MaximusPrime

Looks like the car is already sold, that was quick! 🙂

There's a video on replacing the foam that surrounds the amplifier, works out a lot cheaper than having it replaced altogether. Might be of help:

Hi Craig, that particular one looks to be a very clean example, they've added photos now and it looks stunning, bodywork and interior are spotless. Although Autotrader rates this one as "good price", I think it's on the pricier side, probably over the market rate by around £3,000-4,000, but the listings for facelift GS 450h cars are so rare that it's hard to gauge their true value. The last one I saw advertised was a 2016 with some 60k miles, and that went for around £20,000 I believe. I think what makes this one more expensive is the mileage and it being a Lexus approved used car, so you will have a decent chunk of Relax warranty remaining, as well as assurance that it was serviced, prepared and inspected by qualified technicians before the sale. I would definitely see if they are willing to go down on the price, as you can get a very good, 22-23 reg example of, say, ES300h for the same money, different cars of course, but the point stands. As for what to look out for, have a look at the below thread:

Thanks Barry - hope it goes well, keep us posted! My 6+6 Y splitter has arrived a day early, and was a doddle to fit, plug and play 🙂 There's a bit of a lip on the back of the stereo, so I tucked the splitter cable behind that, and traced the Bluetooth dongle to the side and all the way down, to rest on insulation padding behind the lowest wooden panel on the dash (heated seats controls, etc.). Ignition on - nav screen came back to life, as did the reverse camera and volume controls work again - result! Paired the phone again, double tap on the CD button and it worked right away. The sound quality is brilliant, as good as any FLAC files on my CDs, very happy with the way it turned out. Steering controls work too - up and down to skip tracks, and there's zero input delay, it just works! I've turned the engine off fully, then back on and it started playing again, without me having to touch anything, as close to OEM as you can get 🙂

Update: Amazon sells a bundle which includes both the 5+7 dongle and the Y splitter / adapter: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bluetooth-interface-1997-2003-2001-2004-2001-2010/dp/B07JQWPJ49/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1AJOZ3H10NF1O&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.P3s0327lU_EktFOn9IYf48m-47bvq8Kls3zlu_So8NvxsRBJZLbph-zdgpUrrTkNU4J1bVBvLOyqwZM4jVks7g.oDd56MnSU3zIc8bxvzN8HC7sGXCdv-mAlYhwBoDns3U&dib_tag=se&keywords=BlueMusic%2Blexus&qid=1713087735&sprefix=bluemusic%2Blexus%2Caps%2C68&sr=8-3&th=1 Edit: The middle port on your stereo definitely has 5 pins at top and 7 pins bottom, so I would imagine the 5+7 dongle and the 5+7 splitter should do the job:

Hi Barry, funnily enough, I had my BlueMusik Bluetooth adapter delivered on Friday and went ahead to install it. It came with a 6+6 connector, which I assumed would be a straight swap with the existing port at the back of the stereo unit, but, after plugging it in, my Nav screen has gone off completely, and with it the volume adjustment, rear camera and the radio - all gone 🙂 CD changer still worked, as did the "load CD" and "eject" options on the CD changer, and when I paired my phone to the BlueMusik dongle it allowed me to switch tracks, both from the phone and the steering wheel buttons - so it worked, to an extent! Climate control and all the other, non Nav-related screen options work too. All that is of no use to me of course (as there is no sound), so I went back to their website and it turns out I need a 6+6 Y splitter, which will have a dedicated port for all the existing functions that my stereo came with and a dedicated port for the BlueMusik dongle, that should now arrive tomorrow. Looking at the back of the unit - yours is different to mine (a 2005 model year), so I'm wondering if it is the 5+7 one that you need? Their website does not mention the pre-facelift LS models however. Dongle: https://www.musikimauto.de/BlueMusic-Bluetooth-Audio-Toyota-Lexus-57_1 5+7 Y splitter: https://www.musikimauto.de/Toyota-57-Y-plug-large I'll add a picture of what the back of my stereo looks like if it helps.

