Lexusfreak

Check the forums here to do a search......if I were you, I'd get the new coolant from Toyota called 'super long life engine coolant' it's pink in colour (two 4 litre jugs & about a gallon of distilled water).

OMG dude, how did you fall asleep at the wheel?? :( I feel bad for you man.....that's aweful. I hope at least 'points' canhelp you out as far as insurance premiums are concerned.......how much damage to the Passat? $8,000 to fix it?? OUCH!

It depends if you do it yourself.....you just out of pocket for the parts of course, the fuel injection flush I'm guessing $80 - 120. Also depends if you take it to the Lexus dealer or your own independent mechanic......perhaps even a Toyota dealer might be able to do it cheaper as the Camry V6 is pretty much the same.

What exact size tire do you need jake? The Michelins are an excellent choice but there maybe a couple others I can weed out. Is snow one of your main concerns or wet weather performance too? Will you be taking it off road?

Thanks for the info dc......looks like an awesome product. I wonder as time goes along if it becomes more popular we should be able to buy it at everyday auto parts stores? I'll e-mail them to see. That stuff isn't cheap at $25 each gallon jug.

Agreed, the price for the extended warranty in this case seems way to expensive at $3500.00 (U.S. dollars!) in infiniti's case. I got mine as un stated under the 4 year & 50k range for $1400.00 Canadian in my case which is in & around the $1000 U.S. mark give or take.

The Type IV is wise in my opinion too. B)

Thanks for the responses so far everyone! The Falkens are actually not for my ES.....I have Toyo Proxes TPT's on them & they are outstanding! The Falkens are for my wife's 2003 Ford Focus ZX5 205 50 16's which are a fairly odd size for such a popular car. Her car is leased & half way thru the 3 year term......& the Firestone Firehawk GTA-02's that came with the car are without a doubt the WORST tire I have ever driven on secone to only the Bridgestone Potenza RE 92's. I have a huge problem returning the car when the lease is up with a lot of tread left (it's not worth the expense & aggravation keeping the old tires to mount later) so I wanted a good inexpensive tire with not a huge amount of tread life (the Falken's in the 50 series are 30,000 miles which is great in our case) & the Falken's fit the bill to a tee & are about $30 a tire cheaper than the Toyo's & were on a budget. Any other folks have these that have used them in the northern states during snow season? The Consumer Reports says they are pretty good......but any 'real world' feedback would be of great help.

That's all I wanted to know for clairification.......we were not talking 'apples to apples' with the gsd4 supercar......was my main point. Now were strickly on 'summer' rubber as opposed to all season right? & what are the treadwear, traction & temperature ratings for the ones on your short list?

Do many folks put a strut brace on a car like the LS? I've never seen that topic mentioned hardly at all here......just wondering is all. B)

How much is the coolant products per (gallon? ) jug?

Il, Post your finding on here so other 97 ES owners will know what to get for there car should they need that info. B)

If you haven't done a complete tune up (or the previous owner hasen't) it might be a good idea considering the year of the car. I'd change the spark plugs, fuel filter, PCV valve, air filter (unless it's re-usable) and consider having a professional fuel injection flush.

I'm thinking a inexpensive part replacement like the thermostat wouldn't hurt. The coolant level in the overflow tank is at the proper level I take it when the car is cold & hot?

Hi everyone, Has anybody had any experence with an all season performance tire by Falken called the Ziex ZE-512 ? If so, I'd like as much detailed feedback as possible with regards to ride & handling & how they have performed in the rain & snowy conditions & general pro's & con's. I know they came in first place overall in a recent popular consumer magazine of 21 high performance all season tires but would also like any & all comments from others who have actually owned them. Any help is appreciated! here is the link to this tire: http://www.falkentire.com/tires_512.htm B)

If your paying 'Lexus bucks' to fix your Lexus they will treat you just fine! ;) B)

