What Is The Difference

PQuist · September 22, 2006

My IS is due due for replacement and looking to by the bigger brother. GS300SE on an 05/55 plate.

What should I look out for apart from the rattle?

What is the difference between Automatic and Sequential Transmission?

chips229 · September 22, 2006

Hi,

On a Automatic its sort of the same as a Sequential Transmission transmission but you have to move the gear selector.

On a Sequential Transmission there are buttons on the steering wheel to change up and down the gears,but there should be a option for it to drive like a Autobox.

Sometimes there are differences in the gearbox transmissions on how they work eg autobox working as a sort of manual and a manual box with a clutch working as a auto if that makes sense.

Chips.

lexicon · September 22, 2006

I think he means specifically on the new GS - some of them (on Lexus pre-owned) are described as Sequential and others as Automatic.

The new GS are all "automatic with sequential mode" - so there is no difference (in this case) it's just the way the details have been entered by the dealer.

September 23, 2006

My IS is due due for replacement and looking to by the bigger brother. GS300SE on an 05/55 plate.
What should I look out for apart from the rattle?

What is the difference between Automatic and Sequential Transmission?

Four things I looked out for ...

1) Make sure every switch works and both cigar lighters (there's one in the arm rest). Electrical problems are not cheap to fix if it involves an OEM part like the radio or sat nav

2) The front disks are prone to warp and can be relatively expensive to replace if you goto Lexus. To test them, get up to about 30, then brake gently. If you feel the pedal shaking, you've a problem. If there was no shake, repeat at 50.

3) I've had problems with tracking (I live at the end of a bumpy track though). The previous owner of my wagon also had tracking problems but was too dense to notice. Test by braking as you would when you the lights turn red but keep your hands off the wheel and see if the car goes in a straight line. If it vears, the tracking's out. Also look at the wear on the front tyres. If the wear across the tyre is uneven, the tracking's out. (All of the GS300 I tried before I bought had uneven tyre wear and tracking faults)

4) Wind noise can be a problem with some especially at motorway speeds. Usually around the door seals. You'll only know it's noisey once you've driven a few.

5) Not part of my 4, but I enjoy it. Go down an empty road at "60" and hit the brakes as hard as you can. The car should stop dead, ABS kick in etc etc. Try accelerating hard with the power switch (arm rest) off so you get extended revs, and try taking the traction control off on gravel. All good stuff, but great fun to see the look on the salesman's face ... and when else are you going to thrash someone else's car and get away from it. Having said that, I "broke" one like that on a test drive last year ... and the Lexus garage had to send out folk to come and take me back as the salesman limped back in safe mode. Needless to say I didn't buy that one!

As for the gearbox thingy, I didn't pay a shed load of cash so I could press buttons to change my own gears. (The bottons are badly placed anyway.) The GS300 is a cruiser, not a sports car, and most of the time the radio drowns out any the engine tone anyway. :winky: