WhiteoutMD

Thinking about purchasing gs 350 F AWD 2017 or 18

I currently have a 2005 Acura TL with 303,000 that has been a bullet proof car. It's going to need some work soon tires, front brakes, right front axle. I purchased it new and I drive 100 miles a day half of the commute is highway speeds and the other part is stop and go traffic.
I need a car that works and bullet proof.

So I have started the new car search I think I want the GS 350 F awd.
My first question is gas millage my tl has a 17 gallon tank and I get 24/25 miles to the gallon
The GS has a 17.4 gallon tank and the specs say 22 combined what are people getting on there gs's?
Do you think I can get 410-425 on a tank of gas in the GS?

In my TL I put premium gas in it for the first 5 years then I read a thread in the Acura zine forum years ago that people were using regular with no problems so I drove with regular from that time on without problems.
Has anyone drove with regular gas in the gs for long periodes of time any problems?

Next thing I am a cruse control freak I use it all the time!!! so much so I broke the buttons on my tl and had to replace the control on the steering wheel lol
My question is does the gs 2017/2018 have the slow speed follow function meaning if i'm in traffic will it resume speed and follow the car in front at slow speed? I know it will at Highway speed. I drove a new Acura MDX and it would follow the car in traffic at slow speeds and even stop I really want that and am hoping the GS will do it. I think it does but it is not clear to me.

bclexus

If you are the least bit concerned with fuel mileage do NOT get a GS 350. If you are asking if you can use regular gasoline instead of the recommended premium gasoline do NOT get a GS 350.

The GS 350 is about as 'bullet-proof' as a car can be, but the cost of brakes (especially on the F-Sport) and some other recommended maintenance can be expensive 'if' you follow the service manual and have the maintenance done by Lexus.

It sounds to me like you are a poor candidate for owning a Lexus GS 350.

WhiteoutMD

Brakes can you elaborate on that? whats the average mileage for brake replacement and cost?

charley95

Average mileage on brakes is a tough one to answer. Some people are very hard on brakes and others like me get many years out of brakes. It all depends how hard you are on brakes.

AJLex19

For AWD models, all four brakes and rotors from Lexus, it will run you between $500-$600 (its a bit more for RWD F-Sport models as it has bigger, two piece front rotors)..this is just the parts. Labor will get you in for another $250+ at the dealer. Lots of folks have gone aftermarket to try to save some coin. Figure you'll need to change your brakes every 20k-40k miles or so just depends on how you drive, conditions, etc.

I get poor gas mileage from my AWD GS as all my driving is city driving. I typically get 14-15mpg. The best i've done on a trip with all highway driving is 24mpg. The GS that gets the best mileage is obviously the hybrid but it costs more and is only RWD...I believe it gets closer to 30mpg.

The only time I put regular gas in any of my cars was during hurricane sandy (I had a GS430 at the time). It ran fine for the few weeks with regular gas. I've never used regular gas in my GS350 so I can't speak to how well the car performs over time with that octane.

All 2017+ GS models have the Lexus safety system standard which includes the features you're looking for in terms of cruise control (its called dynamic radar cruise control).

The GS is very reliable and general maintenance is typically all you'll need. Buying a 2017/2018 will get you the peace of mind of the standard warranty 4yrs/50k miles in case anything happens during your initial ownership. I think the GS will be a big upgrade from your Acura but it won't get the gas mileage you may be hoping for...to me, that's a small trade-off for a car like the GS but it depends on whats most important to you!

SpicedRum

I'll toss in my $.02. I have a 2018 GS350 F sport AWD, purchased early December. While I only have about 950 miles on it, I have come to know the car a bit and found it to be extremely an comfortable, quiet and exceptional handling sedan. First Lexus but have had plenty of Toyotas. It's quick enough for me but some want more power. It fills the luxury sports sedan niche nicely, IMO. I haven't driven the Acura but have ridden in one and believe the Lexus to be of much higher quality but that's a bit subjective. I don't worry about gas mileage and don't bother logging or checking it. It's simply not a priority for me but it's not known for stellar mileage. These are performance oriented sedans, not economy sedans. With that said folks are getting wild ranges of mileages,probably proportional the angle of their right foot.

