synthetic oil is the biggest con on the face of the planet ,regular basic oil does the job fine,just change it every 5000, you have to be out of your mind to use synthetic,a simple toyota corolla will have 300,000 miles on it with cheap oil and keep running ,our enginges are not gold

 

Dope....F-ing.....Ride brotha!!! Welcome to the family!!!!. I will say you're a better man than me however.......I've owned 3 Lexuses (is that the proper pluralized..... ehh anyway I digress) I had 2 ES models and jumped to a GS (08' triple black, AWD, ML, NAV). My daughter crafted a Basquiat on the rear center console of my second Lexus, which in turn made me VOW to never buy a light interior vehicle until she's 13 minimum. Anyway enjoy the ride. By the way....Lmaoo @ #MeAgain hahaha..

 

Nice choice - very clean, that car should serve you well.

 

Thanks, guys. I just dropped it off for the VVTi gear recall. They're changing the plugs for a half hour of labor while they're in there, and I'm having them do a tranny fluid exchange (I know it's WS fluid, like my ES, I just don't believe in lifetime fluid -- personal opinion/preference).

Mine suffers from brake squeal and the ridiculous dash rattles, so I also asked the service advisor about the brake dust shield and dash rattle TSBs. While I was at it, I brought up the shaky AFS headlights to get a reaction. The SA said there's a TSB for it, of which I'm unaware. He's calling with details and pricing for the TSBs.

Ownership Update: I'm diggin' the solid structure, refined drivetrain and sleek styling of my new-to-me GS, but was disappointed to hear the dash rattles crop up the second day after I took ownership. I think the cold snap brought them back to life. The 1-2 shift is a little sloppy, too. The first half of the 1-2 shift is smooth, with the second half resulting in a slight lunge. It's not rough or obtrusive, but unlike other Aisin trannies with which I'm quite familiar. I'm hoping the fluid change helps. The subsequent 2-3 and 3-4 shifts happen very frequently. Before I know it, I'm at 1,100 RPM going 30 while still accelerating at a decent pace.

Is this normal?

I do love the car. Despite its quirks, the build quality is quite nice. The door shut sound/feel is better than any Lexus I've encountered, which is quite a few.

Me likey the GS!

 

Well, as it turns out, my car already had the upgraded brake dust shields installed. The source of my freakishly squeaky brakes is aftermarket brake pads. I thought I could live with it, but cannot. I'll be researching ACCEPTABLE aftermarket pads vs. OEM. Feel free to chime in with your input.

Any thoughts on the tranny shift experience noted above? Again, it's not harsh, it's just that the second half (for lack of better explanation) is much more pronounced. From there, the tranny can't wait to get in top gear. With moderate throttle, I'm lugging along at 1,100 RPM.

Still learning the car's unique characteristics. They all have 'em.

 

Bump.

Anybody?

 

I cant comment on the brake pads, mine were done before i bought it CPO and they don't squeal except for in really wet/humid after driving and being parked for several hours. There is a metallic squeal on the first one or two brake pedal presses. My general past experience with brakes is find pads you are happy with and stick with, I had good experience with akebono ceramic pads in the past, but I make no guarantees how they would be on the GS. I also suspect that machining the rotors makes for squealing brakes, It may be worthwhile to just get new rotors. I had my wife's rotors machined and now the brakes sound like crap, prior to that I just replaced rotors along with brakes.

As for the shifting, it is hard to comment. Sound normal. Try the ECT settings that match your driving style. The car has a lot of power and 1st is useless, by putting it in snow mode, the car actually starts in 2nd. Try that and see if it still feels sloppy for the 1-2 shift.
Also try the ECT PWR setting, you may find that it holds lower gear longer to give you the power/responsiveness you mention (car itching to shift) Mine is smooth like butter, and others comment how smooth the 0-60 shifts are.

I drive with a heavy foot though, so I don't pay attention to 1 and 2, they are there to get you going.... not to drive in