I downgraded "BIGTIME"
03-07-15, 12:18 PM
#31
......So I guess my Avalon is my forever on out car (I say the same thing like every year) "MUUHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA"!!!!
.........."DOH"!!!
[/QUOTE]
My last 7 or 8 cars have been my "last" car."
.........."DOH"!!![/QUOTE]My last 7 or 8 cars have been my "last" car."
03-07-15, 12:43 PM
#32
Lexus Champion
I guess I'm different. I tend to hold on to cars for at least 10 years. I generally average under 10K miles/year. The cars were bought new, but weren't luxury cars. They were reliable. So the big question for me is how long a used 2008 - 2010 LS460 with, say, 60K or even 80K miles will last at 10K miles/year without becoming a huge maintenance hog?
That's why this thread is relevant to me, and I appreciate Soldier76's detailed description of his situation.
That's why this thread is relevant to me, and I appreciate Soldier76's detailed description of his situation.
03-07-15, 03:04 PM
#33
Lexus Test Driver
I have to strongly disagree with that because your looking at a particular number and not my situation. For one the transmission was seriously slipping. Every once in awhile when I take off from a stop the tranny will get stuck in a low gear and when it catches the car will jerk when it catches. Also the bags for the air suspension was eventually about to completely go because my car will have a gangsta lean when I park it for a long or short period of time. Those were 2 major things I had to consider because when I brought it to the Lexus dealership (of course they could not duplicate the problems) they told me to get the Lexus platinum warranty because just those issues alone will cost me well over $15,000, but if I get the warranty it wouldn't cost me a dime to repair. The guy who sold me the car at Wilde Lexus in Florida told me that this car cost $89,000 new in 2007, and that this is a high maintenance car. Now the true cost to own doesn't factor in anything major going wrong or if you still have the factory warranty on it. Now for the Avalon you can see that it's far from the LS 460 in basically everything, and almost the same in every aspect as the ES300h. The LS460 is in a whole other league NFL compared to high school football. For instance say if one of my heated and cooled reclining seats in my old LS460 died, it will cost almost $4,000 or more to get that fixed. Also the LS460 is future proof, its better then and have more features than 90% or more cars on the road and i"m talking about the 2007 model. It still has a commanding and luxurious presence that turns heads and have people in awe. Anything in my Avalon's interior that break will cost waaaaaaaaay cheaper to fix then that Lexus one seat. Now mind you reliability is superior in the LS460, but like anything man made your gonna have some cars or anything for that matter that doesn't last as long as others.
What gives??
03-07-15, 03:47 PM
#34
Lexus Fanatic
The dealership that performed nearly all if the maintenance on my car, the service manager said that although the it's a lifetime fluid, any lubricant due to age/viscosity will deteriorate, and he suggested to change out at 100k to 120k. However, a service rep at the Lexus dealership near me says it's good for the life of the car....
What gives??
What gives??
If it were my car, i'd change the fluid - and have done so in mine.
03-07-15, 04:37 PM
#35
I'm curious...how old was the car and what mileage was on the dash when you purchased it? I'm asking because I'm curious as to if the trans fluid had been changed. As you may or may not be aware, that's a huge topic of discussion and varied opinion in this forum. The dealership that performed nearly all if the maintenance on my car, the service manager said that although the it's a lifetime fluid, any lubricant due to age/viscosity will deteriorate, and he suggested to change out at 100k to 120k. However, a service rep at the Lexus dealership near me says it's good for the life of the car....
What gives??
What gives??
03-08-15, 07:45 AM
#36
Lexus Test Driver
You're right.....it is hotly contested, When you say that the service manager states "it's a lifetime fluid", that depends which market you bought your vehicle in. It's the same fluid in every other part of the world where this car is sold, but for whatever reason (marketing?), the U.S. market calls it lifetime. Here in Canada (and Europe, etc) the fluid must be changed at regular intervals. FWIW, some car makers (BMW ?), USED to call their trans fluid "lifetime" and stopped doing so. I believe it's now referred to as "long-life" fluid.
If it were my car, i'd change the fluid - and have done so in mine.
If it were my car, i'd change the fluid - and have done so in mine.
See, this is the thing for me, as I am not a chemist, but have been exposed to lubricants and their ability to lubrricate amidst extreme conditions in an industrial environments. Exposed gears as well as encased. Car manufacturers may have developed a base oil which contains elements which chemically enable a certain level of lubricity over a duration of time, but any oil whose purpose is to perform as a lubricant, when exposed to constant hot/cold cycles along with heated moving metal components, it it inevitable that lubricity element will break down.
I know for certain my trans fluid hasn't been changed, but I can assure that the fluid will be changed!
To anyone's knowledge, has anyone sent their trans fluid to Blackstone?