The adaptive cruise control (it's called dynamic cruise control) works really well! There are three distance settings although the setting that leaves the most distance just invites others to cut in so I use the middle setting. If traffic ahead of you slows quickly, the dynamic cruise control WILL apply the brakes to slow you down if it senses that just releasing the throttle won't be enough. The system is very responsive and doesn't delay decisions so it tends to keep the distance between you and traffic in a consistent manner. I don't know if it will stop automatically. The documentation on it tends to make me believe it will TRY to stop you if it detects an eminent collision. But I would not count on that entirely--rather my impression is it may not stop you all the way but would at least significantly slow you down should you be paying more attention to your phone than the road ahead.

Here is the info on the pre-collision and pedestrian protection.
https://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrive...hnology/safety

The lane keeping assist feature also works great...it alerts you via steering wheel vibration when you're drifting towards the edge or center of the road and will self correct the steering for you.

As for the brakes, folks are having to replace the front brake pads at around 20-30K miles. It sounds like it's more common for the f-sports, but not sure. However, swapping out front pads on this car is VERY EASY as the calipers are designed to slip the pads out rearward, so you don't have to remove the caliper to swap them. If you are at all handy this is a DIY matter and not a big deal. For less than $50 you can swap pads and less then $300, rotors and pads. I figure I'll swap brakes when changing tires since I'll have the wheels off anyway (I bring tires into the tire shop and never let tire guys get near lugnuts!!!). Not a big deal to me. If you are not handy, use an independent guy and not the lexus dealer as they will charge more than they should.

The AWD system is absolutely stellar in this car. It's not a cheap "slip first then AWD kicks in" system. It is always engaged and traction is plentiful. You can floor it in the rain without any sign of slippage or drama. The f sport suspension is REALLY good...it's comfortable on rougher roads yet makes the tires stick like glue when you need it. With the adjustable sport settings there are options to smoothly cruise, run twisties or the track.
The GS, IMO is one of the best cars out there from the quality perspective. There are really no known problems and as usual they (Toyota/Lexus) are overbuilt and under-stressed.

bclexus does have a few good points. Folks do not buy this car worrying about fuel mileage or use of premium fuel. I don't think it will get the mileage you want but am willing to bet that you'll love it compared to your Acura in all other matters.

Some advice--DO NOT test drive one unless you're leaning towards it because you WILL WANT IT after that test drive. They are truly that good...

islandbeef

lamikela1

The GS all speed dynamic cruise will bring the car to a complete stop in traffic. Once stopped all you need to do is to tap the accelerator or push the CC button up to resume. It works well most of the time but if the vehicle in front of you stops abruptly it may not apply the brakes but instead flash a warning so that you apply them. I have it on my '16. I think that is the first year it was available.

Neles

iTrader: (2)

The GS350 will NOT give you gas mileage. But I still love this thing!

Jayson

That's what happened to me. Went into Lexus of Austin to test drive the ES300h and ended up buying a GS350 F Sport. My salesman just shook his head in disbelief.

eddie420

This is a better quality video with instructions.

I get around 21 to 24mpg and about 360 miles on a tank on mixed city/hwy driving.

Same. I went in to buy a RX350F and bought the GS350F AWD.

WhiteoutMD

Yea i'm not a hard breaking person so two years is something I can live with for break replacement Thanks for the feed back

WhiteoutMD

Thanks for the INFO my research says 2017-18 was the start of the DRCC so you confirmed that. The Hybrid is just so expensive I would get it but man the $$$$ I have looked for 2017 hybrid used one very hard to find if at all. I drove the GS 350 f and its much nicer than my acura 2005 tl. It looks like brakes last 2 yrs from the commennts on a not heavy breaker like my self I can live with that. I think I need to evaluate if the gas millage part is a deal breaker for me I'm not sure. I really dont want to go to the gas station more than I go now witch is every 4 days. My commute is 50 miles one way 100 round trip half traffic half highway speed. my TL get 410-430 a tank so that my every 4 days. I really like the reviews on the seat in the GS. On a side not I really dont like any new body styles in the 4 sedan lines from all the other manufactures I like the GS lines. Thanks again for your information.

WhiteoutMD

Was the DRCC an option on 2016 models or a standard feature.

WhiteoutMD

Your 21-24 is that in Sport mode or eco mode? another question in my TL when the cars gas light comes on and the miles to empty goes to 0 it still has 3 gallons in the tank and at 24 miles to the gallon I drove on empty all the time because I new I could go 75 miles before I really was out of gas lol. So the question is are you filling it up before the car say empty? how many gallons are left in the gs after the DTE says 0. Does this make sense to you? I ask because I really don't want to have to get gas more than I am now which is every 4 days. The gs has a larger tank the the 2005 tl by .4 so if your saying 21-24 mix driving I think it will work for me. Thanks again for your input