New to the forums - New LS460
04-12-07, 11:29 AM
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New to the forums - New LS460
I've been lurking around here reading posts for a couple of months now in anticipation of buying a new LS460. After everything I read I decided to go ahead and take the plunge. My previous cars have been a Mercedes E320, Porsche Boxster, BMW 330, and BMW M5. My wife has had an RX300, RX330, and now a new 2007 GX470.
After an exhaustive search of all the dealers in Texas I was unable to find a car in the color combination I wanted. I wanted smokey granite mica with the gray interior. My leasing company finally located one at Ray Catena Lexus in New Jersey. I told him that I was very leary of getting a car from a dealer from out of state. It took about 2 weeks to get the car here. When it finally arrived it had a few problems. A few light scratches on the right side that appeared to be from plastic scraped against the car. Not a huge deal. It can be buffed out. My biggest complaint? This dealer mounted the front license plate frame on the car. No big deal, right? Wrong. Instead of using the two factory mounting holes that are there (but covered) this dealer drilled 4 large holes right through the front bumper. Again, that's Ray Catena Lexus in New Jersey. Beware! The sad part is that it's not like I can run back to the dealer since I live in Texas. My leasing company however has been great. They are taking the car in to have the bumper repaired and the light scratches buffed out.
Now, for my comments on the car. It's not nearly as quiet as I expected. More road noise than I thought I'd get and more noise from passing cars. I don't believe this has anything to do with the wind noise problem many of you are experiencing. Maybe it does. Not that it's horrible, it just doesn't seem as quiet as my wife's GX.
Everyone has raved about the technology on this car. I'm a big technology buff and following is a list of goodies I would like to have seen on this car:
A card key that will fit in your wallet. It should come with the car. Not be a $430 option I have to buy.
Active noise cancelation in the cabin.
A bluetooth stack with better compatability with more phones.
A bluetooth stack that supports A2DP streaming. This means the ability for me to stream music from a portable music player that supports bluetooth A2DP streaming.
An iPod connection. Not the lousy aux connector.
The ability to rip music from the XM radio to the hard drive. My little portable Pioneer Inno even supports this. It's a very cool feature. You can even start recording from the middle of a song and it will get the entire song.
The ability to rip/copy from MP3 CD's.
The ability to play MP3 DVD's.
A heads up display.
HD radio.
An elapsed time counter and mpg counter from last start of the car. My E320 had this. I always just glanced when arriving at work to see how long it took. With the LS460 I have to remember to manually reset the elapsed time timer whenever I leave the house.
Display of the current road name as well as turn guidance on the dash LCD.
Radar cruise control as part of one of the standard packages dealers order. To get radar cruise control you must order a car and wait 6 months.
Remote engine start with the key fob. It gets hot here in TX. Nice to cool the car down without having to get in to start it
And finally, everyone's big complaint, let me see my mp3 and phone information while the car is moving!
Yes, I know I'm nitpicking here. But still, these features sure would have been nice.
On another note, I ordered the Dice Electronics HD radio module/ipod interface for the car. The LS460 is not listed as one of their supported cars so I gave them a call. They told me that it did indeed work on the LS460 and that they had just completed an install on one. So, I ordered it. Took it to a local installer to have it put in. They got it hooked up and wouldn't ya know it? No sound from the right speakers and slightly distorted sound from the left. I called Dice and they said that it was a defective unit. I sent it back, they sent me another one, and voila. It works just fine. I now have a true ipod connection with display and control from the factory head unit as well as HD radio. I will say that the interface is awkward but I'm sure it's the best they can do since the only way to interface with the stock nav display is to have the LS460 see it as a CD changer.
I've also been reading extensively in the IS2 forum about how they bypassed the speed sensor on the nav display to be able to uncripple the phone funtions and mp3 display. I've downloaded all the IS repair manuals and verified which wires on which harnesses they're using. Upon downloading the documents for the LS460 it appears to be the exact same wires on the same harnesses. On the LS460 the harness names are different and the wire colors are different. The actual wires themselves are on the same pin numbers of the same harnesses however. Once I get a chance I will be taking the nav out and giving this fix a try.
After an exhaustive search of all the dealers in Texas I was unable to find a car in the color combination I wanted. I wanted smokey granite mica with the gray interior. My leasing company finally located one at Ray Catena Lexus in New Jersey. I told him that I was very leary of getting a car from a dealer from out of state. It took about 2 weeks to get the car here. When it finally arrived it had a few problems. A few light scratches on the right side that appeared to be from plastic scraped against the car. Not a huge deal. It can be buffed out. My biggest complaint? This dealer mounted the front license plate frame on the car. No big deal, right? Wrong. Instead of using the two factory mounting holes that are there (but covered) this dealer drilled 4 large holes right through the front bumper. Again, that's Ray Catena Lexus in New Jersey. Beware! The sad part is that it's not like I can run back to the dealer since I live in Texas. My leasing company however has been great. They are taking the car in to have the bumper repaired and the light scratches buffed out.
