boB_2006_GS300

you asked the question about the rims on March 5, and me and 4 others wrote replies. did you follow up on your own thread?

*I replied*

Don't know if Ventura County is too far for you, but the people at Wheel Concepts in Newbury Park (near T.O.) offer that service. I called them, and the quoted me around $600 plus tax (exchange old rims). They said to come on in and they could swap the while I wait. They swapped the air pressure sensors and mounted my tires on the rims they already had chromed. He showed me that they were genuine toyota/lexus rims. When I paid, he (someone other then I talked to on the phone) said a higher price, but when I told him what I was quoted, he said that was a dealer price, but was ok with that. I would recommend them, but call and ask for a good price, and tell the you were referred by a satisfied customer who got the dealer price. Here's their website...

http://www.wheelconcepts.com/LEXUS.htm

I noticed if you press the start button (to turn off the car), but the shifter is still in gear, the radio stays on even though the engine turns off. You can then shift to park. You then press the start button 3 times to go through ACC, ON, then OFF to turn off all when you are done listening.

Don't know what else stays on, or if this is documented, but I found this when I forgot to put the shifter in park before turning off the car. Hope this works for you.

Hello,

I would like to put chrome rims on my wheels. Has anyone ever tried to chrome the existing stock ones that come with the car? Also, if that is not a feasible option, what's the best place to buy them (like a national chain for instance). I am assuming they would be a lot more through the Lexus dealership.

Also, no problems with tinting windows right? I am scheduled to have them done next week. Think it will make the car a lot better looking, not to mention a little cooler inside the cabin. It's already getting warm over here on California central coast (thankfully!) B)

Thanks.

Don't know if Ventura County is too far for you, but the people at Wheel Concepts in Newbury Park (near T.O.) offer that service. I called them, and the quoted me around $600 plus tax (exchange old rims). They said to come on in and they could swap the while I wait. They swapped the air pressure sensors and mounted my tires on the rims they already had chromed. He showed me that they were genuine toyota/lexus rims. When I paid, he (someone other then I talked to on the phone) said a higher price, but when I told him what I was quoted, he said that was a dealer price, but was ok with that. I would recommend them, but call and ask for a good price, and tell the you were referred by a satisfied customer who got the dealer price. Here's their website...

http://www.wheelconcepts.com/LEXUS.htm

I found a stereo shop in Woodland Hills (Southern California) that will override the motion restrictions for $150. The owesome part is that they do not cut any wires or even take anything apart. They know a mechanic at a Lexus dealer that will do it using the on board computers. Warranty is not void. Can't go wrong.

They did it on my 06 GS 430 today. Works great. E-mail me, if you want the stereo shop info.

-So Cal George

can he get rid of the "I Agree" prompt too?

I used a line out convert on my '97 ES300 and the sound was surprisingly good. I tapped into the speaker line for the sub in the rear, which probably helped to eliminate the right frequencies when blending with the rest of the sound system.

I did too on my 06 gs300. first one (adapter) burned out. get a heavy duty one that handles a lot of watts. also get a class D amp (for sub woofers). they runs cooler.

In my local dealers defense, the female service writer did make it a point to bend down when checking my service needs at my car window making sure I seen her !Removed!, and again at her desk when she leaned way more then needed to clear it, and again when she asked me to sign the estimate. I asked for an oil change and air filter change (about $55 and $25 for a total of about $80). She said I needed the 30K service for $300+. I asked what it included, and it was check this and check that.... A LOT OF THOSE... and change oil and air filter. The only thing it would have actually done more then what I asked was flush the break fluid. I said even if I don't get the "service" that you guys will "check" most of that stuff because you are trying to sell more service, and when the car was done, they did have a few service recommendations. One of them was (as a lot of people here have noted) that I had front inside tire wear. They quoted over $300 plus an installation charge for each tire! They still have at least 10k miles left on them, they just needed to be rotated and aligned. My tire dealer quoted less then $800 out the door for four of those tires! Even though the service writer showed me her !Removed! like four times, and that was ok , I'm not about to say I wanna look cool so whatever you say, after all, I seen your !Removed!

