Having come from 15 years of Swedish cars, I'm new to the world of Lexus. I never imagined myself in a Lexus, but I found this LS for less than the cost of a new KIA and I figured I'd give it a try.
Stats: 2012 LS460 AWD with 126k, mint condition in and out. 2 previous owners from NY and TX. Bought from Carmax for $16k. They replaced the left axle, speed sensor, updated software after purchase. I spoke to them about my concerns with the odd trans shifting and paid Lexus to perform a full post-purchase inspection, but everyone tells me the transmission is operating within spec.
Questions:
1) Having tried all shifting modes(PWR/ECO), the trans is quite annoying. Shifts are lazy and not crisp. Under heavy acceleration it holds onto the gear way too long, and at 3-4k rpm for 5-7 seconds before upshifting. Is the unit fundamentally flawed by engineering or do I have a trans on the way out?
2) Both the manual and oil cap call for 0w20 or 5w20 only. Is this set in stone or can I play with higher weights without risking damage to the block?
3) Are there any fuel economy hacks that will make my ozone depleter better on fuel? After back to back RP and BG44k fuel treatments I'm getting close to max of EPA ratings, so I think it may not get better than this.
4) Heat is intermittent, blowing hot air about half of the time when needed. Any ideas for a fix?
5) HVAC settings defaults to 'Feet' EVERYTIME instead of last known setting whenever the car or HVAC is power cycled. Is this bad engineering or is something wrong here?
6) How powerful is the AWD...meaning, how extreme and hard can I push her? I've previously pushed my AWD Volvo wagons to the edges of the Earth and they owned it completely.
7) AWD maintenance, how often do I replace the fluids?
8) Trans flush and fill...is there an off the shelf equivalent to the Toyo/Lex fluids or just stick with OE?
Purchased a full bumper to bumper extended warranty with coverage up to 221k miles! or 6 years from Carchex.
I've put 5k miles on the clock in the first month of ownership and really quite enjoy her overall. Most comfortable and quiet land yacht I've ever owned, and the V8 power is unbelievable.
Thanks for the help!
Stats: 2012 LS460 AWD with 126k, mint condition in and out. 2 previous owners from NY and TX. Bought from Carmax for $16k. They replaced the left axle, speed sensor, updated software after purchase. I spoke to them about my concerns with the odd trans shifting and paid Lexus to perform a full post-purchase inspection, but everyone tells me the transmission is operating within spec.
Questions:
1) Having tried all shifting modes(PWR/ECO), the trans is quite annoying. Shifts are lazy and not crisp. Under heavy acceleration it holds onto the gear way too long, and at 3-4k rpm for 5-7 seconds before upshifting. Is the unit fundamentally flawed by engineering or do I have a trans on the way out?
2) Both the manual and oil cap call for 0w20 or 5w20 only. Is this set in stone or can I play with higher weights without risking damage to the block?
3) Are there any fuel economy hacks that will make my ozone depleter better on fuel? After back to back RP and BG44k fuel treatments I'm getting close to max of EPA ratings, so I think it may not get better than this.
4) Heat is intermittent, blowing hot air about half of the time when needed. Any ideas for a fix?
5) HVAC settings defaults to 'Feet' EVERYTIME instead of last known setting whenever the car or HVAC is power cycled. Is this bad engineering or is something wrong here?
6) How powerful is the AWD...meaning, how extreme and hard can I push her? I've previously pushed my AWD Volvo wagons to the edges of the Earth and they owned it completely.
7) AWD maintenance, how often do I replace the fluids?
8) Trans flush and fill...is there an off the shelf equivalent to the Toyo/Lex fluids or just stick with OE?
Purchased a full bumper to bumper extended warranty with coverage up to 221k miles! or 6 years from Carchex.
I've put 5k miles on the clock in the first month of ownership and really quite enjoy her overall. Most comfortable and quiet land yacht I've ever owned, and the V8 power is unbelievable.
Thanks for the help!