steviej

or: you can take the headlights off of the AUTO setting on the stalk. Put the headlights on or off yourself until the there is enough ambient light everywhere to keep your headlights from doing the on/off dance. Kinda like the olden days when we didn't have an auto-on function. steviej

Concerned, sure, but I wouldn't lose any sleep, again especially if you aren't showing any symptoms. Give the dealership some time, this always happens. It hits the internet and media before the dealerships are ready to receive the onslaught of worried customer. Years ago (pre-internet) you were notified by snail mail, and by then the dealerships were ready. steviej

According to a recent USA Today article and other sources, this is a voluntary recall on the part of Lexus. They are in the beginning stages of it. Just like any other recall there is a process the manufacturer must go through. If your car does not exhibit any of the symptoms then you probably don't have a problem. The stalling was listed as a "rare instance". Read below: Lexus Announces Intention to Recall Certain U.S. Market Vehicles to Replace Engine Valve Springs TORRANCE, Calif. (July 2, 2010) -- Lexus, a division of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc., today announced that it has informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of its intention to file a Defect Information Report (DIR) regarding approximately 138,000 Lexus vehicles, powered by 4.6 and 5.0 liter V8 and 3.5 liter V6 engines in certain 2006, 2007 and 2008 GS, IS and LS models in the U.S. The formal report will be filed the week of July 5. In the covered vehicles, due to slight variations during the manufacturing process, some foreign material may have contaminated a small number of the valve springs. If a vehicle is affected, there is a remote possibility that abnormal engine noise or idling may occur. In extremely rare instances, the engine may stop while the vehicle is in operation. Lexus estimates that the likelihood of a customer vehicle experiencing this condition is two-tenths of one percent (0.2 %). Lexus has received no reports of accidents or injuries related to this condition. No vehicles from the current 2010 model year nor 2009 are affected. Lexus will send owners of the involved vehicles a recall notification via first class mail. Owners are requested to contact their local Lexus dealer for diagnosis and repair after receiving their notification. The repair will involve replacement of the engine’s valve springs at no charge. Owners can continue to drive their vehicles. If symptoms are noticed, such as vibration, rough idling, unusual engine sounds or poor performance, the vehicle should be brought to a Lexus dealer for service. Certain Lexus vehicles produced among the following models and years are covered: GS350 2007 2008 GS450h 2007 2008 GS460 2008 IS350 2006 2007 2008 LS460 2007 2008 LS460L 2007 2008 LS600hL 2008 Customers with questions or concerns should contact the Customer Experience Center at 1-800-255-3987. steviej

Because replacing the calipers will not solve the problem. Brake squeal is noise and noise is create by excessive vibration. Many times it is the vibration of the brake pad against the rotor. Most times the noise can be reduced if not eliminated with the addition of correct fitting shims AND a simple brake pad anti-noise substance like brake quiet (the blue stuff). Another cause of brake squeal is the material the brake pad is made of. Semi-metallic pads have minute metal particles in the pad itself. These will set up a harmonic resonance when the pad is pressed against the rotor and thus adding to the brake squeal. Most people avoid the semi-metallic pads in favor of organic or ceramic material. The off-set is the latter pads cost more. steviej

Seriously, how much money are you planning to spend after the purchase of the car to make the interior the color you want. I think redyeing the leather and swapping out carpet and panels, not to mention the labor costs involved make kind of make the hole process a waste of time. I would suggest learning to like the grey interior or keep searching. steviej

1. Just use synthetic oil and change every 5k miles. (This is not meant to start up the age old less filling/tastes great synthetic vs conventional oil debate) 2. Your GS has electric power steering so there is no power steering fluid to change. 3. It is good practice to completely flush the brake fluid every two years or 30k miles. 4. Your GS has a sealed tranny so simple drain and fills like yesteryear are out of the quesiton. This tranny has Toyota's world standard fluid in it and doesn't need service until 90-100k miles. 5. The differential fluid should be changed at 60k miles. 6. Coolant is Toyota Extra Long Life so it shouldn't need to be touched until close to 90-100k as long as the fluid in the overflow bottle is still a bright cherry pink. steviej

Dude, don't condem the brand because of the experience with one dealership. Condem the dealership and seek legal action against them. Sometimes a single letter on attorney letterhead is all that is enough to put a fire under their butts. You have already stated that you have Lexus Customer Service is involved. Keep on them. steviej

take a peek on www.tirerack.com for decent wheel packages. If you use the tire/wheel selector on the website you can see what the wheels look like on your car in your color. steviej