I decided to turn off the screen one day because I was tired of looking at the navigation maps all the time. It will not stay on audio (frustrating). Of course now I can't get the screen back on. What's the secret to get the screen back on?

Thanks.

I would also like if the Audio screen was default rather then the map. Is that possible?

I cannot get the oil change reset to go away. It says oil maint reqd and when I try to reset, it will not go away. The manual says to clear the screen, but it inly will show Trip A, Trip B, or odometor?? I have tried holding it down turning the car on and off etc. but nithing will make it go away??

Also, does anyone know how to program the locks so that all 4 doors will unlock when you turn the car off?

here's a lot of stuff, and I think both are covered.

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=216004

I don't know about the Lexus upgrade, BUT.... you can always get one on those Tom Tom portable units (or another brand). If you found one you like with street voice and stuff, you could plug it into the VAIS iPOD adapter that is sold for the Lexus (it also has an AUX input) so that it would play thru the stereo speakers. The mode button on the steering wheel would toggle between the factory stereo, iPOD, and aux input which would be the portable Nav device. I know a Lexus solution would be best, but even IF the upgrade did everything you want, I bet they would charge a fortune.

thanks for the help...got it to work...did you have any trouble ith the ipod skipping(screen)... or with the controls on the screen?

no screen problems, and it plays fine, but if you skip to a track manually (steering wheel button), about half of the time the song will pause (mute) a second about 3 or 4 seconds into the track. I think it has a problem buffering the song when the ipod hard drive moves to a future track. the good thing is that it is a clean mute so the speakers don't blast off and on, and it never does this during continuous play. my only grip with the ipod itself is that I have a lot of my live CDs on it, and the ipod puts a gap between tracks.

Hey Guys,

If anyone has installed this unit in their car please let me know if you needed a special adapter for the 06 GS300 awd/dvd/Navi/6 disc/ w/ Mark Levinson package. They say to remove and plug in the 20 pin plug in to their harness but i have looked all over the back of the oem head unit and cant find a 20 pin plug anywhere... any feedback would be appericated.

Look at the "sticky" post at the top of the forum that says DVD Bypass is finally here. It shows pictures of how to remove the head unit and make the modification for that topic, but the pictures also show all of the connectors too. I did both the bypass and installed the Vais adapter, and everything was as described. The pictures in the bypass post really help. If you have an '06, I can't imagine your's being different?? Good luck!

I have the ML system as well and felt it needed more solid bass so i had two Alpine 10's installed along with two Alpine V12 amps. Now it sounds great.

Hey Stakin Chips,

I am also adding subs. where did you pick up the input and trigger for your alpine amp? and where did you mount the subs (or enclosure)? I had a stereo shop put a speaker to line adapter on (he patched it in at the existing sub woofer, but one channel is bad). I would like to get it between the headunit and amp. My sub box has 2 JL Audio 12" subs facing rear. I would like to buile a custom box, bolted to the rear seat. I was wondering what someone with the same car did?

thanks, Bob

Yes, its me again!!! You would think I'd be out driving or something!!! My wife confirms, "cardirect", which just has to be hooked into some dealer group somehow. She walks in with that in hand, asks for the fleet guy (also sometimes BS), hands him the print out and asks if you can do it, no BS. He/She will immediately offer BS, it is in their collective blood. Shut them down and ask "yes or "No". Not to be sexist, but they typically are, if you are female bring a male, regardless briong a "partner", someone to "step out for air" with. Make that person the "heavy" if they don't mind. If you have a trade in, sell it for a great pice private. Even a great price private will beat by K's what you will be offered. Otherwise ... birm limits and boundries, remember they are NOT your friend, to borrow a quote from the movies "Ronin" ... "if there is doubt, there is no doubt". You could always go through a broker too for a moderate fee. They have their go also. That's the best I can do. Lexus has been pretty fair with us, but I think it depends on the dealership and we have our "routine" pretty well mastered/rehersed. One more time ... just because I sentimental to the Army folks (6 years here) DO NOT GO ALONE, EVEN IF YOU WERE A RANGER OR SOME OTHER HARDCORE MOS, IT WON'T MATTER, REMEMBER THE BUDDY SYSTEM!!! Break a leg!!!

