SW03ES

Happened to me one time with the old 300. I walked down to the garage and it was sitting there with all the windows open lol

If your goal is to have two vehicles, trading the Ram in on an RXh would be foolish, because that need isn't going to go away. Plus you're going to get killed on the Ram from a depreciation standpoint. I've had a hybrid for 7 years and 80k miles...no issues. The hybrid system is under warranty for 7 years or 100k miles. Only if you use the dealer. If you use an independent shop its just like any other car, cheaper actually because of the regenerative braking the service brakes last 3-4 times as long as a normal car. Not really...using synthetic oil I think the oil change intervals are 10k miles now. Just get the oil changed every 10k miles... If anything hybrids are more forgiving if you miss a service because the ICE engine doesn't log as many hours.

Try holding the unlock button down and then letting go when the windows are half way down. The windows will stop... The moonroof is also delayed, it opens only after the windows are about half way down. So what I think happened is somehow you pinned that button in your pocket just long enough for all the windows to go down 1/2 way, but not quite long enough for the moonroof to open. The doors were still locked because if you unlock them and don't open a door within 60 seconds, the doors relock.

I have to ask the same question...why are you here head hunter? You admonish us for saying that the dealer might be less than truthful about the brakes requiring replacement at this point...but you came here asking us if it sounded reasonable that the brakes would require replacement at this point... You have to understand that doesn't make any sense. If you trust your dealer implicitly to tell you nothing but the truth and not have you replace wear items before they absolutely need replacement...then why would you not simply take everything they say at face value? Why would you even seek out our opinions...when by your very statement you trust the dealer far more than all of us. Obviously you also trust the dealer more than the manufacturer, because the manufacturer installed wear sensors at a specific point...a specific point at which they felt the brake pads would require replacement. Since you haven't gotten to that point, the dealer is recommending replacement before the manufacturer does. We're all just enthusiasts with a lot of experience to offer...and we're offering it to you...for free...in our free time. If you don't want it, fine. Stop wasting our time and the site's bandwidth though if you aren't interested in what we have to say.

You want to get a product called "Goo Gone", that will clean up the residue. The "L" logo has pins, but the "LEXUS" and "LS 400" do not, make sure you mark where the emblems were so that you can put the new ones in the same spot. I would surround them in blue painter's tape.

I think the rationale was environmental, less room for gasses to escape into the atmosphere...

The problem is the amount of gas it takes depends on a lot of things, the bladder expands and contracts based on the temperature. It "holds" 11 gallons. But I've had it take 8...or 10...or 7 when the light goes on. You'll drive along on full for miles and miles...then it goes down real fast. It'll go from just under half to one pip left in like...50 miles. The bladder also gives the auto shut off on the pump a hard time too, because its based on back-pressure. They went to a rigid tank when they redid the Prius in 2010...

You want to be confused, buy a 04-09 Prius. The tank is actually a flexible bladder, its not a hard tank, so its impossible to know how much fuel is remaining when it gets down to the "Add Fuel" warning. Then the last little pip on the fuel gauge starts blinking...best to find a station haha. One other thing to think about, you don't want to always let the tank get down all the way to empty, the fuel pump is cooled by the gas running through it, and if you always let the tank get low and the pump sputters or gets air when its trying to draw fuel, it can overheat the pump and shorten its life.

All dealers are different, but I'll tell you my opinion about my dealer. They're great, the dealership is beautiful, great loaners, great lounges, its like being at a W hotel. Very upscale experience. Service is expensive with labor rates like $120 an hour...so you pay for those amenities. Issue is as cars get older and need repair, Lexus dealers don't look at maximizing the value out of the wear-consumable items in the vehicle, such as brakes, struts, tires, etc. They have their book that says when things "should" be replaced, and they just say replace them...without without worrying about you getting the best value out of those items you paid for when you bought the car. Now...the work will be done right...and the car will always be safe. But, you will have spent MUCH MUCH more to keep it that way than you had to. I always liked using the dealer, but now I use an independent Lexus specialist who looks at things and says "Yeah you can replace these brakes, but I think we should just look at them again in 5k miles and see how they look then", costs me much less.

