Playdrv4me

What are you, 5 years old? Or is the "pudding" between your ears? You know, I wanted to keep this above board and not say anything earlier, but some of your silly responses and disrespect to others in this thread have already proven that either 1 or 2 could entirely be the case, and have certainly eaten away at any credibility you may have once had. (Starting with how ignorant, bigoted and backwoods it is to have an attitude that anyone who drives a Cadillac has 24 inch wheels).

With all due respect your measely 5 cars is again, completely anecdotal evidence. Not to mention the fact that we haven't investigated your scenario fully. Did you buy all 5 of these cars new? If not, can you prove conclusively what type of fuel the previous owner(s) used? Have you removed the cylinder heads on these magic Lexuses to SEE the cylinders, valves and pistons yourself?

My "defense" is based in science and personal experience seeing what happens to NORMALLY driven engines when lugheaded owners insist on pouring garbage down their tank when the car calls for premium fuel. This is one instance where listening to the manual IS A GOOD THING (something you seemed to whole-heartedly agree with earlier hmmmm... a flip flopper we have here). I have seen everything from pitting in pistons to holes all the way through from the damage caused by running too low an octane level.

Like I said, your personal experience may be that your vehicle produces no symptoms that *you* can hear or feel, but I guarantee you the next person stuck with that pile of garbage may not be so lucky after the previous owner poured garbage fuel in the car, regardless of mileage. Unless the car went to the scrap-heap, SOMEONE down the line is going to be stuck with the potential damage made by those idiotic decisions. If you can't afford the fuel, don't buy the car. I'm sure you have a doozy of a response for why you "choose" regular fuel too.

Ahhh! This thread is x1000.

Playdrv4me

Well at least we can agree on one thing!

Carnut

With "all due respect" my #ss". You don't respect anyone but yourself. I don't give a rip what the next owner inherits from me. I take care of me, and my cars. Since 1993 I have had FIVE (5) V-8 Lexus cars, ALL of which I used Regular Unleaded with NO issues whatsoever. Pour your money into that gas tank if YOU wish, but I won't. Sounds like you are one of those that keeps a car for 300,000 miles and can't afford to drive a Lexus anyway. You are afraid something is going to break. I have NEVER had an un-scheduled maintenance issue with any of my FIVE (5) cars.

Now, I just got off the phone with one of two people regarding the Transmission Fluid issue. My BEST friend said, "We have had LS-430's in here with almost 200,000 miles on them, never had a transmission fluid change, and only had one car that seemed to have an issue with a transmission (referring to LS-430's). He said he WOULD NOT change the fluid if it ever got to 100,000 miles, but since mine only had 60,000 miles, he would do it "IF I INSISTED". He is one sharp mechanic, faster than greased lightening, and knows Lexus cars bumper to bumper. He also agreed to change my coolant, IF I INSISTED. He enouraged me to "Leave it all alone". If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and he makes money working on cars (Lexus).

The second person I asked is a Service Manager at a very reputable Lexus Dealership and he said, "If it only has 60K on it, I'll change your fluids "If you insist". He said there was no need, but if it would make me feel better, he'd be glad to take my money."

This is the last post I will make regarding this subject, so don't even bother to rebut it. I will have no response. Like you said, "It's getting nowhere".

Good luck with YOUR decision, and wish me luck with MY decisions.

elite7

Cheers.

I follow the manual. I dont care what any mechanic or owner advises to me because i can just pick up the Factory Maintenance Manual and follow that.

elite7

Good points Carnut.

I agree with you 100% on leaving the transmission fluid alone . Thats exactly what it states in the manual.

I dont think its wise to pump regular fuel when the car is built for premium fuel. As i said i like doing things based on what the manual is telling you to do. Not only that but i can feel a big difference between Premium and Regular fuel. Car drives totally different with Regular.

The computer most likely adjusts for the regular gas. However to me it makes a $2 difference on each tank of gas between regular and Premium.

I can usually get 450 miles on a full tank. So every 1000 miles its just approximately $4 more, at 10,000 miles its approximately $40 more, and at 100,000 miles its only approximately $400 more. To me $400 for 100,000 miles is not an expensive proposition considering the car costs $60,000+ new. $400 more in 14 years is not bad.

Now if we can just figure out a way to pay 99 cents a gallon again .

As i said pumping regular gas is still not as bad as changing transmission fluid .

Carnut

For the sake of "Curiosity", I will put Premium in it next tank and see if it makes a BIG difference. I may have to get clearance from "Ground Control" at the airport if it runs like a rocket. I've used both, and never could tell the difference. I'll give it one more try and see if I can tell the difference.

