HaerdenC

Hey all folks,

I bought a 2012 GS450h executive (base model over here in Belgium) with only 23.000 km on the counter (15.000 miles). My previous car was a 2007 3th gen GS450h that I called "the Beast". I have a long running history in Toyota group build cars and own also a Celica, Corolla GTI and a 1971 Toyota KP30. I really loved my 3th gen however due to emission rules the new one is way more interesting and I got a real good deal on the new one. 3.5 engines are not very popular over here as tax is based on engine size & co2 so the 3th gen was about 1700 euro tax a year the new one 1400. Most people over here by smaller sized turbo charged engines so you can find then pretty cheap

So what are my first toughs as I drove it to Danmark and back (2500km including German Highways).
- It is a very, very, very nice car to own
- It's pretty exclusive on a 10 day drive I saw none except mine
- Acceleration is as good as in my 3th gen
- new multimedia features like USB DAB+ are a refreshing thing
- I actually like the joystick thing even more then the touchscreen I had before
- it cruises well at speeds up to 220 km/h above the car feels very hardcore Yes it does 260 km/h with ease !!! (tested in a small straight part of the German highway where you don't have speed limits)
- the bigger trunk is one of the biggest plusses
- Fuel economy is a LOT better, in Scandinavia I did around 6L/100km
- My 3th gen had the ML audio system, this one the HD audio ... I'm probably the only one but I actually like the HD audio system
- It supports 95 E10 fuel (the 3th gen was not E10 prepared so I had to fill her up with expensive 98 ron)
- I love the analog Clock
- rear camera is a lot better

Negative points:
- The interior light is so bright at night when opening the door your eyes hurt ... then you open the trunk and have candlelight. Will do an upgrade of the trunk light like many people did here
- GPS ... it's obviously outdated due to the fact that the car is 5 years old ... I didn't ask price for a fresh map however knowing Lexus Prices ... I probably stick to Waze
- GPS navigation not lowering the audio volume while speaking ... even a Dacia does that.
- previous car had soft close for the trunk ... this one doesn't and needs to be hit pretty hard in order to close
- Personally more liked the look of the 3th gen ... this one looks a bit like a fast, luxurious and big corolla/camry ... sorry to say so it's a pure personal taste
- lost the AFS lights ... It's a small thing my 3th gen had and you only miss it when you don't have it anymore
- Seat heating doesn't stay on?!? Is there a way to modify the timers for this?
- 3th gen had door storage that would fold open for better access ... miss them

Small things and blings:
- I noticed there is a FAN that is having a hard time somewhere at the audio head unit ... when it is cold outside I can hear the fan trying to get round and making strange noises ... these are the things I can't live with will have a search on how to open it and clean the fan or replace it ... any info welcome
- I will add a very small spoiler on the back ... my 3th gen had it and I liked it
- will need to find some summer wheels. I have currently winter tires on the original wheels (it had these as an option 18")

So the conclusion. It is a better car on at least 15 points however every time I see a 3th gen GS I will have a smile because for my personal feeling that one was just that tiny bit more of a performance car, rough, willing to push you and that little bit more of a sexy look. Would I want to go back to my 3th gen ... probably not. The car has a very good trim level, runs great, has a nice sound, smooth drive, people actually like you because it is kind of environment friendly, runs better then the average VAG or Merc that you can buy for the same money over here, I'm not gonna talk about BMW I hate the fact that they actually drive well

Let me share some pictures:

I personally really like this picture and the light, It's at a Fjord in Danmark


more like the standard front over the f-sport probably because I get old


It's a nice place to be in. Drove 970 km in a straight line, only stopped once for fuel, food and toilet time


Last but not least ... this important one ... This is my 11 year old son. All of you are thinking ... So, what does that have to do with the Lexus?!? Well, he didn't want me to buy a CLS350 shooting break and asked me if I was ready for retirement or something when we went for a test drive so he is kind of the reason I'm still on the forum and bought the new GS

Im2bz2p345

Congrats on the purchase and thank you for sharing! Nice pictures. Welcome to owning one of the rare 4GS hybrids. There are a only a few of us owners on ClubLexus, but as you may know, you can read more about our vehicles in this 4GS hybrid subforum: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/hybrid-technology-242/

You can check out my 4GS hybrid by clicking the link in my signature.

I love the 3GS Hybrid and it seems to have been a very good car - there are many who are still running theirs with 200K+ miles. The acceleration on that car was crazy - it's a faster car than the 4GS hybrid, but not as fuel efficient, so that's the tradeoff. The 3GS doesn't feel as roomy as either.

I can't believe you took the 4GS to 160 mph+ (260 km/hr). How did the car handle at that speed? Did you have the car in Sport+ mode? I'm curious how well the AVS (Adaptive Variable Suspension) kept the car planted.