Now, for my comments on the car. It's not nearly as quiet as I expected. More road noise than I thought I'd get and more noise from passing cars. I don't believe this has anything to do with the wind noise problem many of you are experiencing. Maybe it does. Not that it's horrible, it just doesn't seem as quiet as my wife's GX.
Everyone has raved about the technology on this car. I'm a big technology buff and following is a list of goodies I would like to have seen on this car:
A card key that will fit in your wallet. It should come with the car. Not be a $430 option I have to buy.
Active noise cancelation in the cabin.
A bluetooth stack with better compatability with more phones.
A bluetooth stack that supports A2DP streaming. This means the ability for me to stream music from a portable music player that supports bluetooth A2DP streaming.
An iPod connection. Not the lousy aux connector.
The ability to rip music from the XM radio to the hard drive. My little portable Pioneer Inno even supports this. It's a very cool feature. You can even start recording from the middle of a song and it will get the entire song.
The ability to rip/copy from MP3 CD's.
The ability to play MP3 DVD's.
A heads up display.
HD radio.
An elapsed time counter and mpg counter from last start of the car. My E320 had this. I always just glanced when arriving at work to see how long it took. With the LS460 I have to remember to manually reset the elapsed time timer whenever I leave the house.
Display of the current road name as well as turn guidance on the dash LCD.
Radar cruise control as part of one of the standard packages dealers order. To get radar cruise control you must order a car and wait 6 months.
Remote engine start with the key fob. It gets hot here in TX. Nice to cool the car down without having to get in to start it
And finally, everyone's big complaint, let me see my mp3 and phone information while the car is moving!
Yes, I know I'm nitpicking here. But still, these features sure would have been nice.
On another note, I ordered the Dice Electronics HD radio module/ipod interface for the car. The LS460 is not listed as one of their supported cars so I gave them a call. They told me that it did indeed work on the LS460 and that they had just completed an install on one. So, I ordered it. Took it to a local installer to have it put in. They got it hooked up and wouldn't ya know it? No sound from the right speakers and slightly distorted sound from the left. I called Dice and they said that it was a defective unit. I sent it back, they sent me another one, and voila. It works just fine. I now have a true ipod connection with display and control from the factory head unit as well as HD radio. I will say that the interface is awkward but I'm sure it's the best they can do since the only way to interface with the stock nav display is to have the LS460 see it as a CD changer.
I've also been reading extensively in the IS2 forum about how they bypassed the speed sensor on the nav display to be able to uncripple the phone funtions and mp3 display. I've downloaded all the IS repair manuals and verified which wires on which harnesses they're using. Upon downloading the documents for the LS460 it appears to be the exact same wires on the same harnesses. On the LS460 the harness names are different and the wire colors are different. The actual wires themselves are on the same pin numbers of the same harnesses however. Once I get a chance I will be taking the nav out and giving this fix a try.
Last edited by TravisR00; 04-12-07 at 11:49 AM.
04-12-07, 12:01 PM
#2
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Good luck with your car.
I was a little bit amazed at the list of things you wanted but did not get. If I had a list of things like that that were not in the car I wanted, I would not have gotten that car.
Maybe Mercedes or Audi has all those features. Did you try them?
Sorry you are not satisfied with the noise level of the car. That seems to be a concern of a lot of people here. I for one am very happy with the noise level and I like to drive my car fast.
I love the color combination. Please make sure you put it down on the color combination chart also on this forum. Us smokey granite people have to keep the lead.
I had leased a car from Ray Catena. I found their salespeople very aggressive and the service dept very busy. I got my first oil change there and they completely screwed everything up and the car had to be flatbedded back to the service center.
I was a little bit amazed at the list of things you wanted but did not get. If I had a list of things like that that were not in the car I wanted, I would not have gotten that car.
Maybe Mercedes or Audi has all those features. Did you try them?
Sorry you are not satisfied with the noise level of the car. That seems to be a concern of a lot of people here. I for one am very happy with the noise level and I like to drive my car fast.
I love the color combination. Please make sure you put it down on the color combination chart also on this forum. Us smokey granite people have to keep the lead.
I had leased a car from Ray Catena. I found their salespeople very aggressive and the service dept very busy. I got my first oil change there and they completely screwed everything up and the car had to be flatbedded back to the service center.
04-12-07, 12:53 PM
#3
Congrats on your LS 460! Hope you enjoy the car.
Your suggestions for technical improvements to the LS have merit, I would suggest sending them to Lexus via their surveys, I'm sure you will receive one.
Your suggestions for technical improvements to the LS have merit, I would suggest sending them to Lexus via their surveys, I'm sure you will receive one.
04-12-07, 01:13 PM
#4
First and foremost, congrats on getting the car!
Second, it seems that you are technologically savvy and know what you want with the electronic gadgets of the car. There are a few fixes to some of your concerns, and I hope that you can make the car fit you better.
Let's hope the LS further evolves to take care of these situations.
For now, enjoy the car for what it is. Don't hate the car for what it's not...
Second, it seems that you are technologically savvy and know what you want with the electronic gadgets of the car. There are a few fixes to some of your concerns, and I hope that you can make the car fit you better.
