terry993

Mine was $240 to replace including programming by the dealer. It was leather covered. I suspect the puppy took it out in the yard, had a good chew and buried it.

i need info i want to buy a 2010 250is need to know if the ride is smooth or rough because i have a lower back problem thank you.

In my experience of 25 years of lower back pain, a smooth or harsh ride will not make it worse.

A seat without firm lower back support, however, will cause pain on longer drives of an hour or more.

I find the Lexus IS seats not nearly firm enough for my back.

Has anybody had the Lexus tech check the idle stabilizer valve?

From experience on another car, they do get fouled and a flap fails to open or close.

Can be taken out and cleaned, but not an expensive part to just replace.

I had it done on a couple other high end cars. Regrettably, not on the Lexus, and it shows after 22K miles.

Some dealers have an installer who will put it on before the car leaves the lot.

If not, and you have had to drive it as little as 100 miles before doing it, clay bar the car before applying.

If it is just a small scratch and not down to the metal the best thing would be to try to have it buffed out. You may want to use a product like scatch x and see if you can remove it, it might even take off the touch up paint.

You may get some more help if you posted a pic by the way.

Good luck.

+1 scratch X for light scratches

Perhaps this helps

ipod

You Canadians are lucky. We only get 91 in CA, land of the super green fruit and nut politicians who don't know that more octane in an engine built for it gets you more power and more mpg. Or that too much ethanol causes fuel line and gasket repair bills. It's ok in my self powered lawn mower, because I can't run that fast behind it anyway.

Just for giggles, I put a half tank of 100 race gas in my other high performance car yesterday. That brings the blended average to a 95 you can feel in the butt-o-meter. And that tuners can document on the dyno. They sell 100 at every race track for a reason. Granted, a Lexus is not a race car, but just use what the manual says, no less.

Nice footage bartkat! Nothing like getting off the interstate.

I don't make vids cause I would not dare post them, but this is one of my favorite Montana roads. Too bad it's about 15 hours drive to get there.

and one more

and this aerial shot is just half of MT212

I had ventureshield put on my car a week ago. Every bird dropping and bug will leave a stain in the finish. Ventureshield does not stand behind their product. They informed me it was a porous product, so what did I expect. I had it removed this morning, it was an expensive lesson.

You might want to think twice.

The dealer suggested me to get this with my new car purchase:

http://www.ventureshield.com/

It covers more areas; Bumper, Fender, Hood, Back of the mirrors, Door handles, Door edges, etc... and it's $890.

It's spendy but I called the local shop and the price is about the same. So, the dealer isn't really junking up the price.

Has anyone got this product on your new car?

What do you think?

Sorry this was your experience, mathwhz. Every one of my bird dropings and bugs comes off. Ventureshield on another car. Looks like new again.

My max is about 1K miles/15 hours per day.

===========================================================

So, you recommend driving 500 miles then get a break (how long?) then drive another 500 miles before taking a rest until the next morning?

Depends. If I am on my own, I tank up with a 15 minute break every 300 miles. Drive through burger if I want to make time, sit down for lunch if in no hurry.

If I am with my wife, it costs me a half hour of her browsing the local gift shop for every 2 hours on the road. So we only manage 500 miles/day.

If you do 3+ days of interstate at 1K miles/day to get to Banff, you will not enjoy your ski time. By the time you get home, you will hate the interstate so much you will not want to do another road trip. If you want scenic driving, fly to Denver or SLC and rent a car from there.

As others have suggested, I would fly and rent a car. But I understand if you are determined to satisfy the conflicting adventures of ski vacation and road trip. I have done cross country trips on the interstate and 4x from CA to Banff in my Porsche. Spring, summer and fall. By as many back roads as I could.

The endless boring interstate hours will numb you. My max is about 1K miles/15 hours per day.

If you were going in Spring, I would recommend a detour

Banff via Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks

via MT 212 if it is open.

