BaddBoi70

HAPPY B-Day Alan!

TV series

Thanks Alan. So, 87 Octane will NOT damage the engine - nice to know. I'll still spend the extra $100-$200/year and only use 91 Octane or higher, to ensure that I am obtaining "optimal engine performance", as stated in the owners manual :D

Bad - we are talking about the ES 350... not the IS.. and that is not the entire verbiage in the owners manual for the ES 350 as relates to octane.

OK. I understand that, I couldn't find the "exact" verbiage for the ES 350. Do you by chance have it? Can you post it here?

What is the possibility of creating a forum to post ALL of the Lexus vehicles owners manuals (.pdf) and have it *PINNED* or to have the owners manuals posted in each specific vehicle forum for the respective model years and have it *PINNED*?

OK. So, help me then understand WHY Lexus would put in their owner's manuals that "premium" gas is REQUIRED? I read and understand the statement as stated - *required* as there is NO mention of using a lower octane rated fuel.

Directly from the IS 250-350 Owners Manual:

Fuel types

Use unleaded gasoline. (91 Octane rating [Research Octane Number 96] or

higher)

Again, if you can't afford the extra $10/week for premium, then maybe (IMO), you purchased the wrong vehicle.

P.S. Anyone who cancels a family vacation over $45 definitely should NOT be taking a family vacation to begin with and should instead be looking for a P/T job to "right" their personal budget.

Easy to say Blacktop, ;) and very observant, by the way, but you would expect Lexus to do the homework and equip the flagship accordingly to their devoted fans. I did not have time for tire school but have learned a lesson, albeit discouraging for us "baby" boomers. I did not even think of looking at the tires when I leased. I assumed Ls's were meant to be on Michelins or something found to be superior. All my past Ls's were on Michelins. Never considered such a foobar. I know, there will be a hundred pundits making auspicious statements to and fro, but as for me, there is a difference in the handling and ride. I expected the same ride or better on my 460 and now I understand a portion of the puzzle. I am older and know the younger expect the road handling capabilities so I say buy a BMW to bounce your !Removed! down the road. Yes, the Bridgestone's are harder, noisier and more sporty. As for me, give me the "baby" safe Michelins. :D These "Bridge-Stones", and I understand the analogy, are going on my swamp buggy.

As of late, it is difficult to understand how or why Lexus has made the "poor" decisions that negatively affect their loyal consumers I have not read through the entire 460 forum; however, the 07-08 ES forum is full of "unhappy" consumers that for the most part agree that Lexus has "dropped the ball" when it comes to customer expectations. My '06 IS 350 is built with better quality interior products and the craftmanship is evident, but I unfortunately can NOT say that about my 07 ES 350 :cries:

I have checked out the 08 LS 460L at my dealership and it seems like the "flagship" is built well; however, not being an owner of one I can not say with certainty. Maybe Lexus has lost their focus on the driver and have fallen victim to Toyota's goal of beating out GM - at ALL costs! Which I hope is not the case, I LOVE my IS, but I would trade my ES in for a GS in a heartbeat.

I have just replaced my 2nd Bridgestone OEM tire, the first at 5000 miles and this latest one at 9300 miles. I have never before repaced any in nearly 50 years of driving. Am I just unlucky or is anyone else having a similar issue with these tires. Both picked up nails in the sidewalls.

It's curious that you were the "victim" of 2 tires with nails in the sidewall of the tires! Do you live or work in a construction area? If not, it may be young kids being a menace in the neighborhood - YIKES!

I have the M/L with mp3 plug-in and blue tooth..when you get to this level why are you skimping on M/L unless your not an audiophile. Even the XM which we all know has lower quality sound becomes alive with M/L. In all honesty, when you skimp on the Lexus there are shortcomings. AM.... isn't that mourning?

=========================================================

Different ideas on whats required for different folks I guess. Getting all the top end accessories is a bit of a loss when the car is sold and I draw the line somewhere. Never finance, pay cash and plan for resale are all good advice. Chrome wheels, wax , nitrogen in the tires etc were all tossed at me. One thing,for sure, I didn't want is the Nav system. Bought a portable Garmin for 1/10 the price that can be used in all our cars as needed. Never have to worry about failure or updates and it can be programmed on the fly or in a Motel room when traveling. Can you imagine a 10-15 year old Nav system? Baddd.

One of these upcoming years I will have to get a hearing aid as the years catch up. I would surmise that the new generation of HA's will someday have Blue Tooth with MP3 and car radios will be totally out. That would be totally cool. It's illegal for the driver to use head phones for safety reasons but a HA could pick up outside sounds as well as music at the same time.

The Lexus is so sound isolated that it is hard to hear a siren etc with the radio turned up. It would be nice to have a sound pickup that would recognize a siren or horn and sound a loud alarm in the car.

