Lexusfreak

Agreed SK! Canadian Beer is better lol. :D B) :whistles: That tour you mention, I'm guessing it's the Cambridge, Ontario plant?

I'm leaning towards your view hilchan! I'm not totally convinced that it works. B)

I've compared using Sunoco Ultra 94 vs. Regular Sunoco 87 (Sunoco is the gas I use say 95% of the time) & I found that my power was slightly decreased when I ran several tanks full of regular vs the 94 octane (especially from a stop light & if I need a quick burst of power on the highway). I also noticed that I get overall about 60 - 75 miles extra per tankful on the Ultra 94. So you get slightly better performance using the higher octane (at least I did & it was noticable) plus more mileage out of a tank.......I feel that's worth the extra few bucks per fill up in my books & perhaps even save a bit of money using the 94 over regular when you factor everything in. ;) B)

I keep my tires at 35 psi as well. (I use a digital tire pressure guage to monitor pressure - I find that it's much better than an old fashioned guage & they are only $10 or less) B) I would do a balance first & see how the car drives........if the problem is still there, the alignment could be the problem. I've spoken with some folks that have performance tires & a couple times the problem was actually the tires were on the wrong side of the car!! The tech had a brain cramp when doing a rotation of "directional" tires which you just move from front to back on the same side of the car......& not criss cross them. The sidewalls say what side the tire should be on if they are directional, but this still does happen on occasion. ;)

wagsy, I assume you are using the original factory size for your GS? If that's the case, please tell me if they are the 16's (225 55 16) or the 17's (235 45 17)? The choices you have mentioned are all excellent (the V4S has a more reinforced sidewall for better handling & naturally a higher speed rating so I would stroke the H4S off that list because of that reason & keep the V4S on the list). Give me the size you need & I will let you know if there are any other tires you might want to consider. B) I take it you want to stay with all season? Welcome to the club btw. :D

I agree that the original Bridgestone tires that came with the vehicle are pretty much garbage (I had a simular experence with my new Nissan Maxima). I have no idea why, but MANY auto makers (not just Lexus but accross the board import & domestic) put what I will call 'substandard' tires on brand new vehicles simply because they purchase millions of tires at a substantial discount & truth be told as long as they pass minimum government safety regulations & law's that are on the books, they are free & clear to continue to do so. :chairshot: The car makers don't care about how well tires perform in the rain, snow, and the like as long as their bottom line isn't effected......it's a shame because if they spent let's say $10 per vehicle more for a much better tire with more aggressive tread that will perform well in any climate (mostly all seasons I talking about now) it would make the customer much happier not only with the auto company, but chances are good you might replace the tire with the exact same one when replacement time comes. Small thinking IMO by both the auto & tire giants!

The oil filter issue has been the topic of many debates on this & other forums in LOC & CL. I personally use either Mobil 1 or K & N oil filters & have never had a problem. There are several sites that actually 'disect' & open the filters up to see what is inside such as the filter media & such.........the Mobil 1 & K & N filters did very well overall compared to other popular filters OEM & aftermarket. Fram (several different models) did very poorly & I will never again buy them. B)

First I've heard of such a product. Intresting concept I guess but I wonder if it does anything at all? How many Lexus owners use this plug? I figure a quality oil filter would pretty much take care of any small metal particles as it is & would make that plug redundant?

Easterner, Did you try to call the Lexus dealer that's on the east coast? I think the only Lexus dealer down east is in Halifax NS, but perhaps a phone call to the parts manager might be of help with some suggestions or answers. My only other idea would be to locate a salvage ES with your interior colour at an auto wrecker. Good Luck. B)

I believe motorvac is a professional fuel system flush that blows out any gunk in your entire fuel system.....they hook the car up to a machine to do this procedure (as opposed to pouring a bottle of stuff in the gas tank). When you changed the plugs, did you change the fuel filter & PCV valve as well? One might not have much (if anything) to do with the other, but if your injectors & fuel system are clogged, it sure couldn't hurt to change those other parts as well for preventitive maintenance as they most likely would be dirty as well. Try a few tankfulls of 93 or 94 octane gasoline as suggested also (I use Sunoco 94). Good Luck! B)

Keep us posted Doug & let us know exactly what the problem(s) were & why they happened if possible. It would be awesome for you if the whole fix is covered by your extended warranty!! :) B)

The funny part about Michael Moore is in 2000, he was supporting Ralph Nader!!!! :whistles:

SW, when did Lexus adjust their service recommendation to change the tranny fluid every 15 k miles? and more importantly why exactly & for what year(s) of ES models? It sounds like Lexus is or has been hit by a huge increase of major tranny fixes or replacements. :o

Has anybody seen Fahrenhype 9/11 that counters Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 movie? I guarantee many peoples minds will change on the subject of President Bush. B)

If you decide to go with winter rubber in that exact size, your looking at pretty large costs ($200 per tire!) YOu might want to consider going for a 16" set of winter tires on steel wheels (size 225 55 16). The best choices are: - Hankook Ice Bear W300 - Bridgestone Bllizzak WS-50 or LM-22 (althought not a fan of Bridgestones) - Toyo Garit HT or Snowprox S950 In an all season application in the 235 45 17 size I'd suggest: - Pirelli pzero nero M & S (as mr. courious suggests) - Michelin Pilot Sport A/S - Continental Extreme Contact - Toyo Proxes 4 Good Luck! B)

I've e-mailed folks on tirerack to ask them why they don't carry Toyo's......they said in a nutshell that they feel they have enough tire brands to offer their customers but didn't rule out offering them in the future. It's too bad, Toyo is an excellent tire maker & IMO tirerack should start offering them to folks as another choice as it will only help their business........Falken's would be a wise brand also to offer. B)

The extended warranty is slightly different in Canada than the U.S. I guess my point is if you do get an extended warranty that is not Lexus read the fine print & do a check on the company to make sure it is a reputable company & check where you would have to get service done should something fail (IE: can you get the vehicle fixed at the Lexus dealer or a company of the extended warranty firms choice). B)

The RX 400h will arrived in dealers starting next spring if what I have read is correct. B) I'm not 100% sure if it will be built at either the Japan or Ontario plants.

Your owners manual should explain where to locate your fuse box(es) & if both the front & rears are not working I suspect that the fuse is the problem. hopefully an easy fix. B)

Doug, you mention that you have a extended warranty with Lexus till 110k miles......are these parts that have failed covered by this?? Have you ever done a 100% tranny fluid change & had the filter mesh screen completely cleaned?

Classy mods sunman!! B)

How much is "lot's of smoke"? (are we talking about the kind like from John Candy's old Mercury in the movie Uncle Buck kind of smoke?) In the cold weather after start up, most cars have white smoke that comes out of the exhaust which is normal. B)

My God, if we put Bush sr or Carter or Ford back in the white house.......we would have to sign them out of the "Home" first lmao..... :whistles:

The new RL sure is a nice looking car & is very impressive especially with the AWD & 300 hp.......just a bit too damn expensive for me. :( I'm still liking the new GS with AWD better. B) ;)

I look forward to those stickers blake!! I'll give you my new address if you like.....just say the word B) I'm sure it's been mentioned here before, but there is an awesome online game website called www.miniclip.com They have some 'election 2004' games that are a riot!! You guy's have to try the "hip hop debate" , " Presidential knockout" & the "Royal Rampage" games. I had to wipe tears from my eyes it was so funny! :D Click the link below & enjoy!! One thing's for sure......President Bush win's the hip hop debate hand's down!! ;) B) http://www.miniclip.com/election.htm