pschall

Looking for high mileage GS 350's. How are our cars holding up? Any transmission issues north of 200k.

Dcerna

I'm currently at 151,XXX with no issues to report. Oil changes every 5,000 miles

gs350lex

What wear and tear items did you have to replace aside from brakes, looking more for suspension issues etc.. Also do you have an F-Sport and what year?

PlPete

This will differ greatly and you might have to consider a lot of factors, however, these cars have proven to go the distance if you just do regular maintenance and address things as they pop up.

Dcerna looks to be in California so the wear and tear on his car might by quite different than for you in Canada. I'm sure you might see more wear and tear on rubber bushings in the suspension as well as possibly shocks, depending on the road conditions. Mechanically, as long as you change oil and filter, watch cooling for leaks as you get up there in mileage and take care of other ware items. Probably worth to look out for rust with the harsh winters!

Dcerna

I've been lucky that I haven't had to replace any suspension parts related to any issues. The only thing I've changed in the suspension is adding the SPC rear camber arms to try and get the most out of my tires and especially since this is my commuter car

When I purchased this car last year I did see in records that the previous owner had to get the left rear strut replaced due to leaking but since I've taken ownership, I haven't noticed any leaking on any of struts

2013 F-Sport

bob256k

Yeah sorry California is heaven for cars. Most of the miles are on the freeway, no snow, no salt and it never gets cold , really hot, or humid. Plus if you park in a garage is like the car is in a climate controlled storage. My 15 Gs has 70k I bought it with 19k and i always get compliments; all I do is hand wash only and maintenance. I have a Honda with 300k on original everything except the starter, which started acting up at 275k. I have had several cars go 180-200k miles no major issues...

PlPete

haha exactly and well said! You do live in car heaven....well except for lack of 93 octane in many places. That's hell

It does take a bit additional effort when living in more harsh climate but it's certainly possible. Washing the car regularly to get much of the salt off during winter will help a lot in minimizing rust and wear on suspension components.

bob256k

Completely agree regarding the LACK of 93. I drove to Oregon and filled up with 93, same brand of gas I use here, Costco. The different was amazing, and my mpg when calculated was about 33 mpg on the freeway @ 80 mph! The car said i had a 350 mile range, about 25-40 miles more than typical.

bclexus

93 octane versus 91 octane (or whatever you have been using) is not going to make any noticeable difference in your fuel mileage.

I suspect the reason your mileage range increased was because you had just driven a long distance (to Oregon) on the highway while getting increased fuel mileage (compared to what you had been getting around your local) which naturally increased the mileage range when you filled-up. I do not think the 93 octane gasoline had anything to do with the increased mileage range your car's computer calculated. It was the long trip at increased mpg that generated the increase.

PlPete

While this might be true for other cars or cars with lower compression ratios this is not the case for the GS350 or other cars with high compression or forced induction.

When you use a lower grade of fuel, a modern vehicle’s ECU can account for different octane levels (even 91 vs 93) and adjust accordingly. There’s a good chance horsepower and MPG will go down while CO2 emissions go up. It's all about efficiency and our cars and the programming in the ECU is sophisticated enough to take advantage of any differences.

Our trip computer is able to reset after you fill up so if bob256k states he got a certain MPG there is no reason to question that as other users that have access to 93 octane gas have reported similar results.I drive exclusively on 93 octane and get as much as 370 miles per tank once filled up.

bclexus

I personally don't think 2 octane points makes any difference with the ECU, the horsepower curve or the MPG achieved unless the engine is operated at or near WOT or under a heavy load.

I always use 93 octane as well. If I have recently been on a highway trip that provides increased fuel mileage when I fill-up I often notice that my mileage range has increased. I have no other explanation for the increased mileage range other than [that] the most recent trip had provided better fuel mileage, so when I filled-up the onboard computer calculated that I would achieve greater mileage range due to having had better mpg on the most recent trip.

Are you suggesting that as soon as you fill-up with 93 octane (when you had been using say 91 octane) that the car's computer is somehow able to immediately detect it has 93 octane in the tank - and that (increased octane) is why the mileage range increases?

Hues10

Oh no. Another controversial subject to encounter. Time for the popcorn. In one corner, 93 is hardly any different than 91. In the other corner, 93 is even better than 91, so unlike aspirin, the more, the better. Ready, GO! (And I am only joking folks. I enjoy the discussions as usually both sides have good points, and there just may not be a definitive answer).

imjohnphan

I pump 87 octane

PlPete

Yes I am. Octane is a measurement of a fuel's resistance to igniting when compressed in an engine's cylinder. Raising octane allows engineers to increase the engine's compression ratio, which is one of the higher ones out there in our GS at 11.8 : 1, which in turn enables an engine to run with greater thermal efficiency and produce more power from less fuel. We are not talking something major here but a difference nevertheless.

Oh I hear ya Bclexus likes to be the smartest guy in the room

er34

Might not be just the octane, but difference in additives as well, changes in ethanol content, freshness of the gas.

I get slightly better mileage with gas I get from the US(upstate NY) compared to the gas we get in Canada - measured on the same road, same temperature/conditions.