movinmetal

Good afternoon, fellow Lexus drivers!
I was using this forum in a 'read only' mode for quite some time now, found a ton of useful information here!
Decided to formally join the club and properly introduce myself.

My name is Leo, my ride is 2007 GS 350 AWD.
I've owned this car for a little over a year, bought it from a good friend of mine. This is my first Lexus and I am very happy with it.
Car currently has about 119k miles, so far the only things I had to do was regular maintenance (changed all oils and filters) and for my own piece of mind got brand new OEM brakes and rotors.
Thankfully the important repair at this mileage (timing belt replacement) was performed at the dealership right before I bought it.
So far I love every little feature about this car. It does indeed feel like a Japanese Mercedes!

I am open to any advice on maintenance/known problem prevention!

In a meantime, meet The Dark Knight 😎

tghw

Your GS does not have a timing belt. They probably changed the serpentine belt. Your car looks nice. I have a blk 09 AWD 350 with G Spider wheels also. It looks very similar to yours.

jRingo

Sweet ride, I'm also looking to purchase a GS350 (or IS350).

As tghw stated, the GS 350 uses a timing chain. Only the previous generation 2nd generation GS300 used a timing belt on its 2JZ engine, along with the V-8 powered GS400 and GS430 models. The rare GS 460 uses a timing chain.

One maintenance item I would definitely start doing on any car with over 40k+ miles would be a simple drain and fill of the transmission with every oil change or two (not a flush). A forum member here named speedkar99 has has some great maintenance DIY posts and videos (YouTube) on various Lexus and Toyota models. One of them is on changing the transmission fluid on the 3rd Gen GS, which can be kind of a pain on certain Toyota and Lexus models with "sealed" transmissions that Toyota claims never needs a fluid change...which is obviously hogwash.
The pain is that the car has to be lifted level (so an actual automotive lift or four jack stands must be used) and refilling the transmission fluid must be done with a fluid pump as there is no dipstick or fill hole on top of the transmission. The level check procedure in the video also looks annoying, but comments on YouTube state to drain the fluid into a clear container/jug and mark the level, then dump the drained/waste fluid into a different container, then refill the container you marked with new fluid (up to the mark) and pump it in to the transmission.

Though I don't know much about the AWD system on GS models (I'd prefer RWD), I would also change any fluid associated with it.

Also, at 119k miles the shocks will be worn out if they've never been replaced. The car may feel fine to you, but there would be a noticeable difference if replaced. Various suspension and steering parts could also be worn (bushings, ball joints, tie rods, etc). But if the ride doesn't seem too bouncy and it steers straight, I wouldn't worry about it for the time being.

movinmetal

tghw - Thank you.

Yes, I meant chain! As a part of that repair they also replaced the water pump.

movinmetal

jRingo - Thank you.

What year GS are you looking for?

Yes, my mechanic has mentioned changing the transmission oil next time I go for a regular oil change. Thank you for your advice on suspension maintenance, I will keep that in mind!

jRingo

I'm really not looking for a specific year as long as it's very clean, maintained, RWD and has the 3.5L.

I recently payed off some debt and would like a very solid example, a cream puff, that will last 5-10 years with basic maintenance and suspension part replacements.

I really like the look of the 3rd gen but it's pretty difficult to find a real clean example as they're getting older, so I may have to go with a 4th gen (2013+). It's almost impossible to find a clean 06-13 IS350, either.