I have had the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S on my GS300 for almost two years now (not in winter) and love them. Very responsive, quiet, excellent in rain. I have Michelin Pilot Alpins PA3s for winter snow and had Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S on my previous 202 ES300. I cannot say enough about Michelins. steviej

please don't tell them. ;)

usually not. however, you could find out where the fuel pump is accessed. They are usually inside the tank and there is a hatch to access the pump and filter for replacement. you could get in that way. The other way would be to syphon out through the gas fill. Most hardware stores have syphon pumps that mount to powerdrills to speed the process. no more "suck and spit" syphoning. steviej

With my old Samsung it used to make that annoying sound. With my Blackberry (Curve 8900) it does not. Duckman, what's the score now? steviej

mine does that too. It used to ring with my old Samsung phone. With my current Blackberry, I have to notice the screen and the fact that the music cuts out when a call comes in. I think this may have to do with the signal or ringtone selected on my blackberry. steviej

I got the ones from www.L-tunedparts.com They are color matched to the car but take a while when ordered because they are ordered from Japan. They line up well and a piece of cake to mount. Only 4 small holes in plastic have to be drilled (on for each flap). The other holes are already there. Sit down when you see the price. I think I paid $45 extra to get them shipped a little sooner. Here is a pic.

usually when the CEL and the VSC lights come on together it means a trouble code has been triggered and the car is now in "safe" mode. steviej ps. your post says your car is a 1988 GS300. Lexus wasn't around in 1988. Did you mean 1998?

I would routinely do a "drain and fill" of the tranny fluid on my 02 ES300 every 15,000 miles. Cost me about $20. Some people would say that that was overkill and every 30,000 miles would have been fine. Is there a need?. . . . Depends on how long you hold onto cars? Like the old commercial said: you can pay me now or pay me later. A little preventative maintenance goes a long way. steviej

30 miles to find a rattle is totally reasonable. Depending on road conditions, outside/inside temperatures, etc. if you want them to recreat the complaint then 30 miles may even have been too short. I recently left my car with the dealership because of a strange electronic "quirk". With permission, the service team leader drove it to and from work (20 miles roundtrip) for 5 days. That would be 100 miles. It used about 5 gallons of gas. No big deal. I had their loaner for a week and used a whole tank. While they had my car, they unplugged every computer connection, reseated every connector, checked every circuit but couldn't recreate the problem that caused the U1019 trouble code. I got the car back less 5 gallons of gas and with the added miles. They didn't charge me for the diagnostic so called that one budget neutral. steviej

The first slot is a coin slot/holder by design. The second spot is where the switch for the Adaptive variable Suspension (GS430+ only).....as mentions previously. look in your owners manual and you should see a picture. steviej

Here is a PDF file. I scanned the pages from my 2006 GS300 AWD owners manual. I hope it helps any of you. steviej 2006_GS_Headlight_Adjustment.PDF

Useless! The rear left hand tire on my mums LS600hL blew out on the freeway the other day, and she said that the car had been shaking slightly for about 5 minutes, but she was on a new patch of road so assumed it was the new tarmac, then she 5 minutes later the shaking became horrible and she noticed smoke coming from the rear tire. Upon seeing the inside sidewall of the tire, the whole sidewall was torn and ripped open. I don't see the use of these TMPS sensors at all as they didn't provide any help in this situation. Lucky it wasn't a front tire or she probably would have crashed!!! TPMS sensors are designed to alert you to slow leaks (ie: from punctures, faulty valve inserts, damaged beads) not acute blow outs.

by putting the ECT into SNOW it will reduce the propensity of the wheels to spin by starting the car moving from second gear. steviej

I have Lexus brand leather cases on both of my GS key fobs. Just ease fob out of the leather case. It is a tight fit but one end is open and the fob will slip out. Then follow the instructions as pictured in the manual or stated in this thread. steviej

I put the PIAA Xtreme White bulb (168/194) in and they look really good. Not quite 5-6k but they are way better than the stock bulb. You can get this bulb from any PIAA distributor. steviej

sounds more like a faulty ground connection rather than a battery. steviej

I was just looking up your choices. The General tire is intended to be studded, correct? If you are not going to insert the studd, then go with something else. steviej