Gs300 1997 Few Questions

[Shuja Khan]

Hi all colleagues at Lexus Club

1st Question

Other day I was driving on a road under construction, & stone chip was thrown in the air by a car coming from opposite direction (obviously not his fault, just a bad luck) that stone chip hit my SUN Roof glass & cracked it.

Just out of curiosity, does any one had ever changed it for any given reason, what is the approximate cost of glass & service charges usually by a Lexus dealer.

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2nd Question:

I have a standard remote for door lock & unlock p along with the car at the time of purchase, I want to change it for a type that is inbuilt in key itself supplied with new range of Lexus cars, I have seen lots of listings on eBay, but non of them say weather it will work with 1997 GS300 & sellers are themselves not sure about it.

My car remote only works if I am few feet (within 10 feet) away from it, is this normal? or batteries are in there last stage.

When I bought this GS300 used , non Lexus dealer gave me 3 keys all of them had Lexus Logo on it, but one key had a different color silver ish & two were black, I noticed, if I lock my car with remote, & if I try to use any of these three keys to open doors, alarm triggered with one difference, two black keys can open the door but cannot start the car, but silver can not even open the door or boot.

But if I lock the car using any of the three keys (not using remote), then the silver key can also open the door or boot, what is wrong with that silver key?

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3rd Question:

What is the difference, when an Overdrive button is pressed on Gear Lever or not pressed on Gear Lever, I have tried in both cases, tried to accelerate suddenly, their is no difference I have felt car had responded in same was if it is pressed or not, shall I assume my Overdrive function is dead, or this function is transparent for some other good reason.

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4th Question:

My car is GS300 Sport TYPE-1, on VQ5 document sent by DVLA when reg was transfered in my name, what is TYPE-1 & what are other types

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The dealer is non Lexus guy (my friend), he him self does not know lot of things about Lexus, that I discover reading this forum, this forum have no posting about these four questions, thats why I have asked about them, I couldn't find this any where else.

Please advise.

Thanks in advance

-shuja

[shake]

Hi and welcome to LOC!

right lets get down to it!

1) how large is the crack? if its just a chip you may be able to get it repaired much cheaper than a new window. im not sure of the price but if worst comes to it, you can always find one second hand, at a scrappy or eBay has a few Mark 1 gs300s.

2) as i had a mark 2 1998 > im not sure about the keys, but mine only worked from about 10feet, and trust me thats a good thing. on the mark 2 and 3 you can open the windows from the remote which became alot easier on the mark 3. some people have left the house and wondered why their windows were down

3) overdrive limits the gear box to 3 gears. this is usually used when towing heavy weight or such

4)this is the mark one

mark 2

mark 3

[P4UL T]

I have never seen a V5 say what mk the car is, ie my mk2 didn't say type -2 on the V5, maybe another mk1 owner could look at their V5for you

[TigerFish]

Q1 - Do you have fully comp insurance, if you have, it shoudl cover all glass on the car, including the sunroof. If done on the insurance, it should cost £50-£80 depending what excess you have.

Q2 - No idea on the silver key, I have two black ones for mine. The range does seem poor on mine - even less than 10 feet, which I do find annoying at times. I doubt the newer keys will work on the Mk1's, if you can get one cheap enough, it could be worth a try I guess to see if it will re-program to a Mk1 alarm system.

Q3 - Overdrive as mention just stops it using the final gear. It should light up an orange "O/D" light on the dash when the overdrive gear has been disabled using the button on the gear stick.

Q4 - I can check my V5 at the weekend if nothing comes up in the thread about it.

[dave1]

A lot of policies now specifically exclude sunroof.

The keys sound very strange. The 3rd key is supposed to be a "valet" key which will only open the doors and start the car, but won't open boot or glovebox (or the lock on the boot remote).

My series 1 Sport only had GS 300 on the V5....no mention of which series/mk it was.

[Shuja Khan]

Hi Friends & Colleagues

Sorry I was out of town,

Q1.

I have checked with Lexus Twickenham (nearest to me), cost of Sun roof Glass is 346+Vat, Labour is 5 hours, 85£/hour, so it all together come to £425+Vat, as mentioned by Shake, the answers is I have checked closely the entire glass of sunroof, their is a chip size of smaller then a 5p coin but then cracks are going in three directions, one is a bit large, two are smaller, but none of the crack is going to the end of glass, so what I mean to say, if I take out the glass it will not break apart, still intact, & during last few days, their was a heavy rain as well, & it is not leaking. So I think I will leave it for now, but if some thing got changed, I will have to spend this money.

