Odysseus

Lazy of me to ask here without checking, but what is the approximate cost for a cam belt and water pump change at the 100K mile mark? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just spotted this! Congratulations on the new car, looks great. I too purchased my GS450 from Lexus Edgware Road and recognise that room they sit you down in for paperwork while you look at your "new" car through the windows, very theatrical and good fun. Have fun with it!

Hi Mark, welcome to the forum. I used to have a Volvo S80 D5 and it was a fine car, but I can understand your desire to move on. To answer your questions the MkIII GS450 is a pretty reliable car compared to the E Class/A6/5 Series competition but there are a few weak areas. The main things to look for are leaking shock absorbers and rust around the Y section in the exhaust. I think battery failures are relatively rare, and providing you have a hybrid health check each year you should be covered. But like you say £800 will fix it and you'll be right as rain afterwards. I've been a 2008 GS450H owner for 18 months and I'm very pleased with it by and large, but there have been a number of niggly issues which surprised me. You can read about these in my post about a year with my car. I'm now 18 months in and in addition to what's mentioned in the post I've since had all the TPMS sensors replaced under warranty. With regard to your questions about spotting adaptive cruise, the other tell-tale is the little extra button on the right hand side of the steering wheel that regulates distance to the car ahead. On the topic of the aux port, I think the usefulness of this is limited. I was lucky enough that mine came with the iPod adaptor, but GROM (and similar) devices are available that connect to the stereo and provide a far richer experience for not much over £100, so I wouldn't let aux or not get in the way. I use a combination of my iPod in the glovebox and a £15 Bluetooth FM transmitter and get on ok. There are plenty of reasons for wanting a facelift but personally I wouldn't include the aux port in them. I didn't really look at pre-facelift GS450s, but I don't think the boot got MUCH bigger with the facelift, but the battery pack may have been packaged differently to free up a few more cubic litres. The boot is small though regardless, so despite the car being fairly large don't assume it's capable of carrying as much stuff as you might expect - think Fiesta sized boot. Don't buy any GS450 (facelift or otherwise) if trips to Ikea feature in your life! The thorny matter of fuel economy is a valid one. Other people on the forum seem to get far higher MPG than I do (annoyingly). On a slow (65-70) motorway run I'd expect mid 30s, and normal driving (like I do) I'd expect late 20s. Over 18.5 thousand miles I've averaged 28 MPG, running on premium fuels with a full Lexus history. In the winter the MPG will suffer and in summer it will improve. Going back to your questions, the GS450H is a good car. Quick, basically pretty reliable, quite subtle, and enjoyably different from the obvious competition. I'd recommend one for sure, but remember you're buying a car that was nearly £50K a decade or so ago, so when things wear out they aren't going to be cheap. Have fun looking and let us know how you get on.

It might be my imagination but my GS seems more willing to accelerate back to the set cruise speed if I’m going in a straight line. If there’s any steering angle applied, even moderately, the acceleration is far more (frustratingly so?) gentle. This is very safe, after all you don’t want too much throttle in a bend, but on most roads I’m well within the limits of adhesion, and if I wasn’t I don’t think I’d be using cruise control! Anyone else noticed this? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This thread may be useful. Audio connections - How do I connect smart phone for spotify etc https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?share_fid=80750&share_tid=118094&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Elexusownersclub%2Eco%2Euk%2Findex%2Ephp%3F%2Ftopic%2F118094-Audio-connections---How-do-I-connect-smart-phone-for-spotify-etc&share_type=t Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I tend to agree with the opinion you’re being unfair on the car. No mechanical device is infallible, and even the newest RX400 is nearly a decade old. By and large Lexus have a well deserved reputation for reliability. Once you’ve resolved the current issues (which are hopefully something simple) I’m sure you’ll have many years of trouble free motoring. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi there sorry to hear of your issue. To the best of my knowledge there’s no interaction between the front screen and the rear screens. The wires you’ve found would normally connect to a DVD player and the colours correspond to left and right audio (red and white) and video (yellow). Could the DVD player have been removed prior to you getting the car? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I found that very entertaining and there was a lot of factual content. Thanks Lee. [emoji846] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sounds like it might be worth a shot Kev, as long as you have a plan for what you'll do if the metal pipes break in your attempt. Also it might be a wise move to replace the rubber O rings just to help avoid any leaks or worse air getting into the system. I once had a P38 Range Rover and one of the (many, many, many) common issues was O rings perishing on the input to the heater matrix. There was a way to replace them avoiding matrix removal but it was deeply unpleasant and involved very long screwdrivers and a lot of time in the guts of the dashboard having cut access holes in unseen trim pieces.

Thanks Lee for the really informative post and diagram. Looks like a (rare) poor design from Lexus there. Notwithstanding the inlet and outlet pipes being on the same side, I would have expected some nastiness or grotty water to have to come from the matrix with all the flushing that Kev is doing.

