NicLX470

Some sort of steering part connected to the wheel probably needs to be lubricated. So when turning the wheel the metal joints are rubbing together and with low amounts of lubrication can cause them to have more friction and pop at times.

Wow I thought on sealed transmissions like the one on my 09 IS350 said transmission flush and replace of fluid would never be needed. Am I wrong?

Go to a car wash and try using high pressure wash and rinse. Might have to get real close with the nozel but be careful. You leave that sap on there too long it will take the paint off with it.

The guy that sold me the car and also the manual states that only the first 2 maintenance schedules will be complimentary which is at 1,000 miles and at 5,000 miles. Well I got my oil changed again yesterday at 7,000 miles and I asked how much it would be and my service advisor stated that maintenance is free until 15,000 miles. I wasn't going to argue so I left. Anyone else heard of this?

No no I didn't say it was a new feature. I think he was talking to me. I said that the Lexus engineer said that the [AUTO] light is new for 09. I don't have a camera handy to take the picture, but my dash (I have the navigation system) looks like this: +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ NAV SCREEN +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ [AUTO] [fan OFF] [filter] [front air] [defogger] [air intake] The last button (air intake) has 3 lights: [recirculate air] [AUTO] [outside air] Pressing the button switches between the 3 states. In the AUTO state one of the other 2 lights is also ON. When not in AUTO mode, the computer can decide to switch to inside air when the AC is in AUTO (the first button under the screen) and it needs to cool off quicker. When in AUTO mode, aside from the AC, the computer can decide to use inside air when it detects exhaust fumes coming from the outside. The manual calls this "EXHAUST GAS AUTOMATIC mode" and says that only 350 models have it, but not 250. I don't know if 250 doesn't have [AUTO] mode because it is always ON, or just doesn't have an exhaust gas sensor. There are two AUTO labels (one for the AC and one for the exhaust mode), that's adding to the confusion. I hope my color coding helps clear things up a bit. If you have the same setup on your 08 IS 350, then the enginer I talked to was wrong (not surprising). Ivo Whooops my bad!!

No no I didn't say it was a new feature. I said it was a "neat" feature. I was talking about how I use that button to freshen up the stale recirculated air and blueony asked if his car has it. So I took a picture of what the button is. Because I have an 09 I have no idea if earlier models have it but i'm sure they do. I was just pointing it out to him so he knows what button to push.

There is nothing wrong with your nav. You have accidentally selected "north up" mode. So no matter which way you are traveling "north" will be at the top of the screen. So only when you are going north will it look right to you. Read your owners manual or get the dealer to change it for you. It's easy, should be a little arrow on the bottom left hand of the screen....just press it a few times.

