Hugh Jorgan

Time to sound off, and I'll start the fracus... (is Lexus listening?)

1. That horrible "I Agree" button on the Nav startup screen.

2. Window lock that won't let the driver roll up the windows. (But my key can roll them all down)

3. Too many turns lock to lock on the steering. Come on Lexus- you put power steering in there already.

4. 133MPH governor. Why- lawyers or insurance bureaucrats?

5. That lame "I Agree" button. Hey- can't you just shut the ***** off if I press "I Agree" 20 or 50 times consistently? Why do the lawyers design your cars?

6. "The Lexus Links System Is Active". Don't shut off my radio every time I start the engine. I don't really want to know about your overpriced analog cell phone system. Can you just give me a message when it fails?

7. A Nav system that can't find it's way home. That hokey road database can't find it's way to my house if I approach from the south- only the north. Several cloverleaves are missing that I use to get to work. I suspect it needs a good updating. (2001, Ver 1)

All that said, I do love the car. The most civilized car I've ever driven- and I've driven some very nice sedans. (E55, P4, Q-Porte, many lesser marques) This is really picking at nits, but if L is really serious about that "relentless pursuit", then please take these gripes to heart.

Texashills

In addition to the initial list:
(1) Excessive wind noise - above 87db SLP
(2) Fish tailing or rear axle jumping on wet ground at normal road speed. The LS430 is scary when the ground is wet.

Texashills

In addition to the initial list:
(1) Excessive wind noise - above87db SLP
(2) Fish tailing or rear axle jumping on wet ground at normal road speed. The LS430 is scary when the ground is wet.

Ecru

In addition to the list just:

1. I wish the front seats especially the driver's seats offer more side supports as well as thigh supports. Even though you can adjust the lenght of seat, the side bolsters for the thighs are flat forcing my legs to go to the sides.

2. The pedal seems too closed to the seats. Yes you can move the seats backwards but the steering wheel will be to far for proper arms reach.

3. The lag between the time you hit the gas pedal and the time the car moves. Theres a delay of some sort due to computer and transmission management.

4. In my opinion the Mark Levinson sound system didn't deliver what I expected. It has clarity and spaciousness for classical and jazz but it lacks good bass and mids on typical rock and pop songs. The bass only kicks in on low frequency hz like raps sounds but do not deliver proper bass on typical lows. I think the front speakers need more punch than just tweeters and mid bass on doors. The old Pioneer and Nak systems seems better IMO.

5. The steering wheels seems too big.

No car is perfect. These are just minor things I want to address. I love the car overall.

E55AMG

My parents are taking delivery of an '03 LS430 with Nav/Lev next week. Though I am a fan of a certain German marque (*hint hint*), I have finally come to admit that Lexus is a worthy competitor to said marque (which many others apparently have not).

Why? Because of all the little things that keep breaking on my MB! I have a W210 E-class right now, and I can't begin to tell you the things that have gone wrong with it. I've never really complained before, because they've been covered under warranty, but they include issues such as window switch not working, fuel floaters refusing to accurately measure the amount of fuel left, check engine light coming on for no reason at all (at least twice), the fan blower refusing to blow air, rear differential leaking, and a host of other tiny, but bothersome problems. I've never had an engine failure, never been stranded anywhere, but I've had to take my car back to the dealership countless times, and it gets old really, really quickly. I've somehow come to accept that things break on a car; yet reading this board has convinced me that that's just unacceptable in a car over $55k.

Reading your posts convinces me that your LS430's must be incredibly solid in the reliability department. I'm sure someone who'd post that the "steering wheel is too big" would be sure to complain about any reliability issues. I think it's a happy thing to be able to complain about the "I agree" button, instead of wondering why your just-filled tank is still reading only mid-level fuel. Even having read your complaints, I, for one, am happy that we're buying our parents an LS430, instead of any German marque. They hate unreliability beyond anything else, and it seems I have little to worry about there!

Hugh Jorgan

Of course it's reliable- it's Japanese. I say that with all due respect- Toyota makes some of the best cars in the world. This is my first Lexus, but I had 3 Toyotas before that (Celica, minivan, MR2T) and they were all extremely dependable cars. My previous experience with the marque made the decision easy.

BTW, you will be very surprised with the performance of this car. While my SOP measurements are not very accurate, my LS430 feels very close in acceleration to the E55's I have driven. Much quieter and bigger inside.

LS430-Cda

ALso add to the list:

When driving in wet condition, parts of the computer module will go dead. The gas gauge goes dead; the hi/lo beam control won't work (only lo beam); sound volume controls won't work; instrument panel lights are in full intensity; trunk release won't work (only key can open it); memory seats are not working.

Restart the engine will temporarily clear the problems. The problems may persist for few days until the moisture is completely out of the system.

I am not sure if ABS, airbags will work under this condition.

Dema

I could add
- easy switch from Fahrenheit to Celsius
- reprogram remote control
- have keyless go
And I hope Lexus started working on iDrive like system. At least all Germans will offer such systems and Lexus should be not last on them

SW03ES

So far I've heard nothing but bad press about the iDrive system.