boB_2006_GS300

sorry to see that. glad you got out ok! hope you had insurance? change is good, but maybe you'll find another lexus? ....they are nice! good luck!

Someone on this board posted a link to a repair center. I do not know anything about them, but they say they do the repair for $345. Maybe there are other shops that work on original equipment car stereos too if you google the model and "repair". here's the link I seen posted: http://carstereohelp.com/lexus.htm at least it's a starting point.

Is that Lexus of Thousand Oaks?

I am not sure about your interface, but I have a DICE adapter and have the same problem as you. Since I can search by "Playlists", I divided my artists into smaller groups like "A to B", "C to E" or "N to Q" (on Playlists) and then you can choose one of those Playlists and you only have to scroll through those artists. You would have to do this in iTunes and if you are good, it would take about 20 minutes to convert your library. Say I want to hear Queen. I press PLAYLISTS, then scroll to "N to Q", then ARTISTS, now I only have to start from N. I bet you can do something similar with iTunes and make your selection time shorter? Your interface may work better if you change the GENRE instead of the PLAYLISTS, but I don't know your system. I hope this helps you find a solution. If you think this may work for you and need more help, let me know.

some openers require you to push a button on the back of the opener/motor unit, then follow the instructions cloning the old remote to the Lexus Homelink button. Try to google the brand/model of garage door opener and see if you can download a manual. My first attempt to program the Homelink worked, but it generated new codes, so the old remotes stopped working. After reading the manual, I reprogrammed the remotes again and the Homelink, and all works! bottom line: print the homelink instructions and try to download a manual for your brand opener. The reason to push the button on the back of the unit is to prevent someone who services your car from being able to clone your remote and then come back and rob you.

you can google high low adapter and see what the online prices are, and then I would go to your local car stereo and see what they want. it may not be worth the difference to get it online, and they can install it if you want. Also while you are getting a price, you can inquire about pricing for the power wiring to the amp. high power amps use wire close to a 1/4" or thicker. you don't want to let it short out and start a fire, so unless you know what you are doing, at least leave that to a pro, and you can install and wire up the rest or ask about pricing for that too.

the easiest way is to use a Hi/Low adapter. It would clip on to an existing speaker wire and the adapter would convert the high level speaker signal to a low level signal to put into your sub amplifier. Many adapters also will provide a "turn on" signal to trigger your amplifier on too. I think most of these adapters use transformers to reduce the signal and are not the most cleanest, but low frequencies are not as critical as far as distortion. I think they cost anywhere from $10 to $40. Things to consider are to make sure the speaker you tap on to is getting the low frequencies you want to amplify. Example, you cant tap on to a tweeter that has a crossover filtering OUT the low frequencies. If you tap on to your existing sub woofer (like I did), make sure you buy a quality adapter that can handle that power (my ML factory stereo is actually very powerful). Sub amplifiers use a lot of current. I would recommend a qualified installer (car stereo shop) run a fused power wire for you to the battery, find a good ground, and even install the adapter. Then either them or you can install your own amp and sub. Adding a sub and sub amp really did make a good stereo really rock! :) good luck!

set the odometer mode to regular (total miles), not odometer A or B. have your ignition switch in the all OFF. (turn off the car completely). press and hold the odometer miles reset button AND (with your foot off the brake), press the ignition switch ONCE while still holding the miles reset button. after 20-30 seconds, you should see the message saying your oil mileage has been reset. good luck.

I don't know about the Lexus, but I remember some phones or software I had, used "commas" for pauses. I think each comma was the length of any other key, but silent. who knows, but it if free to try :)

Thanks Guy. (I hope) I look forward to NO problems with mine. :P

Guy, Why is it fairly common for them to go bad? Is it normal wear and tear, or because it has to work harder when the lamps get old. Basically my question is would it be a good idea to replace the bulbs at a certain age, or would that not make the ballast last any longer?

Hi, Can you PLEASE tell me where to get the instructions on how to perform this bypass? thanks If you have an "06" GS, the instructions are half way down on page 1 of this thread. I have an 06 with Mark Levinson and Nav., and did this mod and it works as described. I don't know about the 07 difference. If you have an 07, I would read more of this thread.

I have Silver with black interior, (and get complements), but I'm sorry I didn't get the metallic dark gray. My previous car was white, and you can't go wrong with it, but it's VERY common. Black looks great when clean, but takes more work then I am willing to do :) of course my preferences are just that, mine. :P ......be patient and wait out the color you prefer!

I don't know about resetting the region code, but you can rip most DVDs to your computer with a program like DVD Decrypter and make a copy of it (or just the main movie) with DVD Shrink, and tell DVD Shrink to re-burn it with DVD Decrypter. (you can google them) Both programs are freeware and blank DVDs are less the 20 cents a piece in spools of a hundred. You can specify in your backup copy to make it "region free". I think most areas allow "fair use" to make copies of media you bought for a backup copy.

set the odometer mode to regular (total miles), not odometer A or B. have your ignition switch in the all OFF. (turn off the car completely). press and hold the odometer miles reset button AND (with your foot off the brake), press the ignition switch ONCE while still holding the miles reset button. after 20-30 seconds, you should see the message saying your oil mileage has been reset. good luck.

