TurboGS300

Yes, you're going from most reliable to least reliable <_< Ford and chevy are the worst cars you can buy. i hate it when people make ignorant statements... So do I, so you really need to stop making them escort boy Nice...you know how many lexus/toyota cars i have been under the hood of? you need to pull your head out of your 4th point of contact before you get this thread locked. you got something to say to me, do it via PM's. I have been working on cars since before i could see over the hood. your knowledge is based off of other peoples experience and what magazines and news tells you, i make my desicisions based off of personal experience. in fact, the last time i owned a lexus, i went off of what other people said "oh its 15 years old, sure it will have its problems, but will be largely trouble free" was the basick jist...$5,000 and 4 months later... I was rebuilding engines when i was 10. im 21 now. 11 years of rebuilding engines, and about 14 years of working on cars. better think before you speak next time. A class act you are... oh and FWIW, i dont exactly drive easy, so thats not the reason... You're correct it was an ignorant statement! I and every magazine, report, artice and person who contributed in surveys that said ford and chevy are the worst cars should have consulted you before that vote was cast. Your mature and logical facts have shown me the error of my ways. Your escort is the cherry on top of the cake and should be the driving force behind all fords new ads and you as an "army of one" owe it to america and the world to educate everyone, as you've educated me that because your escort has given you no problems then Ford must be the greatest automaker on earth. Like my mazda mx6 that I bought new in 94 made by ford and has given me 0 problems because I meticulously maintain it myself. Although many others who bought the MX6 had distrubutor failures and left the owners stranded, hey but not mine, so it must not count. Maybe with your vigilence ford won't have to close it's Explorer plant because of decline in customer sales of the explorer line and they won't have to move to mexico, like GM already did. You will be the one to turn around the Ford line, you could be the what Lee Iococa was to Chrysler. Go forth and tell everyone young man, your future awaits. Then come back in 15 years and talk to me once you have some experience and knowledge in the big oval thing on top of your shoulders, that is if you can find any room in there for it. While you're at it why don't you get a little more worked up over what someone says about a POS car, keyboard warrior. Since that must be your only enjoyment in life. Get a life and a girlfriend, your car doesn't count. Oh and I found this just for you. There's plenty more where this came from. Aren't I sweet? :D General Motors Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co. did surprisingly well in annual rankings by Consumer Reports magazine, joining perennial favorites Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. The big losers: Ford Motor Co. and Mercedes-Benz, the luxury brand of DaimlerChrysler AG. Toyota, including the Toyota and Lexus brands, had 20 vehicles recommended by Consumer Reports out of 25 models rated. Honda, including the Acura brand, earned recommended ratings for 10 out of 14 models evaluated. GM placed 13 models on the magazine's recommended list out of 48 evaluated, its best showing to date. Consumer Reports , which has influenced car buyers for decades, recommended just five Ford vehicles -- including two from its Volvo unit -- out of 32 evaluated. The magazine's editors said they have seen a steady decline in the number of recommended Ford vehicles since 1999. "It's all reliability that brings them down," said David Champion, head of the magazine's auto-test facility, who noted Ford's showing was the worst since he joined the magazine in 1997. Meanwhile, Mercedes received no recommendations and its reliability was third worst of all the brands. Mr. Champion said that while DaimlerChrysler seems to be improving reliability at Chrysler, it has "left their own shop bare." Often reliability issues involve power equipment such as windows, locks and seats as well as electrical problems. European auto makers generally aren't keeping pace with the reliability improvements of the domestic and Japanese brands, he added. One of the big turnaround stories has been Hyundai. Mr. Champion said the South Korean auto maker had been one of the worst in the survey a decade ago. During the past three years, its reliability has continued to improve and its 2002 model-year vehicles were tied with those of Honda for second place in reliability. The magazine, now in its 50th year of rating automobiles, holds remarkable sway over consumer purchasing decisions. Many buyers insist on checking with the magazine before buying a vehicle. Nearly 10% of buyers a month away from purchasing a vehicle use it as their primary source of information, second only to advice of a friend or relative, at 14%, according to CNW Marketing Research. "There is probably nothing else as a single entity that holds as much influence as Consumer Reports does," Art Spinella of CNW says. In addition to the recommendations, GM earned two "best picks," the magazine's top honor, for its Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck and the Pontiac Vibe (which shared the honor with the vehicle's twin, the Toyota Matrix). They were the Detroit company's first top picks. Two years ago, GM received 11 recommendations, but last year that number dwindled to four. One sore spot for the world's largest auto maker: Cadillac, which may be making a sales comeback, but had the worst reliability of all major auto brands. GM spokesman Tom Wickham noted that the reliability rankings were done on three-year-old vehicles, and the auto maker has done much to improve quality in the past two years. Consumer Reports agreed, noting that several GM trucks showed improved reliability. "We have great expectations that Cadillac products will be rising up the ranks," Mr. Wickham said. Honda garnered five of the magazine's coveted "top pick" designations, its best showing since the magazine began the best-in-class designations in 1997. Toyota lost two of its best picks, earning just two this year, its worst showing since 1999. Reliability scores come from the magazine's survey of approximately 3.5 million subscribers, about 480,000 of whom responded. Consumer Reports subscribers are older, richer and better educated than the population as a whole. Some two-thirds are men. The six-page survey, which asks readers to judge everything from their vacuum cleaner to automobile to restaurant chains, in the past has drawn criticism from auto makers. This year auto firms seemed more reluctant to criticize the magazine's methodology. Ford, which last year questioned the minimum sample size for each model (100), this year limited comments to a written statement that said "quality is Ford Motor Co.'s highest priority." (Ford, of Dearborn, Mich., also included its Japanese affiliate Mazda, of which it owns a third, in its results, thus boosting the number of recommended vehicles from five to nine.) Don Dees, vice president for quality for Chrysler Group, says Consumer Reports results generally track the company's own quality data. "Consumer Reports is a very good metric for us to look at as a company," he says. Mercedes spokesman Fred Heiler noted that the questions are vague and don't make a "distinction between a squeak or a rattle or an engine or transmission falling out on the road." Mr. Heiler believes Mercedes's poor reliability results often are linked to added technology that the German-U.S. auto maker has included in the vehicle that owners often don't know how to use, so they assume it is flawed. The Passat supplied the only good news for Volkswagen AG, with its six-cylinder version garnering a best pick for the sixth year in a row in the family-sedan category. Otherwise, the German auto maker's reliability was panned, even in its Audi luxury lineup, which earned no recommendations. Reputation: Toyota has, by now, had a lifetime to cement its reputation among American consumers for nearly fool-proof quality. GM (Research) and Ford (Research) spent nearly as long honing a reputation for not caring much about quality. Things may have improved, but it takes a long time for that to sink in. Recalls: GM, in particular, has had a problem with headline-making recalls. It's a big company, it sells a lot of vehicles and they share a lot of components. When one of those parts goes wrong, eye-popping numbers of vehicles can be affected. That doesn't mean the vehicles are unreliable. Recalls are a different sort of problem. But it does cause concerns. Reviews: GM and Ford vehicles haven't always exuded the quality that may have been hiding in there somewhere. Cheap-feeling interior materials, raspy-sounding engines and gap-filled construction didn't give potential buyers the feeling of confidence that even lesser Japanese brands manage to carry off. Both GM and Ford are making strides in this area, too. Some recent GM and Ford products should go a long way to correcting the image of throwaway construction. GM and Ford deserve credit for what they've done so far. But American consumers have shown they still need lots more proof. NO NEED TO REPLY I'M DONE :P