I bought mine from Lexus of South Bay (south of LA Airport). I had printed out the Cars Direct price from the website and asked the salesman if he wanted to sell me a car for that price. He said yes. It was painless. There are plenty of dealers in the LA area, so I wasn't emotional about walking away if I didn't get the price I thought I *should*. I actually drove there from Lexus of Cerretos where they tried to wear me down and juggle numbers, and try to make me feel stupid. I wont let anyone treat me like that again! 15 minutes is all it should take to get a yes or no from the Sales manager. I told both dealers that I didn't want to tell them how much they had to sell their car for, only how much I was willing to pay :) Really, it's simple yes or no. I drove my new car home an hour later after all of the post sales paperwork. South Bay Lexus didn't kiss my !Removed!, they were very professional and I would recommend them to anyone for that! BTW, Longo indicated they wanted to deal my price, but never got the color/ML/nav combo I wanted before I tried others.

both of my "sideview" mirrors pan down in reverse. the center, inside "rearview" mirror does not.

I, too, am interested in an ipod add-on and looking for feedback from anyone with the dice HD w/ipod or the vaistech or whatever else is out there.

/clicks subscribe to thread

I have the vais and like it, but it only does playlists. at the time, it was the only

"real" option.

now the dice unit looks like it browses with all of the ipod options?

here's the link...

http://www.diceelectronics.com/ipod_integration.htm

I am curious to see if it works good, or at all on the gs with nav and ML sound?

If anyone gets this, or finds out new info, please post. at $169, it looks good, but I would like to hear from someone that trys it.

Keep in mind that with the iPod and vais unit, there is a slight pause between tracks. I play many of my CDs that I ripped to my iPod that were recorded live, and the gap between tracks is annoying. Sometimes one tune is supposed to transisition to the next song, and sometimes it is just applause. I just live with it, but wish there was a way around it.

Which iPod do you have? i.e. my first gen Nano has the pause inbetween tracks and it's got nothing to do with the VAIS unit.

I have the 60 gig model whatever it was called. You are correct; the gap between tracks has nothing to do with the VAIS unit. I was just saying I have that combo/system, and it is something that really bothers me. The VAIS unit only accesses playlists, but 99 is plenty, and the 1st 12 are directly accessible. It really is pretty cool, and the iPOD itself lets you organize your music by artist/album/track, also VERY cool. Itunes also is pretty cool :)

Overall, this beats any system I ever had. I just wish I could change a setting to remove the gaps, and maybe someday there will be a more versatile interface to use more of the iPODs ways to access your library.

Recently, I got an oil change performed on my 2006 GS300 and I did not use the Lexus dealer. I now need to reset the "oil maintenance required" message that displays on the dashboard. Does anyone have the instructions to do that?

from Clublexus:

Are you getting the OIL MAINT RESET message? If so, here's how to get rid of it:

1. Push the “ODO TRIP” switch in the switch box to

change the display to blank.

2. Turn the engine switch off.

3. Turn the engine switch on with the trip meter “RESET”

switch held down.

4. Keep pushing the “RESET” switch for longer than 7

seconds after the engine switch is turned on.

After the above operation, the master warning light comes

on, a warning tone sounds and the above message

appears to inform you that the engine oil maintenance

data has been reset.

Although I got my oil change today, on schedule, I was annoyed that a RED warning light stayed on. I did the steps above over the weekend to get rid of the warning.... AND IT WORKS! :)

Each album is already in a separate folder. Putting the track number in the title had occurred to me, but that's pretty labor (labour?) intensive. Clearly, the MP3 support in my Lexus is very thinly programmed; it should pick pick up the track info (as well as other attributes) from the ID tags in the MP3 files themselves. I was hoping someone would tell me I had just missed something obvious. I'm thinking of getting a VAIS SoundLinQ to connect an iPod; the dealer said he could install it for me for about $200 USD. Then, I could bring along ALL my music and playlists would supplant folders (and presumably play in the correct order).

