smooth1

I don't know Sw. Around here I see em for 35K now all day long. Here, look at this one: http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u...mp;rdpage=thumb And that's just walking up to the car price.

I would just turn it in and walk away. Leases are for people who don't care about car payments, and just want a new car every few years. Not for people who want to buy them. I wouldn't compound the mistake here by buying the car after leasing. The residual amount is pretty much set by the lease agreement you signed 3 years ago. If you want a good deal on a used LS, just go and negotiate on a completely different car. Don't be afraid to be aggressive also here now, There are alot of really great deals to be had on Lexus' right now seeing as all that is happening in the world and with thier reputation under scrutiny as well. My dad always said, if you want the best deal, you have to be willing to walk away first.

The car may have gone into a limp mode, which is designed to save the engine and protect it. But again, I can't really diagnose your car over the web like this. Take it in to a qualified tech to find out what is going on with your car. Once you have that info, then we can be of more help as to how to maybe save you some money and get it fixed.

It's hard to tell from here. You'll need to take it in and have them scan the ecu and test the 02's to figure out which ones need to be replaced and which ones are miss reading because of the fuault codes. DO NOT RESET THE ECU!!! The tech will need to read the info there to make it easier. the hand held scanners at the parts stores only read the codes and can interpret the basic info. the scanners the techs use at Toyota can tell them much more info. You probalby have a heater wire issue. It's a known problem. If they say they have to replce the 02's, you can buy them on ebay pretty cheap, but make sure you stay with Denso's. Don't use Bosch or some generic, as Denso's seem to be the only ones that work right.

A dyno? Who told you that? You probably just need to replace the 02 sensors. But you might want to bring it in to the dealer first to confirm. If the 02 sensors aren't working, then they are sending the wrong signal to the ECU causing the lean/rich air mixture.

LOL!! I would have thought the bigger lesson is to not dump unkown crap into your car while in a drunken stupor! ;)

Looks great! Suspension work to come? How much boost are you running?

Yeah, I been watching the news and weather reports, dang that's alot of snow. But I was hearing the wind gusts were what was making it so bad. I remember when I lived up north for the blizzard of 78 as well. I had no idea how bad it was until I dug a hole out the front door to get out of the house and stepped back to see the entire house was under a huge snow drift! Well, atleast half way burried in it .

They played a great game and deserved to win. No controvercial win there. They BEAT the Colts. Great game. Congrats to all the Saints, and thier fans.

We'll see. People forget pretty quickly... Yeah, look how many times have we forgiven GM.

I wouldn't waste my time with the Saab. If your liking the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, then atleast give the Nissan 370 a spin also. It costs more, but it's nice and tight, and they really juiced the acceleration. Crazy enouph, of the list of cars you have in this post, I think I would be leaning on the Mustang. There's been this voice in my head again, calling softly. LOL!!! The front end of the new Mustangs is just so cool lookin! And they are finally getting the interior right! Not to mention all the suspension improvements they have been making to the car which I thought was the weakest point of the Mustang a few years back. But not anymore. The only thing I would change out is the rear tail lights. For some reason the back of the Mustang just doesn't look right. I agree with your taste re: the rear end of the Mustang. 'Something' is just not right. They still have solid rear axle, though, and that is soooo... obsolete. The solid axle does still have some advantages. Particularly with high hp vehicles. Go to the drag strip and see what every car there is running, and keep in mind where the Mustang came from. But that doesn't mean I don't also agree that maybe it's time to atleast offer a fully independant system, even if in the beginning as an optional upgrade. Don't forget, new car today, Frankenstien racer tomarrow. Ford and Chevy still have a responsibility to a whole other class of car buyer to supply usable racing parts for an entirely different market of racers also. So some of what they use has to stay in production or your going to have an uprising on your hands. Agreed. The new 5.0 is getting right with the world again.

I've had mine both ways, but I didn't have a problem with either way. I just did it to the sharkfin cause it was cool. LOL! And I didn't have to have that little black box thing anymore. You might want to call Sirius/XFM and have them to a signal reset thing also. I'm pretty sure they have a signal diagnotsic that can tell them if you have an issue with the unit, or if you have a code issue before taking it to the dealer and them telling you there is nothing wrong with the unit.

I wouldn't waste my time with the Saab. If your liking the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, then atleast give the Nissan 370 a spin also. It costs more, but it's nice and tight, and they really juiced the acceleration. Crazy enouph, of the list of cars you have in this post, I think I would be leaning on the Mustang. There's been this voice in my head again, calling softly. LOL!!! The front end of the new Mustangs is just so cool lookin! And they are finally getting the interior right! Not to mention all the suspension improvements they have been making to the car which I thought was the weakest point of the Mustang a few years back. But not anymore. The only thing I would change out is the rear tail lights. For some reason the back of the Mustang just doesn't look right.

