Hey guys,

Its my first post here so firstly, a great big hello to everyone here!

Im currently in a 06 BMW 525i Sport. Its an awesome car, the drive is amazing and really, i enjoyed this car very much. But as i use the car for work, its currently at approx 115,000kms and not even in its 3rd year yet.

Had abit of maintenance but its starting to get abit worrying.

Ive seen a few Lexus GS350's floating around the grey import market here. Parallel import meaning maybe the car originated from UK or Japan, but not one intended for our local market.

The price difference is quite substantial too so i was definitely considering the parallel imports.

There were a couple of things i was actually wondering before i took the big plunge..

1. The car is a GS350 but i read online that pre-facelift Lexus GS was the GS300 and subsequently facelifted it became GS350?

I know it is not facelifted as the front bumper/rear lights are different and the car is a 2005. Not to mention the rear view mirrors dont have the indicators in them too.

2. If the car came from Japan, is the touch screen in japanese too? Ive heard the buttons are in Japanese. Would i be able to order this part from the US or maybe UK and do a swap and have it all in english?

3. When can we expect a fresh GS? Seeing as a facelift is recently released, safe to assume 2010 deliveries? maybe earlier?

Thanks so much in advance for any answers. Really appreciate it and the car looks/drives/feels/rides awesome. Cant wait to get my grubbies on it!

Regards,
Kenny

 

Welcome to CL, GS is a very nice piece of machine you will enjoy it a lot.......

 

The 3rd gen GS begins in model year 2006. The slight refreshing of the facelift (front bumper, grill, minor changes) occured in 2008. 2005 model year is a 2nd gen GS.

All GS models made for North American consumption (that I'm aware of) are made in Japan. So the touch screen will be in English. Now if you are talking about "grey" vehicles (i.e. it's a Japanese market GS with right hand side steering wheel), the cost to swap out the Japanese for English parts will be expensive, it may not be worth your while. I personally wouldn't recommend it.

4th gen GS (I assume) will come out late 2010 as a 2011 model year.

 

stormforge, thank you so much for a valuable answer.

I viewed the car today and indeed it is a very very nice car. Im really looking forward to having one.

A couple of observations though..

The reason why i ask about the possibility of swapping out the japanese language items or maybe have it recoded to english is because the grey cars here are a good USD80 - 90K cheaper than the locally distributed ones.

Of course, the warranty is non-existent and its a 2nd hand car that was used in another country but nonetheless, still the same car altogether.

1. I noticed the instrument cluster (meters etc), the text inside is ALSO in japanese. The center console TV touch screen unit is ALSO in japanese and the buttons surrounding it that is supposed to be Climate/Audio etc etc is ALSO in japanese.

Is there anyway at all to get all this into english and what would it cost? Could a simple reprogram do the job? i could live with the Japanese hard buttons but the screen and the instrument cluster?

2. Suprisingly and it seems its quite rare, the car has NAV but no Mark Levinson.

I could live with that but is there anything else thats lacking from the cars WITH mark levinson besides the speakers and amp? The CD player is the same or is that different too? I have a high end sound system from my BMW that i will probably bring across..

All in all, the car looks awesome and if i could find a way to make it "localized" with the isntrument cluster showing english and the center console TV showing english, it would be perfect.

Even if i had to swap out some parts like the center console unit, im sure it wouldnt cost the USD80-90k difference.

Plus the radio station is also using Japanese frequencies from 79.9 - 89.9.

Is there anyway to change this to the normal "rest-of-the-world" frequencies too in the process of swapping it to english?

Thanks so much for all the answers in advance and im really sorry for being such a pain in the @ss with all these questions! really looking forward to owning this lovely baby.

 

That will be an intersting conversion. You are braver than I. good luck.

 

ecount00: I really hope it would be anything BUT interesting. Uneventful would be preferable as interesting means alot of obstacles.

The only reason i would attempt/consider this is because if i dont, then im stuck with the BMW for another 2 - 3 years but if i do this, the Lexus, in its japanese form represents a big saving over the BMW especially at higher mileages too since the car is used for work and clocks up around 50 - 60k kms a year.

Anyone have more specific information? Do you think Lexus would throw me a bone if i wrote them an email with my request for more information?

Thanks alot!

 

First of all, where exactly are you located? It would help to know what country you live in.

If you want to convert this Japanese spec GS, I strongly recommend you contact Luis at Carson Toyota (website: http://www.l-tunedparts.com/index.php ). He'll be able to advise you what you need to order (and how much) to bring your GS to North American specs. Be aware, however, that swapping parts may not solve your problem (eg: maybe the plugs won't fit?, there are differences between left hand and right hand drive components, etc), and may require custom modifications to make it work and fit. Be prepared to spend lots of money.

I highly doubt Lexus would throw you a bone to help you convert your Lexus.

 

Stormforge: Thanks so much for your answers.

I am located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Luckily, it is also right hand drive down here..

The only things i need to "hopefully" get done are..

