HaerdenC

Dear all,

As some other here, I noticed quit some good manuals. Here is my story. I had several company cars (mostly bought new and mostly of the Toyota group), Now I didn't want to spend those amount of money anymore and bought a 2007 Lexus GS450H. The car is fully Lexus maintained, Some Russian guy bought it for export of the Belgian Lexus dealership and I was just on time to safe it from Export. As it is my daily runner for doing daily traffic to Brussels it will never be a mint car. The car had 163.000 km when I bought it (101.000 Miles).

I Just have it now for about 2 months and made a list of things to fix
- solar shield in the rear (already removed from the car and one tooth broken ... I will post a manual on how to get it out, possible fixes I made pictures ... a new one apparently costs 2085 euro in Belgium ... I asked the dealer if Lamborghini or Rolls-Royce made it the dealer and I don't share the same humor apparently
- door contact driver side sometimes doesn't work ... kind of annoying because due to this my lights sometimes remain on while leaving the car and lights in AUTO.
- the cupholder close flap has a broken part ... cupholders seem to cost 822 euro in Belgium ... I will try to see if I can do some form of a Glue Fix with epoxy glue or something

I will do all maintenance tasks myself except gearbox fluid and a yearly hybride check.

In attachment you see the pic of my car, the sunshade problem and the cup holder thing that has one broken piece so falls in and the car itself.

Can someone explain to me how to insert images inline of my posts that I uploaded using the "additional options" part?

HaerdenC

I bought these parts for the first maintenance on the car:

• NGK Iridium spark plugs (It's a dealer maintained car however there are now details on what has been done on the car just a stamp every 15.000 km) I will replace them
• ATE rear break pads (Still good but want to have them available in case it is needed as I see a lot of black dust on my rims I expect the current ones to have a short life)
• ATE front break pads (Still 1/3th on the current ones, so in stock in case of need)
• Oil filter
• Air Filter
• Interior filter (I took the non carbon one ... price difference was huge ... any thoughts on this topic???)
• Oilplug gasket (bought 5 of them)
• 20 Liter of Champion oil 5W30 C3 Full synthetic oil
• I also ordered 2 Phillips D4S xenon headlights as one of them is kind of pink and sometimes not working, I will replace the lights if the problem is not solved I will replace the ballasts to

Maintenance will be done in 4000 km so still some time.

I have several mainly older cars, workplace and even did some engine swaps ... I'm mainly here to get advise as new cars are quit different and in order to help this brilliant community to grow with good manuals and info

HaerdenC

So folks as promised ... details on maintaining my GS450h 2007
As I'm in Belgium I have to give info on KM instead of miles. Bought the car with 165.000 km on it and did the maintenance at 170.000 I have just a history of WHEN maintenance has been done not what exactly has been done so I decided to additionally do the spark plugs this time. Next maintenance I will do the oil of the DIFF and Gearbox.

If any additional pictures or info is needed... feel free
If you have tips ... feel free

So let's start remove the air filter housing + tube leading to the inlet valve


Then you should end up with the Air filter visible, this is how dirty it gets in Brussels traffic :-) as you can see there is one connector to loosen


As you can see my inlet valve has a dirty border ... more on this later ...


2 coilpacks now can be removed. The GS450 has no known problems with coilpacks however note that some cars do because of heat building up. In doubt you can buy some new ones however I gave mine a good visual inspection, checked the seals and everything is just fine.


in order to remove the middle one you need to unscrew the cable that I'm lowering here otherwise you can't get them out


there are 2 screws for this one


be gentle with the coilpacks they are made of plastic and you don't want anything to break as the sparkplugs are pretty deep in the engine


View on the sparkplug I have a long tool to put on a rattle


until there the easy work in order to get the other 3 out the inlet needs to get off. It is fixed with a bunch of inbus screws


Once they are loose you get to this result. I cleaned all canals with 96% alcohol and a soft microfiber towel. Don't let any dirt get in here !!!!


unclips and unscrew this entire cable so you can push it down


After a lot of acrobatic hand moves you will get to this state


I switched from denso to NGK Iridium, these one have iridium headers and platina points they should last 90.000 however I plan to replace them every 75.000 maybe even every 50.000. Bad sparkplugs influence performance and fuel efficiencies


get a rattle with a flexy head otherwise it will be a hell of a job


In order to clean the inlet valve and canals I used pure alcohol 96% ... don't put it on any rubbers or plastics!!! However it cleans very very well. you can push the inlet valve into an open state in order to clean both sites, take your time for this!


After cleaning you will see a shiny result

This is how mine looks after cleaning


use a vacuum cleaner with small head to clean the ai rbox before installing the new one


remove the oil plug from the bottom ... and let the oil out


open the oil filler in order to let air in and the oil comes out faster :-)


There is a small protective plate that you can remove to access the oil filter housing.

HaerdenC

put a new seal on the oil plug leave the key outside the car. Starting the car without oil will ruin the engine in seconds !!!