No offense...but thats why you were upside down on the 350Z probably. Affording the note is fine, but smart business decisions are important. Wouldn't you like it if that monthly note was even MORE affordable? I just hate to see people waste their hard earned money. Ahh yes, the " Payment Buyer ". Most never even really pay attention to that small line at the bottom of that really long contract called " TOTAL". Just so long as the monthly payment is affordable. Never realizing that this way of buying is put into place on purpose to keep them in a postion of negotiating from weakness. The upside down trade-in scam that's lasted for what, 30 years now? Costs you thousands. I like to think of it like this, if NICLX buys his next car like the Lexus and the one before it, I would get my fourth car on his budget free!!!!! Whoa calm down guys. I made sure the "bottom of that really long contract called total" was cool too. $650 per month for 6 years = 48,600. Only 5k in interest when the sticker on the car was 43k. I hardly got scammed. And I was not "upside down" on my Z. Only seemed that way because you both know trade in values are thousands less than the car is really worth. I did my research. I knew how much the Z was worth for trade, private party, and retail. And I made sure they knew it. I told them if they gave me 16k for it they will still sell it for 24k so I wasn't going to take anything less than the 22k that I owed. But they still try and tell you that KBB sites and others like it are not accurate and they have to get the car "ready to sell" and it costs "money". I said, "you need to go look at it. It's in showroom condition. Put a price tag on it and you're done." So I tell them I will go to another dealer and they cave in gave me what I owed because it honestly WAS worth what I owed. I might not try to negotiate a cars sticker but I will get hot about anyone trying to pull the wool over my eyes for my trade. At my first service it was sitting on the lot for 24k. Imagine that. And $650 x 72 months is $46,800 , not $48,600.00 LOL!!! My dad sold used cars from the shop all the time. Because car buying and selling is what it is, the business philosophy has to be, dealer asks for as much as he can for the car, and the buyer tries to get it for as low as he can. If they can meet somewhere in the middle and both be happy, then the deal is made. If the buyer doesn't want to put any effort into his own purchase, then it will cost the buyer more money. They aren't in the business of giving good deals, they are in business to make money. If you want a good deal, you have to work for it. I've firmly believed in this as a good philosophy so long as it's done tactfully, curtiuosly, and with respect. I think that the OP was disrespected and the "Badger" was not tactful at all. I would have left without saying good-bye with respect to that scenario. NicLX, I wasn't excited or upset and I hope you didn't take my post as ridicule. I was just stating the facts of a payment buyer. SW and Bartkat are both exactly right though. Just doing your research, on both your car, the car you want to buy and a good strong consideration of your financial budget, and situation first could save alot of people alot of money. And when this person walks into a dealership, I think they need to be handled directly as in the case of the OP here. You know when your talking to someone who knows what they are talking about. If we sold new cars and Cpt. Jim walked into my dealership, the longest part of our conversation would have been printing and signing the paperwork. Making it painless for him makes it painless for us. Think about the time they have invested in emails, talks and phone calls already. Now they get nothing for that whereas if they would have just done the deal, they would have saved all those efforts for the next tough sell. Moved a unit off the lot and had a very happy customer coming in for service on a regular basis. Tell me who really won by holding out for a couple hundred bucks? Sometimes they just don't see the forest thru the trees! And again to agree with SW, I'm not saying to squeeze, rattle and shake every penny out of everything around you either, although some people live to that extreme also, I place a value on my time. Spending 2 or 3 hours doing research to save a few thousand dollars to me seems worth it to me. Driving all over town going to different dealerships and having knockdown drag outs with the salesmanagers to get another couple hundred bucks does not. Ha yeah 46k is right. I'm dyslexic sometimes typing. Yeah I understand what you guys are saying. Car dealers need to make money too so it's hard to blame em sometimes.

Definately. Burning a lower octane fuel in a engine designed to run higher octane fuel can result in carbon buildup, catalytic converter failure. Google it. The question isn't really so much will it cause damage, but can they blame any failure that may happen on the use of below reccomended octane fuel and void my warranty? And the answer is yes. Again...its up to each of you but to me even the chance of reducing the longevity of expensive vehicle components, reducing performance and fuel economy, or taking a chance that a warranty claim on a component could be denied is worth the extra $4 per tank for the fuel. Hell...I already spent $40,000, and if I were pinching pennies to where $4 per week hurt me...I shouldn't be in this class of a car. What I find funny is people who refuse to use the fuel the manufacturer specifies but then use synthetic oil... I think you hit the nail on the head. Don't buy a car that requires premium fuel if you are going to get upset about having to pay more for it. I hope the poor people who buy your cars second hand don't have to literally pay for the damage you may cause by using crappy gas.

No balloon payment. I didn't put a cash down payment but I have a Lexus Visa card and had "points" towards a new car. I advise anyone who uses credit cards to get one. the more you spend, the more points you get which means money off of a new car.

No offense...but thats why you were upside down on the 350Z probably. Affording the note is fine, but smart business decisions are important. Wouldn't you like it if that monthly note was even MORE affordable? I just hate to see people waste their hard earned money. Ahh yes, the " Payment Buyer ". Most never even really pay attention to that small line at the bottom of that really long contract called " TOTAL". Just so long as the monthly payment is affordable. Never realizing that this way of buying is put into place on purpose to keep them in a postion of negotiating from weakness. The upside down trade-in scam that's lasted for what, 30 years now? Costs you thousands. I like to think of it like this, if NICLX buys his next car like the Lexus and the one before it, I would get my fourth car on his budget free!!!!! Whoa calm down guys. I made sure the "bottom of that really long contract called total" was cool too. $650 per month for 6 years = 48,600. Only 5k in interest when the sticker on the car was 43k. I hardly got scammed. And I was not "upside down" on my Z. Only seemed that way because you both know trade in values are thousands less than the car is really worth. I did my research. I knew how much the Z was worth for trade, private party, and retail. And I made sure they knew it. I told them if they gave me 16k for it they will still sell it for 24k so I wasn't going to take anything less than the 22k that I owed. But they still try and tell you that KBB sites and others like it are not accurate and they have to get the car "ready to sell" and it costs "money". I said, "you need to go look at it. It's in showroom condition. Put a price tag on it and you're done." So I tell them I will go to another dealer and they cave in gave me what I owed because it honestly WAS worth what I owed. I might not try to negotiate a cars sticker but I will get hot about anyone trying to pull the wool over my eyes for my trade. At my first service it was sitting on the lot for 24k. Imagine that.

