jevestobs

Thanks folks. What's the minimum tyre pressures we can run? I have it at 33/34 at the moment.

It's due an MOT in November, so I'll ask the dealer to check the rear suspension. There's a bit of a squelchy, creaky sound from the rear when coming off a speed bump or similar so I suspect the dampers may be tired. We have the extended warranty so it's worth getting it looked at I guess.

It's a shame the low speed ride is a bit rough as the car is superb in every other way. But then, if our roads were better, it wouldn't matter!

Our RX is on steel springs and coming up for 110,000 miles. It seems to pick up every imperfection in the road surface at low speeds and while the body control is fairly soft and floating, there is a lot of intrusion from the road surface. 

We're on the 19inch wheels which I assume don't help. Has anyone had any success in improving the ride? Would better dampers soften it up a bit?

The problem at the moment is the new car market is in a period of major contraction, already underway before Covid hit and may never return to previous levels. The paradigm of the car as the predominant form of transport is going to be challenged by many factors, not least the fact that post-Covid many more will work from home and travel less frequently. Many countries will increasingly prioritise good quality public transportation solutions. 

All of this, coupled with rising costs due to modern cars needing to meet eleventy-million regulations, means that manufacturers are up **** creak without a paddle.

Strategically, Lexus have always prioritised profit over volume. I suspect the UK division is throttling back and waiting to see what happens at the end of this market reset before committing themselves to too many product launches.

For us, it's a shame because we love the brand. However - modern cars are generally rather boring and offer less of the qualities we always loved in our older models. So given Lexus vehicles are so reliable and long lived, why don't we just stick with what we have?

I have a GS300h (used to have the IS) and a previous gen RX450h and to be honest, none of the new stuff from any brand offers any truly valuable improvements. I'd rather stick with these with less cost and see what happens in the world over the next five years than buy an adolescent product that is in the middle of changes and therefore doesn't know what it wants to be. Like the new ES.

All the more reason to stick with older models if you ask me!

I was driving the new ES300h recently. Nice looking car, very spacious. Seats are extremely comfortable and it's a nice quiet, comfortable ride. Performance is better than the figures suggest too. I like it.

But compared to my GS, it's nowhere near as luxurious. The quality of materials has really gone down - too much hard plastic, cheap fittings and thin carpeting. Such a shame that Lexus are falling into the trap that seems to be afflicting all manufacturers - that of saving money on materials and build to pay for gimmicky technology that offers little real benefit and which most people probably don't care about beyond the first couple of weeks of ownership.

I wouldn't change my GS for one at the price they are new. But it's a nice car.

Looks like Japanese market GS’s made this nice sounding jingle on startup. Presume we can’t do it on ours in the UK?

https://youtu.be/hfO4R10kxtQ

Hi all,

We have a 2012 RX450h Luxury which has covered 110,000 miles. Drives lovely, but wondering whether the shock absorbers will be in need of replacement around now? The ride can be a little harsh on rough roads, especially at the rear. That said, it doesn’t wallow around or bounce excessively. We need to change the rear tyre this year, they’re old Dunlops, so perhaps that’s part of the issue?

There's quite a lag when you first power the car on before the screen displays anything or is usable in any way. Normal operation is fine. Is this normal?

Love it. Drives like a limo! Much more refined and better quality than the IS. But with all the same fuel efficiency. I got an average of 58mpg on a motorway trip to see family today. Performance is actually very brisk.

The only minor issue is a bit of vibration at 50mph from the drivetrain. My IS did it as well and although I asked the dealer to do the software update before I got the car, it's still there to some degree.

Yes, seems odd that Lexus didn't think to do that. No worries - cheers for the replies folks. 🙂

My GS300H and previous IS300H display the little green EV indicator on the dash whenever the engine turns off, as well as when the EV Mode button is pressed.

