01 Ultra

My '01 idles at a constant 600 - yours definately shoudn't be @ 1200.

No, my '01 has the warning chime and also will display 'Moonroof Open' in the dash display if you open the drivers door with it left open. Could be that the personal options menu has been tinkered with & when she is 'unlocking' the car with the remote she may be holding the unlock button down long enough for the sunroof to open. The options can be set for various openings of windows and/or moonroof.

I have to agree with IS400 - better looking wheels are a must. I upgraded to 18" TSW Vortex rims last year & IMHO, it makes a big difference. As far as chillin' them puppies down, I will have to defer to her womanly insticts ;-) I do love the articulating vents though, it makes the frostbitten knuckles a thing of the past. Can't really say which option is my favorite, everything on my UL is incredible - once you have it, you don't want to be without it!

You can list it on one of the online car sales sites - such as Autotrader.com, Carsoup.com or such. If you have pictures, or can have someone take pictures of it, it helps a lot - everyone wants to see what they are going to be buying. They also only charge a one time fee that is good until it sells. Best of luck.

Reza - Another vehicle for possible consideration would be the Acura TL. It seems to be a bit more centered between the luxury of the ES, and the sportiness of the G. Consumer Reports ranks it very high on both owner satisfaction and reliability. Best of luck & let us know what you decide.

Here is a link to the installation for the update: http://www.sewellpartsonline.com/import/pdf/nav_install.pdf

The nav unit is in the trunk under the carpeted paneling - I beleive it is on the passenger side.

Definately understand the shying away from the Toyo brand - just thowing in my 2 cents worth for the new Versado's. Anyway you can't go wrong with Michelin's - either speed rating. The H's cost less to begin with, and will wear better, so economically that would be the best route. Performance wise, just depends on your driving style/aggressiveness - personally, I don't think that the difference between an H rated (130 mph 'sustained speeds') and the V rated (149 mph) is worth the $45.00 extra. I put the V rated on last year simply for the fact that is what they had available the quickest.

I've had a few posts regarding the Toyo Versado LX's that I put on my LS last year (V rated 245/45-18) - about 20,000 miles ago, and still love these tires. Very quiet still, great handling and performance (I'm a bit older now & more settled in my driving style, and I don't pretend that my LS is a Porshe) and appear to have plenty of tread left - I use a set of dedicated snow tires here in Minnesota, so at least a couple more years left on this set. They are available in H or V ratings, with the advantages/disadvantages that you are already aware of. Anyway, just throwing another manufacturer out there for your consideration. Let us know what you decide!

Here are a few other sources: Lexus Parts Online - $22.40 each Sewell Parts Online - $28.00 each Iron Toad - $45.70 each Obviously prices will vary drastically - I called my Dealership (originally quoted $42.00 each) & they matched the Sewell price, so I just went & picked them up there.

The position of the ect switch doesn't necessarily cause strain on the engine or transmission. It will alter the transmission 'shift points' for a more aggressive style of driving (tranny will hold gears a bit longer, & will shift at a higher engine rpm). You can do the same thing with the switch in 'normal' position and have the transmission 'learn' your driving style (hence the name 'Electronically Controlled Transmission'). If you have a heavy foot and floor the gas pedal when accelerating from every stop, the 'shift points' will be at a much higher rpm and the tranny and engine will take more 'abuse' also. It really just depends upon your driving style, how much you want to put your foot into the pedal, and how much abuse you want to dish out on your vehicle.

There is a drawer in the front of the seats, just above the filters. If you pull this drawer out all the way, it will come out & you can see the clips that hold the filter in place (you will be able to see one side anyway - the other side is tucked up closer to the transmission tunnel, but is in exactly the same place/position). You can put you hand in through the hole left by the drawer removal & press the tops of the clips down to remove the filter.

Be carefull that you don't run the fan motor(s) without the filters in place - the airflow will be much better, but anything that is left under the seat can be sucked into the motor & I'm sure that would be fairly expensive to replace! The correct part number for the filters is: 88921-50010 and they are the same for both the drivers and passengers side.

I'll jump on that Rant train!! Drive it or Park it, you can't do both at the same time.

