Grizzly Man

Checked the 2005 brochure I have at home and ACC was an option only on the SE-L (and standard on the 430)!

Again, would need a picture of the wheel to be sure. However, the car is an SE and I believe the ACC was an option only on the SE-L?

Unfortunately squeaks and rattles are a very well known issue with the 3rd generation GS. Mine tends to rattle from the dash in winter and the back in summer! TBH I just live with it. I believe some of the dash rattles can be cured by pushing felt in between the dash and windscreen. Never heard of a glovebox rattle though....

Not the official one, but an oil filter wrench (65mm IIRC) that fitted on perfectly (too perfectly in fact - was tough enough to get it off after!).

Presuming that their Essentials schedule is a Major service every 2 years / 20k miles, they seem to be replacing the engine air filter more often than needed - which is every 4 years / 40k miles according to the official schedule (well, for the 300 anyway; I'm guessing the 450H is the same). Wonder what they mean by 'check spark plug condition' - would seem like a fair bit of work to actually take them out and inspect them!

I don't think much is different on the interim service......not much is done anyway, but the "major service needs looking at because, for example, the pollen filter is checked but not replaced so if it needed replacing it would add to the final bill and there are probably other things which would be charged extra if replacement was required. Pollen filter is changed at every service (interim and full) anyway no? (you can get pollen filters cheap online anyway and it's extremely easy to change yourself). Does the Essentials major service include the rear differential oil change included in the standard full service?

Just wondering if many 3rd generation GS (05-) owners do their own servicing etc? Went at mine for the first time this weekend! Impressions as follows: My right hand low beam xenon has been occasionally going out for the last while - looking at Clublexus, this seems to be a common problem. To try and work out if it's the bulb or the ballast () I swapped the xenons left to right and vice versa. No issues getting the bulbs out - had to move screenwash funnel out of the way on passenger side (one 10mm bolt only); didn't even have to remove airbox on drivers side as I had seen recommended. Getting them back in though - different story, although pretty representative of most bulbs these days though it seems! Stupidly, I didn't pay great attention to the bulbs' orientation when taking them out, presuming they would only go in one way. However, didn't count on having to work blind - as my hand blocks any vision of the socket. Having big spade like hands most certainly didn't help either! Eventually managed to get them in (like, an hour later!). Not 100% sure they're correctly in; however, light is actually working and isn't pointing into the sky or anything. Bizarrely, my auto levelling feature is now not working (no little dance when I turn on the lights). They seem to be stuck in 'top' position - not really a problem AFAIK, as this would be their position for 'normal' driving anyway, and I don't carry loads in the boot. Drained oil - no problems. However, at last service, the mechanic must have hung off his wrench when tightening the oil filter as it was a nightmare to loosen! Took me about an hour lying under the car! Besides that it was a piece of cake though. Changed cabin air filter - so so easy - 1 minute job! Cleaned out as much crap as possible from the engine air filter (will change next service). Again, really really easy job, just springing open four clamps and moving one harness. Local Toyota dealer is doing a coolant flush special offer for €50 (about £40 stg) so will try to get that done this week - reckon nine litres of Toyota Super LLC coolant would cost the bones of that retail anyway so let them do the work!

Think ACC was always an option on the SE-L. ML is pretty much the only difference in spec IIRC.

Dunno........don't see the E60 at all. Maybe it's me but it looks VERY like the current LS. Those alloys are cack though.

The last 5000 miles of mixed driving (approx equal motorway/town/rural) I've had an average of 27mpg with my GS300 - this is actual figures BTW, not trip computer which considerably over estimates economy. Most of what I've heard indicates that the GS450H gives slightly better economy but probably not enough to justify selecting it on grounds of fuel cost - the extra power is a different matter however!

There is definitely a guide on Clublexus to fitting the seat trims. They look great but AFAIR the fitting was pretty involved!

What's the point in putting in the 2.5 from the IS250? GS300 has same consumption as IS250 (albeit with higher CO2) yet has more power and is faster!

Hughes, You bought the car privately I'm guessing? If not, I had a shock replaced under (dealer) warranty in Cork no problem. Service history also indicates a caliper was replaced a while ago as well. Has the car always been serviced by Lexus? If so, they are generally good about out of warranty work - especially at such low mileage. Lexus Ireland number is (01) 4190375 if you need it. One thing: given that the problems were diagnosed a while ago, they can't have been that serious seeing as the problem wasn't apparent until you saw the invoice?

