Carl911

Looks very nice but then I would say that cos it looks identical to mine. Mine is an SE version albeit I had all the upgrade apart from sunroof so it's fully loaded. These cars are very understated and few people have any idea just how quick they are whether that's off the lights or over taking. Enjoy your new car.

I have five of these plastic chrome trims on each wheel on my gs450. Does anyone know if these trims are lacquered from the manufacturer as I suspect mine may have been lacquered whilst doing a previous wheel refurb. My problem is the laquer is peeling in places and let's the overall wheel down. I did try using some Cellulose thinners which removed the laquer quite easily and the chrome finish underneath looked perfect. Whether by removing this laquer would cause the chrome finish underneath to weather remains to be seen. I'm not familiar with the process of chrome finish plastics. If the laquer is part of the original trim has anyone else tried cleaning them up? I know new ones can be bought but they cost £25 each so quite costly if several are required. Carl

My passenger side mirror had stopped dropping when put into reverse. I found that the mirror had been push too far off centre possible from washing the car or something. Anyway, re centred the mirror then reset it's normal driving position. Make sure mirror switch is set to passenger side and all hopefully will work again. It did for me anyway. Carl

I understand where you are coming from. Several times I discussed with my wife what car to buy next, something I'd buy that I really want and not for being the fastest or most economic or the best looking design etc. There really is very little out there that I like any more. I have no interest in cars like fords, vauxhalls and what I class as more middle range cars as I have had them over the years and frankly the older cars were in my opinion far better. I always come back to Lexus now. Even if I went for something sporty now I'd probably look at an isf and if I'm going for a compromise of luxury and performance then I'd get another gs450 or the ls. I dont think I have become too snobby driving Lexus over the years and they are certainly not without there problems but compared to other brands I still feel less likely to be breaking down in the Lexus than any other car on the road. As said before, with the more technical hybrid cars I'd definitely pay the extra for the warranty just for piece of mind. With the non hybrid cars I would not be as concerned as these seem pretty well proven. I still feel something special driving in the Lexus and still glance back every time I park up, enough said. Carl

I have the ls600 in mind for next purchase but I'd not buy one without a couple of years Lexus warranty on it. As mentioned, if anything goes wrong it's nearly always £1000's to fix rather than 100's. Carl

It's definitely £995 at the moment for two years as I did mine a month or so ago. Lexus did say to me that this was a special price at the moment and could go up. I presumed this was sales talk to urge you to buy quickly but perhaps it is true if you paid nearly double.

Cruising at 70-80mph I normally see between 37-45 depending on gradients. Cruise control on also helps. As mentioned realistically I never saw over 45mpg from the diesel so there really is very little difference.

I also owned both, Round town is probably get 5mpg more in the diesel but on b-roads and motorway it was pretty much even. Overall, I think the is250 is the way forward and the little extra cost is certainly worth it. My wife now owns my is250 and I drive a gs450h. As much as I love my gs I still find the is250 a nicer overall ride, not as firm as my gs. I'm thinking of going back to an is next time round as it's such a greatly proportioned car.

I did my own and found them reasonably easy to remove. A long flat screwdriver did the job on all four of my stuck seals. You need to give the screwdriver a little tap, not too hard, just enough to grip the washer. Then twist sharply in a rotating manner. This instantly freed the seal and the. It could be lifted out with a hook or something like a piece of coat hanger wire with a little bend at the end. Carl

Yes, i should of been clearer, I just meant high mileage isn't an issue if you have the warranty. I think the extended go up to 120,000. To be honest , unless the dealer was fixing it is not want to purchase one with hybrid probs though as it will get expensive. Carl

Another option is allow in your budget for purchasing a Lexus extended warranty. Cost £995 for two years and can be paid over 12 monthly instalments. This really does cover pretty much everything including the hybrid system itself. Basically, complete piece of mind. The gs450 really is a superb car and worth the extra. Of course, I am a little bias as I drive one. Catl

It came from my auto but I wouldn't know if it would fit a manual, possibly if the thread size is the same I guess.

What toto tyres do you use as a matter of interest?

Yes, the gear change was odd when I first experienced it. It happens around 80mph and is only really noticeable when under full throttle dash up the carriageway. If you are accelerating more gently then you don't really notice it. I believe it is more a ratio change so that the GS and LS. Could achieve 155mph plus speeds should you need to ever take something on a German autobahn...lol

Regarding the cvt box, it makes the car much smoother to drive than any automatic box. Yes, it does sound more revvy when you have your foot to the floor but this is something you do occasionally and when overtaking for short burst. Also, because the acceleration is much quicker than the 300 you are not revving for very long. For the rest of your 95% of driving the car is utterly smooth and refined. I recently took a ls460 out and was disappointed with the auto box after driving my gs450. If I should decide to change for an LS I would have to buy an LS600 now just for the CVT and hybrid side of things. Carl

I had an is220 and the only time it had a problem was when I went to France. One of the fuel injectors give out and was causing the car to miss intermittently. However, despite this the car made the 6 hour trip all the way home so even a poorly one didn't break down and an is220 at that-lol. Carl

I have a 2006 is250 with 104,000 and my calliper is seized. Lexus Cheltenham quoted £370 to fit a new one. Maybe I should enquire about this

What mileage have you done as a matter of interest?

Is that on an extended Lexus warranty or original manufacturers warranty?

Gear knob

yep, that's what I thought although I'm surprised it's not possible.Still, it's not a major problem but would of been handy. Carl

Just using MP3 usb stick

Converted for us UK drivers

In the is300 defence, I had one of these for the day and it was a lovely drive, the power is more than adequate and acceleration feels much swifter than the book times would suggest. In my opinion I would not be disappointed going from my gs450 to either an is or gs300. All lovely cars, in fact he only reason I didn't go for one was purely money as my GS come up at The right time and right price. Next time around I will most likely be going for one of the 300h varieties. I'm rather smitten with he whole hybrid thing. What ever you go for I don't think you will be disappointed and to be honest from a performance point of view I mostly drive in a conservative manner so probably only use the 450h potential a small percentage of the time so it's debatable whether its as important at all for majority of driving. Carl