Thanks,

Playdrv4me

LOL, there you go again, ignorantly assuming that YOU know what everyone else's situation is or isn't. Typical self serving attitude to boot. You have absolutely not the foggiest clue about how long I drive my vehicles or how many I have owned. (Credibility dinged again) I can tell you that in the last 10 years I have owned over 30 vehicles of VARIOUS makes, models, ages and types. Yes, that's 6 times your number of Lexus products. It is so incredibly amusing to sit here while someone tells you that you are POOR because you try to minimize vehicle break-downs. That is just about the most backwards, idiotic and non-sensical argument I have ever heard. Someone with any level of intelligence realizes that the kind of person who avoids or ignores maintenance is precisely the kind of person that CAN NOT AFFORD to perform maintenance. MAINTENANCE ON A LUXURY CAR COSTS MONEY FOR A REASON. Because it prevents MORE expensive repairs later on. IN ADDITION TO PREVENTING UNNECESSARY WASTES OF MY TIME WHILE THE CAR GETS FIXED.

OH SNAP! Not your best friend! Well if your best friend the master Lexus tech said it, then it HAS to be true! WELCOME TO THE INTERNET. First of all, way to divert the attention from the topic you couldn't defend (you still haven't provided a proper defense for putting garbage in your tank, while I provided plenty of good reasons NOT to).

Second of all, I don't give a damn who you did or didn't call or what they work on. Your "friend" the mechanic does not make a substitute for the evidence I have already seen and experienced on MULTIPLE different car types over SEVERAL years. Moreover, I can happily call JUST AS MANY current and former Lexus, BMW, Mercedes master techs who would strongly recommend proper transmission maintenance. Curiously, most of these guys will give you a "by the book" answer when they are at work, but buy them a beer and sit with them for a little while AFTER work and you will often get an entirely different answer. All of this exists in YOUR world, and if that is your modus operandi then all the better for YOU. I DO wish you the best of luck. Overall evidence stands when it comes to this (silly) argument. Six to one half dozen of the other you will never find a conclusive "word of mouth" answer to this topic. And if I recall correctly, *I* the original starter of this thread, did not create the thread as a forum for discussing the validity of the fluid change in the first place. That it was barged into and has come this far is absolutely ludicrous.

Right, if I recall you already said that once before. I give it 5 minutes before you reply again with more fun facts. WAIT... wait... you already posted again. Fail.

At least we can agree on that. I'm tired of all this silly bickering over such trivial nonsense, in a thread that I started with a completely separate purpose.

Playdrv4me

Well at least you are willing to give it a try. I suppose that stands for something!

elite7

Yeah try it out. I didnt like how my LS 430 drove on Regular glad i only put 1/4 tank in. If you wanna test it i would recommend a full tank of premium because your lines may still have some regular left in them.

From what i understand with Premium you get better Miles Per Gallon so that kinda cuts into the $2 more cost per full tank. For me a full tank lasts me around a week and a half to two weeks .

Let me know how you like it with Premium, and if you see any changes. I know i definitely did when i put 1/4 tank of Regular in my LS 430 and i dont dare to do it to my LS 460.

If you see a difference thats great but if you dont no biggie just put regular .

Carnut

I'll sure try Premium, but since 1993 I have been unable to see any difference. The computer makes up for the difference. Not sure where you are, but gasoline here is about $0.50 cents a gallon difference between Regular and Premium. That would amount to a LOT more than $2.00 a tank.

Thanks for your encouraging words, and I'll fill up with Premium and see. I'm already getting "Window Sticker" mileage on Regular, so I'm not sure it can get much better. I get about 17 city and doing the speed limit, I"ve seen 26 highway.

Time will tell.

Carnut

up yours !

Playdrv4me

Jesus... 50 cents!? Where do you live??

I just checked prices in Birmingham and they average between 15 and 35 cents higher than regular at most stations. If I had to pay 50 cents more I'd still do it, but I'd be a whole lot more pissed about it.

Carnut

O.K., even at $0.35 cents more, at about 20 gallons, that's $7.00 a tank more, not $2.00.

Jabberwock

You wrote "up yours !" ...really...?

The usual very nice sense of both decorum and civility on this forum seems to have taken a major hit on this particular thread. Maybe time to close? Hopefully this is not a portend of things to come. Folks if you are gonna take it personal, I suggest you take it somewhere else. I have requested the mods close this thread.

Playdrv4me

The thread outlived its usefulness 4 pages ago. Had I not responded with my maintenance suggestions when the thread was revived it probably would have gone back to the dead long ago. My fault I guess.