drive that the car would still continue to shift to a higher gear but I could be wrong. Are you talking about the orange ring that lights up on the tach? If so, all it does is light up. It can be used as a shift light if you set it at the RPM you wish to shift at, then shift when it lights up. If you want to limit the highest gear, put the shift lever in "S", to the left of "D". and then use the paddle shifter to set the top gear. That will show up on the display between the speedo and tach.

I tried fooling around with the shift range feature on IS350 during my test drive. But I couldn't quite figure it out. I forgot to ask the salesman about it when I returned. The manual that is posted here just mentions how to set it. Can someone explain exactly how it works? Is it supposed to limit the top gear? It didn't seem to do that for me. Thanks.

Not bad at all. The Infiniti G35 (that I am also considering)) owners are getting below 20mpg with mixed driving. This puts the IS in the same range as the BMW 330 (with 255hp). Thanks....

I've been wondering what kind of mileage to expect from the IS350? Usually you have to subtract 10-15% from what they state. So, I would expect the low 20's with mixed city/highway driving? Is that accurate?

I did a test drive of an IS350 last week. I wasn't ready to buy just then, but the salesman was ready to deal. I told him I had other cars to look at and he quickly offered to take $1000 off the MSRP. This was a basic model with just the premium package. So, I am curious why you are seeing prices about MSRP? I was at a dealer in Fremont, CA. Of course, maybe this salesman was going to try to get that discount back with some inflated "extra fee". Can't trust those guys.

I just did a test drive of the IS350 this weekend. Must say that I am very impressed with the car. Very solid and stable feel. Don't have to say that it was f-a-s-t.... I have a few of questions that I hope someone here can answer. 1. Since the test drive I have discovered that the ECT switch effects power. But, can anyone tell me how it does this? What does ECT stand for? 2. Next to the ECT switch was a Trac switch. I haven't been able to determine what this does. 3. What has been your MPG with your car? I am hoping the IS350 can get better mileage than the G35 that I am also considering. Thanks