OJWM

Batteries. If your fobs are anything like mine this'll help: https://youtu.be/_xXE0mdOcGI Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Check the tyre valves too. Mine all went in quick succession recently - circa £90 a pop...

Euro Car Parts seem expensive. Use RockAuto.com to import aftermarket parts from the U.S. (probably £50ish each before shipping & taxes) or identify the OEM part numbers you need with toyodiy.com and source from amayama.com (although they tried to charge me a fortune in shipping costs). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No problem. Wish your garage good luck - mine apparently had a nightmare with a seized bolt they ended up having to cut off :).

Yep. Got parts from RockAuto.com - just navigate through their online parts catalogue (remembering that they call shock absorbers, 'struts') and you'll arrive on the KYB shocks - part numbers 551106, 551107, 551108 for a MK3 GS. I confirmed with KYB in the UK that U.S. parts would be fine for a UK car. They'll apparently be selling the same parts in the UK soon but haven't gotten round to it yet... Totalled about £215 for parts, £115 for delivery and VAT and took about 5 days to come (with great tracking all the way through). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haven't driven a huge amount since (only an hour-ish of town driving) but got shocks fitted yesterday. Seem very good - perhaps slightly firmer through pot-holes but that could well be because they're brand new. No regrets not going with OEM (got KYB parts for about £320 delivered). Garage that fitted them (MC Autos in Croydon) was also very good so will likely use again - even though it's a little way from where I am. And MOT now passed with no advisories, so all is well :). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Should have said I'm getting all four done... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The joys of new shock absorbers :) I'm currently in the same situation. My state of play is as follows: - Have an order inquiry in with Amayama. Currently totalling circa £200 for OEM parts, but £230 for shipping (not including VAT / duty). - KYB parts, on the other hand, can be sourced for slightly more from the U.S., but with dramatically lower shipping. Have also read that the ride will be slightly firmer, but this is my favoured route. - Will likely get parts fitted by a local garage - getting quotes ranging from £200-£400 via autobutler.com So though I'd love to source OEM parts, I'm probably going KYB. Overall cost could end up being less than Lexus's cost to source and fit one front shock - £495, apparently. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Didn't ask about that - was only an advisory on Lexus' own VSR (not the MOT). Also can't see anything wrong with it, so leaving it be for the moment - don't want another £250ish on top of £800ish...! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks gents :) Took to my local garage to get a second opinion - shocks are indeed shot, so now looking to get all four replaced, which is fun. To be fair to dealer (and clarify), the £1300 covered everything they'd listed as recommending sorting (x2 shocks, windscreen, oil leak inspection, headlights)... though the headlight adjustment (seemingly v simple) was £150 of that...

Hi all, Recently had my '06 GS300 MOT'd by a London Lexus dealer. Rather upsettingly, it failed, because: - Front offside shock has 'serious fluid leak' - One headlight aiming too high - One headlight aiming too low I was also given advisories for an oil leak and a 'mist of oil' on the rear offside shock. VSR doc also advised of a collection of minor chips on my windscreen and recommended replacement. I've taken my car back from Lexus now as they wanted £1300ish to fix it. I am increasingly perturbed by the MOT though as: - Tester recorded car's mileage incorrectly by 3,000 miles - I can't see any evidence of chips (even minor) on my windscreen - Shock doesn't seem to exhibit any issues with a 'bounce test' - A VSR performed by the same dealership a month ago showed no issues apart from low oil - somewhat changed now Am I trying to find fault with an MOT that's probably right (prospect of having 2-4 shocks replaced might be responsible if so) or do you think I'm right to be dubious? Anyone had any experience of fail-happy Lexus dealers? Very grateful of any thoughts.

Hi all, Got some joyful news today in that my GS300 has need of one new shock absorber to pass its MOT (and could do with the rest being replaced in the relatively near future). Cost quoted for front shock was £495... so I'm going to have a look around. Anyone have experience of getting shocks replaced for a less obscene price around London? Any thoughts gratefully received.

Ha, I've also noticed this recently. As has been said, it stops as soon as the temp reduces.

