05silverls430

I have a few annoying rattles in my dash that are somewhere in the center area, where the nav screen, CD changer, radio control, etc. are located. One is a clicking noise that is intermittent (of course), any mostly happens when the temperature outside is on the cold side. I can stop the clicking by putting pressure on the top part of the dash, direclty above the nav screen. The other rattle, which is more of a "buzzing" sound (not an electrical buzz, but a rattle that is easiest to describe as a buzzing noise), comes from somewhere around the left side of the CD changer. I discovered that when I open the CD changer door and put pressure on the left side of the changer, the noise will stop. When I took the car in for service (Lexus of Glendale), I was very clear with the service tech about both noises, and even went so far as to give them a typed list of items to address (including these). The service tech stated that he has seen rattles/clicks/noises from this area, and what they usually do is pull the components out and insulate the point of contacts. So that's what I expected him to do (in fact, that's what he agreed to do). When I picked up the car tonight, the service writer admitted that they hadn't done anything because "we couldn't duplicate it". Now I'm mad because I'm going to have to take it back in and spend extra time taking it out on the road (and freeway) to MAKE sure that they hear it. I know that the warranty program states that they have to be able to duplicate something, but come on.... How hard can it be to remove the components and insulate them? I told them EXACTLY where the noises were coming from, and sure enough, on the drive home I could hear the buzzing noise from the CD changer area...

I thought 4 cylinders to 4 quarts, 6 cylinders to 6 quarts, and I would assume a V8 would take 8. If they drained the existing oil like they should (right?), wouldn't they need to refill it with the same amount? Or do 8 cylinder engines just take 6 qts.? I'm no mechanic...I was just wondering. Also, anyone have any positive or negative experiences with Lexus of Glendale? This is my first time there since purchasing the car CPO in January. I would describe myself as an anal customer with VERY high expectations, and so far I'm not too impressed with the service...

Thank you both, wwest and SKperformance. I'll try the compressed air method on the vacuum sensor, and also be prepared to override the automatic controls, if necessary. Interesting that you sued Lexus, wwest. I guess I'm just used to the automatic systems in Audis and Acuras, neither of which needed constant adjustment.... Oh well... Thanks again!

I'm used to cars with automatic temperature controls giving you the ability to "set it and forget it". In my past 3 cars (2 Audis and 1 Acura) that have had this feature, I have set the digital thermostat to about 72 degrees, and have always been comfortable, no matter what the season. With my new ('03) LS430, I'm constantly having to adjust the temperature, anywhere between 70 and 74 degrees. I've had the vents blowing cold air when the temp. is set to 72, even when it's cold outside. If I put it up 2 degrees to 74, the air gets warm instead. Often times too warm. And then when it's warmer outside, 74 won't cut it, so I'll turn it down to 72 and the fan will come on much too high, blowing cold air with too much force. What I'm getting at is that the temperature is hard to adjust. I haven't been able to find a degree setting that I can set and leave it on. I nkow that I can manually control the fan speed, but the point of the Auto setting is that you should be able to set a certain temperature, and the car should be able to maintain it automatically (hopefully with some consistency). Does anyone else have this problem? I also experienced cold air blowing out of the left center vent and hot air out of the right (at the same time) on one occassion. I thought that was sort of strange. I know that these cars have various sensors (solar sensors?), and can sense whether someone is sitting in the front seat (or maybe any seat for that matter) and directs the air accordingly. When I took it into the dealer for service, I had them check the climate control system out, and of course "everything is functioning normally". I was just wondering if this is something that is inherent to Lexus or to the LS, and something that I should just get used to. Or should I pressure the dealer to figure out what's going on and fix it?

I've had the VAIS Technology SLX model in my car for about 3 weeks now, and love it. The XM antenna (the extra small version) is mounted on my dash, where the a-pillar meets the dash (at the windshield). I haven't noticed any problems with reception. My last car had XM built in as a factory standard feature, and I haven't noticed any diminished quality in sound or reception. By the way, I'm impressed with the way that VAIS interfaces with the stock radio/nav system. They set it up as a MD (minidisc) interface, so you just press the CD button twice and it activates XM. The title and artist also show up on the screen, and you can program your presets which can be toggled with the buttons on your steering wheel (I think VAIS only works with 2001 and up). They also hooked my iPod up to the AUX interface on the VAIS module (press the CD button a 3rd time), and it sounds even better than XM. It's hard-wired to the car, so it also charges when I have it plugged in. I have the wire coming out inside of the arm rest, so I can keep everything hidden. VAIS offers a dedicated iPod interface where you can control the functions of the iPod from your head unit, however if you use the SLX, you must control it from the iPod (except for volume of course), which is no big deal to me. One final point....when I was researching Sirius vs. XM (I have had XM in my previous car for 2 years, but like Howard Stern so wanted Sirius), I signed up for a free 3-day trial on Sirius' website so that I could listen to their music stations online. I much prefer XM's music stations. Also, I was told by the dealer that installed the VAIS that the reception with Sirius can be somewhat spotty. He said that XM uses repeaters, which Sirius apparently doesn't use.?. Anyway, I'm happy that I stuck with XM... :-)

My last car was an '04 Acura TL, and the front bumper chipped horribly. After having it repainted a second time, I decided to go with a clear bra, and the results were great. It was a silver car, so the bra was hard to see (unless you were up close and knew it was there), and it did a great job of preventing rock chips. I only had it installed on the bumper, not the hood, so that helped keep it unnoticable because there wasn't the seam/transition line on the hood. I didn't notice any reflectivity. I went with Invisible Mask (http://www.invisiblemask.com/site.html). They have pre-cut "kits" for just about every late model car out there. I had it shipped to me and then someone local installed it. If you're going to get it, though, do it before you start getting chips. When your car is new is the best time. I guess Lexus isn't the only one with paint chipping problems..... :)

None, taken. That why I already have a set of 19" ready to be mounted. Hey, M500, what are you going with the OEM rims you're taking off? Send me an e-mail if you're interested in selling: chris@giles1.com

Congratulations! BEAUTIFUL car! When you're ready to sell it in a few years, look me up! ;-)

Actually, I bought it CPO, so no DVD. You're right about the voice recognition. I hadn't thought about that. I tried Zube's method of going into the nav set-up screen and that works great. Only problem is that I have to do it every time I start the car. I got one of the Vais Technologies modules installed last week (for XM), but it's not one that allows you to watch DVDs on the system. I'll check eBay as well. Thanks!

Thanks! I'll give that a try. Surely there has to be a way to permanently disable it, though. But, maybe not....

I recently purchased my first Lexus, an '03 LS430 with nav. One feature that I'm not particularly thrilled with is the inability to operate most of the menu and programming features of the navigation system when the car is moving, even with the passenger seat occupied. My previous car was an '04 Acura TL, and I could enter destinations into the sytem with no prolem while the car was moving. I understand that this is a safety issue, however there has to be some way to disable it. Any suggestions or ideas???