I owed more on the 350Z than it was worth on "trade". (Owed 22k, they said it was worth 16k on trade) So they gave me a lot more for it. Or they were so glad I walked right in and was ready to buy with no hassling they decided to give me the best deal of the month. But they buckled gave me what I owed. I kept it in like new condition. Even still smelled new…no dings or scratches. Washed it as much as I do my IS350. Which is a lot if you have read some of my other posts. Some might think I'm crazy but if there is a car that I want all I care about is if I can afford the monthly note.

I would like to suggest the LX470. It's an awesome truck! What are you looking to spend? You can get a CPO for in the 40's, 05-06. Lots bigger than the GX. Even if you wanted an older one you can find the 98-02 models for in the 15k range. I've had my 98 since new and never had any major mechanical problems. Just hit 101k miles. No major changes from 98-07. You keep it in good shape like mine, people will think it's newer than it is!!!! http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=53607

My 98 LX470 just hit 101k miles and is doing great. I too just did the 90k mile service 5k miles ago and I did the 90k service plus timing belt, throttle body service, thermostat, water pump, flushed and replaced all fluids. Even for transmission and coolant, suspension and such. If there was a fluid, it was changed. Paid 3k for the service but I want the truck to last in this Texas heat. Have had the truck since new. Only part replaced was starter at 70k miles, and a friend of mine did it for 50 bucks. Another issue that was a problem only if noises annoy you are the heat shields protecting the exhaust tend to crack and break apart internally causing a rattle. There are a few of them which are about $100 dollars each to replace. But the truck will still run fine but the noise I did not like to hear so the money spent was worth it to me. And last but not least is the hydraulic suspension. When the accumulators go out they are supposedly extremely expensive to fix and they estimate the life of the accumulators to be 10 years or 100k miles. But I'm over that mileage and years and mine is still smooth as butter. But when it does start to fail. I hear we are looking at big bucks. There are 4 accumulators; 1 at each wheel and supposedly cost $800 each excluding labor. But otherwise I think the engine and tranny are bulletproof. It's been a great truck and has never left me stranded. So an 11 year old truck and the only engine part replaced was the starter I’d say it's rock solid!! It's still a head turner...... http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=53607

If you have this button then yes........ (the button inbetween the "off" and "front defrost" button)

Are you saying it is on AUTO even though the light is not on? I should test that. But then how is the user to distinguish between AUTO (with the light off) and MANUAL? No, I leave everything on AUTO - the AC, the recirculate, even the headlights :) I want to set it once and not bother with it ever again. No no no, the AUTO light is still on for the A/C itself but the (auto) light between the recirculate and outside air is not on and it seems to still switch on its own from outside to recirculate mode. But I think it has something to do with if you change the temp and stuff to better get to the temp you want it just does what it thinks it needs to. But if I ever see it on "outside" air when I don't want it to be it's easy to just press it back to recirculate.

