Keith Bowler

Reading what you guys have to say about fuel consumption makes me feel a lot better. I have a 1995 GS with 130k and get 125 miles from £40 worth of fuel at £1.33/litre which gives me 19 - 20 mpg around town. The only check I have on motorway driving is that I could get from Lewisham to Manchester and back on a full tank plus £30 additional fuel (about £100 in total) back in 2006 which I would estimate to be around 35 mpg.

Reading what you guys have to say about fuel consumption makes me feel a lot better. I have a 1995 GS with 130k and get 125 miles from £40 worth of fuel at £1.33/litre which gives me 19 - 20 mpg around town. The only check I have on motorway driving is that I could get to Manchester and back on a full tank plus £30 additional fuel (about £100 in total) back in 2006 which I would estimate to be around 35 mpg.

AddsLex - £120 for a cam belt change is cheap even if you did supply the parts. I need to get my Mk1 GS's cambelt done soon would you mind PM'ing me details of the garage you used.

Also look out for condensation in the headlamp units. This is a common problem and is an MOT fail. I have it on my GS generally during the winter and regularly have to dry it out with a hair dryer. I will no doubt need to replace the headlight soon.

Hi Just checked this site out GS430 cam belt details as the cambelt is overdue replacement on my GS300 and it does appear that the engine in your GS430 is an interference engine so when cam belt fails you may have valve damage. I had this a while back with an Audi 80 and the garage that repaired it said the worst thing you can do when it fails is to try and start the car as you just make the damage worse as I did not realising what had happened. Good luck with the repair. If you need any advice I can give you the contact details of an excellent mechanic in Surrey that knows the Lexus V8 motor inside out.

It is probable that the V8 in your 430 GS is a 'non - interference' engine where the valves would not clash with pistons if the timing belt slipped or broke. I am sure someone will correct me or ex[lain in more detail if I am wromg.

Even more of a problem if it is a pre 1996 GS as the early cars have the single button remote unlocking electronics built into the key.

Hi Did you buy just the bulbs on their own or the bulb and holder. You mention only two types but in the AC control unit alone there are four different bulbs each with different colour holders. Do you have the Ebay link? Thanks

I have a replacement head unit for my 1995 GS300 which when fitted shows 'SEC' on the screen. I have the security code but can't get to enter it. I have followed the guide in owners manual but the display won't shift from the 'SEC'display. Is there a DIY fix for cancelling the security provision altogether. I had this done on my current unit by Lexus a few years back when I lost the security code and it took just seconds to do. I have enquired at a local Lexus dealer but they say they need the car for half a day which sounds a little odd to me, not to mention the likely bill. Any help appreciated. Thanks Keith

Does anyone know where I can get replacement bulbs from for most electrical equipment in the MK1 GS300 other than Lexus who are so pricey. I am looking for replacement bulbs for my heating/aircon control unit, radio head unit, gear change selector markers to the gear selector surround, fog light switch/coin holder to mention but a few. I have Lexus part refs for the heating/aircon control unit thanks to Tigerfish but am not sure about the others. I know some ex Mk1 GS owners have replaced these bulbs, often with LED's - any help would be appreciated. Keith

Kevin - best batteries are Bosch in my opinion. I use the S4 Silver label on my GS. I thought mine was going a couple of months ago but it seems to be back in good health again.

Have a look here Auto bulbs finder Looks like HB3 for main beam and HB4 for dipped beam.

I am a strut bar fan too, one of my first purchases when I got my GS. Mine is off a twin turbo Aristo and is mighty stiff. I'd post an image but I don't use remote storage sites and this 'board' won't let me post a picture direct.

Cheers - I did think it was a little odd that there was no backlight to the headlamp adjuster/rear fog switch, just need to find out where the bulb is and how to get to it.

After a couple of years deliberating whether to sell my car or not I have decided to hold on to it for a while longer and get some of those niggly jobs done. In the interior around the dash and centre console I have a lot of dead bulbs that I'd like to replece. I have sorted the a/c control and hopefully the head unit, just need to fit so will be following TigerFish's tutorial on removal and replacement of these. Need to do the gear change selector panel by the gear lever but not sure where to look for the bulbs and also need to know if there is any interior lighting around the coin tray and rear fog lamp switch. Any help appreciated.

I have a 1995 Mk1 GS with a single button remote main key. I believe the remote changed to the separate fob and key a year later. I have been looking to transfer the electronics of my key into a spare case I have as the casing of my original key has broken away around the remote button and I keep loosing the button. Problem I have is that the electronic part of the key seems to be integral to the case and I cannot work out how to separate the two. Have any of you guys any experience of doing this case swap?

Thanks for the feedback. Seems that there was a small leak at a union on the gearbox cooler part of the rad which was causing air/water leak thus reducing pressure in system causing it to boil at a lower temp. Very difficult to detect without constantly checkeing level in rad by removing rad cap which I never thought of doing as there was no visible signs of a leak or other tell tale signs. I must say I really only check the coolant level in the expansion tank but in future will keep an eye on the level in the actual rad. All fixed now and Toyota guy who does my repairs reckons the head gasket seems to be ok and that they only really go when engine is allowed to persitently overheat with guage in the red.

Had a good look around rad, hoses and expansion bottle and no signs of any coolant loss though it has been going somewhere so at present I suspect HGF but there are none of the tel tale signs of water in the oil from what I can see. When looking at oil filler cap and smelling oil etc, the oil looks and smells fine. I must confess that I had not checked the water level in the rad after the new rad was fitted but then there was never any indication that anything was amiss as far as what the temperature guage was telling me and the expension bottle level had not altered until today. If it is HGF does anyone know what I can expect to have to pay, I am just due a cambelt change new plugs etc so may be able to kill two jobs at once. Keith

Can anyone advise me why my GS is overheating? I had a new rad fitted a few months back and all has been fine with a steady running temperature at the two bar mark until today when out on a short run the temp guage went very quickly up to one bar below the red mark. When I stopped steam started pouring from the expansion tank where there was a gurgling noise like a kettle boiling and appears now to be empty. Before I empty my wallet and get someone to look at it is there anything I can do to search the fault myself first? Any help in diagnosing or fixing likely problem would be helpful. Thanks - Keith

Does anyone know if the mechanism that extends and retracts the steering wheel is an easy fix. At present mine has stopped extending and retracting when you put the key in the ignition to start the car. I can manually adjust it to move up and down but can't get it to extend even manually by the knob on the steering column. I can hear it click but it won't move. Any tips appreciated. Thanks

Cheers - I am overdue a cam belt change but no cash available for a couple of months. Was just worried if it went I would have a buggered engine too.

Hi Can someone confirm if the Mk1 GS300 engine is non-interference or not. Thanks

I had a similar problem with an Audi 80 I had a while ago and it turned out to be the heater matrix that had failed. Not sure if the GS suffers from such problems though.

The front bumper on a Mk1 is one piece. There is a black rubber/hard plastic lip along the bottom edge, is that what you mean? I damaged the corner of mine but just Araldited it back, filled and rubbed down the join and painted it matt black again.

Can anyone tell me if the front and rear cigarette lighters are linked or fused separately. My front is no longer working but the rear is OK. If they are fused separately where are the fuses? Any help appreciated - thanks