minerva

I recently bought an 06 IS350 and I'm still learning a lot about the car and how it performs in various conditions (I'm coming from an E60 BMW). I am moving from Atlanta to Seattle and taking 2 high school friends with me for a roadtrip on Jan 23-28 to get me there, along with a three year old. (Thought about shipping the car but decided a road trip was way mo' cooler.) Rather than cutting directly across the country, I will be traveling along the southern coast of the US then up through Cali and Oregon to reach Washington. I have a few questions for youse guyz:

1. Should I be really worried about the cold temperatures? I'll use caution, of course, but my BMW was quite capable in cold weather where from what I've seen of the Lexus, it doesn't seem to do that well in ice and cold. I'm running Hankook Ventus V12 on the front and Nitto NT555 on the rear (not my choice of tire configuration, it's what I bought it with). Those are toooootally not the right tire for winter, I get that, but is it really worth the cost of brand new winter tires in this scenario? The car will barely be driven in Seattle and if I knew I could get there safely I'd keep the current tires on until they needed to be replaced.
It'll be a car full of us girls so the last thing we need is to end up kissing a guardrail and getting stranded 1,000 miles from home. Being from Georgia, I've never had winter tires - do they really make that much of a difference?

2. Does that 'SNOW' ETC button actually do anything useful? When, in your experience, does it seem to be helpful? Does it impact MPG?

3. My heat blows cold when the car is idling, then heats up fine once the car is in motion again, but there are no errors or lights on the dash. The BMW told me every time something was even thinking about malfunctioning. Any clues as to a cause to get this sorted out BEFORE the trip?

There's probably some stuff I'm forgetting, but meh. Any tips from seasoned roadtrippers would be appreciated too, I'm excited but kinda also freaked out a little lol.

Thanks y'all.

nosurprise

iTrader: (1)

Driving through the south is not that bad, but even in Arizona, you get snow in certain cities -- just not thick snow. What snow mode seems to do is dampen acceleration and start the car from 2nd gear from stop, which should help, but I don't imagine that would be 100% effective in a lot of situations. You can check the coolant level to see if it's good for the heat. The car doesn't give an error lights on the dash for AC. I had an issue with the AC not setting the temperature right, and it does store error codes, but you need the tool to plug into the OBD port to read the problem -- Autozone might be able to read it (not sure, since it's not an engine issue).

Edit: you should probably read here about driving in snow, but I doubt you'll get that kind of snow. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...this-snow.html

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Looks like you'll be taking I-10 to I-5, which I've traveled personally at least eight times (OR to FL trips to/from home/college). Now, I've not had problems heading from OR to FL for second semester (around mid-Jan timeframe like you here); but conditions year-to-year are of course different. The ONLY time I had any trouble due to weather was coming home from FL to OR going over a "pass" on I-5 near the CA/OR border. It was mid-Dec, and traffic dept there would ONLY allow vehicles up/down it with AWD, studded/snow tires, or chains. Luckily I always had chains in my car, just in case. If anything, I'd grab some chains just in case.

Another thing you'll have to keep in mind it that in AZ/NM, it will get VERY cold over night. So even though you will probably stop to sleep at a hotel or two, your car needs to be "weatherized" for those temps.

No need to use the snow mode, even in snow. You're best bet will be to learn the "pedal dance" and use it IF you need to apply chains.

To get yourself prepared for the trip, I'd recommend the following :

1) Get the water pump checked; as you pointed out in point #3 in the above, that COULD be a sign of the water pump going out. Definitely not something you want to attend to during a cross-country trip
2) Unless flushed recently, get the coolant flushed with fresh pink Toyota coolant. (This should be done if the water pump is replaced)
3) Fresh oil and oil filter of course
4) Good tire tread and higher air pressure for slightly better fuel mileage (perhaps 38-40 psi)
5) Ensure the spare tire is inflated to a proper psi and ensure the spare jack and tools are all there
6) Bring a GOOD flashlight
7) An emergency kit (flares/first aid stuff/meds/"fix-a-flat"/etc)
8) Your energy drink of choice; original Monster is my choice
9) Of course, a charged cell phone

AND HAVE FUN!

FI4runner

iTrader: (1)

All great info already mention - the first and only thing I'd really recommend is a 100pt Lexus dealer inspection - or do a oil service and ask for a free one. Might cost $100 - but it'd be worth every penny in my opinion. The dealers look at the same vehicle daily. I recently purchased a 07 IS350 (36Kmi) that looked brand spanking new (serviced at Lexus exclusively). Between services after I purchased - the water pump started leaking (would have never thought).
The cold air at a stop is most likely air in the coolant system. I've popped the radiator cap - and started the car with the heater on full blast to cycle the system. Squeeze the hoses to help the coolant get sucked down. Turn off the car, and if the coolant level drops - fill up (and repeat). Some cars have "bleeder" valves. I'm not familiar with the IS - so maybe someone else can chime in there.
The southern Oregon Pass is Siskiyou Pass. It's elevation peaks around 4500 ft - so be careful. I'd log onto ODOT when your in Cali to check the roads. ODOT Tripcheck - then check the cameras and map. Watch out for the cops that radar at the bottom of the huge Cali hills when in Northern CA. I'd recommend traveling that whole N Cali S Oregon section in the warmest//lightest portion of the day.
Other than that - it sounds like you will have a blast. Enjoy it!!
And welcome to the RAIN here in the NW! LOL (I'm just north of Vancouver, WA).

FI4runner

iTrader: (1)

Oh - and on the snow mode, turn it on now and you can see what it does. It just doesn't allow you to "hammer down" and spin the tires. It does help in snow around town a little - but I wouldn't be attempting to drive my RWD up to the mountain with out chains. It's still a RWD car with street tires. lol

DRivera250

iTrader: (6)

watch out for the cops in Arizona!

pheonix72

iTrader: (6)

Many great advises so far. Here are some of my:
-pack extra warm clothes and blankets
-some goodies snack and lot of water.
-pull over and get some rest right away if you feel tired and sleepy. However DO NOT park on the highway emergency lane; get off the highway and park in a safe place.
-always try to have the tank full of gas! Fill up even if you are at 3/4 tank and see a gas station conveniently off the highway. You never know when the next available station will be.
Good luck and safe travel.