New GS 300 owner saying hello!

rich1068 · October 3, 2019

Very kind offers from both of you.

Dave (Lex-Tek) has been in touch and he's back in on Friday. I'll speak to him then and and I'm sure he'll be able to tell me if this is all something or nothing. Travelling to see either of you is slightly complicated by the car being uninsured at the moment but I have ways round that. If I need either of you I'll give you a shout.

Thanks again :thumbsup:

ronniemac · October 3, 2019

Hello Richard

A hazy memory has come to mind - triggered by kaybie's post - to do with the positive Battery terminal connection. It might be worthwhile to disengage and clean the connector coupling as well as the contact with the Battery terminal. I would be inclined to put a jumper wire between the terminal and the cable just to maintain the connection while you check the connector - but you probably have a better understanding of 'modern' circuitry. I have been most impressed with the advice and offers of help from other members. As a matter of interest, were the fault codes found by way of the specialised Lexus OBD socket or was it a better reader than is available to us mere mortals or both?

Hope the above helps.

Ron

rich1068 · October 3, 2019

Hi Ron,

Good to hear from you again.

I'll try cleaning up the terminals but I did tighten them the other day and everything looked OK.

If you're concerned about the car not starting don't worry. I've already experienced waiting for the key and car to talk to each other after a Battery disconnect. Just a few minutes with the ignition on as per your advice.

I assume they connected to the port under the bonnet but I don't really know.

Anyhoo, I'm taking it for a once over Saturday morning when I'm sure I'll have a better idea of how to proceed. In the meantime it continues to scrub up nicely :thumbsup:

ronniemac · October 3, 2019

Hello again

I am glad you continue to be positive about the car. It had been a wee bit neglected when I got it 5 years ago and the positive terminal connector seemed a bit temperamental, undoing and cleaning seemed to help at the time. Ah well - onwards and upwards as they say.

Regards

rich1068 · October 3, 2019

Indeed.

Cleaned the leather this afternoon

I'm fairly certain there's life in the old girl yet.

rich1068 · October 5, 2019

Well it appears my cheap car good luck is holding! Had an extremely productive, educational and enjoyable morning with Dave at Lex-Tek. He even made me a cup of tea.

Regarding the codes, none were present other than C1336 Zero Point Calibration of Deceleration Sensor Undone. The one that triggers the VCS warnings I had. It took a little while to reset and recalibrate but once done it hasn't come back :thumbsup: And Lexus Sheffield had assured me that all the other codes had been cleared but would return immediately hence their warnings regarding the ruinous cost of putting the car right. Charge from Dave? 20 quid.

He was frankly surprised that Lexus hadn't done exactly what he did. He seems to think it's the aftermarket code readers that triggered it, something I have read elsewhere and something that Dave confirms is a peculiar glitch of the GS 300. It's also something that the Lexus techs should be aware of because they used to come across it at Lexus Sheffield regularly back in the day. And while the bent paperclip trick might work in some cases it doesn't work in all. He knows because even the main dealers used to do it!

So I'm sorry Ron but if this is indeed the fix then it's not been the £300ish I imagined originally when I was working on the warning light being an O2 sensor. Feel a bit bad about that.

In other news, Dave had a good look round the car and declared it a good 'un. We pulled off a rattling heat shield around the exhaust, tightened up another and when I pointed out the cracking auxiliary belt he had another delivered and fitted in under 15 minutes. Helpful that there's a main ECP depot next door. The only other works required are new lower ball joints which he's doing Thursday.

Here are a couple of pics from yesterday. It was going to get it's first proper wash but I've arsed about with it so many times this week that the Battery was too flat to start! I ended up using my trusty Meguiars waterless wash before I could get hold of my jump leads and use the 9-5 to start it.

rich1068 · October 5, 2019

Just been for another run out and no warning lights :thumbsup: Could still be pending codes but we'll see Thursday.

Farqui · October 5, 2019

Excellent news, I had no doubts that Dave would see you right and I hoped that the car would be put right, for much less than the dealers *ahem* 'estimate'. Fingers crossed that it's all sorted now.

rich1068 · October 5, 2019

To be fair they didn't give me an estimate. They laid out a worse case scenario. Something that dealers tend to do I think.

What I am slightly annoyed about is that even though they had experienced staff looking my car over they didn't bring any of that experience to bear on the job in hand. Namely a glitch that's been apparent on the GS 300 for nearly 20 years.

rich1068 · October 7, 2019

And it's Bordeaux not bloody Beaujolais. Honestly, schoolboy error.

I should also say that I posted the above pictures on Twitter Friday evening and since then my notifications have gone through the roof. Plenty of love still out there for these cars.

rich1068 · October 7, 2019

Just had a little moan at someone at Lexus Sheffield regarding the code reading nonsense last week. Nothing official. Just having a word that I know will get back.

rich1068 · October 8, 2019

I think I just fixed the parking sensors :thumbsup:

rich1068 · October 9, 2019

New knob. I've got wood now.

rich1068 · October 9, 2019

Adds yet more class to the interior. If that is even possible.

I think that's my first mod!

rich1068 · October 12, 2019

Last of the necessary work carried out today. OS upper arm replaced, ball joints last Thursday, err... that's it.

Everything else is now, as they say, gravy :thumbsup:

rich1068 · October 13, 2019

Adjusted the parking brake today. Just like back in the day on my '65 Beetle with drums all round!

Also, packed out under the supports on the spoiler. It was a little loose and made a nasty noise when you shut the boot lid. I thought I'd be able to tighten the bracket where it attached to boot lid but pop rivets Genuine Lexus too.

The-Acre · October 13, 2019

I really do love the look of your GS, beautiful colour. I was in Cornwall recently filling up when a guy drove in with a lovely 2002 GS430 so I had to talk to him! It had around 70k on the clock but he knew very little about it as it was his father's car and couldn't bear to part with it after his death. I can't help thinking they may look even better than the later ones!

rich1068 · October 13, 2019

I thought I was going to really hate the spoiler on mine but it's really grown on me. Finishes off the back end really well I think.

And a 430? What a beast that must be!

The-Acre · October 14, 2019

11 hours ago, rich1068 said:

I thought I was going to really hate the spoiler on mine but it's really grown on me. Finishes off the back end really well I think.

And a 430? What a beast that must be!

Yes, fairly rare with the same V8 as the LS. I did try an 05 GS430 before I bought my 300 but in all honesty the power didn't seem vastly different. I think your spoiler looks fine, it works well and suits the car. I recently fitted one to my Celsior but it's only very small.

rich1068 · October 14, 2019

Changed a cracked front fog light unit. Almost disappointingly straightforward.

rich1068 · October 17, 2019

More hot off the press updates. As they happen.

Some serious ICE upgrades today in the form of a pair of 4" £20 Pioneers from Halfords.

Again, amazingly straightforward getting the door card off. And back on again. I'd have needed a bag of new one time clips on the Saabs or Volvos.

I'd say they're at least a £40 improvement to it's all good :thumbsup:

I also received my updated nav discs off the Bay (£16.50 delivered) and now I know where Milton Keynes is.

rich1068 · October 21, 2019

A decision was made and this one went yesterday. Sold it for more than I paid for it but man maths dictates I forget what I spent on it.

rich1068 · October 21, 2019

Just reading this...

...and Kat referred to the winter wheels he received with his new IS250. A light bulb went on over my head and I remembered the 16" winter wheels and tyres I bought for my first gen IS from @gdh300 a year or two ago. They've been tucked away more or less unused since then. Anyone happen to know if they'd fit on the GS?