Carl911

Hi Carl I can only answer your last question 4 Yes that is normal, you cant rev the engine, you may have a slight increase in revs if you put your foot to the floor, you will also get a message come up on the small screen in front of you saying that while the car is in natural the hybrid system is not charging and you should put it in park, Not sure if the 2007 model had the valve spring re- call, you could check, other than that I would keep an eye on your oil level. Thanks Chris, I rather thought the gas question was going to be normal as it drives just fine but having never owned hybrid before it's always worth asking. Cheers Carl

I have just bought my 2007 gs450h (posted on earlier thread). In general I am very happy with the car but I have found a couple of areas of concern and wondered if anyone could clarify possible causes:- 1. I have a few dash rattles but these can be sorted so not too concerned about that. 2. I parked the car up for two days and when I started it there was a small amount of blue smoke. Could this be wear in the piston seals or valve stems? The car has only done 55,000 with full Lexus service. 3. From cold start on tick over, I can feel a distinct shudder or lumpiness from the idle. This seems to go once warm but is this normal? I would be surprised if it is? 4. This might be a normal hybrid thing but whilst in neutral if I apply gas the car hardly revs at all. Is this just something normal that hybrids do? Sorry to ask do many questions but if there are any issues with the car I want to get them sorted sooner rather than later. Cheers carl

Thanks Colin for the link. They do look good. I will read up on them. Carl

Thanks Stuart, I don't really want the bluetooth just a straight jack or usb will do. Do you know what site sells these as it's not very clear if some are compatible on a few sites I have looked at so for. Carl

Hello all, I have just purchased a 2007 gs450h and although I have not yet looked I am led to believe that the gs does not have a 3mm aux to plug my iphone into? Assuming that is correct does anyone have recommendations of an aftermarket adaptor that will fit to the existing system which is the ML stereo. Thanks in advance, Carl

I must admit I never looked but I'm sure I read on here they they were not fitted to 2009 which does seem strange when you think the IS had them from 2005 onwards. I even get a tape player, lucky for me I have a bag of them in the attic-lol Of course I am nit picking here, these are minor details which I can sort in time. The important bit is the cars in good shape and will have the nice Lexus dealership warranty for pics of mind so I can drive away in confidence. Carl

Thanks all, I am looking forward to collecting tomorrow and I think it will compliment the is250 nicely on my driveway. Only little gripe is that oddly the gs prior to 2009 does not have any input for 3mm jack to play music from my mobile. First job is to find a suitable adaptor to plug into existing system. Does anyone have any recommendations? Carl

I started off with a is220 which despite all critism did me proud for about 5 years of trouble free motoring. Weirdly, it decided to have a injector failure on the week before I was to sell it almost in protest. Anyway, in the scheme of things it was still very reliable. I also have my trusty is250 SE-l which is running faultless after several years of good service and hopefully will continue to. Due to changing jobs and working close to home I have no need for diesel hence why I sold the is220. As an interim I have been driving around in a saab 9-3 aero which I planned to have for about a year before buying another newer lexus. Anyway, fatally looking at a car last week sealed the deal on a Lexus GS450h 2007 SE. I might normally of looked and walked away but I have never seen a car so well looked after that is nearly 8 years old. It's had one elderly owner who maintained it at Lexus. He was so festidious that he has rubber mats on top of the original Lexus mats which have never been stood on and even the original tape is still on the stereo and sill plates as it was when it left the factory. The leather looks brand new. I I didn't know the year I'd compare it to a 2 year old car. Anyway, needless to say I had to buy it as these gems don't come up too often so now a proud owner of two Lexus again, is250 SE-L and GS450h SE. Carl

Thanks for the reply. My current car is an SE-L Like your old car with pretty much everything on including sunroof. It's interesting what you say about the ML stereo though. I thought the difference between ML and Jon ML on the old model was fairly dramatic and just more enjoyable to listen to. From what you have described it sounds like the system below ML has now been greatly improved. Do you still get 5.1 as a matter of interest seeing as you do have dvd?. Carl

That's a good discount, ill bookmark the site. How long do you have to wait for delivery?