The other issue is CL is corporate owned and run for-profit, while this is an enthusiast owned site. Makes a difference in the tone.

Bear in mind though, the new Grand Cherokee was under development for a *long* time, the chassis is shared with your very own Mercedes ML, and Benz was heavily involved in the vehicle's development and production. Have you driven the new Grand Cherokee? Its a *nice* truck. If my wife would do it (I'm working on her) then I would trade the Prius in on a Grand Cherokee today. In fact, had it been out when I bought my Lexus...I might have even bought an Overland model for myself. When you think about the value for money too, you can get a loaded Laredo X Package for $37k...compared to a Kia Sorrento for $36k...thats a no brainer IMHO. Only downside is economy. With gas prices so high, it makes me sick to think about trading something that gets 50MPG in on something that gets 19, however much I may hate it. You should try and find a Ford Edge to look at Josh, they are very nice and Ford has 4.9% for 60 months right now.

We need pics!

I'm going to move this to the proper forum... I too would be happy with 45k life out of front tires on a big heavy car like the LS...

You'd think, but maybe not if the sensor was operating sporadically...

My advice would be not to negotiate on the payments. You should get the sales price down to where you can get it down to, then talk payments. The payments are going to be what the payments are going to be. When you negotiate based on the payments you're always going to wind up spending more than you would otherwise. I also wouldn't worry about colors and such, you can find the right color just concentrate on finding the vehicle that works out right. have you looked at the new Jeep Grand Cherokee?

I wouldn't take what lawyers tell you at face value.. You'd only have a case if the car was in a serious accident. More likely the fender was scratched or scraped and repainted improperly before the sale. How many panels are we talking about? Can you post pictures? Ask the lawyers what specific consumer laws the dealer is in violation of...

Or you could always not get speeding tickets ;)

Check out the detailing forum on here for ideas, lots of them there. For routine cleaning its hard to beat a solution of 1 part Woolite to 6 parts water. It works well, and is very inexpensive. For protecting, Lexol is pretty good but the best is Leatherique. It can only be bought online, you'd need the rejuvenator oil and the pristine clean. If its going to sit outside, I'd echo Jim's recommendation of getting the windows tinted and buying a sunshade. Probably the best custom shades I've found are these: http://www.autoanything.com/driving-accessories/60A1228A0A0.aspx I own one for each car. They're custom fit, nice and sturdy, and attractive. I have one for my old Explorer thats probably 12-13 years old and still works great.

This actually happens a lot more than you'd think. Cars are minorly damaged in transit, repaired, and then sold. Likely you've had cars before that this has been the case, you just don't know because you never had the benefit of that computer program. Is the dealer willing to repaint the panel at their expense and do it properly? This is pretty common, I don't think you have a case beyond the car being repainted properly.

In the comfort department there is no comparing the LS and GS...

Glad me and my team of goons could help! Haha... I'm sure Mike told you on the phone, but yeah lending is pretty easy and straightforward nowadays...

Yeah but thats not typical...

Are you looking new or used? Because the IS350 comes in AWD now. As for snow, where in MD do you live? The RWD is going to suck in the snow, but around where I live in MD I wouldn't be worried about getting a RWD car.

The setting doesn't have to be "Auto" even if its "On" or in parking light mode the lights will go out on their own. All Toyotas do this whether they have auto headlamps or not.

This is interesting. On the PriusChat board someone is complaining about the same noise in their Gen II Prius, I've been trying to help her but the dealer keeps insisting its "supposed" to make that noise, which its not. My theory was wheel bearings, but I'll bring your experience up to her. Difference being the RXh is discs all around while the Prius is drums in the rear...it probably doesn't have a dedicated parking brake. Toyo tires are VERY loud...