msgs350

iTrader: (2)

That price seems fair if its the color combo you are looking for. Hopefully it has ML sound and good brakes and tires. I suggest you try to bargain a little more and use the money for maintenance items such as timing belt, water pump and fluids as they are more than likely due. I see you are in Minnesota which has brutal winters ( i watched the hawks vs vikings this past Sunday ) so i strongly suggest you don't lower the car because you will run into vibrations/wobbles. I have a lowered 07AWD and live in SEA and its pretty bad with the climate here.

Steve2424

If you have yet to pull the trigger, here's what "bothers" me about my car ('08 350 AWD)

1) The AWD hump that is nestled in the nook near the gas pedal. I'm 6'1" and this makes keeping a seating position comfortable for some time quite difficult.

2) The transmission sometimes seems confused on when to shift depending on traffic. If it's a straight shot, it's a bullet. Shifts smooth, but in stop-and-go traffic, it's like it needs permission on it's next move. Have yet to do a drain and fill (never a flush) so the jury is out if that'll be a noticeable help.

3) The rattles. While I too did not have them when I bought the car with about 45K miles, now at almost 72K the rattles have become part of the family. Easy to live with though. Turn up the music and it disappears

I would recommend comparing cars within this class to determine if in fact you want a 3rd gen GS (4th gen is awesome -- had one for a loaner and it was the bomb). The choice is ultimately yours, but keep in mind some owners here have disappointingly had issues with transmissions not too far off from the mileage in which you're looking to purchase one within. Either buy the warranty, or ask to have it checked out by a LEXUS dealer ONLY. They'll look for anything just to ding you for the repair so at least you'll know if something is truly wrong whereas an independent mechanic may overlook the intricacies of this type of car.

Good luck!

haromania

Update on my transmission/torque converter shudder complaint.


I bought a beautiful and incredibly well maintained 07 GS350 AWD w/133K on it and loved everything about it, except the transmission/torque converter shudder between 20-30mph in 4th gear. I did a can of Sea Foam thinking it could be the injectors, checked air filter, did OEM plugs (I would never install after-market plugs in one of these and wonder why anyone would) and all of those items seemed to help initially, but after a few weeks it was apparent I still had an issue. So yesterday I did something that I usually laugh at people about. I bought "rebuild in a can" otherwise known as "Dr. Tranny Instant Shudder Fixx". During my oil change I pulled the fill plug out if the tranny and injected 2 oz. of this stuff and spent the rest of the day trying to get it to shudder again and couldn't do it.


Laugh at me at your own peril, I'm telling you it doesn't do it anymore and I tried as hard as I could to get it to do it and I used to be able to make it do it on command. I'm incredibly stoked about this as that was the only thing I didn't like about the car.


FYI, for some background, like most of you I am a car guy. I restored my first car before I was old enough to legally drive it, I owned a body shop for 15 years and could literally cut a car in half and put it back together. I know there are people on this board better with cars than me, and have as much or more time working on them, I am just telling you I'm no dumbass on this stuff, and it appears to have fixed my issue. Whatever those "friction modifiers" are, worked. Check out the reviews on Amazon, lots of people had the same experience as me. If you're considering trying this, I'd be tempted to do it yourself, as most mechanics would probably laugh at you if you brought a tube of this into them, and may not put it in because they might be so convinced it is a stupid idea. So either do it yourself, or literally watch them do it if you can, otherwise you won't know for sure. One last thing, I'd have the fluid changed first if it were me, before I added this stuff. That's just me.


I also needed to pour that stuff into a large syringe first and literally inject it, as the fill plug location makes it impossible to squirt it right out of the tube.

ThomasGS4

iTrader: (19)

I had the transmission fluid changed in my GS460 yesterday. The car has 91k miles. This "world standard" transmission fluid that is supposedly lifetime, isn't. The technician told me it came out completely black. Now the car shifts smoother than ever before.

Lukas99GS

I want to do that but I'm nervous as mines already at 144k and I don't think it was ever changed, but I do have a warranty on it so maybe I should go for it, still shifts great though

Steve2424

If you believe or think it's never been changed, I would have the maintenance done on it. Do a drain & fill instead of a flush, as a flush can cause sediments to get lodged in pockets of the unit that upon being used again, can unhinge themselves through temperature variances and the fluid moving around which can cause the unit to not function properly -- cause slipping, rough shifting, stalling. They will shift fine for the most part, but the fluid that's been in there since Day 1 has gone through numerous temperature changes and different driving conditions which I doubt would keep the fluid in peak operating condition. Plus at that mileage, time isn't really on your side with respect to a mechanical unit lasting much longer with ignored maintenance. Just my 2 cents