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Diesel350 build thread

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Old 04-02-13, 07:08 PM
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Diesel350
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Just bought a 2008 GS350 Black on Black with 37,000 miles on it which just replaced my Nissan 350z. Main reason I bought it was I needed a 4 door to pick up my child from daycare or else I probably would have kept the Z. Overall I'm pretty happy with the car but have some questions.

No more questions, so I will just make this my update thread. You can see the last page for the latest updates to the car.

And here are pics of the car. Overall the car was in pretty good condition other than the fact that I can tell that whomever had this car before knew nothing about how to take care of the paint.

My Previous car:


The new one:







Here are close up pictures of the paint, as you can see it looks like someone took a brillo pad to the entire car. I plan on doing a 2 step polishing process with Meguiars 105 and 205. This will need some pretty heavy paint correction as this car has probably never been polished or detailed since 2008.




Last edited by Diesel350; 04-12-13 at 06:23 PM. Reason: Change title and focus of thread.
Old 04-02-13, 07:25 PM
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onephatguy
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Near the top of this forum are some really good sticky's you should read through. The mileage is really low for an 08. I guess this wasn't CPO, which worries me a little. Welcome to the club. Good luck with her.
Old 04-02-13, 07:41 PM
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You sure it doesn't have blue tooth? Go through your dash/navigation. I listen to pandora through bluetooth all the time. Seems like people want to black out the chrome, but it's a pain in the ****. The puddle/side mirror lights are supposed to light up when you approach the car with the key in your pocket, they're not that great, I've replaced mine with LEDs from ijdmtoy, search the threads.

And one last thing, get some tint
Old 04-02-13, 08:05 PM
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Congrats! I use my GS to tote around my twins (8 weeks old). Its a great family car thus far.

Good luck with clearing up the clear coat!
Old 04-02-13, 08:24 PM
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anthrax144
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As far as the bluetooth for streaming from your iPhone 5 (I also have an iPhone 5), I have a blackberry bluetooth music gateway that I have plugged into the AUX port in the center console. Once you pair your phone to it, it will recognize your phone every time you start up the car. It works flawlessly with the car's phone bluetooth as well, muting the music volume if you receive a call and then picking up where you left off once you hang up the phone. And yes, I think the voice on the other end only comes out of one speaker but I'm not positive about that.

Amazon.com: BlackBerry Remote Stereo Bluetooth Gateway for BlackBerry 8100, 8110, 8120, 8130, 8300, 8310, 8320, 8330, 8800, 8820, 8830, 9000 (Black): Cell Phones & Accessories Amazon.com: BlackBerry Remote Stereo Bluetooth Gateway for BlackBerry 8100, 8110, 8120, 8130, 8300, 8310, 8320, 8330, 8800, 8820, 8830, 9000 (Black): Cell Phones & Accessories

I believe the puddle lights (lights on the mirrors) only light up when you unlock the car.

Other mods: intake/exhaust, tint, lowered, and body kits.
Old 04-03-13, 03:57 AM
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Congrats bro she looks good. Paint correction yes. I purchased the Griot's DA. Did a pretty good job with the Meguires M105. As for the wood, I read where some people have applied plastx for the swirls or scratches. I normally use a damp microfiber cloth. Much success!
Old 04-03-13, 04:49 AM
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Originally Posted by TexasTaco
You sure it doesn't have blue tooth? Go through your dash/navigation. I listen to pandora through bluetooth all the time. Seems like people want to black out the chrome, but it's a pain in the ****. The puddle/side mirror lights are supposed to light up when you approach the car with the key in your pocket, they're not that great, I've replaced mine with LEDs from ijdmtoy, search the threads.

And one last thing, get some tint
I'm pretty sure I'm not able to stream music through Bluetooth unless I'm missing something. I'll have to try and read the manual and see how to do it.
Old 04-03-13, 04:51 AM
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Diesel350
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Originally Posted by anthrax144
As far as the bluetooth for streaming from your iPhone 5 (I also have an iPhone 5), I have a blackberry bluetooth music gateway that I have plugged into the AUX port in the center console. Once you pair your phone to it, it will recognize your phone every time you start up the car. It works flawlessly with the car's phone bluetooth as well, muting the music volume if you receive a call and then picking up where you left off once you hang up the phone. And yes, I think the voice on the other end only comes out of one speaker but I'm not positive about that.