LOL!! It's not easy being cheesy bro..... I first bought my 2003 IS300 used in 06 for 18K. Then 8 months later sold it for 18.5k and bought a 2005 IS300 for 19.5K I put a turbo in that and all kinds of other work, then returned it back to stock, sold the turbo and all the other aftermarket stuff, and traded it in for 23K. On which I got an 08 IS350 with Premuim Package and Nav for 39.5K. With taxes after trade made it almost 18k. I added 10k cash on the spot, financed 8K for 24 months at 2.25% for like 380.00 month. (I did this more for the credit for my credit history.) I paid the car off in 8 months even though I had the money the whole time. So my total out of pocket for my 08 IS350 was really right at 37K after all discounts and taxes and interest. And I don't haggle for price either. I just do my research, and I know exactly what I want before I ever step foot on a car lot. Capt. Jim actually sounds a bit more tolerant and level headed than me. When the Badger was in the office trying to "sell" me, I just waved my hand like a wand with my cell phone, hit "redial" and called Lexus of Tampa right in front of him. I told him he had until the time I got a price from them to write up the deal. Tampa answered, I asked for ( I forget his name a the moment.) he answered the phone, I explained that I was in the sales office of Lexus of Orlando, could he just take a moment to go over what he and I had discussed, and if the offer is still on the table. He went over it, verbatim, and I told him he had a deal right in front of the sales manager from his guest chair! I hung up the phone, he says then, "Ok, we'll match it." I just shrugged my shoulders and said " That's ok, your too late." and left. I drove right to Tampa, he showed me the car we were talking about on the phone, I drove it, said yes, that's what we discussed. They checked my IS300. Went back and fourth a few times, some other guy came out and said they normally don't go that high for trade ins, but mine was so clean and perfect they were ok with the trade in price. We did the paperwork straight up to the penny. I left Lexus of Tampa very happy with how it went, and they even thru in the Lo-Jack because the car had come in that Tuesday and they didn't completely check the car in yet, so the sales person didn't know that the car he showed me and I already test drove had the lo-jack pre installed. So I paid 200 bucks to split the activation charge. 200 bucks for lo-Jack seemed ok. I like knowing I have that. This all happened in Jan. of 08. So the 08 had been out for 3 months. I've since bought a 2001 IS300 for 9k as I was going to make that a track car, but my dad fell ill with cancer and we've had to close up the auto shop. So I sold that car for 10K and I was thinking next year I might build another car as a tribute to my dad. We need to get the economy thing back on track first. Awesome. I didn't want to put anything down and I owed what they gave me on my 06 350Z. If I would only wait till my cars were paid off before I wanted a new one I could be just like you!!!!

I seem to think you guys know alot about getting a good deal and how to deal with salesmen. So if I may ask if I got a good deal..... I did research for an IS that I wanted for months and finally when I found the IS350 I wanted in Houston it had a sticker price of $43,5xx.xx I do not like to haggle so I just said, lets do the paper work and see if I can afford this car. So they gave me 5.x% interest and I pay $650.00 per month for 72 months which ends of being a total cost at the end of financing of something like 46,8xx.xx. So did I get a good deal or did I get ripped off? Like I said in an earlier post I hate to haggle and I like to pay sticker cause it's quicker.

In auto mode it's going to run on outside air most of the time except under certain conditions at start up as noted above and sometimes when idling in heavy traffic or hot conditions. Running on recirc all the time is going to get pretty stale air after while I think. That's when I press the neat little filter button and clean my recirculating air!! It's a neat feature and makes the air feel and smell so good!!

I don't really pay attention that much to it but if I put it on auto then turn the car off. Then start it back up either overnight or for just a little while it seems to still be in auto when the car is restarted even though the center AUTO light does not illuminate because it will start up in recirculation mode but then later switch to outside air mode. But I keep it on recirculate most of the time anyway. It's too hot here in Texas and whether I'm behind a smoggy car or not; I just think outside air stinks period. My new IS350 smells too good to let the outside elements ruin it! But regardless it can switch back and forth on its own from inside to outside air in auto mode depending on the smog sensor and what it thinks is good and bad air.

Well if they test the fuel you have in your tank when you start having problems and it's regular they will be able to tell you've been using it for a long time by checking the engine computer codes for knocks and other problems with using regular gas. So when you experience a problem don't go fill up with premium and think they won't know. And they may not and do not have to honor the warranty. I've seen it happen!!

Exactally. You should never buy a car without test driving it at least 3 or 4 times at different dealers. My dealer even let me take a loaner home over the weekend so as to try everything out. Before I even knew I wanted to get the IS350.

Amen!!

Jim, Go see the Lexus HS250h!!!!!!! They are supposedly more roomy inside than they look!! http://www.lexus.com/fcv/HSHybrid.html?s_o...0_HS_FCV_Anchor

Yes, to complete my statement about whether it will hurt the engine or not. Cars these days have enough computer technology to adjust to lower octane fuel so the engine will not knock (which is what damages the engine). But depending on all the different kinds of gasoline’s these days (some gas at these cheap stations I can bet the computer cannot adjust to), the computer can only adjust so much to try to avoid knocking and you might experience it anyway. And you will not even be able to tell because these cars are so quiet. So your car could be just fine with regular if the computer adjusts correctly. But then again, your car is fairly new and you might be doing some extra repairs later down the road. And I would bet money you are only getting the performance of the Camry's V6; which honestly is not that much different. Most likely your car will be just fine down the road with 250k+ miles with always having put in regular fuel. But if Camry performance and possible damage in the latter years of the cars life are really worth it to you just to save a few dollars in gas then that is your own prerogative.