bit of advise with gs450h

[iffy]

So have been doing research on gs450h and just wanted to ask a few questions:

1. Are there any extras I should be looking out for although the gs450h is already well equipped?
2. Should I worry about the hybrid Battery on a 2008 vehicle? If so is there anywhere here up in Scotland that repair these issues?
3. Is there anything else I should be aware of when looking to purchase one?

[Farqui]

Hi there, I purchased an 08 model just over a year ago and it's never missed a beat.

 

It had covered 93k and has since clocked up another 10k, taking in several trips to the conintent.

 

The rear Y section of the exhaust was corroded, along with the OS muffler. Both were fixed with a new SS rear section.

 

The battery's seem to be pretty reliable, touch wood. Although I guess each car is treated differently. Richard is nr Northampton and seems to be font of all knowledge when it comes to Battery repairs.

 

Apart from sticky rear calipers, blistering alloys also watch out for leaky shocks. Otherwise they seem pretty solid.

 

The 08 models onwards have USB music feed in the center arm rest and indicators on the mirrors. Base models come pretty well spec'd too.

 

Have you seen one of interest or driven one?

[iffy]

We actually have an 02 gs300 in the family which is a fantastic car (not so promising in terms of handling) that is in my opinion smooth and nice to be in. I have also drove a 06 gs300 which again was nice to be in but not so good in the handling department. I haven't though driven a gs450h. 

[mrdoofa]

These are seriously quick cars!!! The combination of the instant torque of the electric motor and seamless acceleration through the CVT transmission means not much will keep up with it.

However, if the hybrid system goes wrong it can get very expensive very quickly too. At this age I’d like to either see evidence of a Lexus health check on the hybrid components or see if the seller will get one done for peace of mind. The shocks are prone to leaking and are a very expensive dealer only item.

The engine is chain driven but the chain can sometimes rattle and oil leaks aren’t unheard of, as Lee says check for seized calipers and exhaust leaks.

They are an excellent car but also very complex, many say it isn’t one of lexus’ most reliable cars but I’d probably have another if a good one came along although I’m more than happy with my LS430 right now, they are well equipped, very comfortable and did I say quick? There isn’t much difference between SE and SE-L models except a sunroof and radar cruise. Bear in mind that the batteries take up a lot of room in the boot if luggage carrying is a concern.

[Upex]

From my experience, folks have it covered.

The only things I'd add in addition to the rear shocks, exhaust y piece (both of which I've replaced on my car), bubbling alloys (which i have, real bad, look hideous) and the rear calipers, is the front calipers, as they stick to, ask me how I know! Abs pump, and bonnet blistering.

Turns out that the front right caliper is like rocking horse *******, i couldnt get one anywhere unless paying silly money from dealer. So i didnt bother, yet. All 4 calipers on my car were bad, I intend to take the old girl off the road and have all 4 refurbed with new piston, seals, deep clean and painted with long warranty for less than price of 1 caliper.  That will run circa 500, but will effectively be like having brand new calipers all around, with a decent long term corrosion warranty, so better than replacing with cheap coated dealer parts.

The second addition is the abs pump. Mine makes a noise and reports an accumulator low pressure warning. The car has done it since before my ownership (near a year now) but apart from being annoying, works fine. However I will replace one day when ive free cash and the appetite to do it. Not a cheap part, but fairly uncommon to do this I believe. I only know of one other on a gs450h, several posted about same thing on other gs models.

Turns out you don't really need brakes in good condition with these cars 🤔 I have a clicking low pressure pump, a stuck piston that will not move, at all, in the front and she brakes almost as good as my sports bike, too good really, so I'll plod along on my 7.5 pads for now 🤣 was good enough for mot brake test pass

Bonnet can blister along front end where it meats the rubber seal as it's alloy. There were several warranty claims for this, but my dealer told me to get stuffed when I asked, loser. Rest of car seems solid corrosion wise as is steel I believe.

Regards suspension struts, these are a consumable component on any car, but aren't cheap. However they can be swapped with fairly easily DIY which reduces cost a good chunk. I've replaced both mine myself with instructions from this forum when one started leaking. At 148000 miles, they didnt do too bad, for a 2 ton car. I need to change struts on my x5 at 141000 miles, which is also 2 ton, but they half the price, so the Lexus fairing ok in this regard.

Only other points of note is that changing spark plugs is a pain in the *****, so even if they say they were done, check or better replace and know they fine for the future and learn how to actually get to the right bank plugs.  Also, if you need to change front lower ball joints, they don't come on the track rod ends, so don't order the track rods unless you actually need them. I did and now have a set sat collecting dust when realised there were no ball joints and couldn't return them as special order. My own fault for not looking, but hey ho. Lastly, get tracking done by a proper place. My locals, always been great, couldn't get mine centered properly, so it's still on the wonk and I believe you should do some sort of zero point calibration with techstream etc, which they didnt / couldn't do.

Overall, it's a cracking car, very quick and you get a lot for your money, which seems to hold up well for the age. Bought mine on 132000 ish, and am at 151000 ish now without issue, except my 12v Battery decided to give up the ghost 2 weeks ago, but fair play, it's the original Battery, or at least carries a 2006 date stamp, so I'll give it it's dues, 12 years is a result in my view! 

Give it a go and enjoy, can't really by anything this well specked and fast for the money that I've come across yet.

I'll likely end up selling mine before long (divorce and having to move which will triple my commute so need something boring, aka with better mpg 😢 and can't really afford to keep 2 cars now) and ill be gutted to see her go, she's a bute!

