E40D

Having come from 15 years of Swedish cars, I'm new to the world of Lexus. I never imagined myself in a Lexus, but I found this LS for less than the cost of a new KIA and I figured I'd give it a try.

Stats: 2012 LS460 AWD with 126k, mint condition in and out. 2 previous owners from NY and TX. Bought from Carmax for $16k. They replaced the left axle, speed sensor, updated software after purchase. I spoke to them about my concerns with the odd trans shifting and paid Lexus to perform a full post-purchase inspection, but everyone tells me the transmission is operating within spec.

Questions:
1) Having tried all shifting modes(PWR/ECO), the trans is quite annoying. Shifts are lazy and not crisp. Under heavy acceleration it holds onto the gear way too long, and at 3-4k rpm for 5-7 seconds before upshifting. Is the unit fundamentally flawed by engineering or do I have a trans on the way out?
2) Manual and oil cap call for 0w20 or 5w20 only. Is this set in stone or can I play with higher weights without risking damage to the block?
3) Are there any fuel economy hacks that will make my ozone depleter better on fuel? After back to back RP and BG44k fuel treatments I'm getting close to max of EPA ratings, so I think it may not get better than this.
4) Heat is intermittent, blowing hot air about half of the time. Any ideas for a fix?
5) HVAC settings defaults to 'Feet' EVERYTIME instead of last known setting whenever the car or HVAC is power cycled. Is this bad engineering or is something wrong here?
6) How powerful is the AWD...meaning, how extreme can I push her? I've previously pushed my AWD Volvo wagons to the edges of the Earth and they owned it completely.
7) AWD maintenance, how often do I replace the fluids?
8) Trans flush and fill...is there an off the shelf equivalent to the Toyo/Lex fluids or just stick with OE?

I've purchased a full bumper to bumper extended warranty with coverage up to 221k miles or 6 years from Carchex.

I've put 5k miles on the clock in the first month of ownership and really quite enjoy it overall. Most comfortable and quiet land yacht I've ever owned, and the V8 power is unbelievable.

Thanks for the help!

jdanielca

If you are setting the climate to auto which I assume you are not, since you mentioned last known setting then it will do whatever it needs to do and in the winter with the heat on it seems to start with the feet first I guess to avoid fogging up the windows.

I read something about resetting climate control but I cannot find the thread at the moment.

If I were you i will change the fluids out as often as I can if you are putting 5000 miles on it already. Longevity for me is the key I do lots of short trips and stop start traffic and basically never get above 40kmph on the city so I'm going to keep oil changes to 3000-4000 k miles. Laboir here us cheap so not really an issue. If I was in North America or had a garage I would do fluid changes myself. If you are doing it yourself no harm in changing out the trans and diffs every year. Since it us getting up there in miles, could only help if you are going to have to pay US prices to do it I'll do every 2 years.

The 2 oil weight is what's recommended for us Canada I was told in Russia and Eastern Europe the recommended range is much wider I searched for Russian manuals and it went up to 5 30 and 5 40 even. But I've read going with higher weights might be bad for mpg. But no harm trying. I would go 5 30 in that case max. I've been using 0 20 past 2 oil changes and I my mpg is rubbish total 1/3 of what it's supposed to be so I'm switching to 5 30 in next couple of weeks. I'm also gong to change the transmission and differential. Less friction and resistance in these components = better mpg.

R Z

Congrats to you on the new 460. It's quite the beauty. I'm not quite sure about the climate control situation. To my knowledge, I don't keep it on auto (I don't think) and it stays where it is when i restart the car. I do have a 14 so not sure if that matters. But I'd have to believe it should stay where it's left. As for shifting, I know what you're saying. I too think the shifts are a bit lazy feeling. Don't think that's a problem, just a part of this car's make up. The good news is you bought the extended warranty. So now just enjoy that pretty thing and feel the float as you cruise down the road.

ausLX

Well what do you think. Do you think you know better than the people who built the engine?

jdanielca

There is a range depending on the country you can Google

Nospinzone

Congrats on the new car and I wish you good luck with it. And welcome to Club Lexus.

I'll take a stab at a couple questions, but since I have a 5 year older model I can't comment on some questions.

1) Hard to say if that is a problem. Not being with you when you accelerate it could be normal. Maybe you could test drive one at a Lexus dealership and see if you have the same experience.
2) Highly unlikely you would do any damage, but I would just stick to whatever your manual recommends.
8) As with the fluid, stick to what is in your manual.
You bought an extended warranty. The last thing you want to do is void it by not using proper fluids.

E40D

Why yes, yes I do.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

As far as the transmission is concerned, I think your experience is typical. This is a luxowagon, not a sports sedan. Don't do a flush and fill on a car this old - do a drain and fill (which may be what you meant to say). And use Toyota/Lexus fluids - no reason not to.