01 Ultra

It's a nice place to stash your OEM lug nut key, that way you will always know where it is.

If you are looking for a quiet tire that still has performance and will wear well, the Toyo Versado LX's (245/45-18) that I put on my LS last spring are great tires. I just took off my 'winter' set of tires/rims & put these back on & wow, I really like these tires! Yesterday, I was at a parking garage downtown & having to roll the window down to take the parking ticket, I couldn't even hear the tread noise as I was driving around in the garage looking for a parking space. No squiek or squeel - total silence. They are just as quiet out on the highway doing 70 mph. For your size, 225/55-16, they have a 'V' speed rating, and a 40,000 mile treadwear warranty.

The Versado LX's will fall right into that price range if what you want to do is remount the tires on the stock rims every change over (summer/winter). The Versado's also come in exact size replacements (225/55-17) in either H or V ratings. The H rated tires would probably hold up to the gravel a bit better, have a 60,000 mile warranty & they are a few bucks cheaper. I know there are numerous other posts here delving into the H vs. V ratings debate, you can read them & decide for yourself. Also, as mentioned above, invest in a good set of mud flaps - the LS does not have the thickest of paint...and buy a couple bottles of touch up paint to keep those paint dings covered.

If you are looking for tire and rims for $600.00 for the set, I think that's a bit low. One of the problems that you will run into with the LS is that it has very large brake calipers (BBK's - or Big Brake Kit) and not too many rims will work. I ended up going with 18" TSW Vortex rims in silver, with 245/45-18 Toyo Versado LX tires. I am very happy with the look & ride quality, but I'm not sure how the tires would hold up on the gravel road - not sure of how well any highway tread tire will hold up for that daily abuse. Anyway, the total was around $1,200.00 mounted, balanced, installed with shipping & handling included. I did quite a bit of pricing on the Internet & ended up getting them through Discount Tire which matched the best price that I could find.

I agree about the amp - that is what the dealer told me needed to be replaced when I asked them about my sound problem. There have been a few posts regarding this issue, with a few thinking that it may be a loose connection at the amp, but I for one don't have the time or think it's that big of an issue to go tearing apart the trunk to get to the amp to try to isolate it. Good luck & if you find anything out, please keep us posted.

The KDWS's are definately 'Ultra performance' tires. Not that the LS doesn't have the power to light em up if needed, but it's really not a performance sedan. I upgraded to 18" Toyo Versado LX's (from Discount Tire) & have been extremely happy with them also - my other choice would have been to stay in the Michelin line. Nice to hear you came back around to getting pleasure from the best vehicle out there!!

I had mine removed about a year ago - it's sketchy reception (being an analog system) drove me nuts. They replaced the buttons with a decent sized fold down sunglass holder. If the wife needs a message recorder, there are a lot of small digital voice recorders out there that could easily be left in the car - some small enough to be concealed in the flip down ashtray cover.

Have you tried driving the car to warm it up (a short drive to the store or gas station) & then after you shut if off & start it back up, the radio sound may come back. I have had the same problem with my 01 LS for a couple of years & it seems that when the temp drops below 25 degrees or so, it developes the same problem.

I purchased a set of Toyo Versado LX's (245/45-18's) for my 01 for 'summer' use tires, and have been very happy with them. I would probably use them for winter use also, but here in Minnesota, they use a lot of salt for the roads & it would eat away the nice rims that I purchased with the 18" size upgrade.

I'll try to keep up on the posting as to how they wear. I'm using them as my 'summer set' of tires & rims, so not too many miles on them yet. Also, I upsized them to 245/45-18 (which have a 'V' rating), so they may wear a little faster than stock 17's (which have a 'H' rating).

I have Toyo's Versado LX's on my 01 & am very happy with them so far. Very quiet & comfortable ride even with the upsizing to 18" tires/rims. They even have a commercial out with them advertised on a LS430, so they are made for larger luxury cars.

I put a set of Toyo Versado LX's on my 01 & have been very pleased with them - I also am not concerned with sporting handling, just a nice quiet comfortable ride.

I have been very happy with the Toyo Versado LX's that I purchased last summer. But if you have run flats, just about any non run flat will make a big difference.

The $1700 was for both the 90K & 120K services and a tranny flush & fill (perferred recommendation @ 120K). The dealer quoted me $800.00 for just the timing belt/water pump replacement. I could have gotten it a lot cheaper at an independent, but this way I know it was done properly. If you are willing to do some/most of the fluid changes yourself, you would certainly be able to save quite a bit from the dealer costs. As mentioned before, a site that I have used for parts only is from Sewell Lexus @ http://www.lexus-parts.com. Good luck with your new ride & have as much pleasure driving it as we all do.

It will also disengage if there is too much glare from the sun - expecially at sunset & the sun is low enough in the sky to directly affect the sensor. If you feel you must have your cruise control on during certain times that the radar cruise will not work, you can alway change it over to standard (non-radar controlled) cruise. In my 01, you do that by pulling back on the control lever for a couple of seconds & that will turn off the radar control feature - just be carefull to remember that you will NOT maintain a set distance behind the vehicles in front of you with the standard cruise!