03-08-15, 07:47 AM
#37
Pole Position
I guess I'm different. I tend to hold on to cars for at least 10 years. I generally average under 10K miles/year. The cars were bought new, but weren't luxury cars. They were reliable. So the big question for me is how long a used 2008 - 2010 LS460 with, say, 60K or even 80K miles will last at 10K miles/year without becoming a huge maintenance hog?
That's why this thread is relevant to me, and I appreciate Soldier76's detailed description of his situation.
That's why this thread is relevant to me, and I appreciate Soldier76's detailed description of his situation.
Now I drive this thing 600 miles a week...I do that in the snow...in the rain...when it's -17 degrees bellow zero and when it's 95 degrees out (and everything in between). I've driven this thing up mountain roads...down mountain roads. I've been stuck in city traffic. I've cruised peacefully on the freeway at 65 mph. I've floored it...I've panic stopped (by the way, if I was in most cars I'd be dead right now if it weren't for the brake system in the LS). And I've driven the thing with just me, and with my entire family in the car...it doesn't matter, it always drives the exact same way. Perfect. The thing drives perfect. I can't tell you how amazing this car works - and that's what it does - work. The heated seats? They all work. The heated steering wheel? Works. The power this, or the power that? After 8 years of "working", it still works like new.
I'd be pretty confident recommending this vehicle to someone else. You can find parts for it on ebay for reasonable prices. There are aftermarket things available. It gets great gas mileage. It competes with Mercedes, BMW and Audi...yet it does it with reliability. I think the car is a solid choice. What I did was I compared it, price wise, to buying a new Maxima, Camry or Accord...and then took a chance with the LS. So far, so good. In fact it is a bargain thus far. And if you take the practicality out of the equation - and just thought of what it is like to own this car, compared to the others I mentioned??? It's a no brainer. Never in my life have I received so many compliments on a car...the thing is a topic of conversation probably way more than I'd like to admit.
Last edited by Doublebase; 03-08-15 at 07:51 AM.
03-08-15, 07:51 AM
#38
Lexus Test Driver
I can only speak from experience - I own the the "dreaded" 07 LS 460. I purchased it used a little over a year ago with 72k miles, I have since put over 20k miles on it. In that time I've had to do nothing in repairs - I have done maintenance on it - coolant change, transmission service, bought snow tires for it, bought a pair of summer tires for it and changed the oil. That's it.
Now I drive this thing 600 miles a week...I do that in the snow...in the rain...when it's -17 degrees bellow zero and when it's 95 degrees out (and everything in between). I've driven this thing up mountain roads...down mountain roads. I've been stuck in city traffic. I've cruised peacefully on the freeway at 65 mph. I've floored it...I've panic stopped (by the way, if I was in most cars I'd be dead right now if it weren't for the brake system in the LS). And I've driven the thing with just me, and with my entire family in the car...it doesn't matter, it always drives the exact same way. Perfect. The thing drives perfect. I can't tell you how amazing this car works - and that's what it does - work. The heated seats? They all work. The heated steering wheel? Works. The power this, or the power that? After 8 years of "working", it still works like new.
I'd be pretty confident recommending this vehicle to someone else. You can find parts for it on ebay for reasonable prices. There are aftermarket things available. It gets great gas mileage. It competes with Mercedes, BMW and Audi...yet it does it with reliability. I think the car is a solid choice. What I did was I compared it, price wise, to buying a new Maxima, Camry or Accord...and then took a chance with the LS. So far, so good. In fact it is a bargain thus far. And if you take the practicality out of the equation - and just thought of what it is like to own this car, to the others I mentioned??? It's a no brainer. Never in my life have I received so many compliments on a car...the thing is a topic of conversation probably way more than I'd like to admit.
Now I drive this thing 600 miles a week...I do that in the snow...in the rain...when it's -17 degrees bellow zero and when it's 95 degrees out (and everything in between). I've driven this thing up mountain roads...down mountain roads. I've been stuck in city traffic. I've cruised peacefully on the freeway at 65 mph. I've floored it...I've panic stopped (by the way, if I was in most cars I'd be dead right now if it weren't for the brake system in the LS). And I've driven the thing with just me, and with my entire family in the car...it doesn't matter, it always drives the exact same way. Perfect. The thing drives perfect. I can't tell you how amazing this car works - and that's what it does - work. The heated seats? They all work. The heated steering wheel? Works. The power this, or the power that? After 8 years of "working", it still works like new.
