I bought a 2016 GS-350 a few years ago (primarily my wife's car). When we decided to get an SUV we first drove a 2012 4-runner but the price was a bit high to allow us to keep the GS it rode a little stiff to be a replacement for it. There was a 2004 GX on another local lot and, once we drove that, the 4-runner was off the table. But that GX was a little rough on the outside. After much shopping and just barely missing a few I bought a high-mile but really nice condition 2008 in white. Based in the gravel pecks on the front, I think it has seen most of its ~235K on the highway. It has already had its air bag suspension deleted with no lights on the dash regarding that.

However, there are a few fair minor (I hope) issues that appeared on the ride home.
1 - TPMS light started blinking then went solid and now the light immediately start blinking at startup but still goes solid. I have been frustrated by the TPMS on every car that has had such system. The frequency of real tire issues simply doesn't justify the PITA that these systems often cause. So a TPMS delete will be investigated but I would listen to other solutions if these are known problem spots.
2 - If its not a simple characteristic then it may be a bigger concern. Any time I came to a full stop I would feel a clunk as soon as I released the brake. It doesn't seem to matter how slowly I release the pedal, if feels very similar the clunk of an automatic being shifted into drove. Not violent but noticable.
3 - Definitely the least important - the cup holder cover doesn't seem to want to open after I close it - and it seems to be a little sticky (as is somone spilled soda into it and it dried). The open sticky-ness if easy to overcome. And when its closed, its easy to push down - it just doesn't release and open. After several attempt it will finally open but I haven't found any reason or rhyme to how/why it opens. I also can't find the source of the stickiness when open.

I can post a pic but it looks like the many white GXs that I've seen all over the web. This one is going to remain mostly stock. Maybe a minor lift and a little stronger exhaust note if these can be done relatively cheap. If anyone has any experience or input with these issues, I appreciate reading about them.

 

Congrats, the tpms system can be grounded under the glove box and that will keep the light from coming on. The clunk could be a number of things i would start with drivelines/ujoints and brakes and work my way out from there. When I bought my 06 it also had a sticky door. The prev owner lost a makeup tube in the door track. It was a strugle to remove.

 

You can also look into this upgrade . Part Number 37110-60A40 if lubing the height adjustable driveshaft is something you don.t want to bother with.


Ordered new driveshaft - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion

 

Yeah, #2 is almost certainly the driveshaft clunk. Replace it with the updated part and you're good.

P/N 37110-60A40 which is about $400.
The drawing shows it comes with the universal joints, so it ought to just bolt right up to the transfer case and the rear axle, but you might want to verify that before purchase.


Chip H.

 

I thought the driveshaft clunk was the results of height adjustment while stopped, not true? Also, I read that lubbing the original drive-shaft might be a temporary fix. If lubbing works for a while that I gues I have confirmed the issue.

I yanked the cup holder and cleaned all the whatever off of it and the sticking is gone.

Checked all the tire pressures even though I have read that the blinking is not a result of an actual pressure issue. They were not consistent but making them equal did not correct the light.

 

One or more of your TPMS sensors is bad or possibly your spare tire pressure is low. My TPMS light started doing exactly what yours does and found out one of my sensors dies and is not sending a signal. Just needs replacing and paired with the car.

 

In my case , I had a spare not holding air for more than a month or so. Hate to say how long it took to figure that one out! Been pumping grease in every oil change , but I do hear the clunk begin before its due so the upgraded driveshaft is next on my to do list. Also 4 quarts of WS every year and not risk trouble with an entire fluid swap.

 

A blinking TPMS light means the system lost contact with one or more of the five sensors. Usually this is because of a dead battery in the sensor. But also check that the TPMS switch below the steering wheel is in the correct position - this allows you to have sensors in two sets of wheels (summer + winter) and just push the button to switch between them (because the Lexus system is not self-learning). If it inadvertently got pushed, it's looking for sensors that aren't there.

So far as the clunk - it's not directly related to the adjustable height. But when you come to a stop the vehicle will "dive" as weight transfers to the front. And then it settles back on the rear axle. You will hear the clunk during this, because the suspension geometry changes slightly when this happens, so the length of the driveshaft changes. Being diligent with greasing the zerks and the spline will help for a while, but you will eventually have to replace it.

In my case it was so far gone that I heard the clunk during 1-2 upshifts from the transmission, since that is when a lot of torque is being applied to the driveshaft.

Chip H.

 

I just watched that video and the lack of jack-stands would keep me from crawling under any vehicle. The guy has his life dependant on a hydraulic cylinder that was likely made by the cheapest bidder. I know they rarely fail(something I have never seen,first hand) but I still wouldn't risk it. I just installed new springs on my old Jeep CJ and my jack stands were very much in the way during one process but I never considered doing the job without them. I will probably grease the driveshaft splines and see if anything changes. If that doesn't change anything then I will find a secure place for my gopro. Maybe I will be able to see the clunk.

I have decided to just ignore the TP light until its convenient to have a scan done. If its the spare, I noticed that its starting to dry-rot anyway. If its one a the others then it'll have to wait until the tires need replacing.

 

When i got the truck first, the TPMS light was annoying me, i took the trouble of installing techstream and identified which tire and what was it (The sensor was low on battery), i bought 5 denso sensors and went to "discount tire" shop near me
They were nice and swapped the device for 20$ plus tax, took them more time to remove the wheels, they took literally a minute per tire and got me out, they told programming will be more, i had techstream, so i programmed them myself

They did not touch my spare, as it was dry rotted and about 8 years old (even though never used), earlier this year, i switched all 5 tires and had costco install the 5th tpms sensor for me.

See if you have any tire places around you that would do the TPMS for you OR get a good tire gauge and forget about it

 

I guess my brain doesn't work like it used to but your post reminds me that I bought a Mini-VCI cable and Techstream years ago for a Toyota Venza. Never had a need to deal with the GS. Now it tells me that my software license has expired. I am working on getting a newer version setup and running. Looks like I've got some research to do.

 

If you go to FB group "GXOR", they have a "guides" section on the top of the page, guide #18 is all about getting techstream software up and running, if you've already got the cable then you should be able to make it work. I can't seem to direct link you to it.

 

I got Techstream working by using a virtual machine with all the drivers and software loaded. I was able to connect and see that one sensor is certainly not communicating and four are sending data. Now the question is: How do I identify that sensor? It is listed as sensor #1 but I'm not clear about if or how it would know which tire that is? I considered airing down one tire at a time and look for changes but that seems like quite a process if this is something that is already known.

I would think that the car knowing which sensor was on a given tire would be impossible but my GS does have info for each tire on the dash. If/when the tires are rotated, how does that system know that they have been moved.

I also was able to set all doors to unlock with one press on the remote by using this software. I wonder if techstream has enough users to justify its own thread - either model spcific or for Lexus in gereral. Unrelated, I was unable to communicate with my 2016 GS350. I am not too concerned with that because it already does everything I want it to do.