For the cd player/head unit fan issue, is yours making a ticking sound? If so, you may want to take a look at user "peasodos" posts in this topic: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...ml#post9825783

If you do decide to attempt that fix, maybe you could post an easy to follow DIY? All we have is was peasodos shared - but not everyone is an adventurous or as much of a DIYer as him! lol.

Btw - your son is a smart cookie for making you keep a Lexus versus going over to the evil German side, haha.

All the best,

~ Im2bz2p345

HaerdenC

I had the car in sport + modus the German highway was the A1 or Bundesautobahn 1 -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundesautobahn_1

It's a very recently refreshed highway, the soft corners are slightly curved and there is no speed limit however ... it's not fully true, they have an advise speed of max 130 km/h if you have an accident at higher speed your insurance might not pay so ... I only did it on a fully open and straight line.

How did the car handle well ... until let's say 220 km/h everything runs smooth and fine, once you push it a bit more you will start to feel the aerodynamics kicking in and pushing very hard on the car, the suspension becomes bone hard and then handle was actually pretty good. However I didn't feel very comfy with that speed It was not a full flatout but I had the feeling the car was kind of limited around that speed engine was not running in very high revs once you reach about 260 / 265 km/h and it didn't accelerate more

Nice to know that most German brands have a speed limiter at 250 so I bet Lexus limited at 260 to make sure you can beat their *** on the Autobahn

For the fan thing, will have a read and make a manual I have a master in electronics so should be doable

HaerdenC

First mods done

new tire valve stems


Whispbars for the roofbox specificly for the GS


I travel a lot using my car so additional storage is sometimes required :-) went for the more expensive Whispbars as they looked nice and have some additional positive design thingies reducing the additional drag. I also think they look the smoothest due to specific design connectors for the car.

http://www.whispbar.com/about/technology/

will order the Radio fan just to make sure I already have one at home. Thanks for the link to the topic, there was a reference to the measurements of the fan :-) very usefull for ordering in advance. Will first try to clean the existing one if that doesn't work go true the 5 hours process and documenting. Will post steps in detail over here to thank you guys.

HaerdenC

Allright,

small update. Have done about 5000km / 4000 miles so start to know the car quit well. Still not fully used to the car as I had with my 3th gen. Once you start to know the car you also start to appreciate it. The radio noisy fan stopped making the noise however I ordered some removal tools to be able to open up te radio head unit and the top front speaker grills without damaging any parts. Will post pictures on this. The sound of the HD audio is quit well but I will change the dash top speakers as I'm convinced it will make the performance A LOT better.

I'm most impressed by the huge fuel saving. My 3th gen was always doing about 9l/100km the 4th gen I can get on 7l/100km and with a little effort even around 6l/100km !!! That is actually pretty good for a 3.5 v6.

Everybody really seems to like the car even my mom :-) the 3th gen was not her cup of tea with the wood trim and sofa seats, small booth, aggressive looks.

New things that annoy me ... well yes :-)
- It can only read 2xx files in a folder so if you have a billboard 500 it will only play the first 2xx some files the rest is just ignored so I had to split up into multiple folders.
- Shuffle only works on one folder not all folders
- my GPS is very outdated, lot's of things have changed the last 5 years in Belgium so it's not the most usefull system, consider updating but I'm afraid of the price for that

Boomin

there's a new update for gps, hope a new one for your neck of the woods

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...-question.html

mirto

I have the same color as yours, only it's the president line with the bamboo trim. Absolutely love the car. What really impresses me, and everyone that rides along, is the extreme smoothness of the drive-train. The car just keeps going and the transition between ICE and EV is extremely smooth. I've driven some Mercedes and BMW hybrids, great cars on their own, but the drive-train in the GS450H obliterates the drive-trains in other hybrids. Have fun with your car!
The only frustrating thing is that the car tends to veer to the right, I'll get it aligned soon. I had the same problem with my Prius, even after alignment, so hopefully it's not a Toyota/Lexus thing that can't be fixed. At rare times the steering wheel also goes to the left when stopping, I think I saw a thread about that once. Weird, but it doesn't bother me atm.

jonathancl

The 2GS had an adjustable trunk spring.
Does the 4GS have that as well? Couldn't find any mention of that searching.

peasodos

iTrader: (1)

Yes, if you pull back the side trunk lining on the drivers side you will see holes to move the tension rod into.

I added the factory trunk spoiler and trunk would not stay up on it's own. I just re-positioned the tension rod from the side of the trunk and problem solved.

HaerdenC

Indeed the trunk spring is adjustable but it just is not as smooth as the softclose :-) however found out that pushing the random button shuffles all folders so that point can be eliminated

HaerdenC

First 10.000 km are done ... still very very happy with the car