On our 2014 RX450H  the EV indicator only displays when the EV Mode button is pressed. Otherwise, you have no indication of when the car is using the electric drive except that shown on the Energy Monitor. 

Is this normal behaviour on the 3rd gen RX? 

Cheers all, I'll advise my Dad and let you know if he has any success with Lexus.

My Dad has a 2004 RX300 - the dash has developed a crack in the passenger side. I seem to recall that in the US, Lexus replaced the dashes in older cars relatively recently as this was considered a quality defect.

Does anyone know if this is the case in the UK or if there are any methods of repairing the crack?

Photos as requested!

The clue is in the name of the system - Hybrid Synergy Drive. The two power sources, electric motor and engine, work in harmony to move the vehicle along as efficiently as possible. Your contribution is to drive with the right style to allow the system to perform at its best. This means things like:

1. Getting up to speed reasonably quickly then backing off the accelerator and reapplying with enough pressure to maintain speed

2. Coasting where possible, reducing unnecessary acceleration

3. Allowing long braking distances and using light brake pressure

4. Using cruise where possible

All of this helps the system generate as much electricity as possible, keeping the use of the internal combustion engine to a minimum.

The goal is not to see how far you can go in EV mode in one shot, it’s to extend the number of times the car runs in EV mode to as many occasions as possible during a journey. 

Picking the GS up on Saturday. Thanks for keeping me on the straight and narrow folks, pleased with the choice of a 300H. 

I'm just trading in my IS300H Premier at a main dealer after 3 years of very happy ownership. I'm going to a GS300H, purely for the space and nothing else.

The hybrid system is fantastic. You have to change driving style. The best approach is to adopt a relaxed, progressive but purposeful style, feeding power in steadily and riding the significant torque of the electric motor. Overtaking can be done with impressive thrust by pushing the accelerator past the kickdown switch, at which point you get a shove in the back.

Most of the time, the ECVT gearbox drives like an old 3 speed torque converter auto. So acceleration is linear and effortless. If you come into it with that mindset, you'll love it.

What it doesn't do is provide sporting driving in the style of modern German cars. So no diesel shove, 9 speed gearboxes with lightning fast gearchanges or playing tunes on the paddle shift.

 

Does anyone know the part number and cost for the hockey puck mouse thing for the remote touch? Specifically, the later version fitted to 2015 onwards models with the recessed face?

Many thanks all. Very helpful advice.

I've got a deal in the offing for a 2014 GS300H with 44k at a main dealer. Very well priced. Your posts have been helpful in coming to a decision. Cheers!

Does the 2014 Luxury spec have an auto dimming rear view mirror? I cant get my hands on a brochure from that year. 

4 minutes ago, Zotto said:

About facelift, probably recent models have more ADAS that I find not strictly necessary but very useful. The suggestion to give a look to ES300h may you give the idea of features in a level 2 assisted drive car (like all Lexus sold now are): if you are considering a GS300h (great but out of production), you should consider a ES300h too, a step beyond GS in some features but more advanced in other ones.

Is ADAS driver assist? ES is out of my price range unfortunately - trying to keep costs down. 

Appreciate all the replies folks.

Another question - facelift or pre-facelift? Is it really worth forking out more for the facelift or would a high spec pre-facelift at a much lower outlay be just as satisfying?

30 minutes ago, johnatg said:

I have recently swapped my IS250 for a GS300h (Premier).

The GS feels like a substantially bigger car and it's quieter and significantly more luxurious. If you can't get comfortable in a GS I doubt you could be comfortable in anything. The seat has 18-way adjustment (premier spec - lesser versions have less adjustment) - main problem is trying the infinite combinations! It definitely has more 'driver space' than the IS.

I haven't driven an IS300h but I imagine its performance is pretty similar to the IS250, and the GS300h is much the same - not exactly a rocket but perfectly adequate for UK roads. I think the only place you would feel it lacking is if you are used to German autobahns at more than 200kph - GS300h max speed is about 119mph. Acceleration is quoted as somewhat slower than the IS250 - 9.2 secs to 100kph rather than 8.5 - but it doesn't feel like it - if anything it feels at least as quick.

