_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.

A little confused here....if you hook an IPOD up to the input in the center console it sounds like crap with engine noise? I was hoping to avoid having to get some additional add-on hardware to filter out noise but will this be necessary? I am a big music fan so I all about clarity and wont be satisfied if there is a bunch of engine noise like you would get with an FM modulator. CD and DVD over the LEV sounded incredible...

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.

.

I have a blue onyx pearl IS. Every time I wash the car I wince to a new rock scratch/chip. I have owned other cars in the past and swear that this car is the worst, somehow it attracts scratches and chips. I drive 95% highway and have not noticed any serious road debris from the norm. I do not tailgate. Well now that I have whined, have any of you out there installed the clear bra and what are your impressions of the appearance. After I work on the hood (wet sand) I was thinking of having one installed?? Any thoughts on installation after deep chips/scratches cannot be removed???

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.

Two questions:

Does anyone know if you leave an iPod plugged into the auxiliary input does it drain the car battery when the car is turned off?

Can an internal E-Z Pass be used in the new IS? Does the windshield UV protective coating prevent normal operation of the E-Z Pass, or do I need to use an externally placed E-Z Pass instead?

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

some say it does 5.3 some say 5.6 and some say 6.0 seconds.

what is the real 0-60 mph?

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 a button for the trac control (on/off)

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.

Wow, great review, thank you.

I agree with everything you say but I have to say that I have both right now and... BMW is better only in curves and BMW wont last as long as Lexus. BMW start giving you problem right after the warranty is over like as they knew when to program the engine to start giving you these problems.

My 330 has valves ticking and loss of power that would cost 1000's to fix.

If you want a car for a long time or to put lots of miles on.... go with Lexus.

If you want to lease, then you're right, BMW is better BUT.... I can't stand how simple they made it!

I need personality in a car and they new BMW just doesn't have it! not inside or out.

So:

Lexus....................BMW

Last longer.............Breaks down after 50,000 miles

NIce in/out.............More simple in/out then before

Bad turns...............Great turns

Fast.......................Slower (not M3)

BUY/LEASE.............LEASE ONLY

My best friend is a GENERAL SALES MANAGER in BMW and he sent me to Lexus. What does that tell you?

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

Matador red and sterling leather. Have to wait awhile since the only one the dealer had was the frost mica color which just wasn't me. I was told it could be up to 6 weeks. Didn't realize how popular this model is.

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.

We picked up our IS250 yesterday from Lexus of Austin. Whole thing took 45 minutes. They offered but did not push extended warranties, tire/rim warranty, etc. Took tour of Lexus service dept and garage (you could eat a meal off the floors). Salesman (son of one of my wife's fellow Rotarians) was super nice and gave us a bottle of "Lexus" champagne as he gave us the keys.

Went for short drive from Austin to Wimberly. Car has taut feel to it. Need to fiddle with lumbar support/seat angle to get more comfortable. As predicted, rear visibility is limited. Auto tranny shifts seamlessly. I won't try the paddle shifters until after the break-in period.

The boy racer in me still occasionally wishes that I got the IS350 but I remember the famous saying by Lord Acton; "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely". Having the IS350 would have me doing aggressive driving antics like breaking the hearts of Mustang owners and other "victims" and I'm too old for that st nowadays. This car has plenty of power for me.

I just wish that I hadn't seen the HKS Sport Exhaust in the accessories catalog. I promised the wife that I wouldn't do any mods to this car. I like the compass headings that show in the rear view mirror -- maybe that's enough of a "NAV" system for me. :)

Thumbs Up.....Ron

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.

I just took delivery of an IS350. No spoiler. :)

Craig

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.

If i decide to get the new IS250, money will limit me to some of the options. I really want the DVD/Navi in the car but probably won't be able to afford it until I save more money. I wanted to know some of the aftermarket DVD/navi that people are using in their lexus'. I am trying to keep it around a $1000-1500. Thanks in advance.

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?

Thanks Bartkat.

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

I know it doesn't shift above the set top gear because I use 4 quite often when tooling around town and I have left it in 4 and gone for several miles down the highway at 70 - 80 MPH and the car never shifts to a higher gear.

If you are in "S" mode and put the trans in 4 it will not shift above 4. You can see that by putting the display on "gear postition" and it will show the actual gear number that the car is in at a given time.

Of course since at WOT you're still in 3 at above 100 MPH, you may hit over 120 MPH in 4 before you ever get to redline. Gear 4 is direct, while both 5 and 6 are overdrive gears.

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.

I know it doesn't shift above the set top gear because I use 4 quite often when tooling around town and I have left it in 4 and gone for several miles down the highway at 70 - 80 MPH and the car never shifts to a higher gear.

If you are in "S" mode and put the trans in 4 it will not shift above 4. You can see that by putting the display on "gear postition" and it will show the actual gear number that the car is in at a given time.

Of course since at WOT you're still in 3 at above 100 MPH, you may hit over 120 MPH in 4 before you ever get to redline. Gear 4 is direct, while both 5 and 6 are overdrive gears.

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 1100 miles... and am getting 22 MPG in mixed driving.... pretty consistent, tank from tank.

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'm trying to buy a new IS350 with the nav and sports package, but all the prices seem pretty above msrp.  Does anyone know when prices might drop, or if purchasing now, where is a good place to search for a good deal?  Any one have a friend who can get me a good price?

-M

←

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