1. Have the instrument cluster display english instead of japanese messages

2. Have the TV touchscreen display unit display english and if possible, have the buttons along the side in english too

3. Have the radio frequency changed to the "rest-of-the-world" frequencies ie: 89.9 - 107.90

I know for the BMW's, to change the language and radio frequency, i just need to swap out the CCC (single CD slot or double for NAV) and the idrive will adapt itself and display accordingly.

Im hoping that with the lexus, the touchscreen is also merely just a display and input device meaning it doesnt need to be changed but something else has to be and the display will behave accordingly.

If im even luckier, maybe a simple reprogramming and coding could solve the language problems?

Ill send an email to Luis! Thanks for that Stormforge.

Anyone have any specific information?

Thanks so much for all the answers thus far! Really appreciate it.

Looking forward to owning this baby.

 

One other suggestion to keep in mind: if you order a new instument cluster for your GS, keep in mind that the US has imperial units on the speedometer/odometer (miles per hour, not KM/hr). Make sure Luis orders the correct metric one. Good luck.

 

Ok so it would seem that the only way i can get any further info about this is to contact Lexus Japan itself.

Ive contacted Lexus US and they said that the cars they sell are different form the ones in Japan.

I think they're pushing the ball because it would mean nothing to them to help me.

I cant in ANY way figure out how a car from Japan would differ from a MADE IN JAPAN car that displays english in Australia or UK besides a few components here and there.

Its just whether or not its cost effective enough to be doing these swaps and getting it to english but as i dont have any figures as yet, im determined to keep looking and hopefully i can pass the info i find on to the next bloke who attempts this.

From my understanding so far, after talking to some "technical" people but not with any specific info, just general info, the screens and display units do not need to be changed. Merely the ECU or some control unit of some sort and it will speak to the sensors just fine, or so it seems.

Now i've been to lexus.jp and its all in Japanese. There is a link to switch to english but once you do that, there is no CONTACT US email link ANYWHERE within the whole site.

In the japanese section there is a wonderful help section that i really cant read.

If someone could point me to someone i could contact in lexus japan for more specific info?

Thanks so much for all the help thus far and thanks heaps to you Stormforge!

 

You are correct, there is no US email link. However, there is a phone number and address I could give you, it "might" provide a link to help you:

Lexus International Gallery Aoyama
2-5-8 Kita-Aoyama
Minato-Ku, Toyko
Japan

tel: 03-5786-2711

The telephone number above is for english speaking customers living in Japan, looking to purchase a Lexus. My only recommendation is that you tell the operator that you wish to communicate in more detail with a parts manager or service advisor about ordering parts for your Lexus.

Let me know how successful you are in getting the parts you need through this phone number. I'm also planning on ordering Lexus JDM parts directly through this number too, but haven't really gotten around to it (the fact that our Canadian Dollar has nosedived recently has put any Lexus JDM purchase on the back burner! )

You're welcome to the help, that's what Club Lexus is all about. Good luck!

 

I had another thought regarding this issue you're having - lexus japan may not be able to provide "english" parts. if you want english parts, you might try searching for a UK or Australian or Hong Kong Lexus dealership, then ask to be put through to the parts department. I know for a fact that both UK, Hong Kong, and Australian are right hand drive cars like in Japan. Not sure if UK or Australian uses imperial or metric. Hong Kong uses metric for sure. Ordering parts from HK would be closer too. Good luck on your search, and let us know how it turns out.

 

Hi Stormforge!

I will let you know if something comes up.

I wrote Lexus Australia with some story about me living in Japan and am moving to Australia permanently with my car and i would like to convert it to English etc etc which will also help with resaleability.

I hope that they come back to me with some concrete information.

From my experience and rather limited knowledge, i cant see why this isnt possible.

1. With the EMV unit, it all depends on whether or not it is MERELY a human interface device or is actually the computer unit within it.

For instance, with BMW's, the screen and i-drive controller plays no relevance at all. Merely human interface devices. So if i change the CCC(control unit), it will display any language the CCC sends out.

I wonder if this is the case with the Lexus. If it isnt, then its safe to assume the control unit and screen are built as one piece in which then replacing the whole unit should solve the problem. Communication between the screen/human interface device to the AIRCONDITIONING system, to the LIGHTS or to the ECU is not language dependent, as far as im aware.

Even german cars use Japanese ECU's so i really dont think the communication between the interface and sensors/units are language dependent.

As such, people keep telling me that the Japanese market cars are inherently different etc etc and i cant for the life of me figure out why they would be different except for certain market dependent options but essentially the ECU, control units, sensors etc etc should all be identical or near identical.

Anyone have any info on this though?

I will definitely update you Stormforge if i get more specific info from Lexus Australia. Failing Lexus Australia, i will contact Lexus Hong Kong!

And then after that maybe ill try Singapore.

Sad that Lexus doesnt have a bigger DIY and adventurous base of people that attempt these things. Hehe.

Im attempting it in the interest of dollar savings. I will report back with any findings!

 

Hi Kenny,

Have you had any luck converting your GS from Japanese to English, I've recently bought a GS430 with the same issue and I'm keen to know if you've managed to crack it.

 

The 3rd Gen GS was introduced in the Gulf as a 2005 Model. The first face-lift occured in 2008 for the GS430 and GS300 Models. NO GS460 until 2009.