dwiall

Another thing I noticed while I had the intake cowl thing off. There is zero, none, zilch, sound insulation under that thing and if that creak is that load on the inside then you should be able to insulate that area to keep more of the engine and wind noise out. I will work on that this weekend and see what I come up with. That hole under there is like a big sounding board.

IXI187IXI

iTrader: (3)

the white piece you are reffering to is more than likely the clips for the windshield which is the cause of the dash rattles. take it to lexus and let them fix it for free.

dwiall

The window clips all have felt on them. The metal white piece is 6 inches wide and runs the width of the car, the bottom of the cowl rest on it. I took it to lexus and they said this is how it is. If I had bought my car from my local dealer I would take it back until it was fixed. Since I didn't, I feel bad. I have had the car in for all kinds of things and they are tired of seeing me.

worker

If any 1 going to do this, can U make a DIY? With pics and stuff to show. Thanks.

dwiall, thanks for providing the fix.

Mine is good.. no rattle. But than it passed 2 previous owners so they might have fixed it.

IXI187IXI

iTrader: (3)

just because you didnt buy it from your local dealer doesnt mean they cant fix it for you. lexus has a 4yr/50k warranty on them.

Amalan

iTrader: (1)

as much as everyone disagrees with this guy, im going to have to agree with him and say this car sucks in the snow. I came into a parking space going like maybe 2mph, hit the brakes and the car nearly slid into the wall. I got out thinking it was ice and it ended up just being slush. This car is beyond frustrating in the snow it wont stop when its going slow enough for you to stop it by hand. I think a ferrari f430 can out do this car in snow.

anaq110

I think your issue is related to your tires not the AWD system.

I had General all seasons and did notice a bit of slipping but once I switched out to snow tires I was gripping thru the snow. Its not a 4X4 so I don't expect to climb snow banks but in local\highway driving I think it faired very well.

ivanz

Another thing you can do to stop the noise temporarily is to get a soft eraser (for pencils) and wedge it between the dash and the windshield (its hardly visible especially if you wrap it in electrical tape). That gets rid of the noise until you visit the dealer to replace the clips.

helpmeout1

See Thread "Front brakes lock up under light braking."

Amalan

iTrader: (1)

Yeah that could be a possibility I guess my all seasons werent ready for this kind of snow. Either way, I still think this car sucks in the snow.

vladbph

At 2mph no car would engage any sophisticated systems to stop. Its your tires.

dwiall

My car sucks in the snow but I know it is 100% the tires. If I put snow tires on it I know it would go like crazy.

I now drive the car with the trac and vsc off. I have never needed that stuff. Grew up on rear wheel drive and love it. Front does give better traction but you have no imput when the system engages. You can steer rear wheel drive with the throttle and keep the car moving, can't do that with the trac on. With the trac on you continually loose forward momentum I have, on many occasions almost been hit because of the traction control. At an intersection when you are making a turn across traffic and you gas it, the inside wheel slips and engages the system and guts all the power until you let up on the gas, very unerving the first few times. Now, when I see this situation I push the button and go. This is with the Solara, don't know how the GS would behave in the same situation, the electronics are 10 years newer.

I know what the VSC (same princeible as INS,inertia navigation system used on aircraft and spaceships, I think they both use laser gyros now) does and have had it come on and beep at me several times but the car keeps drifting. I am pretty sure the gyro works on acceleration and lack of acceleration. So if I am in a drift the gyro does not feel a change in acceleration and thinks all is fine. I think the gyro does feel the car initially brake loose but I don't know why it stops trying to correct things.

If I enter a corner with the GS at 60 mph and the car starts to slide will the VSC keep me from going off the road if that was a little to fast? I do know that on a on-ramp that I take everyday I have had the GS sliding (very well balanced by the way) and there was no beeping or imput from the computer. This might come back to tires. If your tires just start letting go gradually it may not notice, but if your tires just let go then it will feel it, may be the same thing on snow too. Someone will be along to striaghten me out shortly that knows a little more about how it works.

The VSC may be why I don't get good braking when one wheel is on snow and the other is on pavement. The car wants to spin out (go towards the side that is grabing) if one wheel grabs and the other doesn't. When this starts to happen the VSC releases the brake that is grabing to keep it going straight. Hey, I think I answered my own question. I will try it with the VSC off.

helpmeout1

I used to have high performance summer tires. I put on new Goodyear Eagle GT’s (all season), and I still have the same issue with my front brakes locking up. I will say that the new Goodyear’s did improve the traction on take-off in the snow. I do miss the high performance summer tires on dry pavement.

anaq110

Have to disagree with you there dude... I had a GS400\RWD and driving in the snow was impossible but with snow tires it made it manageable. Now the AWD GS350 is pretty good in snow with snow tires. Think about it, your tires are what gives you traction not the AWD system. A good set of snow tires like Nokians\Blizzaks does wonders in the snow.

Honestly, my requirements were to get a reliable awd for winter but also keep the luxury and performance. My GS350 AWD exceeds that mark

Cut-Throat

Yup, I'll have to disagree with you here also! - I live in Minnesota and have driven most of my life in ice and snow! We see plenty of 4 wheel drive SUVs in the ditch because they think the 4 WD helps them stop faster! - It doesn't!

--- My GS350 with AWD and All Season tires is great in snow. -- Of course, you have to know how to drive. Stopping on ice does not have anything to do with AWD, Brakes (other than anti-lock, which does the pumping for you) - We used to allow studs in Minnesota, but were banned because they tore up the roads.

I used to have a RWD GS300 and you really had to know how to drive in winter with this. It was truly a sled and could get stuck in 3 inches of snow, with nothing in the trunk. Add 200 lbs of weight in the trunk and it improved things a bit.