I had the Vais at first. My 2006 doesn't play MP3, so the iPod adapter only supports Playlists on my car. Yours will probably have the Artist>Album>Track browsing support because it uses the MP3 ability in your stereo. I think it uses the disc number buttons on the screen to choose Playlist, Artist, Album, Track.... .....and you have to remember what each button number does. The Dice unit also does this, but you can set the "dip switches" when you install it so your stereo thinks it's a CD changer or SAT radio. The "CD changer" mode works similar to the VAIS unit (on cars that have MP3 support). The "SAT" mode uses the 6 station buttons on the screen, AND it says what each button is for. This makes more sense to me, but in this mode you do not see track number or track time on the screen (it does say the song and album name). I learned to live with this so I get labeled buttons. Both units sound great and are easy to install by pulling out the head unit and pulling out one plug from the back. You place a new "Y" cable between those connectors. Then plug the adapter into the cable and the iPod to the adapter. Both brands use different connectors on your stereo. Also if you have SAT radio, call Dice to see if you can use that emulation for your iPod too, or you might have to use the CD Emulation. On either unit, some functions may not work when your car is in gear. This is a function of the safety features on the car, not the adapter. (you can search this board for bypassing these safety features, but be careful as they are year and model specific). Both companies will answer your questions by phone. One other thing, the newer iPods changed their charging voltage about a year or two ago. Be sure to tell whoever you order from, your exact iPod model. Good luck.

This sounds like a very BIG DEAL! Can you give more information on what was done to your car for the conversion, how much it cost, performance changes, and what is the down side? Too cool!

it is fairly easy to install. At the top of this forum is a "sticky" post regarding NAV override. The post says how to remove the nav unit. Once pulled out, you just remove a plug from the head unit and plug it into the Dice harness, then the Dice harness has a plug that goes where you unplugged the other one. the harness plugs into the Dice module, and it has a cable that you route to where you want your iPod. The Dice can act like a CD changer or a SAT radio. The CD method (emulation) uses the 6 disc buttons on the screen to access Playlist>Artist>Album>Track, BUT you have to remember what each button does. It also shows time and track number. The SAT emulation uses the 6 station buttons, BUT it shows what each button does. MUCH BETTER!!! The SAT mode does not show track number or time though. There are other settings too I think like MP3 that only works with later model Lexus'. You can download the user manual to decide which emulation you want to use and see how it installs. Also, I hear in the last year iPod changed the voltage they charge from with the cable. I would call Dice and tell them exactly which iPod you have and make sure it has the right cable to charge it. Good Luck!

I have basically what you are describing. I had the installer put in a hi (speaker level) to low (line level) adapter on the factory sub-woofer. Most of them auto-sense a signal and provide a trigger to turn on your amp. Although the replies above say the same, I also add that your existing (stock) stereo speakers are "crossed over", meaning that there is a filter that puts only a certain frequency range to the speakers. The larger door speakers may get mid range, there may be smaller tweeters that only get high frequencies. If you tap a "Hi-Low" adapter from these speakers, they are probably filtering out the low frequencies you are trying to pull for your sub. That's why you would put the adapter on a speaker that gets the frequencies you want, like the factory sub. It's only common sense that those larger speakers putting out large sound take a lot of current (power). My first adapter burned out from all that power. It basically melted! :( Be sure to use a good quality adapter rated for as many watts as you can find. I think cheap ones cost about $15-20 and good ones about $30-40. I have 2 JL-Audio 10" subs in a sealed box, and a Polk class D sub amp, and it really makes the stereo sound great! :)

yea, the instructions were harder then they had to be. the car should be off. the odometer should be on the total miles mode (not A or B ). press and hold the odometer RESET button while pressing the cars START button (keep your foot off the brake so the car does not start). Let go of the START button, but continue to hold the RESET button until you see the message near your odometer that the oil maint. has been reset.

My tires lasted about 35,000 miles. They still looked good, but when the car was on the rack, too much inside wear was found. That was a common problem discussed on this forum. I think the Lexus dealer quoted about $225 per tire PLUS installation. I went to the local tire dealer I dealt with previously, and they put on Bridgestone Protenzas with an "out the door" price less then $900. There are many tire dealers where I live. Some are good, and some are bad as far as "extras" that are added into the price at the end, and some don't do good work. I am happy with the local Tire Pros store. I can't speak for their other locations though. An independent dealer (other then Lexus) should have more options, so I would ask them what they recommend for your area, type of driving, climate, weather you want millage or performance, etc. There's nothing wrong with getting a few other price quotes either way.

My recall service was done Jan 28. My driving habits are pretty much the same weekly, and I did not have a change in my mileage. I hope whatever happened is an easy fix. Loosing that much in mileage seems like it would be easy to find with their computers? I don't think the replacement part had any effect, but probably they accidentally messed up something or forgot to reconnect something when putting on the new part. My highway mileage is about 28 MPG, and mixed city/highway is about 25-26, much like you were getting.

My display was like that after I got it back from the recall repairs. I told the service writer and he pressed the buttons for climate and audio, and the screen worked for them. He then pressed the button Display, and it was back to normal. To be sure, I turned off the car and restarted it. It was fine since. I hope it's this simple for you.

Mine was done last week. It also took longer then they thought, but I think it was because they had more cars to do then the actual work on mine. I got a 2008 loner Lexus SUV. It was fast on the city streets, but was all over the place on the freeway on these windy days. The GS rides better! I did not notice anything different when I got my car back. I did look under the car and hood and did see some components that looked new (didn't look like 3 years old). Even the settings on the radio were the same, so I don't think they disconnected the battery? Anyway, I did not notice problems before, and still do not have problems. They washed my car and DID fill the gas tank :) The total on the invoice was $2170.99 I too was wondering later if they did an alignment. It would be nice to know what services you could skip or postpone.