Normally you need a special tool (I ordered one via ALIEXPRESS) however I had to continue and came up with this solution to get the oil filter opened


Old oil filter element


New oil filter. Also replace the seals !!!!


Put the oil plug back in, fix the oil filter again and ... fill it up with 5.6 liters of oil :-)


here the instructions for the oil filter


inside air filter. You have 2 sorts. Normal ones and expensive Carbon ones. I used the normal one. If you have allergic problems or drive a lot in heavy traffic you can consider the carbonated one. This one was 8 euro the carbon one is 68 ... decision was made quickly


pretty easy instructions with it


installed


Tools used: Basic box with standard ratles and on the left the additional tools


These are the additional ones -> angular ratle and a small tool I created in order to be able to unscrew the deep inbus screws for the inlet.

Gs3500

Great tips! I recall getting the spark plugs out made me cuss as I didn't have those angular ratchets!!!

HaerdenC

So a update
-----------------

Currently 180.000 km on the tacho (112.000 miles)

- checked oil usage -> no usage at all good news engine seems to be in good condition
- I bought an OBD II dongle on Ali express connected it permanently to the obd II port of the car (under the steeringwheel) and ue Torq Pro, can monitor a lot and read all codes
- also ordered on AliExpress a real obd II fault reader resetter. Not yet delivered wa a black Friday sales thing

I changed my tires for the upcoming winter with Vredestein Snowtrac 3 Sport no pictures as I didn't do this myself. Payed 704 euro including installation, balancing etc safety first.

I changed both xenon lights with brand new OEM Lexus xenon D4S lights (bought in Malaysia) I now have 6000K lights instead of 4300K now they seem to work a lot better and no fall-outs only very very exceptional. In order to solve the problem fully I think I also need to replace the ballasts ... a job I leave for the summer as I don't have a heated garage.

So until now I'm a happy guy driving the thing on a daily base. Upcomming works -> Breakpads. I already have them at home in case off. Wil make pictures on this job once I do it.

HaerdenC

Hey Folks,

glad to come with an update. The car now has 189.000 km (117.500 miles) last Saturday I did a regular maintenance:
- changed oil again with Champion 15W30 high grade
- Oil filter
- Air filter
- Interior filter
- checked the coolant -> ok
- checked the break oil -> ok will change when the winter is over as a regular maintenance ... manual will follow
- checked hybride coolant -> ok
- washer fluid filled
- allround look on tires etc -> all ok

During the last periode between maintenance I had a rattle sound, did some research as it was not always there, seemed to come from the left bank of the engine so I already started informing myself for new distribution chains and guides + reserving some weekend and preparing the celica in case it takes longer and to be still mobile. Before doing all of this work ... it is a hell of a job ... I asked a second opinion from another mechanic petrolhead friend. He also had the feeling it could be one of the change guides however then we noticed the belt tensioner roll and had a very good look at is while running. Seemed to be the noise maker. Added a bit of bearing grease to it and the noise stopped fully. So probably will buy a set with water pump (as they are know to fail I prefer changing it while already doing all of the work to change the tensioner and belt) plus full kit for belt and tensioner also when the weather is a bit better it was freezing -5 in my workplace so ...

I have the car now for a good 20.000 miles and I realy, realy, realy love the thing It drives so fine, it is so fast, ... I must admit every time I open the bonnet and need to do some work it scares the hell out of me due to how complex the engine is but on the other hand ... managed to keep it running and fixed it so :-) worth the smile. After all it remains Japanese reliable mechanics so ...

HaerdenC

First time troubles in Lexus paradise. For quit some time, once in a while I had some troubles with strange rattles and noises coming from the tensioner / water pump. Saturday it became worse and the belt even made noise so I think the tensioner was blocking the belt. When arriving at home I saw some drips coming down on the car and the coolant level went lower then before so ... the water pump is leaking. Immediately shut down the car (the coolant was still at minimum level, engine never overheated, no error messages or whatsoever occurred.).

Went to work with the train today (as my celica is also broken and the oldtimer is not finished) ordered a new waterpump + tensioner + belt + all seals ... 440 euro without labor as I will do it myself. Gosh that's some expansive stuff. Hopefully it will be a one time change

had a bit of a look seems to be quit some work so hope it will all work out. Good news is that I will document every step and post the results here

Adolvo

good job..

very nice manuals

HaerdenC

So how did it go? Well had 3 friends come over so I was not able to make a lot of pictures. It took us 4 hours to get everything out cleaned and the new pump in. Everything works fine. More good news all rattles are gone the water pump was really fukushima the entire bearing was worn. I will post the few pictures I have later on this week. it's quit a bit of work.

RastaMc

Nice job and registration of your actions.
Keep it like this bro.

Greetings from Amsterdam....also with a 450h.

HaerdenC

Here I am ... back with an update. Still love the car as it is the best drive I had ... ever ... by far with that said you already know work is coming.

