Questions from a new owner
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Driver School Candidate
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 25
Likes: 1
From: CT
Questions from a new owner
I got my 2002 GS300 last week, and I maintain that it's the smoothest thing on four tires. It's such a fabulous car.
Question #1, paint integrity:
My son, who is not quite 2, backed into my driver's side door with his plastic pedal car. He managed to scrape off a hunk of paint about the size of a nickel. I couldn't believe it! The paint peeled off like it had been painted yesterday. Is this typical for the Lexus product? Do you think the dealership will touch that up for me, gratis?
Question #2, gasoline:
In my complete ignorance, I put regular gas in my car the other day. What kind of performance irregularities should I be feeling? I've noticed that my highway ride, when the engine is still cold, is not Lexus smooth. Also, I think the engine sounds like sh** when it idles, again still cold. Anybody feel that this is attributable to the cheap gas?
Thanks in advance for all your wisdom,
Doug
Question #1, paint integrity:
My son, who is not quite 2, backed into my driver's side door with his plastic pedal car. He managed to scrape off a hunk of paint about the size of a nickel. I couldn't believe it! The paint peeled off like it had been painted yesterday. Is this typical for the Lexus product? Do you think the dealership will touch that up for me, gratis?
Question #2, gasoline:
In my complete ignorance, I put regular gas in my car the other day. What kind of performance irregularities should I be feeling? I've noticed that my highway ride, when the engine is still cold, is not Lexus smooth. Also, I think the engine sounds like sh** when it idles, again still cold. Anybody feel that this is attributable to the cheap gas?
Thanks in advance for all your wisdom,
Doug
Lexus Champion
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,851
Likes: 4
From: Arkansas
Congratulations on your GS!
Lexus paint chips easily, but not that easily. The dealer ought to be responsive.
Rough ride for a few miles when cold is due to flat-spotting of the tire; as the tire heats up and becomes more supple, the thump goes away. This is NOT unusual behavior for radials, though some are more prone than others.
Rough idle when cold is an ECU issue; Lexus is aware of it (also occurs in the 430) but I don't think they've yet issued a fix. I'm sure that they'll have to, since you've got to believe that emissions levels are through the roof until the engine smoothes out.
Running regular will not cause a problem. The engine ECU listens to the knock sensors and will retard timing before you hear any audible knock. This occurs (usually) only under high load conditions so, except for a slight decrease in performance at full throttle, the engine will perform normally. Possibly slightly worse mileage for that tankful also, but not more than a few tenths.
Lexus paint chips easily, but not that easily. The dealer ought to be responsive.
Rough ride for a few miles when cold is due to flat-spotting of the tire; as the tire heats up and becomes more supple, the thump goes away. This is NOT unusual behavior for radials, though some are more prone than others.
Rough idle when cold is an ECU issue; Lexus is aware of it (also occurs in the 430) but I don't think they've yet issued a fix. I'm sure that they'll have to, since you've got to believe that emissions levels are through the roof until the engine smoothes out.
Running regular will not cause a problem. The engine ECU listens to the knock sensors and will retard timing before you hear any audible knock. This occurs (usually) only under high load conditions so, except for a slight decrease in performance at full throttle, the engine will perform normally. Possibly slightly worse mileage for that tankful also, but not more than a few tenths.
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