My XM was $480 installed by the dealer service people. Well worth it on long trips not to have to listen to all that FM yap. If you have Nav and the shark fin already, do not go near the after market units. When I renewed Sirius a few months ago on my wife's MB, they offered $400 for life. I had my CC out before the guy finished the offer.

Some posts mentioned needing the antenna to go up the A pillar rather than using the shark fin. Anyone know if this is the case?

I doubt it. The wiring to the shark fin terminates in the trunk. Add XM box, connect and drive.

So does Lexus make a leather bra for the IS? I cannot find it on the website.

Nope, wish they did!!!

I have clear bra on all my cars. Not a DIY project. I covered a headlight lens myself on another vehicle and it did not come out well. Find an installer who will show you another customer's car, or ask a friend who did theirs if it looks good. Do it on a new or fairly new car, or it will be too late. Prep the paint with polish and clay bar first.

I would not put a leather bra on any car. Flaps in the wind and will scratch the paint underneath if the slightest bit dirty. Paint underneath will discolor at different rate from adjacent uncovered paint.

Have not read the manual, but could the GPS be tied into the dash clck?

'08 Porsche 911 Turbo with adaptive sport seat option. I have recently driven 1K miles in one 15 hour day. Twice in the same week.

That vehicle is probably 3 times the cost of an IS...not a fair comparison there...

I agree, and the IS seats are ok. In all other aspects, the IS has been a very good car for the money.

I agree. Not much side bolster and lower back support compared to some other high end cars.

Just curious what other "high end" cars you were refering to.

'08 Porsche 911 Turbo with adaptive sport seat option. I have recently driven 1K miles in one 15 hour day. Twice in the same week.

'07 MB CLK 550. Wife's. Only marginally better than IS350 considering the premium.

I agree. Not much side bolster and lower back support compared to some other high end cars.

At 34K miles, your 17" had maybe 1/32" tread left. Your new 18" tires start at 8/32" tread depth. There lies the perceived difference in ride.

I have never got more than 20K miles on most cars I have owned. Do you do any cornering, accelerating or braking? :D

I would be interested to know where the ebay seller is getting so many remotes and cheaper than the dealer. At $310, the dealer has an incentive to say it can't be programmed. I don't know which one to believe.

I know how cold it is there. I would ask your local dealer about block heaters, or perhaps the coolant recirculating system on the Prius. As mentioned here

Engine heating blocks and other methods

If your car is in a garage, you would not want it warming up even with the door open.

Here's the block heater I found in the Lexus of Edmonton web site:

Block Heaterº $140.00**

Custom designed for your Lexus providing 400 watts of heating power.

Provides easy cold weather starts reducing engine wear.

Provides faster interior warm-up.

Includes a 'strain relief' electrical cord.

BS.

Put a bottle of Techron in the last tankful before an oil change.

I have run it in my last 4 cars to about 150K miles each, and never had a carbon issue on the intake valve side.

I also use Chevron premium as it has Techron in it, but that is just a personal preference.

The Japanese text under the Nav says: "OK to use while driving."

JK :chairshot:

All my new vehicles have built in Nav, but I used a Garmin Nüvi 350 for 60K miles in an older vehicle and loved it. Even carry it in my wife's MB CLK, as that Nav is so hopeless.

Like Knightshade says, text-to-speech is very important, so useful you won't care what size the display is because you will be listening for directions instead of taking your eyes off the road to look at the display.

I drove 3K miles in Europe in a rental with a tomtom and did not like it as much as the Garmin, but to each their own.

My Porsche buds speak highly of

Colorplus

No affiliation, and never used it myself. Maybe the dealer's detail guy can do it. My wife scratched her MB seat pretty bad getting in with a zipper. Dealer's guy did it for $150 and you cannot tell it from new.

This is a job for an experienced professional.

First check that tire pressures are at recommended levels, and especially the same L to R in front and rear.