As an alternative option to the VAIS, I recently installed a GROM-USB3 - working very well, invisible (just route it through the the arm-rest) and charges my iPhone on the move. Available from Amazon (for about £119) and as easy to install as the VAIS. Couple of installation videos (both for a GS300) below - second is the official one, but I found the first a bit more helpful:

Mm, that might be it then. Good work anyway - you've saved yourself the fun of trying to work out how to have one installed :)

Well, consider me confused. Could a previous owner have installed one in yours? Mine is also an '05 - definitely haven't found an aux and have seen posts online where people say they were introduced in the GS in '08.

Sadly not. Think aux jacks were included from '08 onwards.

Hi all, I recently bought an '06 model GS300 and already love it dearly. I'm currently looking at adding the only remaining toy it needs - an AUX adaptor. Have tried a cassette adaptor, but my tape deck was having none of it, so I'm now pretty settled on getting a bluetooth adaptor (one of the below) that'd plug into the CD changer port on the back of my car's hifi. Dension Lite BT: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dension-GBL3TO1-non-text-Bluetooth-Interface/dp/B008KMNHLE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1421673603&sr=8-3&keywords=lexus+bluetooth+aux GROM BT3: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grom-Audio-Integrated-Bluetooth-recent/dp/B00GU1NYN8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1421673603&sr=8-5&keywords=lexus+bluetooth+aux I have two questions that I wondered if someone could help me with. - Does anyone have any experience with either of the below units? The Dension looks better built to my eyes, but I don't know any more about it than that. - Does anyone know who I could get to fit such a unit in or close to London (preferably, who won't charge me a huge amount)? There's a video on YouTube detailing how to install such a unit, but I'd really rather not risk dismantling my centre console and not being able to put it back together. Massive thanks in advance. Oli

Hi all, I viewed a third gen GS430 last night - has done 88,000 and is on the market for approx £4,850. Had a few queries I wanted to run past the collective wisdom of these fine forums (in which I've already been doing a little research). - Car has a full Lexus service history, but only five stamps (circa 10k, 20k, 50k, 70k, 80k IIRC) - is that something to be concerned about? - From looking at the Lexus recommended service intervals, I can see that a big service will be due at 90k, including timing belt change - does anyone know how much I could expect to pay for that? - Seller let me know that (as with some Mercs, apparently), when parking the car on a gradient, you should put it into neutral and hold the brake before shifting into park, to avoid damaging the gearbox - is that normal, or unusual? - The tyre light is permanently on, apparently down to the run-flats being replaced with normal tyres - again, does that sound normal? Would be very grateful of any comments on the above. Car seemed to be running well and in good condition for the mileage, but feels like the service history and timing belt things mean I should at the least be negotiating down further from the £4850...

Hi both, Many thanks for your comments - much appreciated :) Re: wanting to driving a manual, it's as simple as the fact that I find gears, clutch control etc.. quite fun (actually quite enjoy it in London traffic). On insurance costs, these will indeed be fairly extortionate, but not as bad as you might expect - approximately £1.5k for a GS430 (Bell, with telematics). i will also be paying for roughly half of the car, so insurance becomes slightly more palatable. All fair points re: a cheaper, more sensible car - feel a pull to not be that sensible on this occasion though. Will also try to stick to Plan A which is to avoid dings ;)

Hi there, Newbie and aspiring Lexus owner here. Now in my late 20s, I'm on the verge of getting a driving license and indeed, a car. Car will be a bit of a luxury as I'm London based (both living and working in it) but I'm keen to get one nonetheless. As the car's not going to see much use, I'm not going to spend that much on it, and have zeroed in on relatively high-mileage Lexus cars (70-100k ideally) - clearly a great blend of reliability and quality at that kind of mileage. The model that most interests me is the IS250 (2005 onwards) - manual and pretty manageable size-wise - though I've also been looking at LS430s (2002-ish era) and GS300's (2006-ish era). Wondered if I could canvas your no doubt knowledgeable brains to gain your opinions on which of the above would be the best option? As I say, I'm quite keen on getting a manual, but would be interested to hear if I wouldn't, for instance, mind about that if the GS300 is good fun to drive. Would also be good to hear your thoughts on the most reliable model for my budget (and any great places to find Lexus cars online beyond Autotrader and eBay). Grateful for any comments received :)