denniscasey

Dealer told us our 2011 IS350 AWD came with park assist like we had on our 2007 IS350 (front and rear warning). However it did not so dealer told us he can add park assist but only to back and he was not clear about where display would show (rear view mirror or nav screen--car does have nav and back up camera). I notice that rear bumper has circular protrusions (look like small plugs)left and right that could be pre-drilled to add sensors? Has anyone had experience with "aftermarket" park assist? Lexus hq does say car warranty will not be affected as long as dealer does not remove/re-install nav screen during installation of park assist but should get something in writing from dealer confirming this.

Thank you for input, Jim. By the way, I had typo in my original post option 1. I meant 25.7 inch rear tires not 26.7 inch rear tires--that would lower rear end slightly from OEM. Subsequent to my note I talked to a Lexus service manager and he said headlights would adjust to lower rear end--would not be a problem. So I have two options: (1) WS60 all around on 18 inch wheels leaving back end 0.3 inches lower than OEM; (2) WS60 on front and WS70 on rear to retain OEM tire diameters front and rear--and I don't think different tread pattern WS60 and WS70 would affect handling too much under cautious winter driving I do. You mentioned different wheels--IS350 does come with 17 inch wheels or 18 inch wheel option on my IS350. I did investigate 17 inch wheels on front and leave 18 inch wheels on rear. With that combination I can get WS70's all around in combination that maintains OEM diameter front and rear. But, overall cost (wheels plus new tire pressure monitors) goes up $450 (Tire Rack low cost wheels) vs just getting tires. Dennis

My 2007 IS350 with 18 inch wheels has considerable tire stagger front/rear--OEM front tire diameter in 25.08 inch, rear tire diameter is 26 inch. I want to put studdable snow tires with 25.1 inch diameter on front and 26.7 inch diameter on rear. This could result in headlights being aimed high except I recall reading somewhere that headlights on car can adjust to changes in car "angle" (for instance if you have heavy load in rear--passengers, luggage, etc)so they are not aimed too high (dazzle oncoming cars). Is difference in tire diameter front/rear I want to put on vs OEM front/rear too much for headlight aiming to compensate for? Can dealer "adjust" headlights to compensate--used to do this headlight aiming in old days? Could I have other problems in deviating from OEM front/rear diameters? Reason for wanting to do this is to get matched set of Blizzaks on car. Recognizing tire choice varies with everyone's needs I have tried other types of snow tires and Blizzaks for me are what I want--I am not "performance" driver in winter--save that for when I have performance tires on car. Other option is to put Blizzak WS60 on front and WS70 on rear--this will match OEM front/rear diameter stagger but might possibly give strange handling? Appreciate your experience input, thank you.

Some info regarding powertrain warranty and transferrable CPO warranty with request for input from others--post in reply to this post. With complexity around warranties I am finding some Lexus warranty people (at Lexus HQ finance/warranty dept)need training so thought I would pass on my findings regarding wrong info you might get from call to Lexus. My 2007 CPO IS350 basic warranty is about to expire (mileage) but "powertrain warranty" still has quite a ways to go. In light of all the recalls and accompaying publicity I feel some transferrable warranty will help sell car so called Lexus to verify: (1)covered items in powertrain warranty; and (2)any plans to make remaining time/mileage of CPO warranty transferrable to next owner. Regarding (1) terms of original transferrable powertrain warranty (I did not have my owners manual at time I wanted to check this out so called Lexus). Lexus person said engine,transmission, drive axle covered but engine control computer is NOT covered. . That sounded wrong so after getting that answer from person several times I checked Lexus website--engine control computer (probably very expensive) is covered. So, if answers you get from Lexus personnel (who are generally very helpful) does not sound right it is worth calling another person at Lexus to see what answer you get or checking Lexus website on your own. Regarding item (2)transfer of CPO warranty. I called Lexus Customer Service to see if there were any plans to make CPO warranty transferrable to next owner (right now Lexis CPO warranty is not transferrable--BMW CPO warrenty is transferrable as point of interest). It would help sell car if new owner had warranty coverage. Customer service said to call Maritz Company who manages this for Lexus. I called them and person originally said CPO warranty was transferrable. When I said I had been told it was not transferrable he said Lexus has final say on that so call Lexus Financial who manages warranties.. at Lexus financial answer was CPO warranty continues not transferrable. By the way, this is the same person who told me powertrain warranty did not cover engine control computer so I might call again to see if some other person will give me a more favorable answer regarding transfer of CPO warranty--if anyone has more info about this please post to forum in this topic.

