olumite

@NEILJ I'm currently looking into an 09 RX450H and came across this thread.

I found this youtube video for the same A pillar leak but on a RAV4. Might it be applicable to your situation?

Deepest sympathies and condolences to John's family.

RIP Britprius

OP, are the new rear silencers chambered or that "free-flow"?

I've found free-flow silencers to quite bad for drone low end torque loss.

When I had a SS exhaust put on my 3GS at Tony Banks, I insisted on chambered silencers. 

The fitters may yet be able to replace the back boxes or even install baffles (sp?) which should improve the drone at 2-2.5k rpm.

I used a Leeds based company called AC Auto Locksmiths to get a spare key for my 3GS.

A key, programmed to the car, and key blade cut for £160.

He's mobile, came to my house to do it. Would definitely recommend.

Your exhaust is likely to have a vacuum leak behind the heatshields (just after the secondary cats).

The heatshields retain water and rust the pipework. Removing the heatshields and getting the holes repaired/welded should sort it.

The mk3 GS300 3.0L V6 is direct injection only. I'm shocked that LPG is even an option due to this.

The 3rd gen GS300 is also a V6.

Because the part number for the exhaust to manifold gasket is the same between the 300 and the 450H, I reckon it'd fit onto a 450H manifold would fit onto a 300, but I'm unsure if the other end would line up with the flange of the secondary cat.

The drivers side exhaust manifold is cracked on my GS300.

I'm having difficulty sourcing a GS300 specific manifold (used), for less than £300 in the UK. 

Might an exhaust manifold from a GS450H be fitted? On average they cost £110-120 delivered.

Very nice!!

The passenger side bank on mine (2005 3GS), has a slight leak. Want to get it sorted before it becomes a severe leak. The car is 13 years old and has done 145k miles so will get both banks and all spark plug tube seals done at the same time. Lexus Leeds quoted £295. My indy, £136. 

Margate?

I get 20 mpg driving around town. But get 40 mpg on the motorway.

Not sure why I'm getting 5 mpg less than the rest of you around town. Maybe its the 7 miles of stop-start traffic on the hilly Bradford roads to work?

What if they offer to sell at a price that you can't refuse? 

@The-Acre I paid £700 for mine. That was for 2 cats, centre box and the 2 back boxes.

I stressed that they be chambered. I wasn't interested in the drone that often comes with free flow exhausts. Or the loss of low rev torque.

I've had my 05 GS300 for nearly a year now.

It is a heavy NA car and on the test drive, I too thought the car was sluggish at low speed.

Until I enabled ECT-PWR!! It transformed the car for me. The gearbox was much more eager to kick down in this mode. But make no mistake, a 450H would crush a 300 for speed/power.

Another unintentional bonus was having some much needed engine assisted braking, which I am sure is extending the life of my disks/pads.

In my first year of ownership, thus far I've put on some winter tyres, replaced the PCV valve, 2 tyre pressure sensors and had a full stainless steel exhaust system fitted.

NOTE: If you replace the PCV valve, get a genuine Lexus part. I foolishly bought a cheap 3rd party one thinking it'd do the job. How wrong I was. All it did was burn oil at a frightening rate. Like almost a litre in a single 270 mile trip frightening! Ordered the Lexus part and after the return trip, the oil level on the dipstick hadn't gone down.

I love my GS300, will keep it until one of us dies!

Yet another vote for Tony Banks. Furnished my GS300 with a full exhaust system.

23 hours ago, Chris111 said:

No I haven't. I'll have to seek that out. When I bought mine a few years back there was a thread on here where another member had stopped his rattling and had posted very comprehensive pictures showing what he had done. I followed this and although was initially successful over the last couple of years the rattles are returning and are getting worse. The glove box seems to be the worst. In the summer when it's warmer I also have the pleasure of the rear parcel shelf creaking and rattling too. From reading other threads on here this seems only to be the hybrid models' problem though as it is the vent for the hybrid batteries that does this.

Interestingly the initial thread I mention resurfaced on this forum recently but the pictures have disappeared.

The pictures are still there, for me at least...

1 hour ago, rich1068 said:

Sorry, haven't really been following this thread and you've probably got it sorted now but in my experience there's a reason why the ECP Denso ones are so much cheaper than OEM. If you haven't already then get the genuine part.

Stock O2/MAF/AC Actuators/Most electrical components in Toyotas/Lexus are made by Denso. Don't pay a premium for the same part coming in a Toyota/Lexus box. 

It's non-OEM sensors from Bosch that you want to avoid.

5 hours ago, mrdoofa said:

The SE-L has a sunroof, radar assisted cruise control and possibly the Mark Levinson sound system. Only the hybrid has CVT.

Not all GS300/450h SE-Ls have radar cruise control as standard.

On 1/21/2018 at 11:01 AM, The-Acre said:

Sooo, thanks to the great advice given here I've managed to transfer my contacts list!  However, and isn't there always a however, I still can't get any sound from the door speaker.  The volume is up, and I've checked the mute button.  So I can make and receive calls, I just can't hear them.  Any thought on that?

You need to a upgrade to a newer navigation dvd to get louder (usable) call volume. Changing from 2005/06 to 2017/18 resolved the issue for me.

Otherwise you can barely hear the other person over road noise.

@Britprius are you at liberty to name the supplier of the tagged batteries?

The sort of beep a large van makes when reversing so pedestrians can hear the 'silent' hybrid vehicle coming before it runs them over.

07 models and onward could play DVDs. For that reason I'm contemplating retrofitting an 07 cd/dvd player and screen (necessary?), to gain that functionality.

I'm in the market for a 3GS, but the £500 a year road tax is giving me cause for pause.

A bit like when your'e about to order several hundred pounds worth of kit but then seeing the £10 P&P makes you question the wisdom of the purchase!

@Upex You are correct, theoretically the loss of low rev torque would still occur on a 450H but would be less noticeable due to the electric motor.