Q2.

Dave 1 was correct, silver key is "valet" key can not open boot & glove box, this is what Lexus Twickenham told me, this key is meant to be given to to people who can service your car, or at hotel reception they can take that key & park your car etc.

Lexus Twickenham also told me, about the remote, the new range of Lexus Keys can not be cut & programmed for any other Lexus, they said that the key type is different for all the models, type means thickens & length, & inner cut thickens & width is also different, so they told me, if you want to programme a Lexus key that is meant to be or a car manufactured in 1998 till 2004 or since 2005 till date, it can be done but then negative point is it can not be cut for the Lexus of my model 1997, because the length is different, thickness is different & thickness of middle wall between the grooves is also different, so it will be used only for remote open but not for key based door open ( an additional weight ) in key chain. Apart from that internal radio device for key mechanism will also be changed, because all thee types are working on three different frequencies band

Radio control inside the car can be changed & key can be programmed, but the same very key can not be cut, door look can not be changed with the another model of Lexus because of different door locking mechanism & structure, so out of question & very expensive.

Q3.

Guys! if some one doesn't know about any thing, he can be excused, I was driving my car with the O/D switch on since I bought it & my fuel consumption was very high an 80 litre tank & less then 300 miles spent a fortune on fuel, Since Shake & TigerFish told me about O/D, I have used one tank since & the 60 miles approx per hour drive has given me 465 miles dead stop tank fully empty had to refill with 10 litres spare carry on fuel containers.

But one question, how many gears my car had is it 4 speed auto gear box or 5 speed auto gear box

But about my gear box, I have driven this car upto 120miles on O/D switch on, will that effect the regular performance of my gear box, as I have driven this car for a very long while with this switch on, never used gears beyond 3rd.

Please advise.

Q4.

Type-1 is mentions on the 2nd page "Vehicle Details"

It is printed in front of section given below

D.2 Model / Type : GS300

Then their is a subsection under D-2 which says ... given below

Variant : Type-1 (any idea) is my Car a bit different? checked with Lexus Twickenham they have no idea what is that.

I thank all of you for your guidance & help specially my car is now almost doing approx double mileage on the same tank.

[dave1]

In section D2 on my GS430 it says

Variant UZS 161(E)

Version UZS161R-BEAQKW(1E)

No mention of type. The type is given next to the start of D2 Model/Type.

Also you say "on VQ5 sent by DVLA". Could you check that it is not V5C.

[Shuja Khan]

In section D2 on my GS430 it says

Variant UZS 161(E)

Version UZS161R-BEAQKW(1E)

No mention of type. The type is given next to the start of D2 Model/Type.

Also you say "on VQ5 sent by DVLA". Could you check that it is not V5C.

Dave1, my apologies, my mistake, I have typed a wrong word, actually I have mixed up few things, you are correct, it is V5C, not VQ5

Do you have any info about gear box of my 1997 GS car, how many gears does it have, is it 4 speed or 5 speed

Kind regards.

-shuja

[shake]

Q3.

Guys! if some one doesn't know about any thing, he can be excused, I was driving my car with the O/D switch on since I bought it & my fuel consumption was very high an 80 litre tank & less then 300 miles spent a fortune on fuel, Since Shake & TigerFish told me about O/D, I have used one tank since & the 60 miles approx per hour drive has given me 465 miles dead stop tank fully empty had to refill with 10 litres spare carry on fuel containers.

But one question, how many gears my car had is it 4 speed auto gear box or 5 speed auto gear box

But about my gear box, I have driven this car upto 120miles on O/D switch on, will that effect the regular performance of my gear box, as I have driven this car for a very long while with this switch on, never used gears beyond 3rd.

Please advise.

I thank all of you for your guidance & help specially my car is now almost doing approx double mileage on the same tank.

you have a mark one so its 4 gears if i remember correctly

when you say it doesnt use gears above 3rd how can you be so sure? the gs300 has a VERY smooth gear change. 120mph would use 4th gear as 3rd gear cannot achive that speed. if you had O/D switched off you would bounce the rev limiter before you reached 100mph... someone with a mark 1 should be able to clear that one up...