The car now has 200.000 km (125.000 miles) so time for maintenance.
- changed engine oil
- changed air filter
- changed interior filter
- changed engine oil
- changed front brake pads

then I tried replacing the rear brake pads and ***** began
- passenger side the caliper was blocked however with some force it came loose cleaned everything and put some grease on it, took me quite some time for an easy maintenance thing.
- driver side same story but I could not unblock the caliper tried several hours and used lots of wd40, tried heating it and cooling the pin with ice ... asked two friends (mechanics) for advise, we tried several things and then noticed that one of the bolt on spots on the wheel hub had a crack. We unbolted the caliper and indeed the alu wheel hub is broken.
- I also noticed that one of the rubbers over the axle between the wheel hub and diff where leaking grease

Conclusion ... an expensive maintenance
- wheel hub 700 euro +-
- brake caliper 400 euro +-
- the axle can only be replaced fully not only the protection rubber so ... 1044,77 euro excluding vat
there you go 2500 euro parts only !

That was not going to happen as it is 1/4th of the price I payed for the car so today i'm hitting the road to Volkel in Holland (a 2 hours drive) to pick up a wheel hub (75 euro) and an axle (100 euro) the caliper I probably buy new just to be safe if i stil can't get the pin out. If the pin comes out I will post a manual here on the revision of the caliper using a toyota official kit.

I'm glad I have a second car (1993 Toyota Celica)

Pictures will follow.

I will also do a change of the diff oil ... correct oil is ordered at toyota dealership. Will also have a look on the gearbox oil I read once that it is a very hard job on the GS450h and as I'm in the flow ... hahahhaa

HaerdenC

Here I am with an update and some pictures ...


This is the broken wheelhub not sure what happened to it but it's pretty clear that the blocked brake didn't do good to it. Spare part is about 700 euro so I was glad to find a second hand one of a same age GS300 ... the brakes, hubs, etc are identical. The axle to the diff isn't !!! I payed 75 euro for second hand hub assembly with bearing, abs sensor, handbrake


During the work I noticed that one of the protection rubbers was leaking grease ... after doing research replacing the rubber is impossible ... so needed a new axel assembly ... costs 1044.77 euro excluding VAT. I was very glad to be able to find a second hand one of a lexus IS250 (IS220D would also work) the one from a GS300 is 3 mm shorter on the diff side and doesn't work!


175 euro ...


So after a few hours of dirty hands, lots of WD40 and a trip of 3 hours to get spares you end up having all of this done ... HOWEVER ... the break caliper was still blocked.


So as a solution I was already looking for a new or revised one but did a final attempt on getting de glider to move and do a revision myself


Always stay on a safe distance ... and be a hot chilled mechanic ... guess what it actually worked!


This glider was blocked. Fully cleaned it with sand paper 240 and a lot of passion, also cleaned the inside of the caliper gliding slot will order a revision set for both sides and from now on every 15.000 I will open them and put break grease in.


So put the car on lets go for a te ... wait WHAT ?!? Christmas ... thanks to this forum we found out that in order to solve this you have to connect pin 4 and 13 in the obd2 and push 8 times the break within 15 seconds. You will get in a second service menu and the error will be reset if everything is ok ...


MacGyver would be proud ... will solder a osb plug with switch for the future


No error codes ... so the main ecu does not display abs vsc errors

I also learned something very interesting for some people as I saw the question popping quit often. Disabling vst etc is very hard on the GS as you can't fully disable it, let me tell you a secret.

- disconnect both abs sensors at the back
- start the car ... it will give the above error if not push a few times the brakes and stop start the car again
- put the connectors back on ... all electronic help + rear breaks will be disabled ;-) at all speeds !!! There you have your ultimate drift car. We did a small test and I can guarantee to you ... it is a total different very tail happy car :-) specially on dusty roads. Big advantage is the stock LSD, pay attention if you are not used to high powered rear wheel drive cars without electronic help ... it will kill you :-)
- in order to get it back on ... just the pin thing from above to reactivate.
- breaking is less easy off course and there will be no regenerating however the battery is charging by the engine

For people doing track days. The cables of the sensors go somewhere behind the back seats ... will verify soon so there are options to make some remote controlled relays or just a button same can be done with the obd II reset.

This is for sure fully your own responsibility!

So what's up next.
- Revision of the calipers
- Gearbox Oil flush
- shock absorbers (rear first) will start my search for new ones ... already scared for the prices anybody here experience? It has the sport normal setting so ...

HaerdenC

Today the Lexus passed a big milestone ... or should I say kilometerstone 200.000 KM -> about 125.000 miles

Still some works to do, gearbox fluid change, revision caliper and chocks ... due to all the descent maintenance the car drives a lot better now. When I bought the car it was dealer maintained however I'm not sure it was all done as needed.

samsonn25

Is the axle from a GS350 compatible for the 450h?