That's the one thing I can't do without, the mark levinson setup. I do like my ml sound which really makes the difference in my opinion. still, only a £2995 upgrade-lol

Hi Michael, Probably my only real negative comment when comparing the new cars with the old is that the specs seem to be quite different. They have done away with the rear sun blind which I liked but could live without I guess. Also I noticed that things like the rear arm rest was absent on the base model SE. Trouble is, I have got used to the extras on my SE-l and the only way to get close to similar spec is the top of range for around 40k. I looked at the luxury with additional electric seats and mark levinson which took me up to around the 35k mark. As a matters interest, what specification did you end up with?

I thought I'd take one of these new is300h out for a spin to see what they really drive like compared to my is250. I was a little skeptical in particular regarding the 4 cylinder motor. First impressions of the interior are how different it looks. My wife in particular wasn't keen on the newer design although myself, I found it to grow on me very quickly. Personally, if I'm to spend a lot of money on a new car I want it to be something completely new and different from what I had before but still be a Lexus. I think the new shape certainly manages to be different. The interior seems to wrap around you slightly more than the old shape, the front seats do have more support and I found the general comfort of the seating every bit as comfortable as the older shape, probably more so. The ride quality was excellent in the SE model I test drove. It drive slightly firmer than my SE-l but over bad roads I found the bumps to iron out much better and the car was nothing like as fidgety over rough patches as my SE-l can get. Granted, my car has a few miles on it but I have driven younger models that felt much the same as my own. The engine/hybrid drive was enjoyable. It took me a few miles of various styles of driving to fully appreciate how the combination worked but after about an hour of driving of felt right at home with it. Cruising at any speeds over 50mph felt pretty much the same as the older is250 which I mean in a good way as the is250 just purrs at these speeds. Noise levels are about the same although as mentioned, rough bumpy rides were much better in the new car. Travelling on the motorway around 70-75mph then flooring it for an overtake resulted in drop down similar to what I'd expect in the is250. I found the kickdown to be smooth and after the initial acceleration a little surge of power could be felt pushing the car forward just a little quicker assumedly as the combination of battery and petrol engine torque combined. In both these situations I found the drive to be just as adequate as the is250. Probably what impressed me most about the engine was off the lights. I had one stop at traffic lights onto a carriageway so took advantage of the sport mode and give it everything it had. The car flew of the lights and propelled up to 70mph in what felt more like 6 seconds than the book time of 8.4. The torque from the batteries from a standing start are really impressive. It certainly does not feel like the sedate car that the hybrid badge would indicate. Of course in stark contrast you can pull off the lights in a more civilised manor as would be my normal driving mode and sail away in near silence as only the hybrid engages. Rather nice cruising tnrough town and car parks. Some have mentioned tne strange sound of what mostly sounds like one gear acceleration. As far as I was concerned the slightly different tone of the acceleration is only really apparent under heavy acceleration and once up to speed is just as quiet as my is250. It's not like you would normally drive everywhere flat out so I cannot see any reason why this would bother anyone. If I'm honest, even the v6 is250 does't sound like much unless you go through a tunnel or change the exhaust so I don't feel like I'm missing the tone of the v6 either. Only other thing of note was a slight whine each time you come to a dead stop. Something to do with the hybrid system but again, once you accept that you are driving a hybrid car this just seems perfectly ok and you only really notice it if you are driving in complete silence with the radio off anyway. So am I sold on the new is300h. To be honest, yes I probably am. If I want to replace my is250 next year and fancy something totally differ et, yet at the same time feeling very similar to what I have become to love about a Lexus IS then this car would certainly fit the bill. I still felt special driving it and somehow tne little H badge made me feel just that little more Eco friendly. Just my pennies worth. Carl