I'd be pretty confident recommending this vehicle to someone else. You can find parts for it on ebay for reasonable prices. There are aftermarket things available. It gets great gas mileage. It competes with Mercedes, BMW and Audi...yet it does it with reliability. I think the car is a solid choice. What I did was I compared it, price wise, to buying a new Maxima, Camry or Accord...and then took a chance with the LS. So far, so good. In fact it is a bargain thus far. And if you take the practicality out of the equation - and just thought of what it is like to own this car, to the others I mentioned??? It's a no brainer. Never in my life have I received so many compliments on a car...the thing is a topic of conversation probably way more than I'd like to admit.
03-08-15, 08:32 AM
#39
Lexus Fanatic
I forget Roadfrog, and please forgive me, but at what mileage point did you change out your trans fluid?
Last edited by roadfrog; 03-08-15 at 08:39 AM.
03-08-15, 09:42 AM
#40
Lexus Test Driver
Somethin ng I just noticed.
My wife was pulling out of the driveway to run a few errands. I had already let the car run at idle for about 5 minutes+. My driveway slopes a bit towards the road so when she placed the car into reverse, it made a noticeable clunk. Once she had gotten into the street and put the car into drive, it clunked again. I drove the car all yesterday and didn't seem to hear it from the inside, but these cars as you know are well insulated. Wondering if there is anything normal about this or should I be inclined to change my fluid asap. Mileage is 66.5k.
03-08-15, 10:30 AM
#41
Pole Position
That's about my mileage point right now...
Somethin ng I just noticed.
My wife was pulling out of the driveway to run a few errands. I had already let the car run at idle for about 5 minutes+. My driveway slopes a bit towards the road so when she placed the car into reverse, it made a noticeable clunk. Once she had gotten into the street and put the car into drive, it clunked again. I drove the car all yesterday and didn't seem to hear it from the inside, but these cars as you know are well insulated. Wondering if there is anything normal about this or should I be inclined to change my fluid asap. Mileage is 66.5k.
Somethin ng I just noticed.
My wife was pulling out of the driveway to run a few errands. I had already let the car run at idle for about 5 minutes+. My driveway slopes a bit towards the road so when she placed the car into reverse, it made a noticeable clunk. Once she had gotten into the street and put the car into drive, it clunked again. I drove the car all yesterday and didn't seem to hear it from the inside, but these cars as you know are well insulated. Wondering if there is anything normal about this or should I be inclined to change my fluid asap. Mileage is 66.5k.
As for the Toyota WS fluid, there have been Blackstone lab reports on it. I want to say the mileage was around 100k and it had changed in viscosity....don't really know if that's a bad thing or not. The fluid is not a "lifetime" fluid, that much you can find out with a simple google search. In fact it is not even synthetic. Google WS fluid - there is enough stuff out there about it that will make you want to change the fluid. But I'll warn you - with the LS - it is very hard to properly add the correct amount - so make sure the person doing it knows what they are doing.
03-08-15, 01:27 PM
#42
Driver
Thread Starter
I looked at Avalon's before I bought my 460. I would have bought one but just couldn't find one in my area when I was looking. Then I started looking for a 460.
I wouldn't consider it a downgrade. Its a different car. It is a huge upgrade to some, so be happy you are there.
I wouldn't consider it a downgrade. Its a different car. It is a huge upgrade to some, so be happy you are there.
I'm learning new things everyday that my Avalon can do that my 2007 Lexus couldn't (again, of course the LS 460 can do a lot more). My Avalon is a great car and I'm proud to own a Toyota product that is well known for bulletproof reliability, awesome tech, great service, etc etc.
03-08-15, 01:31 PM
#43
Driver
Thread Starter
"LMBO", I know I have to Pray out this terrible addiction. Something is truly wrong with me.
03-08-15, 01:47 PM
#44
Driver
Thread Starter
I'm curious...how old was the car and what mileage was on the dash when you purchased it? I'm asking because I'm curious as to if the trans fluid had been changed. As you may or may not be aware, that's a huge topic of discussion and varied opinion in this forum. The dealership that performed nearly all if the maintenance on my car, the service manager said that although the it's a lifetime fluid, any lubricant due to age/viscosity will deteriorate, and he suggested to change out at 100k to 120k. However, a service rep at the Lexus dealership near me says it's good for the life of the car....
What gives??
What gives??
) actually helped in shaping my ultimate decision in letting my 460L go.
03-08-15, 02:00 PM
#45
Driver
Thread Starter
I guess I'm different. I tend to hold on to cars for at least 10 years. I generally average under 10K miles/year. The cars were bought new, but weren't luxury cars. They were reliable. So the big question for me is how long a used 2008 - 2010 LS460 with, say, 60K or even 80K miles will last at 10K miles/year without becoming a huge maintenance hog?
That's why this thread is relevant to me, and I appreciate Soldier76's detailed description of his situation.
That's why this thread is relevant to me, and I appreciate Soldier76's detailed description of his situation.
).