I still think Toyota sucks with their philosophy on Radios. Do you know of any other car that has the radio built in so you cannot swap out the unit ? Being an engineer I considered pulling out the radio and rebuilding the internals. Not at all hard but just not important to me at this time. I wonder who makes this beast and if schematics are available. Would be great fun to look at it.

Don't quote me on this, I think it is Pioneer :cries: I own an ES and IS and had to have the CD player replaced in both vehicles. When I inquired with service they stated that the head units are made by Pioneer! I am no audiophile; however, Pioneer is NOT what I would refer to as a high end car audio company :cries:

The LF-A has been entered in the 24hrs of Nurburgring next month. Apparently they are using the race as a prolonged testing session. It should be very interesting to see how the car runs.

Any updates that you are aware of regarding the Nurburgring testing?

Let me know if you find any FYI - I searched and asked several car "enthusiasts" and came up virtually empty. Hence, one of the reasons why I went out and purchased an IS 350

Good luck!

It is definitely interesting to note that anyone using less than "premium" octane is willing to do so for a savings of $0.10 - $0.20 per gallon. IMO, it is just not worth the risk of creating a "potential" engine issue.

Let's say for example you drive 20K miles per year, which is high, and the difference is on the hign end of $0.20/gallon more, this equates to an annual savings of a mere $181, using a 22MPG average. Considering that the engine in our cars' is the most expensive item, I find it very interesting so many are willing to take this risk.

Just my 2 cents :D

Yes, let's put it to bed :)

The poll results are definitely VERY interesting in deed. Again, given that Lexus is a "luxury" brand, I suppose one can assume that the driver of a luxury car can certainly afford $6/gallon gas. I just would hate to see what that price will do to our consumer goods pricing - YIKES!!!

Point taken, duly noted - only one disagreement.

LEXUS is a luxury product. That is not a debatable point.

You can buy a similarly equiped non-labeled brand (Honda, Toyota, Hyundia) for 10 grand less and it gladly runs on regular. The fact that the IS is 35K is irrelevant to that fact. We all spend 10 grand more for a look and a name. All the while paying more sales tax, excise tax. My business partner a loyal Honda buyer now swears by Hyundia for build and price and thinks anyone else is just wasting money. He took his extra ten grand and put it in Boeing.

:)

A brand new fully loaded Honda EX V6 or Camry LE V6 also costs just north of $32K. Should they now be considered a "luxury" car? I purchased my '07 ES 350 (Previously Owned, Fully loaded w/ 13,500 miles and the following equipment: Ultra Luxury Package - ML, NAVI, Panoramic Roof, Adaptive HID lights, etc. - everything except for the high end adaptive cruise control for $31,500). Again, I spend my money wisely! Don't get me wrong, Lexus is a luxury brand by most standards, I just take issue with a $35K automobile being referred to as a "luxury" car or a car that requires "premium" gas to qualify it as a "luxury" car.

Also, if you read the posts on the ES350 forum you will take note that many of the "postees" feel that Lexus' "luxury" brand has slipped in that particular line of car. I agree with most of them.

To your business partner - Hyundai is today what Honda was back in the late 70's or early 80's - an up and coming alternative.

This is ridiculous.. yes you are right LEXUS is NOT luxury brand...my mistake... how silly of me :) . You win on all counts.

Just trying to understand your logic on defining a "luxury" car. Don't be offended :D

I use premium in my 2007 cpo es 350 and I only get 13-15 MPG city and the best MPG I got on the highway has been 25MPG. I don't do a lot of driving(30-40 miles per week) I have a heavy foot & 95% of my driving is in town. I knew I would not get the Lexus claimed MPG, but does this seem extremely bad?

You may want to try changing your "heavy foot" habits for a week and then do a comparison. Also, there are several posts here as well as the IS forum regarding the requirement of "premium" gas for your ES.

Just my 2 cents :D

I don't really consider a 4k rpm downshift a hard downshift. I think you may have been a bit surprised by it, or maybe not used to it, but there are conditions in which the car is programmed to help braking by downshifting. If you switch to the power mode, accelerate up to speed and then use the brakes to scrub away some speed and you'll see what I mean. The downshifting is much more pernounced and the car uses those to help with slowing down. And if you press the accelerator to hold rpm's at this point, the car does, and won't shift until you press the accelerator and gain enouph rpm's. So it can just hold the gear for you. Even though your not in the sport mode, the car will still do it, it just doesn't emphasize it as much.

Well stated Smooth!

Well the ES is faster than the IS250 AWD, so he may miss the power. Then again, the ES drives llike a boat.

