David Redfearn

its just a grille up front. there are 3 speakers in ach door and one sub in the rear deck. I looks like you are correct, but it sure sounds like there is a center channel - the imaging is very good. David

You have to be a Cosco member - when you go to the Cosco web site to request a referal, you have to enter your Costco number, and then theoretically, show your Costco card to the dealer to get a quote. They asked to see my card at Vista Lexus (Woodland Hills, CA), but I also got a qote on a BMW 325, and that dealer (Center BMW) gave me a quote over the phone without asking for any information, so I wouldn't be surprised if dealers vary in how they deal with this. You do have to have a Costco number to get the initial referal. Vista Lexus had a form with standard discounts - larger for the 250, smaller for the 350, but I got the larger discount for the 350 I bought. The whole thing was very easy - possibly becasue I had done a lot of research, and said that I was considering the 325i. I dealt with the fleet manager for the quote, but the sale was handled by a regular sales associate (Paige Grant - very nice and efficient). Considering that Thousand Oaks Lexus had quoted me a much higher price just a couple of months earlier, this was a pleasant surprise. They had to trade with another dealer to get me the car I wanted. Given the savings, it might be worth it to buy a Costco membership just to get the quote. David

Obviously, the perception of sound quality varies widely by individual, but I am very happy with the standard system in my IS-350. I traded in an ES-330 with the ML system, and I think the standard system in the IS-350 sounds better than the ML in the 330 - certainly more presence and better imaging. Make sure you have the position control set to your preferences - I have mine set to front passengers - I find that setting it to driver mode makes the sound worse. Also, contrary to the note referenced earlier in this thread, I believe I do have a working center channel speaker in the dash - either that or really great front imaging! I would be very hesitant to change anything - these are very complicated installations.

I'm curious about the speaker configuration betweeen the "standard" Lexus stereo system and the optional Mark Levinson system. The service manual says the Mark Levinson Premium Audio system has 14 speakers - including a center speaker in the middle of the dash. The standard system is not supposed to have this center channel speaker. I have the standard system (no navagation system or Mark Levinson system) yet I do have the central speaker in the dash. Otherwise, the configuration matches what the manual says - the standard system has a tweeter, mid-range and woofer in each of the rear doors, while the Mark Levinson has only a tweeter and mid-range in the rear doors (with 2 extra "satellite" speakers - along with the sub-woofer) on the rear deck. Maybe the service manual is not current with what is being built. Do other owners with the standard system have the central channel speaker? I like the sound a lot - I traded an ES-330 with the Mark Levison package, and I think the standard system in my IS-350 sounds better. David

I drive an IS-350 and my wife drives a 2004 Mini Cooper S. I owned an IS-300, leased an ES-330, and traded the ES for the new IS-350. We live in the West SF Valley (Los Angeles) and I am a VP for a very large Health Insurance Company. David

Actually, the best version of these "manual" autos I have found is the system on the current Suburu - you can run in full automatic, but still kick-down a gear with the manual control. Handy for when you want to blast out of a turn, and don't want to wait for the auto to kick-down itself. I wish the Lexus trany would do that..... David

I haven't tried out the system yet, and probably won't use it much. I had a similar system on an IS-300 I owned, and found that the automatic mode could do a better job than I could choosing the proper shift points. You don't really have "complete" control anyway - it won't let you shift down too much at too high a speed to prevent over-revs, and judging from the owners manual, being in 6th gear means 1-6 are available, in 5th gear, 1-5 are available, and so forth. If you want a more aggrresive shift pattern, you can set the swith to sport mode and get more performance and harder shifts. I would be curious to hear if anyone really uses this feature. David

Bartkat: Thanks for the information. The only problem is that they have the service manual divided into 250 separate PDF files - a hassle to download. But, they also have a section with a lot of very nice product information. I downloaded that also. Much better and cheaper than buying a printed manual! Thanks again. David

Is it possible to buy a service manual for the IS-350 from Lexus? - not that I actually want (or could) do any service work on this car, but I like to read the manuals for the information they provide. Sometimes the manuals have more (and better) information than you can get from dealers. David

I used the Costco program and got an IS-350 for about $1500 over invoice without any negotiation at all. The dealer had a starndard discount they use for the Costco program, and he gave me the 250 discount (which is bigger) even though I bought a 350 - and I didn't get the high-end navation and stereo option, and he had to trade another dealer to get the car. In February, I asked another dealer for a quote and was given a lease price of $650 a month, which I was not interested in. Either he was not serious, or the prices have come down. The dealer I purchased from (Vista Lexus in Woodland Hills) was selling a lot of IS-350s. I dealt with the fleet manager. It was a very pleasant experience. David

So, if the tire pressure sensors are calibrated to 35 PSI, it takes a 10 PSI drop to have the alarm come on? That seems to be a big drop - this car can run at 100 MPH easily - I would not want to run at 80+ with the tires inflated to 25 PSI. I'm going to see what the dealer says...... David

My IS-350 has pressure sensors in the wheels. If I calibrate the sensors to 35/37 PSI (standard inflation) how much can the pressure drop before the warning light comes on? My dealer indicated that they reset the sensors to 27/27 to reduce the number of alarms - but I want to keep the pressure correct.