Jim, thanks for input--Blizzak WS 50 have been great tires for me too, but as you note X-ICE have been highly rated also and I may give them a try. Dennis

My CPO IS350 came with set of Michelin Alpin PA2 "snow tires." Used them last winter but they were not so great vs Blizzak WS60 I have experience with. In fairness PA2's are "performance snow tires" not optimal for snow/ice. Does anyone have experience with Michelin X-ICE "studless snow tires" on IS350--are they night and day better than PA2 or just marginally better?

I read a Car and Driver winter tire test which showed Michelin Alpin which came with my CPO IS350 is not truly a winter tire vs other options from Michelin and others. Alpins seem to be better than so called All Weather but not as good as their Winter tire. I have had experience with Bridgestone Blizzaks which I think are more of a winter tire and I expect the IS350 would do much better in snow with a true winter tire vs my experience so far with the Alpins. The trade off is true winter tires will not handle as well on dry/wet roads as all weather tires.

I have experienced St. Paul, MN winters with RWD, FWD and AWD cars and best performers I have had are AWD (Mitsubishi Eclipse, Subaru WRX and 2006 Legacy GT) all with Bridgestone Blizzaks all around--I recommend Blizzaks for handling snow and some ice. The AWD cars accelerate wonderfully in snow (I used to have a blast with stop light "drag racing" Corvettes and other muscle cars in the snow) and don't get stuck (within reason) but stopping and turning of course can still be a problem. So depending on how steep your driveway is AWD will help (which other cars have managed your driveway by the way?). I would appreciate advice from other IS350 drivers regarding winter driving with this car. This is my first winter with 2007 CPO IS-350 which came with set of Michelin Alpin winter tires. With one 50 pound bag of salt in trunk I had hoped for better traction and handling in snow with snow tires mounted. However it seems IS350 power upsets balance of car in snow such that traction is very difficult to obtain. I use SNOW setting and find TRAC control unpredictably killing power in snow very nervewracking so I turn TRAC and VSC off and drive carefully managing tire spin. Would appreciate additional tips from those experienced in driving IS350 in snow regarding what else I can do to at least make the best of situation--should I add more weight in trunk to gain traction or what?? Thankyou, Dennis

Smooth1 thankyou for welcome. Our other car which we could use on snow days is Subaru Legacy GT (turbo, AWD) and previously WRX so it has been a while since driving RWD hence questions about handling in wet and snow (recall the days of adding weight to trunk for driving in snow with snow tires). Does anyone know weight distribution of IS350 (Front/Rear)--haven't seen that yet in owners manual or on Lexus website. Never had hands free cell phone and there are so many options which explains question about cell phone.

Just bought certified pre-owned 2007 IS350 with pretty much all options (wife loves options). Would appreciate owners comments regarding: (1) have checked Lexus LetsTalk website for call phones to pair with Nav system (Sprint is carrier), but any advice/comments?; (2) car has Bridgestone Turenza tires and on TireRack read IS350 is a bit scary on those tires in wet (comments); (3) came with set of Michelin Pilot Alpins with good tread left but any advice for winter driving (Minnesota) such as bags of sand in trunk--small as it is; (4) any other particularly good or bad things I should be aware of with car. Thank you for help and still reading through owners manual.