LOL haha im glad we all agree the ES is like a boat. Hopefully non of them find their way over to this thread and see we are insulting their car. :whistles:

Welcome to the LOC!

We have an ES and IS 350. I specifically went out and purchased the IS b/c I did not like the way the ES drove (too soft), but my wife LOVES the car and all of its bells and whistles (Ultra Lux Package w/ ML system).

Sorry - It's only Monday, but Wednesday would be a great day to call in sick :D

No, I would spend the extra and upgrade to the GS line! But, that is my personal preference. My recommendation is to test drive both vehicles before you buy (ES vs. GS).

Also, I saved a TON of cash by purchasing ours preowned.

Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less.

A Real Change Campaign to Lower Your Gas Prices

http://www.americansolutions.com/actioncen...7b-346a1e096659

Great find! This should be included in the "PINNED" gas article on this forum.

Point taken, duly noted - only one disagreement.

LEXUS is a luxury product. That is not a debatable point.

You can buy a similarly equiped non-labeled brand (Honda, Toyota, Hyundia) for 10 grand less and it gladly runs on regular. The fact that the IS is 35K is irrelevant to that fact. We all spend 10 grand more for a look and a name. All the while paying more sales tax, excise tax. My business partner a loyal Honda buyer now swears by Hyundia for build and price and thinks anyone else is just wasting money. He took his extra ten grand and put it in Boeing.

:)

A brand new fully loaded Honda EX V6 or Camry LE V6 also costs just north of $32K. Should they now be considered a "luxury" car? I purchased my '07 ES 350 (Previously Owned, Fully loaded w/ 13,500 miles and the following equipment: Ultra Luxury Package - ML, NAVI, Panoramic Roof, Adaptive HID lights, etc. - everything except for the high end adaptive cruise control for $31,500). Again, I spend my money wisely! Don't get me wrong, Lexus is a luxury brand by most standards, I just take issue with a $35K automobile being referred to as a "luxury" car or a car that requires "premium" gas to qualify it as a "luxury" car.

Also, if you read the posts on the ES350 forum you will take note that many of the "postees" feel that Lexus' "luxury" brand has slipped in that particular line of car. I agree with most of them.

To your business partner - Hyundai is today what Honda was back in the late 70's or early 80's - an up and coming alternative.

Smooth1 -

I imagine with the continued rising costs of gas at the pump that this topic is going to come up quite often over the next few months. My vote is to find a great thread, perhaps the one you pasted into your reply here and have it *PINNED*.

Just my 2 cents :D

For anyone to say that they do not care how much gas currently costs or how much it may cost us in the future is truly a fool. High prices at the pump have a ripple effect felt through out our economy. I can not think of a consumer good that is not adversely affected by high gas prices.

I created this poll out of curiosity, to see what my fellow Americans felt about current gas prices. I agree with SW03ES, owning a Lexus ES 350 or IS 250/350 is not necessarily a "luxury" purchase. I purchased both of my Lexus vehicles previously owned. I got an incredible deal on the ES and a fair market deal on the IS. Just because I earn a great living doesn't mean I spend my money foolishly. I think I can say with certainty that Warren Buffet would agree with my point and he is the wealthiest man in America! He didn't become the wealthiest man in America by spending his money "foolishly".

Think for a moment about the crop farmers whom have several thousand acres to plant, cultivate, fertilize and harvest. The cost of diesel is making it VERY difficult on them so can you imagine how difficult it is making it on the family farmer whom owns 200-300 acres in Iowa? We are all paying for it!

Yes, we live in America and I would not change that for any sum of money (freedom does not have a price tag, IMO)! But, at what price do we all ask ourselves, "How much is too much?" Regardless of my income, the rising cost of gas and natural gas hurts the less privileged people in America :( In fact, it hurts ALL of us. However, a person earning minimum wage that must drive 20+ miles (one way) to work 5 days per week can not afford to work if gas gets to $5/gallon - and that is a FACT! So, how does this person continue to contribute to our economy and not siphon off the government?

The last point I will make is that we will witness a significant rise in crime throughout America because people will become desperate and desperate people do what it takes to survive, which is in our nature - survival. Many major metropolitan areas have already begun to report an increase in crime. What happens when gas hits $6/gallon? I pray that we don't see those prices at the pump in the near term!

Just my 2 cents ;)

It depends on your current configuration (lighting circuit). What are you trying to accomplish with this upgrade? Check out www.danielsternlighting.com as this website was posted in another forum and seems to be very imformative.

We have an 07 ES 350 ML system w/ Bluetooth and my iPhone pairs with the Bluetooth no problems :)

I was working from home; however, having an 18 month old running around screaming and constantly banging on the office door wanting me to come play with him proved futile! No to mention the fact that living and working in the same place was driving me nuts.