GS450h purchase

[Eddy1]

I’m going to view a 450h and was just wanting a bit of advice since it’s a private sale.

The car has a hybrid health check but I’m not sure what else to look for.

I’m contemplating having either a new MOt done or a health check done or inspection.

i have a carly obd for Toyota so will do a code read. My problem is the test drive I’m not clued up about listening for noises etc.

Any advice appreciated .

[Farqui]

Hi Eddy, good call checking in for what to look out for on a test drive.

A clean hybrid health check is good and will warranty the traction Battery for another 12 months.

The GS450h should be pretty much silent even with the v6 running, at least on the standard exhaust. Peek under the rear bumper and check the exhaust Y pipe where it splits to the left/right boxes, this area is prone to corrode/leak so rust/soot can be used as bargaining chips.

Dealers like to report leaking dampers and failed calipers but posts on here often show that the dampers are fine (as in my case) and the calipers often just need a clean/re-lube.

Once the v6 is thoroughly warmed up, turn down the heater and lift off/go light on the throttle under 40mpg - this should force electric mode.  In Normal mode you can hold electric easily on the throttle but in Sport or PWR modes almost any throttle will bring the v6 back online.  PWR mode will give you more regen braking vs Normal.  Switching between modes can be laggy to load/engage but once set you should then feel the throttle response change.  Sport will tighten the dampers a bit.

Hit the Info button, then Trip Info to see average mpg, min/max consumption, etc  It should be averaging over 30mpg although much depends if the car is primarily driven in or out of town.  40mpg/thereabouts should be attainable on a steady 60pmg+ run.  Lower figures might be caused by a traction Battery that's on it's way out or 'regular' stuff like sticking brake calipers, vacuum leak, o2 sensor, etc. 

Check the headlights work as they're quite expensive to repair.

If you are looking at an '08 car (in your profile) then is it a facelift with the indicators in the wind mirrors? 

At that age TPMS sensors might be or start to fail, the reset button is under the dash. 

Unfortunately alloys can tend to corrode quite badly, check the plastic inserts are all in place and secure.

Does the vehicle has a full service history?  With Lexus or elsewhere?

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[Eddy1]

23 hours ago, Farqui said:

Hi Eddy, good call checking in for what to look out for on a test drive.

A clean hybrid health check is good and will warranty the traction Battery for another 12 months.

The GS450h should be pretty much silent even with the v6 running, at least on the standard exhaust. Peek under the rear bumper and check the exhaust Y pipe where it splits to the left/right boxes, this area is prone to corrode/leak so rust/soot can be used as bargaining chips.

Dealers like to report leaking dampers and failed calipers but posts on here often show that the dampers are fine (as in my case) and the calipers often just need a clean/re-lube.

Once the v6 is thoroughly warmed up, turn down the heater and lift off/go light on the throttle under 40mpg - this should force electric mode.  In Normal mode you can hold electric easily on the throttle but in Sport or PWR modes almost any throttle will bring the v6 back online.  PWR mode will give you more regen braking vs Normal.  Switching between modes can be laggy to load/engage but once set you should then feel the throttle response change.  Sport will tighten the dampers a bit.

Hit the Info button, then Trip Info to see average mpg, min/max consumption, etc  It should be averaging over 30mpg although much depends if the car is primarily driven in or out of town.  40mpg/thereabouts should be attainable on a steady 60pmg+ run.  Lower figures might be caused by a traction Battery that's on it's way out or 'regular' stuff like sticking brake calipers, vacuum leak, o2 sensor, etc. 

Check the headlights work as they're quite expensive to repair.

If you are looking at an '08 car (in your profile) then is it a facelift with the indicators in the wind mirrors? 

At that age TPMS sensors might be or start to fail, the reset button is under the dash. 

Unfortunately alloys can tend to corrode quite badly, check the plastic inserts are all in place and secure.

Does the vehicle has a full service history?  With Lexus or elsewhere?