Over Drive should always be ON and only OFF when towing weight or carrying heavy loads. I use to carry heavy loads in my GS300 Mark 2 and kept the car limited to either 4 or 3 gears as i could select which on i wanted(mark 2 doesnt have O/D). reason for limiting it to 3 gears is to prevent labouring the engine at low speeds.

when you say you've doubled mileage do you mean before you were driving with O/D off? and now with O/D on you get better mpg?

[TigerFish]

be careful with terminology. O/D is normally on, unless you press the button and light on the dash comes on. Basically the light is there to show you that you have overdrive switched off.

I believe that from '96 onwards, the gearbox was 5 speed but can't confirm that. Something to do with utilising the O/D gear on second gear also. Best bet is accelerate slowly and count the gear changes. If you get 4 changes, you have a 5 speed box, only 3 changes and it is a 4 speed.

[shake]

if you enter your reg plate into this link, hopefully it should tell you how many gears it has. bare in mind this "may" be incorrect as it cannot locate my GS300 but can find my other cars.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/vehiclecheck/vehiclecheck.jsp

[Shuja Khan]

be careful with terminology. O/D is normally on, unless you press the button and light on the dash comes on. Basically the light is there to show you that you have overdrive switched off.

I believe that from '96 onwards, the gearbox was 5 speed but can't confirm that. Something to do with utilising the O/D gear on second gear also. Best bet is accelerate slowly and count the gear changes. If you get 4 changes, you have a 5 speed box, only 3 changes and it is a 4 speed.

be careful with terminology. O/D is normally on, unless you press the button and light on the dash comes on. Basically the light is there to show you that you have overdrive switched off.

I believe that from '96 onwards, the gearbox was 5 speed but can't confirm that. Something to do with utilising the O/D gear on second gear also. Best bet is accelerate slowly and count the gear changes. If you get 4 changes, you have a 5 speed box, only 3 changes and it is a 4 speed.

TigerFish, thanks for correction,

You are correct, let me tell you the story,

I was looking for a GS300 for a while, one of my friend call me that he got one in his garage for sale, I went their, to see it, because this was his 1st Lexus to sell so he was himself not aware about Lexus & its functions, when I 1st start it I noticed that O/D light switch on & says "O/D OFF", I asked him what is that, he replyed, haven't got a clue, may be some thing related to sports drive.

But he said that he had pressed all the switches, but this light is not switching off, so may be some malfunction, I drove that car, & loved it & bought it, even though the light was switch on.

I drive thousands of miles while the "O/D OFF" light is switch on, on console,

While driving I noticed one button on gear lever, when I pressed it, nothing happen, but I was not noticing that O/D OFF light has switched off, but later on when I noticed it that the light is off, wasn't able to trace why the light is off, but then again I drove another few thousands, with one acception that I can now drive my car above 120 up-to 155, couldn't why this change had happened.

Then one day I was cleaning my car & it was start to warm it up, then I found if I press this button the light is switch on or switch off.

Since then till last week, when I discovered that their is a LOC on web, so I joined it & asked the question

Now I am 100% clear, that O?D must be switch off, unless I have drive under heavy load.

And as per your instruction, I have tried to drive slowly & accelerate gradually to see how many shifts of gears are their, two of my friends were also their during this test but after having tried for two hours, to exactly match our data, but it is not matching, one says three shifts one says 4 shifts.

Now question is, can a car can drive up to 155 in 4 gears or 5 gears are necessary to achieve the speed of 155mph,

why?

Because one of my friend had two Jags both Sovereign one of it is 4 speed forward old car 1996, another is 2007 6 speed forward, old one can not go beyond 120, new one can go up to 150, if I use the same logic for my car, it means 5 speed or may be six speed, very confused.

Shake, I have tried that link, you are correct, my car is not listed, but some of my friends cars are, but not all of them.

Thanks for all your help, advise & guidance.

Kind regards

-shuja

[TigerFish]

Now question is, can a car can drive up to 155 in 4 gears or 5 gears are necessary to achieve the speed of 155mph,

why?

Because one of my friend had two Jags both Sovereign one of it is 4 speed forward old car 1996, another is 2007 6 speed forward, old one can not go beyond 120, new one can go up to 150, if I use the same logic for my car, it means 5 speed or may be six speed, very confused.