Amazon.com: BlackBerry Remote Stereo Bluetooth Gateway for BlackBerry 8100, 8110, 8120, 8130, 8300, 8310, 8320, 8330, 8800, 8820, 8830, 9000 (Black): Cell Phones & Accessories

I believe the puddle lights (lights on the mirrors) only light up when you unlock the car.

Other mods: intake/exhaust, tint, lowered, and body kits.
Thanks I'll check it out. So this works with the IPhone 5 even though it says its only compatible with Blackberry phones?
Old 04-03-13, 06:28 AM
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Originally Posted by Diesel350
Just bought a 2008 GS350 Black on Black with 37,000 miles on it which just replaced my Nissan 350z. Main reason I bought it was I needed a 4 door to pick up my child from daycare or else I probably would have kept the Z. Overall I'm pretty happy with the car but have some questions.

I probably plan to do things like rims, black out all the chrome, and LED's for now. But what other popular mods do people do with these cars?
There is a whole lot you can do with this car you should take a look at the modifications tab.

Is there an update for the NAV maps? Because when I tried to search for my house that was built in 2009 it could not find it.
You need to find out what map version you have first, cause you may have the most updated map.

When I use the Bluetooth to make phone calls I can only hear the persons voice coming out of the right front speaker and not all the speakers in the car. Is this normal?
Yes that is normal.

Is it going to be possible in any way shape or form to listen to Internet Radio from my Iphone 5? I had no clue this car did not have Bluetooth Audio and all I found was an Aux outlet, no USB?
Yes you should have the aux jack in this model. If not than you will need to purchase the VaisTech.

My brakes squeak pretty bad when going in reverse, anyone have any idea what this could be?
Yep this is pretty normal everyone usually has the issue going forward though.


Also when I got home I realized that the wheels have wheel locks on them but couldn't find the key for them anywhere. I'll be calling the dealer tomorrow and hopefully he knows or has them somewhere.
The key may be in the trunk near the spare tire.

What do you guys use to clean the wood inside the car?
Just use a microfiber cloth with Einszett cockpit premium, on the dash and side panels, for the wood I would just use a clean microfiber.

Should I get an extended warranty?
You can get one, you may want to try now as I think you maybe just out of warranty.
Hope this helps and congrats.
Old 04-03-13, 07:53 AM
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nice car. You'll love it!!
Old 04-03-13, 08:14 AM
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Plus one on the Griots garage da. I have an obsidian black 2010 and never used one before. Got the starter kit off amazon for $160, watched a bunch of videos, 6 hours later, it came out great. A little too much wax but oh well.
Old 04-03-13, 09:12 AM
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There is a recall on the brakes on this car for squeaking loudly Have the dealership swap them out for free before you hit 50K miles. They refused to fix my brakes because I was over 50K miles. I bought the car with 48K miles so they should have replaced them regardless.
Old 04-03-13, 09:30 AM
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Welcome and congrats!

Your windshield wipers seem too high as in pics...see if you can push them down lower.

Go into settings (Menu --> Nav. DVD) to see which version of the navigation disc you have. 07-09 should be Gen 5. Latest 2013 version is 12.1. Maybe ask your dealer for a free update disc. These disc can be quite expensive at $280-300.

If the brake recall was done and you still have "pretty bad" squeaks and dealer not willing to help, I would just go head and replace with low noise and low dust pads.

Last edited by sprtent; 04-03-13 at 09:59 AM.
Old 04-03-13, 10:11 AM
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Originally Posted by sprtent
Welcome and congrats!

Your windshield wipers seem too high as in pics...see if you can push them down lower.

Go into settings to see which version of the navigation disc you have. 07-09 should be Gen 5. Latest 2013 version is 12.1. Maybe ask your dealer for a free update disc. These disc can be quite expensive at $280-300.

If the brake recall was done and you still have "pretty bad" squeaks and dealer not willing to help, I would just go head and replace with low noise and low dust pads.
Thanks, I just noticed that and went downstairs and pushed them back down lower into place.

I also checked the NAV and it says Version 7.1 I'm hoping the dealer will upgrade me for free.

Will the dealership do the brake recall if the car is out of the basic warranty? I checked the service records and I did not see where the previous owner did the brake recall.
Old 04-03-13, 12:02 PM
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Doesn't hurt to ask. Tell them you just bought your Lexus and will try to build a good service relationship with them and will let them service your car. With 37k miles, you might still have the original pads on, and should be replaced anyways.

I don't know how you checked the service records. I usually do through Lexus.com website. Register your car and VIN through the "Owner Resource" feature, then under "service history" you should see what was done and/or if your car need any recall/TSB done.

Hope you enjoy the car.


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