cduluk

AH, now that i know. :D The Boeing 737 in the first and second videos are of the second generation 737, the 737-200 series- which they no longer fly (since 2005). Now they fly only the 737-300, 737-500 and 737-700 which had some upgrades, specifically to the engines. They did lease a Boeing 727 at one point in the late 70's (my favorite plane). But other than that, they only fly 737's. In the second video you can notice all the smoke coming from the engines after the plane flies over her head (common to the older engines)... pretty scary how low the emissions standards were back then.

Hmm, i can't find that part on any of the lexus parts schematics either; it's either sold with the wood panel (like you said) or it comes with part 15 (see pic) and is just not pictured correctly. Well maybe i can help. I while back i purchased a spare console piece (i thought i needed it for a project) but i have no use for the part you need, so you can have it. You don't need to pay me, just PM me your address and i'll send it USPS. From one Lexus owner to another! Here are some pics: Either PM me or e-mail me (cduluk@cox.net) if you're interested. Since you only have 2 posts on the forum the PM feature might be blocked, if so just e-mail. The console piece i have was from... i think an 04 Rx330, and the condition is near perfect (no scratches on front piece).

When i hit the AM/SAT button it only goes to AM, so there's gotta be something else to it. Maybe you need to hold it down? What do the instructions say?

Does your LS have HID headlights or the standard halogen bulbs?

I agree! Most airlines nowadays charge passengers for the littlest of things, personally i wouldn't mind paying a little extra to be served by one of those ladies. :whistles: I was born 40 years too late. :( Yea...but what if this guy was in one of those outfits! Haha, Ok you've got a point there. I guess the 70's outfits wouldn't work in today's world, since a modern day airline can't hire ONLY skinny, young, attractive stewardesses... because of the whole equal opportunity thing... I'm sure the majority of today's women might have issues even "fitting" in one of those "hot pants" or "go-go boots". And men... well, that just wouldn't work! I don't know how Hooters gets away with it in today's world. If they can do it, airlines should as well.

For sure, the Rx400h is very sporadic; sometimes it's powerful and sometimes it's not. I think it has to do with the battery charge and... well, something else. If you were to do 20 or so 0-60 test runs, you'd get 20 or so VERY different times. It sucks... I can't always depend on it to accelerate the way i'd like it to.

I agree! Most airlines nowadays charge passengers for the littlest of things, personally i wouldn't mind paying a little extra to be served by one of those ladies. :whistles: I was born 40 years too late. :(

Hmm, that's odd... Have you ever spilled anything on the steering wheel radio controls or on the radio? Any sticky liquids could be causing the buttons to stick (but i doubt it). How frequently does this happen?

They're called LED's (Light emitting diodes) actually. They produce a much crisper light than halogen bulbs do and with much less heat. Xenon is the name of a bulb used in some luxury car headlights that produce a similar "white" light.

Hey guys! In the past year or so i've sort of become an Aviation "nut" and found something pretty "stunning" on a recent search on Youtube, and just thought i'd get your opinions on it. I found a Southwest Airlines ad from 1972, with a couple of hostesses (aka stewardesses, or flight attendants) strutting across a runway bragging about their "outfits" (consisting of... well, nothing i've ever seen a modern-day flight attendant wearing before...) as they walk towards their plane. I then found another ad from Southwest from the same year with another one of their hostesses wearing the same outfit talking about the airline. Here are the two videos... Well, as you can imagine (being a 21 year old male), i find this completely "stunning" and well, kind of depressing. Flight attendants of today CERTAINLY do NOT dress like this anymore, and it just seems "backwards" that this type of thing was allowed 40 years ago, but not in the present day. With all of the crap that's exposed to the youth in today's media and on TV, i find it odd that this type of clothing would be considered "unacceptable" on an airline of today. Personally, i kind of like the old SWA flight attendant outfits, and i certainly wouldn't mind if today's flight attendants dressed like that! I see no difference between this and the influences of TV, magazines and all of the other crap that's around us 24/7. So what do you guys/gals think?