I don't beleive they will give you a loner car if it's out of warranty & since you would be new to the dealer. The would most likely give you a ride in the shuttle van however to a reasonably close location. I find the $3500 for an extended warranty quite high & the reason why they are charging you that is ost likely the mileage & the fact it's off regular factory warranty. Did you get any service history & warranty work that was done on your car? Get a couple of prices from local Lexus dealers or perhaps you have a good independent mechanic that charges less per hour for labour that does good work & that you trust? If that's the case, you could save some cash & perhaps bring the fluids (as an example) to him so change & flush. B)

OK we might not be on the same page here.....tell me in full what the 'gsd3' is exactly......I don't think they are the same page as the Goodyear F1's.......a little clairification might help. ;) B) The Ford GT as an example has 235 45zr 18's on front $ 256 each for Eagle f1's 315 40zr 19's on back $ 435 each for eagle f-1's So in that form yes I think that's fair to say that super expensive all things considered for Goodyear F1's! Are we strickly going with a summer tire or an all season tread in the size you mention, I guarantee I can find other tires available either way as your missing quite a few tire brands on your list if you really want to get technical ;) B)

It's intresting that the dipstick & the owners manual differ on the specific type of fluid you need. I know my 01 ES (last year of our body style) call for type I-V fluid & nothing else.....states in both the owners manual & on the tranny dipstick. Perhaps some other members here can state for sure what your 99 requires. I'd bet that you won't cause any damage by using the Toyota Type IV fluid over the dexron III. Why not call a couple of Lexus dealers & ask to speak to the service managers to explain your problem & see what they say (if he/she is unsure they most likely will ask one of their tech's to get the correct answer). Maybe even call a Toyota dealer & see what they call for for a 99 V6 Camry......as they are the same mechanicals. Let us know, but I don't think the Toyota IV fluid would hurt at all.......it's possible the dexron III could.

george, exact tire size you need please? B) goodyear RS-A's are not very good all round performers.

I say that basically for the same reason configman has outlined in his response. Those type of tires of more suited for a 'supercar' say perhaps the new Ford GT!? The LS is night & day what the GT is so should the tires be for each application. They are super expensive and are not for a Luxury car at all. What size are we talking about here? ottom line is there are many more better choices of tires that are tailored for the LS that will return excellent performance as well & will last 10 times longer.

Keep us posted. Any idea how many miles are on those tires roughly?

I thought a lot of the members would enjoy that write up B) I agree pharm, why would one take such a georgous machine like the RX off road? it would be such a waste!

Their site & products look very intresting dc B) I have e-mailed them for more info. Where do you buy the coolant? IE: online or do they have a list of stores that carry their products? I looked but didn't see anything. Any idea if they distribute to Canada?

No, Once you purchase the extended (Lexus) warranty, you put the ball in their court. They (the Lexus Dealership) has to go over the car with a fine tooth comb (and ' FULLY recondition the car so it's meets 'Lexus standards') to make sure all components they are warranting (and the list IS extensive) are in proper operating condition or if not they will replace them automatically! No questions asked. I will give you an example: My 01 ES was mechanically sound.......they did an oil change but used a "lexus engine flush" beforehand just in case because of the possibility of the engine gelling issue (although I had all service records from the previous owner as it was serviced at that Lexus dealer). The only other things they did was the black shiny plastic mouldings between the front & rear doors (B pillar) were a bit faded because of being exposed to the sun & the elements. They replaced them as part of the extended warranty program before I even took delivery....also the drivers side heated power mirror (heating) element was burned out & they replaced the mirror also. Remember what I said that Lexus is Fussy? You pay a premium for the car & the extended warranty to be sure.....however, Lexus would rather check EVERY vital & non vital component every which way once you buy that extended warranty. I'm sure if you go to their website (pre-owned vehicle section I'm guessing) or call the Lexus USA head office they can explain it to you in more detail. But DON'T get ANYTHING other than the Lexus extended warranty........a 3rd party one, you might as well just drive down the highway & toss the cash out the window.......Lexus will actually back the product & without any questions. Just make sure you keep religious maintenance records especially of the engine & transmission & even consider (but as long as you have proof of records it's not always necessary to go to the dealer for maintenance items) taking the car to the Lexus dealer for service during the extended warranty period. B)