I did worry that I would find a 2.5 litre four a bit of a step down from the wonderful V6 in the IS250 but really it's almost as smooth and anyway, you're used to the 4 in the IS300h!

The GS is definitely a more relaxing drive - maybe it just lulls you into a feeling of contentment with the world!

My wife comments that the GS is a lot more luxurious than the IS - she was horrified at my spending the dosh but she's happy now! I plan to keep it for a long time!

Thanks, that's really helpful and paints a nice picture of the car. It sounds like the GS300H is effectively my IS300H with more space, refinement and luxury. Sounds good to me!

I'm trying to get over the urge to have loads of power under my right foot. I guess it's part of a lack of acceptance that today's roads are not the place to have fun and the relentless war on speed means it's better to waft around in luxury while paying bugger all for tax, low insurance and using little fuel instead of having thrilling acceleration that can only be used 5% of the time with high costs for the privilege.

Not a world I like living in but hey... this is where Lexus scores over the other brands that make "sporty" cars...

2 hours ago, Zotto said:

GS is very well silenced,  better than IS so noise and vibrations are not an issue; in some cases there was a vibration at low rpm and around 45 mph but there is a TSB with a software update I made and it disappeared, same on IS300h but it needed also a little mechanical mod. GS 450h is quite refined and smooth in daily driving, but if you wanna accelerate … WOW!

No troubles in any overtaking 😉

I've driven a few 450H's - wow is definitely the word.

Glad to know the GS is quieter in 300H form. I just found some decibel readings and it seems to be 2db to 3db quieter than the IS.

1 hour ago, i-s said:

1) can't really answer as we never actually drove one. Performance won't be very different to your IS, as the GS300h is less than 100kg heavier. Your IS with an adult passenger. If it frustrates you in the IS then you already know. 

2) The GS450h is a lovely thing in many ways. It is overpowered in a way, but actually it is at its best when driven at six tenths. It's smooth, capable and relaxing, and rewards a relaxed driving style with languid torque rather than hoofing it. Ours returns an average of 37mpg (see fuelly sig below) and that's phenomenal for a 340bhp petrol car. 

Hopefully it won't upset or frustrate, but another car you might usefully take a look at is the Tesla model 3. I have one as well as our GS450h - while the GS is more refined (quieter inside with less road noise, softer and floatier) the Tesla is more comfortable for me (seat works better for me personally. This is very much a personal matter) and handles and performs in a different league. However, the real kicker is that you said you're building a business - if you're taking it as a company car then the entire value of the car can be written off against profits (ie you can reduce your business taxes by several thousand pounds against the purchase of a zero-emission vehicle), and your personal BIK rate will be 0% from April 20, 1% from 21 and 2% in 22, saving you thousands of pounds personally. If it's a personal car claiming mileage expense from the business, again you can minimise your tax bill by claiming at the HMRC 45p/25p rate against true running costs of around 5p/mile (lowering your business's taxable profits, and maximising personal transferance of cash from the business to you without paying income tax on it). The running costs of a Tesla 3 will be significantly less than the IS300h while performing above the GS450h. It's a bigger car than you realise, with a longer wheelbase than the GS, larger boot, fold down seats, etc. 

Thanks - I've driven a few Teslas. Astonishing machines! Not a fan of the interiors though, I much prefer Lexus build quality and luxury. I did wonder about business benefits with an electric. Hmmm.... 🙂

The big issue with the GS450H seems to be insurance costs and tax, which is around £600 per year in total more than my current IS. Oh, and their rarity! My IS is a Premier so I need to get a high spec Luxury, F-Sport or Premier to match its existing equipment levels.

It's times like these when going for a brand which doesn't sell millions of vehicles in the UK is a bit of a pain!