I recently stumbled onto this forum, and am learning all kinds of great stuff about the car I hope to be purchasing within the next few months.

I'm hoping you guys can help me with this. I was on lexus.com, checking out the model year differences. I noticed that from 98-00, the premium stereo was 215 watts max, while 01-present, it says they have 96 watts. Did Lexus downgrade the stereo after '00, or are they just commenting on max vs continuous?

thanks,

Steve

 

not sure where you saw these specs, but the 01 on up had either the regular stereo, or the Premium Mark Levinson stereo and i know thats not 96 watts. The pre 01 cars u could either have the regular (pioneer) stereo or the premium nakamichi system.

there are some other changes on the 01's also.

quote from edmunds.com

What's New for 2001
On the safety front, standard side curtain airbags debut, and a new sensor detects if the front passenger seat is unoccupied, deactivating the front passenger airbag if nobody is sitting in that seat. Additionally, a new child seat-tether restraint has been added, along with impact-detecting door locks and an emergency trunk release handle that glows in the dark inside the cargo area. Exterior changes include water-repellent front door glass, a new grille with a bigger "L" badge, revised taillights, larger exhaust pipes with stainless-steel tips and new six-spoke alloy wheels. HID headlights are standard. Inside, steering wheel controls for the audio system come standard, a compass has been added and a new DVD-based navigation system is optional. Bummer that it's bundled with trip computer, audio and climate control systems. Mark Levinson audio is newly optional, replacing Nakamichi as the premium sound supplier. Dashboards have new metallic-gray trim, and a wood and leather steering wheel is optional. Four new colors round out this long list of updates for 2001.

 

He posted that he saw it on Lexus.com

http://www.lexus.com/cpo/model_detail/gs/430/2001.html

I can only imagine its either a typo OR some odd combination that no one has because it doesn't mention a CD changer as part of that, and that is pretty much standard.

 

Thanks for the info. I went to the local Lexus dealer yesterday, and picked up the brochure for the '05 gs. It lists the same 96 watt rating as did the '01. It probably doesn't make a lot of difference, since my budget puts me more in the '98 to '00 range anyway. Of course, I'd like to find one with the Nakamichi, but they seem harder to find. You guys all seem to love your cars, so it doesn't sound like I can go wrong. These cars seem to be bullet proof, so other than trying to make sure regular maintenance was done, is there anything else I should be looking for?
I do realize at 90K the timing belt needs to be changed.

thanks again,

Steve

 

Perhaps when they went to the Mark Levison option in 01 they DOWNGRADED the base stereo. Not totally surprising really.

 

but i have been in a stock gs300 (02) and the sound is similar to that on my 98

i am curious about why too. the ML is a 240W system i believe