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Thanks for all the info. Very much appreciated.

the car has not been serviced at Lexus since 2016 but owner did own service oil changes spark plugs. Has mainly done motorway miles but needs service now. Was going to get a VHC at Lexus as I don’t know what to look for but another mot will be more comprehensive test.

will get warranty for 12 months with warranty direct but they want service in last 12 months.

This will be my 2nd car for shopping as I already drive an E70 2011 4.0d as my work car.

The alloys need refurb though.

what are plastic inserts as was thinking of Matt black on wheels. How do I check for dampers or seized callipers ??

[Farqui]

You're welcome.

After driving, are any of the wheels hotter than another - a rough test for a sticky caliper. Don't burn yourself tho! Low mpg is another possible tell tale.

Maybe your alloys aren't OEM if they don't have 5 plastic chromed fake spokes.

Leaking shocks will be tricky to see behind the wheels but try and look for any oil residue at the base of each damper. Crank the front wheels over and get down low fir the rears.

[Eddy1]

43 minutes ago, Farqui said:

You're welcome.

After driving, are any of the wheels hotter than another - a rough test for a sticky caliper. Don't burn yourself tho! Low mpg is another possible tell tale.

Maybe your alloys aren't OEM if they don't have 5 plastic chromed fake spokes.

Leaking shocks will be tricky to see behind the wheels but try and look for any oil residue at the base of each damper. Crank the front wheels over and get down low fir the rears.

I’m thinking maybe the VHC will pick all these as I have no clue. I’ll insist on VHC and hope the dealer will point these out. Is MoT test check for these as another test at £45 is worth it if these are in the test ( callipers and shocks)

[Eddy1]

Test drove car. The car drifted to left and using a paint thickeness pen the whole car had been re-sprayed at some point in its life.Only the boot was factory paint.

The alloys were tired looking badly needed refurb. Other than that it had one abs fault which showed up on code reader about voltage  drop. 

The drive was very solid and acceleration impressive. Braking was ok but not as strong as in my X5. Cornering ok but felt like a big car.

Anyway I like the GS probably as much as RX but you get more for your money with GS.

Not sure it’s worth the private asking price especially with the whole body respray and pulling left. It’s an 2008 with 100k miles SE asking 5k for it. No service history for a few years.

[royoftherovers]

2 minutes ago, Eddy1 said:

Test drove car. The car drifted to left and using a paint thickeness pen the whole car had been re-sprayed at some point in its life.Only the boot was factory paint.

The alloys were tired looking badly needed refurb. Other than that it had one abs fault which showed up on code reader about voltage  drop. 

The drive was very solid and acceleration impressive. Braking was ok but not as strong as in my X5. Cornering ok but felt like a big car.

Anyway I like the GS probably as much as RX but you get more for your money with GS.

Not sure it’s worth the private asking price especially with the whole body respray and pulling left. It’s an 2008 with 100k miles SE asking 5k for it. No service history for a few years.

Walk away.

[Eddy1]

He said that it might be resprsyed due to having a lot of scratches and it needed a 4 wheel alignment. The pull was only slight not too much as my X5 does same.

i loved the silent nature of it.

however when cold you could hear engine at start and that’s normal apparently. It shuts off when it warms up and petrol engine starts at around 20-30mph. 

Not sure about car but I enjoyed driving it. It’s not a jump down from the X5 and I can see driving it more often.

what your opinions? Is it worth further inspection??

[stox]

12 hours ago, Eddy1 said:

Braking was ok but not as strong as in my X5. Cornering ok but felt like a big car.

The braking on these takes some getting used to because of the way the regenerative and conventional friction brakes are managed by the hybrid system. The car will always stop, and can stop very quickly if necessary, but you can never be entirely sure what the response will be when you hit the brake pedal.

[Cartman's Mom]

One thing I found odd test driving a 2006 450h was the high idle from cold, it warms up really quickly though and is perfectly normal, also I've noticed the cruse control can be quite harsh coming on and off power due to the switching between electric, petrol and regen braking.