SW03ES

I love this lol. The dealer "won't be replacing it". Tell them replace it or no sale and see how quickly they replace it...

Because the engine in your generation LS is an interference engine. Lexus specifies a change interval of 100,000 miles. If the timing belt should break...your engine will be destroyed. Its just not worth the risk. As for the sparkplugs...they degrade over time and at 100k miles you're not getting optimum spark, the gap is all off, and that hurts your performance and fuel economy. "If it ain't broke don't fix it" is fine, but the car is a machine and needs to be maintained. Why do you change oil? Why not wait for the oil to gell and seize the engine up before you replace it? The car will run fine on 15,000 mile old oil probably...but that doesn't mean its good for the engine.

The point of my comment is that people automatically assume that people who spend a lot of money for a vehicle or have a lot of money don't care about fuel efficiency. Lexus thinks so too, thats why all their hybrids are performance oriented. But, now they're planning a hybrid based on efficiency and not performance. Lexus hybrids sell well, but they don't sell out the way efficiency based hybrids do. Average income of a Prius owner and a GS owner are about the same. $120k for the Prius, $150k for the GS. You said you felt it was ironic he would care in a car at that price point...

Yep. Here's the email from Michelin: That includes the H rated tire too. I think that particular size is whats found on the stock Accord and Camry, and they come with the S8's. Maybe that has a bearing on it? The S8's have much lower treadwear and aren't as well regarded, plus they're more expensive! I let the Michelin rep know that too... I also just realized I posted this in the wrong forum lol, oh well. Better moderate myself!

What are you looking at? All the new RX400h's i've seen have the HybridSynergyDrive logo used on all the Toyota hybrids on the rear gate by the "RX400h" badge. I haven't seen any cars with an italicized "Hybrid" logo like you describe, maybe they stuck it on aftermarket and thats why its crooked. Here's the back of a new 400h: That one has no hybrid logo at all actually...

Cosmoline is commonly used to coat metal surfaces on cars while they make the trip across the ocean during shipping.

Looks good! I don't know about the new taillights...

Its warped rotors. Its worse in the mountains because mountain driving creates a lot of heat which makes the warping worse. Rotors can get warped in 100 miles under driving conditions like that, let alone 30,000 miles.

Even people who can afford expensive cars care about fuel efficiency. To suggest they don't or shouldn't doesn't make any sense...

Just found out the Michelin Primacy MXV4 has been discontinued in my size, 215-60-16. Looks like I better go ahead and order them now...

I understand what you're saying, I also am extremely meticulous about my cars. However, you really should let a professional replace your glass. These guys do nothing but replace glass, and they aren't big companies. They are small independent businesspeople that grow businesses on their reputation. I have had glass replaced in Lexus cars several times. Thats fine, but I still would let the professionals install the glass. Get a referral from the Lexus dealer. Dealerships don't replace glass. All these companies do nothing but replace glass on hundreds of cars, they know how to remove the panel on your Lexus and re-install it properly. The company tests the color of the glass when they order it. Even if you order it yourself...you still have to select the color... Like I said, Lexus dealers dont replace glass. Get a referral from a Lexus dealer, the place they send you to will have installed glass on hundreds of Lexus vehicles. You will be surprised how little your comprehensive deductible saves you in your insurance. Going from a $500 to $100 deductible on my comprehensive cost me like $25 a year. I don't discount that, but you have to realize that doing things like this yourself can open you up to voided warranties, etc... Actually the windshield is not water repellant...only the side windows. If you clay your new windshield well it should start to bead up. But OEM glass is always the way to go...

Touche! Can you post a picture of the damage? As far as the suitcase scratch, you can touch it up but its going to be tough. I'd let a professional touch it up.

Check out the detailing forum for advice about the leather ;)

Thats the premium plus package. The panoramic roof comes with the ML audio, special wheels, upgraded leather in the top package the Ultra Luxury package. Enjoy!

They do that on the LS...but not on the GS unfortunately...

Thats what I meant, the cloudy opaque coating. It gets yellow as it gets worse, my dad's 98 was the same way. Havent seen his 04 in a while so I don't know if it has the same issue. Its up at the top because its UV damage and the top part is most exposed to the sun. It could also be that the highway sandblasting and cleaning of the lenses over the years using abrasive cleaners has worn away the UV coating. Thats why you don't want to polish headlights with anything abrasive unless they need it...

The 17s are the way to go, the 18s would have killed the ride...

Does your car sit outside Jim, or did it sit outside before you bought it? I think this is the common denomenator. Cars I see that sit outside, especially in the west and south really get that yellowing fast, whereas mine which sits inside 95% of the day has no yellowing at all...

RX, I think he was joking around, hence the "=P" smiley... I think you did pretty well, they did a synthetic change, a fuel induction service (which is not part of the Lexus factory maintenance), and the plugs as well as the timing belt. If you took out the $200 or so for the unnecisary fuel induction service you'd have an okay price for the service.

Congrats! What package did you get?

Thanks!

If you really want a good job, you need to let the shop do the prep. The prep is very important, and prep that is not properly done will make the car look like you painted it with spray cans in your driveway. A good paint job from a shop is going to run you $4k easy.

The 1k is just a checkup, no oil change. The free oil change is at 5k. Your dad may not drive his RX as hard as you drive your IS though...

You can upload it here ;)

Oh I know, I've been detailing cars for a long time ;)