larrs

Hello all,

Yesterday I turned in by 2006 GS300 and picked up my new 2009 RX350 Pebble Beach Edition, in Truffle Mica. The GS was (still is) a great car, but I need the additional cargo room of the RX.

I don't have pics yet. We had very heavy rain Thursday night, so the roads were still wet in places on Friday and I didn't even get the car home clean! Perhaps today I can take some pics, although it's 25 degrees and too cold to wash the car.

Options are typical for the Northeast region: Heated front seats with rain-sensing wipers and headlight washers; Navigation; Towing prep package; Cargo mat; Wheel locks. While I know there are other (possibly cheaper and better) options, I had the dealer install XM and the iPod interface. Turns out the iPod interface works with my iPhone 3G only to play music -- it does not charge the phone.

On the drive home I noticed the rattle from the rear hatch area. I've searched the threads here and found the suggestion to move the latches for the cargo cover, so I've done that and will see if today if that takes care of it.

It also seems to me that the headlights are aimed quite high, which is interesting since most of the threads here have complained about them being aimed too low. I'm going to leave them as is for a bit and see whether other drivers flash at me; if so, I'll adjust them downwards slightly.

So, my impressions coming from a 3GS after 50 miles in an RX:

First of all, it rides so much better -- much smoother. I think this is in good part due to the tires. My GS had the "dreaded" runflats, which ride harshly.

RX, obviously not yet broken in, feels like it will be at least as peppy as the GS. This is comparing RX350 to GS300, not GS350.

The stereo does not sound nearly as good as the Mark Levinson I had in the GS. I think this has to do more with the fact that the RX is so much larger (cavernous?) inside, compared to the GS than it is due to the ML/non-ML.

I was immensely comfortable in the GS, not yet as comfortable in the RX. I have to get used to the higher seating position, and I'm still fine tuning the seat and steering wheel position. Strangely enough, I feel like the bottom seat cushion in the GS was just a bit longer than that in the RX, and so was a bit more comfortable for me. But again, I need to acclimate to the new car.

I did lose some of the doodads ... The GS had a 6-speed transmission with "sport shift", Smart Access (key stays in your pocket), power folding mirrors (good in tight spots), ventilated (in addition to heated) front seats, and parking sensors. It also had a hill hold feature that when you were stopped facing uphill, you could take your foot off of the brake and the car would not roll backwards. The service brake would release as soon as you stepped on the gas.

I gained cargo space. The trunk in the 3GS is so small. Trying to take a trip with my wife and two teenagers, it was challenging or impossible to fit 4 large suitcases in the trunk. The RX has the Gen 5 navi, a nice upgrade from the Gen 4 in the GS. Screen resolution is way better, and the bluetooth is noticeably better as well. (But of course the manual override of the navi lockout doesn't work on v8.1.) The outside mirrors are much larger, which is quite welcome since the GS did have blind spots as a result of small mirrors. The foglights on the RX actually can be seen on the roadway -- the ones on the GS were useless. I'm sure I'll find more as I learn the new car.

Still working my way through the manual to find all of the little things ... like the "seat belt comfort guide" for rear seats that the salesman didn't show me.

- Larry

sportsfan8

Cool deal, thanks for sharing your experience.

Junkxus

Good luck! I had two 2008 RX350 AWD (one was replaced for many quality issues) the second I traded with less than 2500 miles for a BMW X5 (great ride)! Remember that the RX and ES Junkxus products are cheap economy car based products. Lexus target market is people moving from Honda, Toyota etc. to a so called high end products (in name only). Like Chevy to Buick. Lexus is not in the same class with the German cars or even the other European offerings. But they are a lot less money!! You get what you pay for!!

sportsfan8

lol, you're still posting on this forum...

liquidsilver

So we are all stupid uneducated Lexus owners....and you're the smart and educated German made BMW owner right? Whatever floats your boat buddy. As long as you're happy I guess.

oldcajun

Relative to your rattle issue, there are several postings somewhere on this forum. The short cut is that it is likely the latches that hold the cargo cover in the closed position. They must be pushed all the way forward until they click into a locked position. I didn't believe that two little pieces of plastic could make the rattle I heard until the tech showed me.

Good luck with your new ride and ignore the trolls who visit the forum spreading BS.

Steve

larrs

Yes, I had seen the posting about the cargo cover latches. That fixed the rattle. Thanks and I appreciate an on-topic response.

DigMyM35x

I'm not sure if this is your issue with your iPhone not charging but Apple made a switch on the charging wires. I'm no electrician here but basically, there are pins on the connectors and with the iPhone 3G and newer 4th Gen iPods they evidently switched the chargin pin connections.

There is an adaptor made by a company - scosche - that you can search for. It fits into the phone/iPod and then you plug the vehicle connector into that. It basically just reroutes the charging pins from the connector.

I've seen a few people use it in Infiniti cars and they've reported great success.

Hope that helps!

Jay

larrs

Thank you, Jay!

I had specifically told them I had an iPhone 3G and wanted to make sure the adapter was compatible. When I realized that it was not, I called to complain. The salesman apologized and told me to bring the car back in. They changed the adapter and now the phone plays and charges. So all is well and no additional adapter is needed.

DigMyM35x

Wow - that's excellent! I hope Infiniti does that soon. This was the main reason I didn't get a new iPod.

Glad they fixed that for you and enjoy the ride!

Jay

ColdLexus

Sounds like a fine start to a long and enjoyable driving relationship. And thanks for reminding me about getting the iPod adaptor for our upcoming RXh.