Digitalparadox

That explains it!

From this story I just had one question- what is your local runabout? I don't think I could ever leave the GS 450h for long distance cruising as it's so fun to drive regardless!

Had my MOT yesterday at 89000 and passed too. Hopefully many more years to come!

Great looking car Shahpor. I actually have the 2012 version same colour but "Luxury" trim. Fantastic car and I've now driven just over 30k miles. You will definitely get over the drone noise and gearbox issue. It took me couple of months to get used to it but as someone said previously because it goes so fast you don't end up leaving your foot on the accelerator long enough for the drone to become an issue! I still to this day love the torque and acceleration from traffic lights. It often shocks all the BMW drivers in the next lane! I agree that the heated seats are not amazing but considering the AC system is more than adequate I've learnt to live with it. You will appreciate how nice the seats are when you next sit in a non lexus car. Other thing I would mention is that the TPMS sensors are quite delicate so when changing tyres make sure you go with a good independent or just got to lexus and price match otherwise I find garages that are unfamiliar with lexus end up breaking the TPMS stalks.

I purchased the two year warranty and whilst it is a good chunk of money, I bought it more for piece of mind in case something electrical or major mechanical failure occurs. Thankfully I have only used it once and that was for something minor - had a whirring noise from air con which transpired to only be a leaf stuff in the fan! I also bought it because this is my first purchase of a big sophisticated car and if something did go wrong I would have no idea where to start . Also if you compare the warranty price to other prestige brands you will realise that £1,095 is actually not that bad. Check out the German brands and how much they charge for extended warranty and it'll make your eyes water!

No difference that I can see to the interface, just appears the map data has updated (although when I was updating it did do a ten minute software update). I presume any software update was done behind the scenes. For me it was defo worth it because my maps were from 2012 and now I have updated maps for some major roads such as parts of the A1 north of Leeds which has changed since then. Not sure if people with 2015 onwards maps will find an update that useful yet.

So I successfully downloaded the update and happy with how it went. I got the EU map update which includes UK and all european countries. I did a usb update for the 2012 GS450h (found out this is generation 7 for sat nav purposes). I have to say the support was excellent and you can easily contact the seller- I contacted the seller via whatsapp (number on his website) with questions before purchase and during the installation process and he answered pretty much straight away. In summary all you need is a pc with at least 40gb hard drive storage remaining, a usb stick (I ended up purchasing a 64gb due to size of download files being slightly larger than 32gb), a decent internet connection, and a bit of time. When I connected the usb to the car it took 93 minutes so I just left it on the car drive behind wife's car and stayed indoors! I also downloaded it all and extracted the files using Mac (although Windows is slightly easier). If using Mac there is a small program (free) you need to download to prevent the Mac installing extra files onto the usb. Ask the seller on whatsapp if you need help with this, he provided me with a step to step guide over whatsapp. I'm not exactly the best with technology but I did get there in the end and it all works fine. Hopefully the update from 2012 to 2017 maps will make a difference. Overall highly recommend and much cheaper than dealerships I'm sure.

Hangie and Zotto, thanks for the advice, really useful. I think I will take advantage of the cheaper map update through that website. I have the generation 7 with USB under the middle console armrest so hopefully should work. I'll let you know once I've completed the installation!

I currently have a GS 450h 2012 and so far throughly enjoying it. The drive is excellent and can't fault the engine. However, one thing i have found lacking is the software interface not exactly the most advanced thing about the car. I think it also needs a sat nav update. So question is- what is the best way tl update the sat nav and/or software? Is there a way to download online or do i have to take into a dealer (and presumably pay an extortionate price)? Thanks

Yes they should do. My dealer price matched Black Circles price which had the best price for me. I have the gs450h and the michelin primacy 3 are fine.

Forgot to add that i haven't read many good reviews on bridgestones either. Maybe the dealer is trying to shift them or have them on offer.

I recently changed my rears from michelin primacy 3 to goodyears f1. The goodyears were on an offer price so decided to go with them. The michelins are good and i still have them on the fronts. I think i will get 21,000 out of the fronts. I got 15,000 miles out of the rears. I do brisk driving and a lot of city commuting driving so I'm sure you can get more miles out of them depending on type of driving. The Goodyears are very good so far, last couple of days rain gave me good grip and the sound level isn't bad. I have to say the braking distance is a bit better with the Goodyears. Having done quite a bit of research i have found the Michelin Primacy 3, Goodyear F1 and Dunlop Sport Maxx are probably the best tyres for this car. After that i suppose it comes to which one can do the best price (p.s a lot of lexus dealers price match elsewhere for tyres so make sure you ask!)

Thanks Ala- how many miles do you get out of them out of interest?

Hi all, I'm new to this forum so thought I would start my first thread about tyres :) I have Michelin Primacy 3 tyres on all four corners and have so far lasted 15,000 miles. My back tyres now need changing with around 2.7mm thread left. I was just wondering what other people's experiences of tyres on this car have been. I have been contemplating replacing the backs with Michelin CrossClimates. I have found the Primacy 3 tyres to be good, although the backs do tend to slip a bit in the wet.