GSmk3

Thanks guys. Much appreciate. I’ll go order one now.

Hi everyone, I’m hoping to connect Garmin Mini dashcam with the rearview mirror power source using this Dongar USB adapter. https://dongar.tech/products/10pin-type-b-lexus-toyota Will be a very clean installation if possible. However I’m not sure if the mark 3 is compatiable. It says on the website that as long as the rear view mirror is the auto-dimming type, it should work. Is that the case for the GS300 Mark 3? Thanks!

Ive got it to work. The issue was the region settings of the TS508, changed it to Europe and everything was fine.

Hello, Have anyone tried to reprogram the TPMS sensor ID inside the ECU with MaxiTPMS? Or we need to have Techstream to do that? I have got hold of a TS508, however I can't get it to work with the Pacific sensor. I'm not sure if I did something wrong or it's just not meant for that. Many thanks.

There are some bumper kit, but I have not seen much. GS300 Mark II is the one to get if you want modification

I agree it makes sense (to change differential oil), just puzzled why Lexus would recommend it for some car and not others. The same for transmission oil, for Lexus GS it is in a sealed unit, so it is also not recommended to change. I'm not going to Lexus dealer anymore, the car is nearly 15 years old, but my local just do the standard basic stuff, so I'm trying to see what I should specifically ask them to do.

All solid advice. I will go for a premium brand, even though I'm not sure the car will see them out. I have found some Vredestein Quatrac Pro that is slightly cheaper and also highly rated.

So I'm going as far north as Skye, but most of the time will be in the West Highlands around Fort William. I'm slightly worried because my car is RWD. How difficult it is to drive at night through the area?

Hi everyone, I'm driving to Scottish Highlands this December. Incidentally, the tyres need replacing as well, so I'm looking at budget to medium range tyres with this trip in mind. From what I have read, winter tyres are not really necessary. Would I benefit from all season tyres (they are quite a bit more expensive), and which budget - medium brand do you recommend? The car is 15 years old, and I'm only driving 5k a year, so not looking to invest heavily. Many thanks.

Hi everyone, Looking through the service document from Lexus, it doesn't seem like they recommend changing the rear differential oil for GS300, only inspecting at regular intervals for leakage (they do recommend changing for the ES, IS). Has anyone done this and is there much to gain? Many thanks.

Quick update on this. So I found a welder to repair my exhaust blow, and also asked him to clean the O2 sensor. All light gone! So the traction control light just went on for the same reason as VSC: O2 sensor. I suspect traction control would still perform if I hadn't repaired the exhaust. All good now.

Update in case it's helpful for someone in similar situation. So I went around to see how to fix my exhaust. Most local "tyres and exhaust" shop just refused to touch it. A local popular garage had a look, and they said the Y section needed replacing with £1100 +VAT Lexus part plus 2 hour labour. Lexus dealer even more. All very scary. After little more research I found custom exhaust fabrication, and to my relief, Longlife only quoted me £150 to replace the front pipe on one side, or £300 for both sides. However there was a long waiting list at my Longlife dealer. And with my MOT looming soon, I found another solution, a local welding mechanic. He removed the heat shield, wrap a layer of steel around the leak and welded things together. All at cost of £60. I will see how long it lasts, I can always go with Longlife if it ever did. The lesson I have learned is, most garages just look to replace your parts, it's easy money and easy work for them. It's always worth it to find specialists advice and repair it at all possible.

Glad to hear that. Was yours blown on the front or the rear pipe? Did you need to rebuild it or repair?

Hi everyone, After advice from a forum member, I went to a garage to check on the VSC engine light, and got confirmation that this is because of a leak on the front exhaust pipe, near the catalytic converter. This leads to the Cat system "performs under threshold", and trigger VSC light. Has anyone got similar problem and how do you fix it? Is it possible at all to weld the leak or we have to replace it? There are two options for replacement as far as I know, one is getting the Lexus part, two is getting a custom build from Longlife and the likes. With the latter, apparently we can reuse the cat, which is a plus I think. I will try to around for prices next week but wonder what would be the best option. My car is close to 15 years old now, I plan to drive it for 2-3 more years before retiring it and change to electrics and really don't want to spend too much on it. Thanks for your advice.

Yes. my garage did try to clear it unfortunately it came back after a couple of days, same thing 😞