Hi Jig, there's an imported 2014 LS600H F Sport on eBay, this may fit the bill for you: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305484138365?itmmeta=01HV709GD6ZY72QGXA4MBXZZHC&hash=item472046077d:g:aEQAAOSw-KJmCPmR

Hi Malc, was wondering about this too, however it looks like this doesn't apply to all imported cars after all. There's a very clean, imported LS460 currently on Autotrader that's got all the buttons and menus in English, in fact the only thing that gives it away is the speedo in Km/H! 🙂 https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403137524066

Hi David, not entirely sure as the mechanic did it and I wasn't there, but here's someone else who did a similar job (linked from this very forum):

My local garage were also adamant that the job is far too complicated and mentioned that they were stung by their only other air suspension swap on a Mercedes Benz van of some sort, where the entire dash lit up full of warning lights after the job and they couldn't fix it 😅 So I asked around and found another local garage (a VW / Audi / Seat specialist of all people!) who also happens to do lots of these suspension jobs and he accepted right away! Are there any tuning garages local to you? May be worth checking with them, as I almost guarantee they would have done some suspension work previously and these kinds of places are far more likely to take on the job. As for the air lines - they are simply disconnected or snipped from air struts themselves, there's nothing more to it if you are keeping the rest of the air suspension parts in place, here's a screenshot from a video LS430 VIP made:

Oh and here she is - sitting low and pretty after the swap:

I can vouch for BC Racing - a quality, really well made kit. Ordered mine from ID Workz website and it arrived the next day. They offer Klarna too - that's if you don't fancy forking out £949 in one go, and splitting the bill may help you with putting the car on the road quicker: https://id-workz.co.uk/products/bc-racing-br-series-coilovers-for-lexus-ls430-ucf30-01-06 I've watched a number of videos on these suspension swaps beforehand, and knew what needs to come out and how it's all accessed. Once the air lines are disconnected, the fronts are a straight swap, and the rears are slightly harder to access, in that the top mounts are hidden behind the rear seats and the parcel shelf. Ideally, you'd need to undo the rear seats (or get the garage to do it for a little extra), and drop the backs a bit - they can be temporarily held in place by seatbelts if needed. Then lift the rear parcel shelf slightly and voila - you'll see the mounts. This is what I did before taking the car to the shop, but if don't fancy messing around - ask them to do it. There's a video that covers the lot, including the rear seats here (rear seat removal starts at 10:50): In addition to that, I printed off the suspension diagrams from Club Lexus forum (attached), and brought with me a photo of a car that had its struts replaced - to give my mechanic an idea of where things are, and to show my desired ride height, as I wanted the car lowered whilst they are at it. My final request was to leave everything in place as much as possible, i.e. not a full demolition job, and keep the air compressor and other related bits in place. I've also asked them to ignore any lights that may come up on the dashboard as I will deal with these myself - there was only a single fuse that needed removing to stop the compressor from pumping air and if memory serves me right, it was located either in the engine bay or one of the footwell fuse boxes - easily accessible and I can check which one and where it was tomorrow for you if you like. Since that was done - no warning lights whatsoever! They charged me just over £400, and left the old air struts in the boot, so I could resell them later if I wanted to. He said it was all quite straightforward, and they only struggled with undoing one bolt on the rear strut, but considering the age of the car that was to be expected. The air lines were disconnected from original air struts and everything else has remained in situ, so I could technically have it back on air in future. These BC coilovers are fully adjustable, so you will have options to play around with for both the ride height and ride quality. I may be wrong, but pretty sure there were two settings on the top mounts - for Sport and Comfort, a little dial you can twist - I haven't looked since I've had them installed, so memory is a little foggy now 🙂 But the ride height is definitely something worth thinking about if you are having the suspension swapped anyway. The garage will be able to set it whichever way you like - and it can be adjusted to go lower or higher at a later date, the kit comes with all the tools if you are mechanically minded. Positives: 1. Car is now much more planted in corners, handling feels superb, and the body doesn't roll 2. As mentioned above - the kit is fully adjustable, the world is your lobster oyster 3. Quality - these struts feel like they will outlast the car, they are that well made The one negative: Ride quality doesn't compare to air suspension, it will be firmer. I think the only way to counter this would be to have the ride height set higher to allow the struts to work their magic with greater suspension travel. But seeing that I expected this before the swap, I am honestly not regretting it one bit, and in my opinion it's probably the best upgrade you can do to prolong the life expectancy of your LS 🙂 If there's anything that I've not covered - let me know, happy to help!

I think the Swindon one was reserved even before the photos went up - and probably quicker than it took me to type this up haha

Hopefully I won't become the resident GS F spotter (not the worst pastime to be fair!), but another one just popped up at the Cheltenham dealership for anyone interested! An early 2016 model (VX16 WYO) in silver, 64,567 miles and only slightly cheaper than the already reserved blue one at Swindon - £40,991. No pictures yet, but they do look good in silver 🙂

I think all the decent examples of F cars will start not only retaining, but going up in value. Looking at the current new car line-up on Lexus website, it's all Hybrid and Electric, they've removed RC F and LC completely, even the LS page (admittedly LS is not an F model) is now simply a placeholder. Hopefully that's not a sign of things to come 😥