1. Your Lexus dealer will have them. They will charge quite a bit I imagine (£100 or significantly more). Toyota dealers will have them too as I think it's the same discs. Not sure how much they'll charge. Certain "dodgy" internet site will also sell copies which may or may not be genuine for under £50. And if you look in the right place, you should be able to find a torrent for free (don't ask me where though - I don't know!). 2. Remove old disc, put in new one. Job done.

I know yeah! Rather stupidly I put the smell down to some cleaning agent they used when valeting the car for the service (in my defence, concentrated petrol smells quite different to the usual smell). However when it was still there a week later I called in for them to have a look and the technician's face blanched! Wouldn't let me take it home and sent me off in a Mark II GS (actually pretty sweet TBH). As for gifts and bottles of champagne? All I got was a €10 bill from my insurance company to temp tansfer my insurance to the garage loaner!

Got no letters but had them done with a service in Feb. The garage rather bizarrely didn't seal the fuel tank properly afterwards, leading to me driving around for a week with petrol fumes leaking into my cabin!

I *think* the Lexus unit is actually the Vaistech anyway. It acts as a pseudo-CD changer. No A2DP - think it's in the facelift. GROM audioalso do a (much cheaper) kit which - at long last - seems to be reliable. Also available with an A2DP dongle.

What year is your GS?

Yes, the auto wipers are pretty useless at times alright! Ones in my previous Citroen were much better.

Hey kosomui, I'm in Ireland too. I think the factory warranty here is 3 years. If you buy an approved used car from a Lexus dealer, they can put a one or two year warranty on the car (Note: Lexus dealer servicing required).

Lexus in the US have introduced an official 'F-Sport' line of accessories and performance parts in the last year or so. The GS parts include alloys, air intakes, uprated shocks etc. And a carbon fibre engine cover, if that's your thing. They also do a stiffer-than-stock sway/antiroll bar set (here), resulting in flatter cornering. Reports from the US indicate it is pretty much the best value for money upgrade you can do, with pretty much no downside. I'd be interested in getting them - except they don't do them this side of the Atlantic! Or at least I don't think they do. Does anyone know if they can be got here or if Lexus in Europe have plans to introduce them?

I think the big problem is that while a system might be 'compatible' with a car, it may not display full info, and the supplier/manufacturer may well not know this. Andy: if you're not bothered about text I'd say mosts systems should work. I'd say even a Dension Gateway 100 should do the job.

Just a quick post to say hi to everyone! I'm based in Ireland. Got my 2005 GS300 SE (with nav and wood steering wheel / gear selector) five months ago and loving it! First V6, first auto, first premium marque. Had 71k miles with FLSH (including ATF change ) when I got her but looked virtually brand new, inside and out B) Have put on 7k miles in the meantime so getting near to first service (and timing belt the service after that ). Finding it hard to get decent info online and most is US-centric anyway. Hopefully this site will be a help!

I got my 2005 GS300 a few months ago and have been looking into this sporadically since. (Again, I can't claim to be 100% accurate on everything!). AFAIK no Vaistech product will give 'full' info (artist, album, etc.) on Gen 3 or 4 nav. I've seen claims for other units but it's hard to determine what's accurate, especially with most info being US-based (and so likely Gen 4 or 5 nav). GROM Audio do iPod and iPod/USB adapters (for considerably cheaper than Vaistech) which some people seem to have had success with - there is a thread on Clublexus here. The DICE iPod/A2DP bluetooth thingy sounds good but I haven't seen any reports of anyone actually installing one. Dension do some excellent units; their Gateway 300 should work with the GS but it's not clear from their compatibility charts whether it will display text on 3rd Gen GS, or even work at all.

OK, I might be very wrong on this (please correct me if so!) but my understanding is that all European pre-facelift 3rd generation GS (i.e. 2005 - mid 2007) have 3rd gen nav. 4th gen nav was only used in the US (and maybe Japan?). 5th gen nav came to Europe with the 2007 facelift. Plenty of 2007 cars are still pre-facelift though. Easy way to tell difference: pre-facelift cars have a roughly rectangular Voice Command button on the steering wheel; post-facelift cars have a round button.