Let's hope the LS further evolves to take care of these situations.
For now, enjoy the car for what it is. Don't hate the car for what it's not...
Last edited by PhilipMSPT; 04-12-07 at 03:52 PM.
04-12-07, 03:05 PM
#6
OK, I give up, which car should you have leased?
04-12-07, 03:10 PM
#7
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Even with the wind noise the LS460 is way ahead of the competition and if folks would just read the manual you would be surprised at what you can progarm: Nav,radio,bluetooth and other such features to do.
The wish list is nice but you may just want to put wheels on Best Buy and drive it.
The wish list is nice but you may just want to put wheels on Best Buy and drive it.
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04-13-07, 07:23 AM
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Didn't think I'd get flamed so hard for posting a wish list. I like the car! There is no car out there that has all the features I listed. It's a wish list!
04-13-07, 08:01 AM
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04-13-07, 11:27 PM
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I'm glad Lexus left off this feature! I like the directions to stay on the Nav screen where they belong.
i also laughed at some of the wish list features, no offense and all. They seem like they are all non lexus techs.
as for the wind noise. Its almost impossible that the GX is quieter, since it probably gets more wind interference being so tall. Perhaps its the tires you have on the car?
active noise cancelation? no idea what that is, but if its the radio getting louder as you move, your car does have that option.
Lexus doesnt do ipod connections. They give you an AUX for a reason, you can go after market.
i know this doesnt really help you, but it might explain why you dont have those features.
as for removing the NAV unit, i believe you will be the first person on earth to try that. please take pictures! so that some of us can try to do so ourselves when we can get the car!
04-14-07, 01:36 AM
#14
Active noise cancellation is a feature in some cars where there is actually an electronic noise-cancellation feature that you operates to reduce noise. (microphone or something hidden in the car which broadcasts a sonic wave to block out others).
Sounds pretty cool, but I wonder if Lexus needs to do it; that feature seems to me to address the 'symptom' (excessive noise); Lexus' philosophy is to address the 'cause' (eliminate the noise to begin with). But both can achieve a quieter result if they work properly. However according to studies by AMCI and auto mags, the LS has the quietest cabin of any car at idle, and at higher speeds is among the lowest out there--although on these boards a wind speed issue has been identified.
To TravisR00, I would like to welcome you to ClubLexus! Yes some of us here may have given you a bit of a hard time on your ideas about your new car, but I think they are valid suggestions. The LS 460 tends to attract a details-minded and technologically savvy crowd, and one that is not too-easily-satisfied.
That's the Lexus philosophy...kaizen. Always room for improvement.
However, it's true that Lexus has a conservative approach to their implementation of certain technologies. While iPod integration would be great for us consumers, Lexus' stated philosophy (I asked one of their engineering specialists--the real one not the auto show kind) is that they want their cars to outlast technological cycles and have longevity, so they're not going to date their car by being tied to the iPod or other systems.
I still think adding a USB port would've been nice thouogh...
Sounds pretty cool, but I wonder if Lexus needs to do it; that feature seems to me to address the 'symptom' (excessive noise); Lexus' philosophy is to address the 'cause' (eliminate the noise to begin with). But both can achieve a quieter result if they work properly. However according to studies by AMCI and auto mags, the LS has the quietest cabin of any car at idle, and at higher speeds is among the lowest out there--although on these boards a wind speed issue has been identified.
To TravisR00, I would like to welcome you to ClubLexus! Yes some of us here may have given you a bit of a hard time on your ideas about your new car, but I think they are valid suggestions. The LS 460 tends to attract a details-minded and technologically savvy crowd, and one that is not too-easily-satisfied.
That's the Lexus philosophy...kaizen. Always room for improvement.
However, it's true that Lexus has a conservative approach to their implementation of certain technologies. While iPod integration would be great for us consumers, Lexus' stated philosophy (I asked one of their engineering specialists--the real one not the auto show kind) is that they want their cars to outlast technological cycles and have longevity, so they're not going to date their car by being tied to the iPod or other systems.
I still think adding a USB port would've been nice thouogh...
04-14-07, 12:01 PM
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I am surprised the LS does not have a remote starter. I have a loaner '07 DTS and i am very impressed with the factory remote start. If it is cold out it turns the heater/front and rear defogger/ and heated seats on. If it is warm out it turns on the A/C and cooled seats. If Caddy can do it, it should be standard on a car like the LS.
Active noise cancellation is actually becoming fairly mainstream.
Radar cruise should also be standard or at lease available as part of the regular options upgrade w/o have to spend a few extra Gs for it.
Being able to program the phone and nav while driving should at least have a workaround. If Lexus can prove you disabled their "safety" function how could they be liable.
Active noise cancellation is actually becoming fairly mainstream.
Radar cruise should also be standard or at lease available as part of the regular options upgrade w/o have to spend a few extra Gs for it.
Being able to program the phone and nav while driving should at least have a workaround. If Lexus can prove you disabled their "safety" function how could they be liable.