Has anyone directly compared a LS 430 with standard versus laminated glass in terms of noise. Although the LS 430 is super quiet, I am interested to know if the laminated glass quells the small amount of wind noise and traffic noise that can be heard in a car with standard glass.

 

Remember that there have been a number of cases of fogging between the panes of the laminated side glass. No, I haven't compared the sound levels between the two. Maybe there's some old Lexus sales info about it somewhere.

Frankly, unless you really want to have other UL or CL features, I'd opt for a ML or Premium to avoid the laminted side glass (UL & CL) and air suspension (UL). I was a sucker for the black semi-aniline leather and extra leather trim, so it was CL for me.

 

I had a friend drown in a car that had gone into and turned upside down in a pond. In less approx 4 feet of water. Apparently they were unable to open the doors because of pressure on the roof. Since then I keep a belt cutter/window breaker rescue hammer in each side door pocket in each car as a result. And I'll take a pass on having laminated side window glass in a car...quiet can sometimes have too high a price in a car.

I suggest everyone has at least one tool in the car to break a window and cut yourself out of a seat belt if necessary.

 

My 2002 LS430 has had glass delamination in all of the side windows, starting at the bottom center and spreading in a semicircle. Lexus replaced the first at 37K miles, but has refused to replace the other three which became visible at about 70K miles. Any ideas?

 

I do keep a sharp blade in the cabin, but not a hammer.
I always imagined being able to kick the windows out if needed. I do have an extra hammer that will be in the car later today .... thanks for the suggestion !

 

I'm not sure if this is related but here goes. My front passenger window regardless of how many times I try to clean always seems to show some kind of coating or fogging that just doesn't come off. What's up with that?

 

This is a problem here in Florida with all the canals. Just last week outside my community a car plunged into a canal killing the 54 year old driver. Numerous attempts by passing drivers were made but unfortunately it was too late. My girlfriend has one of those hammers and has been pushing me to get one. I think I will get one now.

 

If you have a UL or CL, it may be fogging in the laminate layer of the laminated side glass. If that's what it is, the only fix is to replace the window. Do a search as there have been a number of threads about this in the past.

If it doesn't have laminated side glass, try washing the window with Stoner's Invisible Glass, using newspaper instead of paper towels or rags. Heck, try that anyway in case the film is on the surface of the glass.

 

Before I bought my UL, I test drove three LS430s: a 06 ML w/ 30K mi, 06 CL w/ 30K mi, and 05 UL w/ 20K mi. They had different OEM-like tires but the same 5-spoke 18" wheels w/ either Dunlops or Bridgestones (the basic ones). I drove all three on the same course, about a 20 mile loop including a 2 mi long rough section with patched lateral cracks about every 50 ft, twisty hill climbs, etc. I was not able to tell an audible difference in the road noise. The only difference was the UL had a slightly more floaty feel to the suspension. Response time of the shocks was about the same. The only reasons for buying the UL given the price of all 3 vehicles was about the same was it was in, by far, the best condition and was the only one with a rear AC blower (crucial in AZ). I don't care about the laminated glass, air suspension, but do like the rear seat audio/comfort controls and leather dash/glovebox.

 

A 'resqme' tool by CRKT (IIRC) is well worth the $30-odd dollar investment. Belt cutter,glass breaker,and whistle.

Contrary to what you see in the movies,you can't punch or kick out automotive glass. Not before it's crazed anyway. crack it with a glass hammer,then kick it out.


Justin...

 

a member on here airtime i believe posted up pics of when someone tried to break into his UL and was unable to even shatter the side window. sounds awesome to me, except for when thinking about being immersed in water

depending on what the culprit was trying to use to smash the side window i'd challenge that it would still be very difficult if not extremely unlikely to even be able to shatter it while inside with the car immersed in water even with one of those tools. maybe one of those extreme spring loaded window breakers would do the trick but i can't see how you could even get the room to swing a hammer with enough force while inside the car honestly.

when i roll my window down a little (05 UL) it looks as though its double paned like 2 pieces of glass glued together, not just laminated, and this is the first time i have ever heard of anyone having a foggy issue with the UL side windows, kinda funny to read, sounds like some phony balony to me or someone trying to justify why they did not buy a UL

also if your water is nasty well water like often found in FL and where i lived in CO for a little while (their sprinkler system at my old apt in CO) it contained such harsh elements in the water that it would stain my windshield. like some foggy sulfur stains or calcium buildup or some strange stuff that i could never get off until after a few months of using clean water.

 

WTF,, this site just hick-upped and when i was editing my above post it added a second post below (this one here), fist time i have ever seen that happen..

i was trying to add that instead of a hammer i recommend a spring loaded glass breaker like this one:

http://www.bioclinictec.com/servlet/the-66/EMERGENCY-GLASS-BREAKER-SPRING/Detail"]http://www.bioclinictec.com/servlet/...-SPRING/Detail

or my personal fav

http://www.squidoo.com/smithandwessonrescueknives

i'm about to replace my very illegal security device in my side pocket with one of these legal ones

check out the video:

http://www.bladeops.com/ProductDetai...uctCode=SW911B

only problem is that its made in china, now how is that for reliability¿¿


so i just ordered the one in the link above ^ ^ ^, thanks for the heads up, now i will be more legal and more safe

 

Yes, sprinkler water spots are the worst because the water is often drawn from shallow wells.

Laminated glass has two panes glass with a piece of clear plastic sealed between. I suspect the de-lamination problem with side windows occurs because the edges aren't sealed in place like the windshield is. This problem has been discussed here on a number of occasions. For example:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...-frosting.html

 

i guess i stand corrected, it seems that 3 people on that thread from 08 had the same issue. guess i should run and get all my windows replaced then, or go trade my UL for a ML. The air susp does suck though when it goes out...

 

I have a CL, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed on the windows and don't have to worry about the suspension.

Most of us accept the fact that even those these are highly reliable cars, it costs real money when things go wrong. I feel we chose well compared to other options: http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/opt...11/Itemid,437/