I remember reading those posts earlier, but decided to chance it on feedback that I'm sure they received from their customers. Hopefully they took that seriously when they put out their 'Luxury Touring' Versado tire. So far so good though, and I am still very happy with them.

I only have about 18K on this set of Versado's (I use dedicated winter tires here in Minnesota), but they are still very quiet & smooth. They seem to have good treadwear & I expect to get at least another 30-35K from the current amount of tread still left on them. I will definately keep posting updates, but for the $180.00 each I paid for them, they have been a great tire (hopefully I'm not jinxing myself here!!).

mannye - I have a set of Toyo Versado LX's on my LS - I upgraded to the 18" size (245/45-18), and I love these tires. They are a V rated tire, so they will still have some 'performance' aspects, but they are made for full size luxury cars with comfort & quiet in mind. I purchased mine from Discount Tire - they don't typically 'stock' this tire, they were able to order them for me and have them in a couple of days. Good luck on your search & let us know what you end up with.

Sorry to hear about the accident - glad everyone is safe! As far as the year for radar (adaptive) cruise control, reclining rear seats, heated & cooled seats go, I think the '01 was the first year (my '01 Ultra came with all of these as a package - with the air suspension also) to have all of these items, but then again, if covered under insurance, why not look for a good '05 or '06!

With the incredible reliability of the LS, there really isn't an issue with one model year over any other. It really just boils down to your personal preference & the options that the car has. I have an '01 with the Ultra package and haven't had any problems or issues (aside from a freak occurance with the radio that sometimes doesn't work the first time the car is started when the temperature is below freezing). A few will say to stay away from the air suspension, but so far (please don't jinx me now), there hasn't been any problems with that either, and I have over 122K. If you do find one you like, make sure that the 90K service has been done (timing belt, water pump, etc..). This is one of the major services, and it can be fairly costly - about $1,500.00 +/- at a dealership. The other thing would be the brakes (if you don't do them yourself), they can be about $800.00 from the dealership also. Good luck & keep us posted.

Just letting others out there know that with very minimal effort - if the lenses are not that bad to begin with - you can give it a try for under $6.00. I'm sure that any lens out there that has been left without attention for long enough will definately need a much more aggresive treatment.

I just tried a Meguiar's product called PlastX - was strolling through the mens mall - otherwise known as Mills Fleet Farm & picked up a bottle. Just tried a bit while I was still in the parking lot & wow, what a difference. I keep a microfiber cloth in the car for quick wipe ups & all I did was rub a dab of it around in small circles and then polished it off with the other half of the cloth. Total time for cleaning both headlights was about 10 minutes. A very quick & easy fix. I'm sure that if you wanted to, you could spend a whole lot more time & money and get a little bit better clarity, but for the approximate $6.00 it took - and a few funny looks from the other people in the parking lot - I'm very happy.

It's one of the buttons on the dash that you push & hold for about 3 seconds - I think it's either the 'Off' or 'Climate' button.

Very nice - you will enjoy it for many years to come - just keep up the routine maintenance. From the previous post, sounds like you got a good deal also. Post any questions - we're all in this together.

I will have to admit that the driving habits of overseas drivers are way different from the US. I can see why the brakes may have worn 'prematurely' due to the beautiful road systems that they have which allow much higher rates of speed. But, with the higher speeds, there will inherently be a need for increased braking power. Brembo makes a 'GT - Big Brake Upgrade Kit' that looks like it would hold up a bit better for your style of driving. I would keep in mind though that because the LS is so big and heavy, with bringing it down from such high rates of speed, it is going to chew up just about any brake pads.

You can switch any time, but the transmission will not change modes until you accelerate. If you are in the 'normal' mode & change to 'power' while driving, the transmission will know that when you step on the gas pedal hard, you want it to downshift & hold onto that gear for a bit longer (more aggresive driving style). If you are in the 'normal' mode and you change to 'snow' mode, the transmission will not allow you to down shift and accelerate as aggresively. Same for upshifting - say you are at a stop & change from 'normal' to 'snow', it will automatically start out in 2nd gear & limit the power you can apply to the rear wheels. Same goes for switching from 'normal' to 'power' from a stop, if you hit the gas hard, it will keep 1st gear a bit longer than normal, then 2nd a bit longer etc....