Ok, where to begin..... First, this 06 IS250 you have now, you must have purchased used correct? I see this is your second 06 IS250? So the carbon build up could be a remnant of the previuos owner yes? And they very well could have used cheap gas. In fact, what the tech is talking about regarding carbon build up so far sounds like an issue that can arise from using 87 octane fuels in a 92 octane system. I don't believe this has anything to do your issue, but it is possible when you also take into consideration your location. Engines in colder regions take longer to heat up in the winter, and can have a bit more carbon build up as a result. Is carbon build up the problem here? I don't really think so. It sounds to me like the tech was just giving you some good advice regarding that issue for your future information. So they did a compression test huh? You must be a PIA customer. LOL!! Are you taking this to a dealer? The weakness of a compression test however is that throttle position, engine temperature, ambient air temperature, and a host of other factors can make the results vary considerably. What's worse, a compression test checks too many engine components at the same time. A poor reading can indicate so many things, it's hard to tell which engine part is at fault without doing a lot of other tests. A leakdown test avoids this difficulty. Air is pumped into the cylinder from an outside source, and the gauge reads the percentage that escapes, which not only eliminates all of the afore-mentioned variables, but as a bonus, makes it a simple matter to pinpoint the source of the leakage by wiggling and rotating engine parts while the test is underway. For example: Let's say your engine begins to have smoke coming out the tail pipe. You have a shop look at it. Good results from a compression test combined with the smoking leads them to a diagnosis of trashed valve guides. Seems reasonable and you approve the work. But, the engine still smokes. Now you really have a problem, not to mention the shop you took it to. Enter Mr. Supertech, who produces a leakdown tester, and performs the following test. On each cylinder in turn, he finds TDCC, sets up the tester, and reads the percentage of leakage. They're all good and low. Hmm. Undaunted, our hero retests each cylinder, but this time he lowers the pressure setting on the instrument, and, rotating the crankshaft a smidge each time to slide the piston down the bore a little, picks up the problem, plain as day. On the #4 cylinder, the gauge now reads 60% leakdown when the piston is partway down the bore, indicating cylinder damage, which the teardown verifies. Seems one of those pesky wristpin circlips wasn't all the way into its groove. It subsequently popped out, and the wristpin tore a handsome trench into the cylinder wall. Why didn't the shop find it when the head was pulled for the valve job? Because two of the four pistons were at TDC. Why didn't the compression test pick it up? Because despite the trench, there was still plenty of cylinder area (the pin is more than an inch below the deck) in which to build adequate pressure during a compression test. This actually happened, and it illustrates both the weakness of a compression test and the comparitive strength of a leakdown test. Ok, on to the your problem at hand. You said the issue was a rattle from a stop to when you begin moving? The rattle sound isn't when your starting the car is it? I want to be clear here. The car is already started, and running. You have engaged first gear and your about to engage the cltuch when you hear this rattling sound as the car begins to move. And it only does it at this point. Coorect or no? If not, then tell me exactly when it happens.

You'll have to soak them in liquid wrench for a few hours. The day your going to swap the exhaust out, go out there in the morning and lay some cardboard or a bunch of newspapaers under the car and just spary all the bolts down real good. Let them soak a few hours, then give em a turn. They should loosen up that way. Right where the flanges are, the spring locks are designed to keep tension on the bolt. So don't be surprised wheen you get a loud creaking and metal popping sound. Those are normal.

I think your cross linked here. This link takes you to Cars.com home page. If you post the right link I can delete it for you.

It's the same. I believe they only tested to the year 03,(HKS does independant compatable and fitment checks.) but 04-05 had no changes. I've put about 100 or so HKS exhausts on all model year IS300's and I've never had a problem.

Yeah, I was dissapointed to say the least when I was ready for the SUV thing as well. It's almost like a "poser" SUV than being a real user SUV. Great for the mom and kids to the store and soccer, not so great for real adventure and outdoor use. As for the power, the more important number is the "average hp and torque" across the rev band, not the peak number. Most V6's take 3000 to 4000 rpm to start being able to really produce power, whereas the V8's produce almost all thier power just off idle around 1000-1500 rpm, even though the "peak" numbers may be the same, the V8 will be a couple car lengths ahead everytime. (If gearing and weight factors are measured and balanced as well.) But I don't think they can put a whole bunch of power on the GX anyway. It's drivetrain and suspension just aren't designed for that. It's designed to be an urban cruiser, and not much else. If you start adding more torque and acdeleration, then your going to need to stiffen the suspension up more to keep it from tilting back everytime you mash the gas, and I really don't think they want to have to do that.