Well, the 350 is a little faster, and in your case, a year newer. Personally i would go with the GS350 only because it's remained pretty much the same to the 2010, and they don't seem to have many issues. No a lot of info on the 06 Gs300 though... And yes, definitely go with the AWD if you're planning on driving in the snow at some point. The RWD GS is TERRIBLE from what i hear.

can you post some pictures?

The CVT is nice because it's smooth, but dammit it's BORING. Sometimes when trying to accelerate hard, i just hear the engine and transmission noise getting louder and louder (without switching gears), and it just "sounds" like it's a 4cyl car trying to get into the next gear -but can't. The CVT certainly isn't a "sporty" sound or feel. It's 100% luxurious. If the Rx400h wasn't 0.2 seconds faster than the Rx350 (on paper) from 0-60MPH, i certainly wouldn't be bragging about it. The Rx400h may be a little faster, but it doesn't FEEL like it, at all. Without the rev sounds, it just feels "slow". There are only a "select few" times in the Rx400h when it feels (and i can tell it is) faster than the Rx350- and that's during passing (around other cars). If you're following a car in the 30MPH-40MPH range and want to pass, just slam on the gas (waiting the few seconds for the DELAY of course) and the car just GOES!!! and i mean GOES! At any other speed though, it just crawls. From stop, it's pretty bad... without a doubt, not as quick as in the Rx350. I've driven the 07 Rx350, and man, it flies from a stop. With the Rx400h, there's a huge delay after pressing the pedal (does this at any speed actually...) and the engine does NOT max out like the Rx350 does. The CVT is nice when you're just cruising, but it isn't fun to play with. And i agree, it's pretty loud at any speed (with the exception of at rest) in comparison to the Rx350.

The Rx300 (especially AWD version) is WELL KNOWN for this transmission issue, and there are tons of posts about it on this site. $5000 seems to be the going rate for the transmission replacement, although i've heard of many spending more towards $4000-$4500... Rebuild is another possibility, but it probably won't last. It's a 99, tell your sister to ditch the car. The engine is getting old and everything else is too. Probably not worth the headache. That's my opinion...

Can't you just hot-glue (or epoxy) everything back in place? That's what i would do (and have done). :whistles:

I don't think the cluster is the problem on yours, since you stated the orange "empty" light is on too. If it was just a stuck needle problem, the gas light wouldn't be on.

they denied your claim!? Damn, you've gotta have respect for insurance companies... Even when you tell them the truth, they don't believe you! Can you take the car to another shop that could re-evaluate the situation? I don't understand how the Lexus dealer could deny the claim that lightning blew out the cars electrical systems. Seems pretty cut and dry to me.

The clearcoat Lexus uses is pretty soft... Mine has the same problem.

You can have a local locksmith cut the blades for you (as long as you've got one they can copy from) but the programming is a different story. The old style keys (for the LS400) can be programmed yourself, but the newer smart keys cannot... I'd just get them both cut and programmed from the dealer. The blades are cut at the factory with the best cutting machines...

One is the base coat (solid white) and the other is the metallic effect (pearl). Open both and figure out which one is the "solid" white and which is the "metallic" white. Apply the one that's solid white, let dry a little, and apply the one that has a bit of metallic in it. There is probably a little clear mixed into the second one... It's supposed to be that way, don't worry. <_<

Oh my GOD! I've never heard of that happening to anybody's car before. Could this be a candidate for an insurance claim? If so, take advantage.

If it's anything like the Rx400h, pretty much. Try ebay or car-part.com. Or for new, try parts.com. You may want to find out if the Rx350 lamps are the same as the Rx450h. I know for the 06-08 Rx400h they differ from the 04-09 Rx350 lamps, but it "appears" that for 2010 the hybrid and gas-only engine models have the same tail lights. It may give you more options for buying used.

Oh come on, he was obviously talking about me. :whistles:

Oh that's good! :D That saved you a bunch. <_<

I LOVED my 2003 Rx300. It always treated me right and i loved the way it looked. Even today when i see one on the road i keep forgetting they're that old. The Rx300 was designed in 1997, but the styling still looks good in 2010. :) The only reason we traded it in for the Rx400h was because we got an amazing deal. But now that i have the Rx400h, i realize how much i enjoy the newer technology. I was also glad to get rid of the Rx300 before the transmission blew out (which is common for the Rx300). <_<