The number of gears doesn't matter. It would be the gear ratios that decide the top speed.

I'll try to check the gear changes on mine at lunch time and see what I think mine is doing.

[Anuj]

Right, when I bought my GS300 sport the OD off light was not showing on the dash.

When I press the OD button on the gear knob...the OD Off light ignites and my car increases by 1000rpm.

How am i supposed to drive this then?

[dave1]

Right, when I bought my GS300 sport the OD off light was not showing on the dash.

When I press the OD button on the gear knob...the OD Off light ignites and my car increases by 1000rpm.

How am i supposed to drive this then?

With the OD button pressed again so that the OD OFF light goes out. You should not normally be driving it with Overdrive( OD ) switched off as it loses your top gear so will result in higher revs in next gear down, thus worsening your fuel consumption figures.

[maneesh]

Shuja,

I don't see what the confusion is about. Unless your car has been modified, it's got a 4 speed autobox, and it's got a top speed of 143mph.

Sure, it might be showing 155mph or thereabouts on the speedometer (even my mk2 GS used to show 153mph on the speedo), but there is NO way a standard GS300 can do a TRUE 155mph.

[Anuj]

Right, when I bought my GS300 sport the OD off light was not showing on the dash.

When I press the OD button on the gear knob...the OD Off light ignites and my car increases by 1000rpm.

How am i supposed to drive this then?

With the OD button pressed again so that the OD OFF light goes out. You should not normally be driving it with Overdrive( OD ) switched off as it loses your top gear so will result in higher revs in next gear down, thus worsening your fuel consumption figures.

Spot on! cheers

[Shuja Khan]

Shuja,

I don't see what the confusion is about. Unless your car has been modified, it's got a 4 speed autobox, and it's got a top speed of 143mph.

Sure, it might be showing 155mph or thereabouts on the speedometer (even my mk2 GS used to show 153mph on the speedo), but there is NO way a standard GS300 can do a TRUE 155mph.

Maneesh, one quick question,

my car had two different types of tyres

On front two wheels it is 245/40ZR18

On back two wheels it is 275/40ZR18

Will that effect display of speed measurement on console, I am not sure but one of my friend say that if you have a bigger wheel then standard from company, it will show wrong speed on console & wrong distance calculation.

When I say 155 miles & you say 143, is that is because of these no standard tyres on my car.

I have checked number of cars on eBay, all of the GS300 listed their model 1997 are 5 speed forward gear box, mine is also 1997, so shall I assume that mine is also 5 speed forward gear box, if not how to confirm.

Kind regards

-shuja

[maneesh]

Shuja,

I don't see what the confusion is about. Unless your car has been modified, it's got a 4 speed autobox, and it's got a top speed of 143mph.

Sure, it might be showing 155mph or thereabouts on the speedometer (even my mk2 GS used to show 153mph on the speedo), but there is NO way a standard GS300 can do a TRUE 155mph.

Maneesh, one quick question,

my car had two different types of tyres

On front two wheels it is 245/40ZR18

On back two wheels it is 275/40ZR18

Will that effect display of speed measurement on console, I am not sure but one of my friend say that if you have a bigger wheel then standard from company, it will show wrong speed on console & wrong distance calculation.

When I say 155 miles & you say 143, is that is because of these no standard tyres on my car.

I have checked number of cars on eBay, all of the GS300 listed their model 1997 are 5 speed forward gear box, mine is also 1997, so shall I assume that mine is also 5 speed forward gear box, if not how to confirm.

Kind regards

-shuja

It sounds like you have the Sport model, based upon the tyre sizes. The size of the wheel alone doesn't matter, it's the circumference of the wheel+tyre which affects the speed. AFAIK, the 18 inch rim/tyre combo that Lexus fitted to Sport models should not affect the speedo reading.

Seriously, it's this simple. If your car looks like the mk1 in the pic posted earlier in this thread, it's 4 speed. If it looks like the mk2 in the pic posted earlier in this thread, it's 5 speed. You've already mentioned an overdrive button, those were only fitted to 4 speed models.

[dave1]

It might be easier for you to pop into your local Lexus dealership who can look at the car and tell you. Or post up a picture of it on here.

Regards Dave