Keep in mind that with the iPod and vais unit, there is a slight pause between tracks. I play many of my CDs that I ripped to my iPod that were recorded live, and the gap between tracks is annoying. Sometimes one tune is supposed to transisition to the next song, and sometimes it is just applause. I just live with it, but wish there was a way around it.

My question is, what is the different between "Octane Rating 87" and "Research Octane Number 91"?

Back in the day, octane was rated 2 different ways, one was Research, and the other was Motor. Different gas stations posted whichever they wanted, usually the one that had the highest number. After regulation, most pumps now say "R+M/2" which would be the avarage of the two. I don't know about the AWD, but I put 87 octane in my '06 GS300 and it runs great, and I get about 26 MPG. Of the 14K miles I put on it, I only tried premium 92 octane once and could not tell the difference. Not scientific. but it's my story and I'm sticking to it. :)

I don't work for them. I just answered the question. I happen to have the car and the adapter, and I am happy with it.

Has anyone installed any ipod integration to work with the existing NAV/stereo?

Not the FM transmitter stuff, the direct wire connection to the from the ipod to the NAV.

Thanks

I have the VAIS adapter and it is GREAT! I put it behind the nav system and ran the cable thru a slot I burned with a hot knife in the side of the glove box where the manual WAS. I covered the opening with masonite with black velvet over it, so I can remove it to update the play lists when I want. There is a "sticky" post at the top of this forum to show how to remove all the stuff to do a DVD bypass (which I also did), but the instructions on how to pull the nav unit are a BIG help!

the VAIS adapter lets you program up to 99 play lists that act like a multi disk changer. You can access each with the >> button on screen forward or backwards (and if you toggle another button, the >> is fast forward/rewind), but the 1st 12 can ce accessed directly on the screen too. The next track buttons on the steering wheel access the tracks.

I went several months without touching the iPod, and just this weekend updated some of my playlists. Don't bother with cassette or FM adapters... I tried them and they just wasted my money. This unit can eaisly be self installed. Hope this helps.

I have a 2006 GS 300 and it is truly a car to be proud of. Color is very important. I have silver and I think it is just OK. I seen one in the dark gray with chrome wheels and I thought it looked much better then my car. Obviously the more expensive the car, the more prestige (IS vrs GS), but for me the V6 has plenty of power and I average 24-25 MPG :)

Do you 06 GS owners do it yourself or do you take it to the dealer to have them perform this? I'm gonna be getting the 350 this week so I wanted to see how difficult it is to get this done.

The dashboard information screen tells you when you get close to 5k miles everytime you start the car, so I would assume the person who changes the oil has to (know how to) reset the computer. I assume it does not reset like the gas milage computer which resets automatically when you refill your tank??? I know that reset is not mearly opening the fuel door or removing the cap, but it does reset when you put in gas. :) Not sure about the oil reminder though, and am wondering about which other services it is going to remind me of?

Judging from the way you worded your question, you sound like me and want a great car with a great reputation, but do not want to be married to the dealer for services? I guess I could find out some more (maybe) by reading the manual, but it is as big as some phone books and much is filled with saftey disclaimer messages.

its not verizon, its the phones, motorola e815s were the best, but they discontinued them, what also works great is LG phones for any carrier, razar is just one of the worst phones out there, not reconmended

wow, too bad they seem cool, and people I know that have them like them (not for the car bluetooth). I wonder about the new upcoming KRZR? I guess we'll have to wait until it's released, but it looks nice!

thanks for all the replies!

boB

Hello all,

I have had my 2006 GS300 with nav and ML stereo for several months now, but it isn't until the end of August that I can upgrade my cell phone or even change carriers if needed to use the Bluetooth.

I currently have Verizon Wireless and am leaning toward the Razr. I am interested in what any of you have to say about any of the carriers and phones you are using in your Lexus by using the Bluetooth (good or bad).

thanks, boB