Also, can I just ask why it's such a good idea to have the Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl? I'm just thinking that if I were on the Colts or the Saints team, the last thing I would want is this dang meaningless Pro Bowl game interfering with my time and focus in any way. And I would especially not want to take any risks of injury the week before the biggest game of my life. I'm sure it's good for the sponsors and people who like to figuring out ways to suck money out of all the simpletons, but I know the teams can't be happy about this. And with the way they "play" at the Pro Bowl anyway, they should just make this an Awards ceremony like the Oscars or something instead. It's not like they really play hard in that game. It would give all the players another reason to wear all those huge diamonds and gold teeth with slick suits and million dollar cars. We could roll out the red carpets and bring back Dennis Miller to host the show. Then we could watch some highlight reels of the nominated, and all the kids would be able to worship thier idols.

It was a great game. I knew going in it was going to be a tight scoring game and that 1 big play could drastically change the outcome of this one. I'm not taking anything away from New Orleans. They deserved to win. They played the better game and are going to the Super Bowl. Which is awsome. BUT..........Minnisota self destructed late in the third and early 4th quarter. And that late pick cost them the game. By all accounts, Minnisota woulda/coulda/shoulda won. So in watching that game I think Minnisota exposed alot of things about New Orleans. I really think the Colts have a better defense, and a better running game, and let's face it, a better passing game also. I also think the Colts are better adjusted to this kind of success. The words "Super Bowl" just seems to put a hundred more tons of pressure on the players. This game was at the Saints home. Wait till they have to play with those huge spotlights in thier face at the Super Bowl. So as you can guess, I'm picking the Colts, 34-20. (If Favre and the Vikings can get 450 yds on the Saints, then I'm pretty sure the Colts can also.)

LOL!! That's my wifes car. I took off all the graphics now and it's all just one color. She said it was to flashy. Every kid that pulled up next to her wanted to race all the time. So I toned it down a bit for her. She loves the car now. The turbo swap is like night and day difference. The stock turbo I think runs like 8-10 psi, the new turbo is slightly larger, and I have it set to 16 psi for everyday driving, and I added an intercooler. The car dyno's around 300 hp. Not bad for a little Mitsu/Volvo/Ford. :)

I've been to the LOC network. It looks just like our forum but it is a different group. (I'm not a mod there! ) Is it more of a "world" forum than a regional one? I really like the Lexus dealer rating forum they have there! I think we should have that on our US forum also.

Nice review Steve! I mostly agree with you. Although when it comes to the stereo systems, I hate to break it to you, they almost all come from the same factory. Harmon Kardon owns Lexicon, Mark Levinson, JBL, Crown, Infinity, etc. etc. It's funny that Mark Levinson doesn't even have an automotive electronics line up, yet they supposedly use them "exclusively" in Lexus? It's pretty much the same with Hyundai and a few others. Harmon International

LOL!!!! Just a couple. My Volvo

I too am a sufferer of MCPS. I've been looking around for a "fun" car to add to my RX. I've looked at... Camaro SS Mustang GT IS 350 C SC 430 (There's a nice '09 Pebble Beach at my local dealer right now, marked down $10k) BMW 135i Convertible BMW 335i Convertible BMW M3 Convertible MB CLK550 Cabriolet Audi S5 Cabriolet I just can't decide, I want them all! As soon as I buy a car I see another car I could have gotten and I wonder if I should have gotten that and then a few months later I want something different.:cries: I know exactly what you mean when you say we notice when cars say M, S, F, etc... I was at NAIAS on Sunday and I noticed how many cars had Brembo written on the calipers. While at the show I sat in an LS and I said to myself "Forget the fun car, trade in the RX and get an LS", I've got MCPS bad! Most people don't flip burgers anymore, you press them. At McDs they have a "clamshell" grill that cooks the bottom and top of the patty at once. One time when I worked there, many moons ago, the owner showed up and she drove a 525i, so I don't know if you'd consider that flipping/pressing burgers for a living or not. ;) !! You get exaactly what I'm talking about! lol! To bad about the burger flipping occupation. Maybe good flippers were getting harder and harder to find, so they had to go to a more automated design. Hey talk to Five Guys about making a few bucks flipping burgers for a living right?