I'm with them too, and I agree! You can't beat USAA premiums, home, auto, renters, jewelry, you name it! Absolutely one of the best companies to do business with - they also offer affiliation discounts with a bunch of vendors nationwide - been a member for 20 some years & have never had a problem with any of their services!

I just had my LS430 in for both the 90K & 120K services (odo read 114,892 - I intentionally waited this long to get the timing belt changed with all of the other services for the 120K, but that just may be my gambling nature). Anyway, total cost (with a new battery thrown in - the cold Minnesota winters took it's toll on the old one) came to just over $1700.00 from the dealer & for that much engine work, I trust the dealer to not screw something up, as opposed to a non-lexus certified mechanic. They also informed me I needed new brakes @ $369.00 per axle (the pads still had life in them, but the ABS sensor that clips into the pad was about to rub the rotors) - took it to a trusted AAA independent shop for this & only spent $420.00 total.

You can certainly post in the buy/sell forum & try to sell them here, or you could list them on ebay. What brand/size are they?

Just piping in with my 2 cents, but about 8 months ago I had windshield replaced with Safelite. I think that my insurance company (USAA) has some kind of connection with them, but I have been very happy with it. No distortion, no noise & I have had a couple of road rocks bounce off of it this winter already - with no cracks or chips (fingers crossed & knocking on wood). I too was worried about non-OEM replacement, but for the cost difference (about $1500.00 net), I really couldn't see having my insurance pay for the non deductable portion. If everyone insured with them demanded OEM glass, I would really hate to see what the premiums would become. Anyway, another option for you to maybe check out.

As for the tires, have you looked into Toyo - I have the Versado LX's on my LS & I am very happy with them. I actually plus sized them to 18" (with TXW rims) & they are just as quiet & comfortable as the 17" Michelin Energy's on OEM rims that I kept for winter driving.

It happens to my 01 UL just about every morning with the winter here in Minnesota, but the sound has never just disappeared after it was on in the first place. Was the sound audible as you had the key in the accessory position & then quit when you started it or was it audible after you started it & then disappeared? So far, the dealers have just said that it is a problem with the amplifier, and that would need to be replaced (approx. $750.00). It really doesn't seem to me to be a problem with the amp if it works just fine during the warmer months & only does this disappearing act below freezing - I don't really feel like dishing out that kind of money just to have the amp replaced only to find out that isn't the problem. No I had turned the car on and started moving. I noticed the sound went out as I was backing out of my driveway. I asked the dealer and they said they didn't know anything about it. As long as it comes back on I don't have a problem with it, well not if the fix is 750 bucks. I have also read on another thread that it could possibly be a problem with the phone or Lexus Link if your LS is so equipped. Mine had the Lexus Link, but I had the dealer install the sunglass holder under one of the service bulletins thinking that might be the problem - it wasn't, but the Lexus Link was pretty useless anyway only being analog.

It happens to my 01 UL just about every morning with the winter here in Minnesota, but the sound has never just disappeared after it was on in the first place. Was the sound audible as you had the key in the accessory position & then quit when you started it or was it audible after you started it & then disappeared? So far, the dealers have just said that it is a problem with the amplifier, and that would need to be replaced (approx. $750.00). It really doesn't seem to me to be a problem with the amp if it works just fine during the warmer months & only does this disappearing act below freezing - I don't really feel like dishing out that kind of money just to have the amp replaced only to find out that isn't the problem.

After 6 mos. (approx 12K miles), these tires have remained very quiet, smooth & perform very well. I had them rotated every 5K & did not notice any wear. I just took them off for the winter (replaced with the stock 17" rims & Michelin tires), but for the few snow storms that I had them on for, they also handled the snow/ice very well. I would recommend these tires for just about any normal driving conditions. I know that there are some out there that treat their Lexus like a Porsche (and swear that they need ultimate performance tires), but for the 'normal' everyday driver, I don't think that you could go wrong with a set of these.

Dave - I also have an 01 Ultra with the same audio problem, and the dealer told me the same thing - replace the amp. I usually wouldn't argue the point, but $750.00 for a new ML amp is a bit steep, and I have found that this problem ONLY occurs during the winter, usually when the temp drops below freezing and if the vehicle hasn't warmed up. If the vehicle has been driven and had a while to warm up, the audio doesn't usually have a problem. I have also found that if you turn the ignition off & then restart it (sometime it will take a few restarts), for some reason the audio comes back. If anyone out there would care to venture a guess as to why this happens, I would certainly like to give a try to fixing this annoying issue. One last thing - I did have the Lexus Link, but I had the dealer take it out (it was analog only) & replace it with a sunglass holder (they did it for free under a tech service bulletin). I figured that the lexus link may have been the problem, but the audio issue still remained after the removal.