Larry M.

Hi Pluses Quiet, comfortable, very smooth engine and transmission, good performance particularly at passing speeds, very good handling, impeccable reliability, excellent warrenty. Minuses (compared to the BMW 530, which was my second choice) Good but not excellent performance, very good but not excellent handling, no steering wheel audio controls (even my Jeep Grand Cherokee has them), paint chips easily. All in all I am quite happy with my 2002 GS300. It is a great cruising car. Buy one, you won't be sorry Larry

Hi I thought it would be easier to copy the whole post which appeared on the US Lexus site. I just finished installing a Jensen Sirius Satellite radio in my 2002 GS300. I did not use either a FM modulator or a cassette adapter which are the usual ways of adding a sat radio (or anything else) to an existing audio system. Instead, I broke into the wiring harness at the audio amplifier input and installed a new sat radio input. The audio amp input is now switched between AM/FM and sat radio by a relay. The relay is actvated whenever the sat radio is switched on. All the audio controls (treble, bass, balance, etc.) work just as in the AM/FM mode. I used blocking capacitors in the sat radio output because the factory AM/FM output is differential but the sat radio output is low side ground. Is a that worth it? Probably not, but I am a nitpicker and the sound is better than the cassette adaptor I used temporarily. I don't recommend this approach unless you have some facility for electronics. I live in the remote mountains of west, were there is only one daytime radio station available, and it play country or religon. The Sirius is great, a good selection of music and no commercials. This approch to an aux input will work for any external signal source if it has a level of 400-500 millivolts. If any one is interested in the details. Just ask. Larry

Hi I would be happy to provide the link, but I have no clue as to how it is done. Larry

Hi No satellite radio is not the same as digital radio. In North America there are two satellite radio services: XM radio and Sirius radio. In both cases radio signals are broadcast from orbiting satellites. Each service broadcasts 100 channels with about 60 channels of music and 40 channels of news, talk, etc. For those of us who live far away from urban centers and spend much time in our cars it is a wonderful technology. My sat radio even has BBC World service. Since the signal is of CD quality I did not want to degrade it by going thru the FM or the tape deck. It was a lot of work to add the aux input but worth it to me. Larry

Hi It is possible to add an aux input to a GS 300 amplifier. I did it on my 2002 so I could install a satellite radio without using a FM modulator. I described the mod on the U. S. Lexus owners forum in the electroics section. It works very well. Is there satellite radio in the UK? Larry

Hi Exporting to the US is a problem. There are federal rules and each state also has its on rules. Here in California I know it is difficult to impossible depending on model. If you want to do this you will need to find an exporter (or importer) who knows the rules for the state where you will register the car. Some other problems: the IS 200 is not sold in the US therefore parts and service may be difficult to find, also, the car would be difficult to sell. Someone above made the point that cars are less expensive here. That is true I checked the prices of several models when I was on holiday in the UK last year. We do not have VAT, some states however have sales taxes which is about the same thing. The amount of tax varies from zero to about 8%. Good Luck and have fun in the US Larry

Hi I figured out how to remove the center console on a 2002 GS 300. It is not difficult but it takes some care and about an hour. 1. Pull out the ashtray. 2. Pull up the top panel of the console. It is held in by two clips at the aft end. You may need to pry, carefully. 3. Disconnect the connectors. 4. Take out the two bolts on the bottom of the lower console compartment. They are under a felt bottom cover. 5. Pull up the front of the bottom console compartmet. It is held in by two clips. 6. remove the rear A/C vent. &. Take out the hold down bolts on the center, rear top and rear bottom mounting brackets. I did this to get at the seat heater connector. I don't have seat heaters so I could use that circuit to run a switched power line back to the trunk. The line is used to power an electric cooler. It gets very hot here in the western U.S. Larry

Hi Everyone This is my first post, but I have been lurking and learning a lot. Can anyone tell me how to remove the center console on my 2002 GS300? I can get the ashtray out, but the console baffles me. Thanks Larry