On the RX450s from 2009, it was an option, and was part of the same option pack that includes the HUD - these cars seem to sell for a significant premium over the other SE-L models based on my research to date. I think it was standard fit from around 2015 or whenever there was the new model. I have adaptive cruise on my GS450 and I love it. Occasionally I wish it would return to the set speed a bit quicker once the slower car moves out of my path, but that might just be the latent BMW driver in me... 🙂

If (like me), you're less skilled than John the Grom options need not be expensive. There is something called a Grom VLINE (now on it's second generation - VLINE2) which provides a full app experience, with an Android based OS and all the usual things like Google Maps, Waze, Spotify, et al. I think it even supports Apple CarPlay. Also it would easily Bluetooth to your phone for streaming with full steering wheel control, album artwork, etc. This is really snazzy but is around £500. A cheaper Grom option is something like an Android/iPhone intergration kit. This would allow Bluetooth streaming (with the right accessory), and would support streaming from a physical connection to your phone. I think it also shows track name information on the display, but wouldn't have the richness of the VLINE. These are about £130, but you occasionally see them for sale second hand. I have experience of Grom units, but not in Lexus. I fitted the £130 option to my old Volvo S80 and it was brilliant. Excellent quality and very reliable. I sold it when I got rid of the car for £100, so all in a very good exercise. My 2008 GS came with an old school iPod adaptor in the glovebox which actually suits me pretty well, which coupled with a decent FM transmitter means I rarely want for more connectivity, but if I lacked the existing iPod adaptor I think I'd go for the cheaper Grom. https://gromaudio.co.uk/partfinder/product/list/?make=Lexus&model=GS&year=2007-2012

Best of luck Kev, let us know how you get on.

Just some random thoughts based on what I’ve read this far... Does the drivers side get hot? As in can you turn the heat all the way up to max and feel hot air? If so I can’t see how it can be the heater matrix. Surely there aren’t separate heater matrices in the car?! If not is the thermostat definitely ok? Assuming you can get heat on one side then my thinking is it must be a blend door issue, rather than a heater matrix one. As an aside my wife complained of cold air on her (passenger) side in my 2008 GS. I whacked the heat up to full which seemed to help at the time and after the journey played around with one side high one side low, then vice versa. This seemed to “unstick” the issue and I try to do it again every month or two. My sense told me it was blend doors getting lazy spending their lives barely needing to move much which asking them to perform at the limits of their range seemed to help with. After reading this thread I’m doing to do this exercise again next time I drive the car. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Worst car without question was my P38 Range Rover. Abysmal build quality and woeful reliability. Awful thing. The British motoring press is FAR too forgiving of the shoddy nature of Land Rover products in my opinion. Also poor was my Smart Roadster Brabus. Looked fantastic but rubbish build quality and frequent problems. Best car was probably my Mercedes CLK, mostly because I had it for eight years and 120,000 miles and it went with me from being a bachelor right through to when my first child was born.

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts Tom. Views from real people are often far more insightful than what’s written in the press. Out of interest, what vehicle are you currently using to transport your large family? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Absolutely. A GS300H Estate would be almost a no-brainer as a replacement for my Prius family transport. As it stands within my used-car price bracket, I have the options of a RX450H which has more power and 4wd capability than I need and fuel consumption than I want, or an Auris Hybrid Estate which capable as it is is in a different class of car compared to the E Class and 5 Series estates I’m also looking at. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

For me it would be Mercedes-Benz. I have very good memories of my 190E, my 300E, my 300SE, and my CLK230. As I’ve mentioned in other posts the lack of a Lexus option to compete with something the size of E Class estate is irksome. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Welcome Dragan. I appreciate you may be avoiding Lexus main dealers to avoid cost, but it sounds like it needs a ‘Hybrid Health Check’. This would cost around €100 and should confirm your hybrid system is working. At the moment it sounds like it is not! Also, when driving at higher speeds is the rest of the car working properly? Does the temperature stay in the middle of the gauge? Are you losing any coolant or is the car burning oil? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I thought it was essentially front wheel drive until either full power or reduced traction at the front brought the rear electric motor into play? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’m not a RX400 owner but I do drive a similar era GS450. I’ve found you need to properly boot it (like kick-down in auto gearbox terms) to unleash the full beans. Simply flooring it isn’t enough, you need to give it a meaningful shove to the the floor to make all the progress it’s capable of. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think you’re being a bit discourteous to taxi drivers chaps. I regularly get taxis in Cambridge and a few of the drivers have mentioned they have to have to go for a drive down the motorway in third gear at high revs to clear out the EGR valves etc ahead of their regular, mandated, twice yearly licence check. Blame tax incentives to drive diesels with increasingly spurious mpg figures - I’m looking at you VW. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was stationary in traffic again this morning and took a few pictures of my calendar. This is how far back it goes. And this is how far forward it goes. Interesting that it goes back to 2005 as my car is a 2008 model! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Welcome Sami. I too have a GS450 like yours and it’s a great car. I like the alloy wheels on your car and I bet they are easier to clean than mine! From your last picture it looks like you have drilled brake discs/rotors. Mine are vented but not drilled. Was this a modification you made or was that what it was like when you bought it? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

While sat in stationary traffic the other day I absent-mindedly flicked onto the calendar in my 2008 GS450H, which presumably runs similar software to your RX400H. I didn't see when it ends, but I did think "what's the point of this?". Perhaps the issue is not that it "ends" in 2020, but only that it's capable of showing two years ahead? It would make more software development sense to programme the system with the date calculation algorithm to show the correct date (and a few years ahead) than it would be hard-code in only a finite range of years.