Mike Hartland

I would certainly echo the "buy a TomTom" advice. For the same price as a Lexus upgrade you can get a device of similar screen size along with a lifetime of map updates. Also, do the newer Lexus satnavs allow full postcode entry, or is it just the first part followed by having to enter a street name and house number? As someone who enjoys walking and needs to be finding my way to obscure car parks and laybys, the TomTom's ability to accept Lat / Long is worth it's price alone

Why do people dislike the cream leather? Personally, I find the black too dark and makes the interior look dull. What do people have against the cream?

I am looking to change my '06 GS300 for a 2010 facelift GS450h within the next six months or year, dependant on finding one we like. One thing my wife would like to see in our next car is DAB Radio. Could someone please clarify which versions include DAB radio. It would seem that the SE-L variant has it, but was it standard on the SE or an option. Or not an option at all on the SE?

Just to clarify - the VSC came on with my car (I suspect) because I put Redex in the tank. I am not sure that it is a way to clear the fault.

I have also had my GS300 sounding lumpy when starting it when it is low on fuel and been sat for a few days. 200 yards down the road and it is fine again. I also had the VSC light a few months ago, probably because I added Redex to a tank of super unleaded. The VSC light seems to show when there is an issue with the O2 sensor. Simply refueling removed the light very quickly.

I am thinking of making exactly the same change as Robert, so could I include a couple of questions in the mix. Firstly, am I right in thinking that the hybrid batteries are either smaller or better positioned in the '10 model, making for slightly more boot space than earlier versions? Also - of importance to my wife - is the DAB radio standard or an option? Thanks Mike

I am considering changing my '06 GS300 for a '09 GS450H at my local Lexus dealer. The offer they are making all seems very reasonable but they are suggesting that we include a Supagard treatment to the paint and interior for a fee of £305. is this Supagard any good and is it worth what they are asking on a car of this size and type? Regards.

What seems strange to me is that they are only quoting £504 when the going rate seems to be be around £200 per wheel with Lexus. It certainly sounds like a similar problem to what I had, whereby one sensor went and no matter what I did with the reset button, I couldn't clear the message. Lexus should be able to plug in the car and diagnose exactly which of the four sensors have gone so it is worth asking them what they are on about. Once fixed, I only have to pump up the tyres (if the warning comes up) for the warning to disappear, without recourse to the reset button.

Carl, as far as I am aware, the Mark Levinson system is only available on SE-L. If you have that and the boot spoiler then I am guessing that yours is an SE-L. The differences between the SE and SE-L are so slight that I frequently see dealers listing them incorrectly.

Whilst the SE-L has upgraded equipment compared to the SE, items such as Sunroof, Adaptive Cruise Control and the wooden steering wheel are still optional extras. And (for some reason) it seems that the ACC is only an option if you have the sunroof as well. Visually, the easy way to tell the two apart is that the SE-L has the boot spoiler and (on earlier models) tend to come with 5 spoke alloys rather than the SE's 7 spoke.

Low Resolution Screen? Sorry for diverting the topic away slightly but I also have a 2005 GS300. Are the screens a lower resolution? Would this explain why - no matter how much I adjust it - the roads on the Sat Nav are broken lines unless they run straight up & down or left to right? I have been looking to replace my GS and the screens look so much better on later models.

When we collected our Lexus it had been smoken in, something that became more apparant as the weeks went by. We tried a variety of products (though not this one). The only thing that worked was a tupperware bowl of quality cat litter. If the Autoglym does not work then this is worth a try.

I don't think that age matters really. There are plenty of elderly people pottering around in small cars. Meanwhile, I got a Jaguar XJ12 Soveriegn as soon as I was old enough to be able to get insurance for it.

I asked my Lexus dealer whether this was possible on my 2006 GS and got the impression from their reply that it was only possible on the (2008ish) facelift model. Whether it can be done by the owner or needs to be switched on by the dealer I do not know.

I also had a CT Hybrid as a courtesy car a while back and was glad to return to my GS. Most importantly, it convinced my wife that the GS Hybrid will be our next car. The first time I turned it on, it was quiet that I wondered what was wrong with it.

Whilst I am still using the DVD based sat nav system, I cannot say that I am overly impressed with it. Not that I pay a lot of attention to the screen whilst driving, last summer I noticed that I was driving beside a railway line, except that the sat nav showed it as being on the other side of the road. Are the hard drive versions any different or any better? For the £160 being quoted for the Lexus update, I recently bought a new TomTom device with a 6 inch screen, traffic updates (that have already saved me many hours) and free lifetime map updates. How do Lexus justify their charges?

Just a quick question. I seem to have been driving around for 500 miles without an oil filler cap (since I topped up the oil and presumably didn't replace the cap). Do I need a cap specific to the Mk3 or are they generic across the whole Lexus or GS range? Cheers. Mike

Recently we have been having problems with the rear driver's side passenger door on our Mk3 GS300. When unlocking it would go through the clunking unlocking / locking action four or five times before unlocking. Now it is still going through the same clunking but has decided not to unlock at all. We cannot get it to open from the inside either and having located the fuse, that seems to be fine. Has anyone any other ideas or suggestions? Or do i need to take to the dealer?

I'd like to see automatically retracting mirrors when the car is turn off, opening again as part of ignition sequence. I asked my dealer about it but was told it's not possible with the series 3 GS. On the subject of the boot light - is it not automatic when then boot is opened? Does that mean my boot light is on 24 hours a day?

Update - As hoped the error lights have gone off. I guess it was the O2 sensors that were affected. The moral seems to be - don't go adding Redex to Super unleaded fuel.

Whilst parking 60 miles from home yesterday the VSC, Trac Off & Engine lights came on and the "CHECK VSC" message came up. i managed to safely get home without further trouble. Looking at various forums, including our American counterparts, this could be for a variety of reasons - apart from a brake problem - including ill fitting filler caps and O2 sensor problems. I'm not particularly technical, so I have no way of obtaining any codes that might indicate the problem, without booking myself into a dealer. My questions are - 1. If it could be a fuel problem, is this perhaps due to me adding some Redex to the current tankful of Super Unleaded fuel? (I've not added it to this car before so I thought it might be time) 2. If the problem were to sort itself out, will the lights clear of their own accord, or do they need resetting at a dealer? Before I forget, I have checked the filler cap and that seems to be sitting fine. Thanks in advance Mike

If this is the 3rd Gen GS300 then I may be able to help. I was fiddling with my display yesterday and if you press "Info" and then "Parking Sensors" then "volume" is the first option you come to.

The last time I was in my local Lexus dealer they seemed to have roof bar and roof boxes listed in their accessories catalogue for this car, so it must be possible even though I have not tried it.

I have had intermitent problems with my TPMS system which - fingers crossed - seems to be fixed. The car will operate fine but will show one flashing and one permanent red light on the dash. As one light refers to several possibilities there is the danger that something else could go wrong without you being aware. The other other issue is that the "display" button will not stay on the info you want to show for more than about five seconds before showing a "check system" message. My enquiries suggest that the system cannot be disabled as it would involve disabling other things at the same time. Or something like that. I'm sure that others can offer a more technical explanation.

Thanks for previous replies. My wife went to pump up the tyres yesterday to find that three of them were low. This leads me to suspect that there is a valve issue rather than just one very slow puncture. Excuse my ignorance but are the tyre pressure sensors part of the valve or something seperate? In other words, if i was to take the car for a new set of valves, how much am I looking at paying? Thanks