Getting close to 1 yr of GS450h ownership

[Kijan]

Hello Everyone, 

Just wanted to share that in about 2 months from now I will be hitting 1 yr of great ownership of 2013 GS450h MK4 Fsport. On 4th January I have booked minor service (102k km), which will be my 2nd service with Lexus Cork. This time I also change all 4 tyres as an extra, which will be bit heartbreaking 1k Eur, but things need to be done 🙂 I would also need to call tomorrow to check if they have oil change in schedule for minor service, as if not - I would go for that. Not that I have issues, but I prefer to change it on every service. To my surprise oil level didn't changed a small bit through nearly 15k km which is a great change from my previous '08 Civic Hybrid that was thirsty for engine oil ☺️. 

Few thoughts after driving that time and nearly 20.5k kms together - love it!! 

Lexus engineered a lovely machine that I really drove nearly everyday, sometimes just looking for an excuse just to get in front of steering wheel and enjoy. Superb economical, when driven gently - and so powerful when on S mode that very often I catch myself just flipping there for no reason to listen to the lovely V6 roar.

I had few less annoying issues, but I learned how to live with them and some that I will bring to the service team in January. 

Mainly - my Lexus seem to dislike petrol different than Miles Plus from Circle K. Funny it sounds when I filled tank with some other petrol I had ECU errors and CEL light after some time (surprisingly mostly steady drive on 90-100 km/h with cruise control). Other than that no issues with consumption, smoke from exhaust, engine operation - just random errors on crap petrol.

Other error I found was related to ABS sensor, which again popped about 3 times giving many errors on dash and disappear after I turned car off for a moment and turned back. I found that once I reset error it will show up soon and if I leave it as it is - drive without problems for more than 2k kms now (I suspect maybe some connection error on plug) - I have that poined for check during service. There are no issues with any of the systems during driving, ABS, TRC everything works perfectly - and I can see that especially now during colder days and less grip on evenings - I can drive with confidence even on crap slippery surface. 

This car brought so much joy to my every day now, that I'm not seeing any viable new or even matching vechicle to think about trade in or selling it. Just Irish roads give some more chips on the body and that make me sad every time I do a full wash to it - which I'm continuing even on misty or coldy weather with pleasure 🙂

That year also teached me a lot on the car cosmetics and from many brands I bought - I'm sticking with Soft99 and Meguiar's - they really do the job and make the car shine on the road.

On the funny end - It also got me my first speeding ticket ☺️ where I was chased by the Gardai with radar - all due to fast acceleration and not feeling speed inside of the car! Ok I know, these are excuses - 140 km/h on 100 km/h max road 🙂 fun times months back 🙂

I only feel somehow bad recommending this car to friends and family knowing how rare they are in Ireland - close to zero and price point for that version. 

Still the best car I have owned and planning to keep for years from now 🙂

Adding some pictures as well to keep on appreciating :)

[serbarry]

Hi Bart, nice to read that you are happy with your GS. I am still looking for a MK3, hopefully in spring if the owner decides to sell me the one that I was supposed to buy last September. I also put Miles plus from Circle K (the one in Douglas) and never had issues.

Ps when Gardai caught you, were you driving on N40? (from jack Linch tunnel to Wilton? To give you an idea).

Which tyres are you going to put on? 1,000 euros sounds a bit expensive to me. 

[Kijan]

Thanks Sergio, 

I hope that inded you will make your purchae and enjoy that car - with the MK3 and MK4 both giving pleasure to drive I'm sure you will be happy with it 🙂

They got me on N25 coming from Midleton - there is a spot behind the hill where they usually put speed camera van, but that time they were in the bushes on top of the hill with handheld radar 😄

With tyres I'm going for Bridgestone Potenzas from Lexus some 2021 model - had a bit of though on Pirelli P Zeros for a while, but Lexus couldn't source them and other garage quoted me on 200E extra. Then I would suspect some TPMS issues, so I rather leave it for Lexus to replace and save hassle 🙂

[serbarry]

Are your tyres size 245/40/R18?

[Kijan]

235/40/19 Front
265/35/19 Rear

[serbarry]

They may be cheaper online

https://www.tyres.ie/tyres/bridgestone-235-40-19/108+200+201+202?text=bridgestone+potenza&sort=relevance  

[Kijan]

Thanks for the link, I will check further what exact model they have and compare - at the same time I will check how they are for option if I supply tyres

[serbarry]

I think if you buy them online you may also choose to have them delivered to the garage/dealer without the hassle of bringing them.  

[Nico72]

Wonderful to see you are also extremely pleased with yours! lovely photos by the way!

 

[KayCee]

18 hours ago, Kijan said:

Thanks Sergio, 

I hope that inded you will make your purchae and enjoy that car - with the MK3 and MK4 both giving pleasure to drive I'm sure you will be happy with it 🙂

They got me on N25 coming from Midleton - there is a spot behind the hill where they usually put speed camera van, but that time they were in the bushes on top of the hill with handheld radar 😄

With tyres I'm going for Bridgestone Potenzas from Lexus some 2021 model - had a bit of though on Pirelli P Zeros for a while, but Lexus couldn't source them and other garage quoted me on 200E extra. Then I would suspect some TPMS issues, so I rather leave it for Lexus to replace and save hassle 🙂

Kijan

Must say i had Potenzas on my mk4 that i bought in Februay and they were horrendously Loud they held road ok but the Noise was Horrible

[Kijan]

11 hours ago, Nico72 said:

Wonderful to see you are also extremely pleased with yours! lovely photos by the way!

 

Thanks Nico! Trying to care of it as much as I can as a small thank you for the great time we have together on the road 🙂

1 hour ago, KayCee said:

Kijan

Must say i had Potenzas on my mk4 that i bought in Februay and they were horrendously Loud they held road ok but the Noise was Horrible

Hey KayCee, 

I think that would be more or less same what I have now, as got the car with 2019 Potenzas on it - I have same feelings about them as you - they are fine on the road but noise is definitely there. They said that they have some new pattern now on this years model to make it better, but Im suspecting this to be some gimmick 😄

At the end of the day it doesn't bother me much I mostly notice that when there is surface change. Still they held good with quality in my opinion - with myself doing now 20.5k km on them and not sure how much they were used before import (not much I guess, as they were manufactured in 2nd half of 2019 and I got the car early 2020). I've been on tracking and balancing 3 times during that time span to make sure I get most of them. 

 

[Kijan]

Also got confirmed that full oil change is part of the minor service - wasn't sure about that as seen some schedules mentioning top up only 🙂