Good hunting, sure you'll not regret it.

[Odysseus]

So have been doing research on gs450h and just wanted to ask a few questions:

1. Are there any extras I should be looking out for although the gs450h is already well equipped?
2. Should I worry about the hybrid battery on a 2008 vehicle? If so is there anywhere here up in Scotland that repair these issues?
3. Is there anything else I should be aware of when looking to purchase one?

Great cars. I bought a 2008 SE-L last July after lots of looking. No regrets.

The GS450H’s came out in 2006 and had a facelift in 2008 (indicators in the door mirrors being the giveaway). There was another facelift in 2010 with a different grille and improved HDD based nav.

Depending on what extras you want will dictate what model you need to look for. Up to 2008 radar cruise and sunroofs were standard on the SE-L, optional after 2008.

All models have leather seats, nav, reversing camera, cruise control, keyless entry, etc etc so are well equipped relative to the equivalent MB or BMW. That said I use my radar cruise every day and wouldn’t want to be without it now. This is called ACC (active cruise control) in Lexus land.

I also have a part wooden steering wheel which was an optional extra.

Lexus will sell you a two year warranty for £1100 which is very well regarded and is what I plan to do in July after my car’s one year used warranty runs out. This means I enjoy a £50K car without too many worries of unexpected scary bills. Stipulations are the car has to have a full Lexus service history and be under 10 years old and under 100,000 miles.

They are economical relative to their size and performance but still quite thirsty in absolute terms. I’m averaging mid to late 20s to the gallon. Others here manage more.

Tyres are about £120 to £150 per corner for a decent brand.

I have a 70,000 mile Service coming up in the next 3 months which I’m expecting to cost around £600 at Lexus Cambridge.

I’d buy on condition rather than age, but would prioritise age over miles if that isn’t contradictory. In short these cars can cover high mileages and I’d sooner have a later car with 80,000 than a 2006 with 40,000, assuming both were in excellent condition with Lexus stamped service books.

It’s a fast car but not one that wants you to attack every apex or be the last of the late brakers. It will do all these things but you get the impression from the chassis it would rather you grow up and drive properly. As a relaxed, quiet, comfy place to be it is superb, and has dragster like properties when you want it. Perfect for me and my commute but it’s not a BMW M car.

Any questions feel free to ask. There’s a lot of knowledge on these forums and people are very helpful and enthusiastic. Good luck with your hunt!




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[Guest]

Just to Add i believe the very outdated cassette tape deck was also finally removed in the 2010 model.

[Farqui]

9 minutes ago, Eame64 said:

Just to Add i believe the very outdated cassette tape deck was also finally removed in the 2010 model.

You mean the 'retro' cassette deck 

It is comical and I've never used mine.

[OldTrout]

8 hours ago, Farqui said:

You mean the 'retro' cassette deck 

It is comical and I've never used mine.

This retro owner has lots of cassette tapes and finds it very useful.

Some owners on here find Landsail or Three A tyres perfectly adequate at less than £75/corner.

If potential purchase does not have at least two keys be aware that a new key is very expensive (£200 or £300 or so) so good bargaining point. A hybrid Battery cheque is a mere £59 and gives a warranty for 12 months too.

It is still a gen 3 GS so if you don't like the handling of the 300 will you like the 450?

The boot is smaller than the gen 2 or 3 GS300. Check it is big enough for your needs.

I think the forum members are pretty well 100% in loving the gen 3 450h.

John

[iffy]

Thank so very much for taking the time to give me a detailed response all users. 

In terms of handling, I am well aware this car isn't probably designed to go round corners fast which I can live with as the Lexus gs300 I have isn't really a car you want to drive fast. It's really a car you want to enjoy driving sensibly. So from that respect its all good. The speed of the car isn't really something that appeals to me. Put it this way, I have an is200 which I find great for speed and an e46 325i which I think does the job very in terms of speed. My only issue really is the ease of maintenance. I love doing my own work and must say I am tad pee'd off at Lexus part prices. They seem to be more expensive than BMW. 

On the tyre talk. I would stick with goodyear eagle tyres. My IS200 responds very very well to them. 

[Odysseus]

Thank so very much for taking the time to give me a detailed response all users. 
In terms of handling, I am well aware this car isn't probably designed to go round corners fast which I can live with as the Lexus gs300 I have isn't really a car you want to drive fast. It's really a car you want to enjoy driving sensibly. So from that respect its all good. The speed of the car isn't really something that appeals to me. Put it this way, I have an is200 which I find great for speed and an e46 325i which I think does the job very in terms of speed. My only issue really is the ease of maintenance. I love doing my own work and must say I am tad pee'd off at Lexus part prices. They seem to be more expensive than BMW. 
On the tyre talk. I would stick with goodyear eagle tyres. My IS200 responds very very well to them. 

An E46 BMW with a straight 6 is a fine car indeed so well done on that front. If the performance of the GS450H doesn’t appeal or is unnecessary then maybe a GS300 would be a better bet?

If you’re skilled in doing your own maintenance (hats off to you!) then a non-hybrid may be more satisfying as I can’t imagine the hybrid system and CVT box are particularly easy or ‘normal’ to work on.

Good luck with whatever decision you make.


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[Initial P]

I had a BMW E60 530i 2004 prior to my GS300 but wanted all the toys (and something a bit rarer) this time so went Lexus oh & all the M54 engine leaks!

[iffy]

I actually have the m54engine. The is good and yes it does have its issues, ones that bmw are to apparently to blame for (piston rings).

However if lexus could only better bmw in drive quality, they defo would be the best out there.