Firstly, a great big helllo to everyone here!
The forum is a great big wealth of information and very informative as well.
I managed to get my grubby paws on a Lexus GS350 lately and it will be delivered really soon.. i got it at a good discount too so which made the whole process seem really worthwhile.
The car is a 2006 Lexus GS350 from a local "gray" importer here in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
I understand that this car was previously owned in Japan and destined for the Japanese market and somehow was exported here and resold for a discount which is how i came across it.
I have a few queries which i was hoping i could get answered.
1. The odometer display (the one in the middle of the RPM/Speedometer) is in Japanese. Basically is the door is open or the trunk is open etc etc, all warning msgs are in Japanese.
Is there anyway to change this into english? Would buying a UK spec/Australia spec odometer which displays english solve the problem?
2. The center EMV display unit displays everything in Japanese. Even the buttons surrounding it is in Japanese.
Can replacing this unit alone to a english based on from a UK/Australia GS350 fix this problem?
Or is it merely a display and replacing some other unit will enable it to display english? If this is the case, as long as the display is in english, i could live with the Japanese buttons.
I was really wondering as i dont think Lexus would make this screen and the ODO display only in Japanese just because it was destined for the Japanese market. What if i was a English-speaking expat living in Tokyo and i wanted to drive one of these.. I'd have to learn heaps of Japanese to just get around the system and know that one of my doors is ajar?
Im sure there is a way to change it without changing any parts but if i have to, i dont mind i suppose. Does anyone have any experience here with this?
3. The radio frequencies are only Japanese with 79.90 - 89.90. Is there anyway to make this work with the rest of the world being 89.90 - 107.90?
If there is any way at all to make this happen, please let me know.
Would be great to be able to convert all this information into english and be able to really enjoy this car and know whats happening instead of reading incomprehensible text.
If there are items that need to be replaced, if possible, please also provide me with the part number so i may purchase these items.
Once again, thanks so much for all the help in advance! I've recently contacted Lexus Australia and Lexus Hong Kong. Now awaiting some feedback from them but if i find out, ill post it here. :)
Best Regards,
Kenny