Yes, you're going from most reliable to least reliable <_< Ford and chevy are the worst cars you can buy. i hate it when people make ignorant statements... So do I, so you really need to stop making them escort boy

It's pretty common on the 1st gen GS3's, not sure about the GS4. Usually on the GS3 though if the regulator breaks the windiw falls down and won't stay up. So check the motor and tracks as well <_< To motor is still working (I can hear it), there is some movement of the window but it won't rool down all the way. You can slid the window down by hand, so I need to get this fixed asap. It would help if I could take off the door panel to see whats going on. Anyone have instructions? Sounds like it's the regulator. <_<

It's pretty common on the 1st gen GS3's, not sure about the GS4. Usually on the GS3 though if the regulator breaks the windiw falls down and won't stay up. So check the motor and tracks as well <_<

If you have a leak it will be damp under the carpet. I'd check this before you get too into this leaking windshield theory. Also if it is damp it could be from a missing body plug or hole in the firewall, so don't just check the windshield if it's damp. Also check A/C drain turbe as well for clogs. <_<

Till it runs out of gas :P

Yes, you're going from most reliable to least reliable <_< Ford and chevy are the worst cars you can buy.

This is a known problem, the throttle is electronic and the servo and clutch assembly that converts from electronic to mechanical has been known to fail. <_<

I would replace them all at the same time. As they get toward the end of their useful life they respond slower. <_< SEARCH for the answer to your question, it really does work

No! <_<

Wrong forum! <_<

Thanks. I have yet to venture to taking my door apart but may try this weekend. The quote was just over the phone after I explained what my prob was. The lock actuator assembly iS bad amd must be replaced, very common problem! SEARCH! <_<

If you'd had searched you would have found that the only way to test if it's an amp problem or speaker problem is too pull out the speaker, replace it with a known good speaker and if it still cuts out the problem is in the amp. If it doesn't cut out the problem is in the speaker. <_<

Sounds like you need a second opinion and maybe a letter or talk with Lexus Corporate. <_<

so do the struts affect the caster or does the lower control arm affect the caster? thanks. The struts a common problem on the 2nd gen GS's and would make the clicking noise you descibed when accelerating and stopping. However it could be the lower control arm as well. Labor is very expensive to replace the control arm, so I'd want to get the maximum mileage out the replacement control arm that's being installed on the car So I'd only go with a new one. You can check the control arm out by looking at the bushings, seeing if they're worn out. Also jacking up the car and seeing if there is any play from side to side or from front to rear. <_<