1999 Lexus GS300 gs 300 review from North America

At 49,000 I had to have the weatherstripping replaced and drivers door lock would not lock-All done under warranty. My hood for some reason refuses to close. In order to close you have to find the cable that controls the hood lock and pull on it. Also had drivers seat belt replaced at 49,000 miles. The seat belt was fine, but the anchor clip had come loose. At 76,000 miles the lock on the steering wheel gets stuck- The ignition is stuck in the locked position- Car cannot be started- Had to have it towed to dealer for coslty fix-$650. At 60,000 miles try to change the spark plugs as per scheduled maintainance- Find it impossible to get the #3 sparplug out- The intake on top of the engine blocks it completely. Had to take it to Lexus and the cost for sparkplug replacement is $550. Lexus dealers are really obnoxious in nyc- Lexus of Manhattan... They always have me waiting at least 1 hour whenever I go to pick up my car. My other car is an Infiniti J30t and the seats in that car are much better than in the gs 300. Replaced front brake pads and rotors at 49,000- under warranty from used car dealer and then again replace front pads at 78,000 miles. At least in the J30- changing the sparplugs take about 1hr and is very easy to do. Changed the brake fluid at 78,000 miles. Changed power steering fluid at 78,000. Flushed the transmission at 64,000 miles. With Lucas transmission additive -car shifts much better and even smoother. Tried it in the J30t- same results. At 90,000 miles I will have to replace timing belt and water pump. Stereo display is faded on right of display. PCV valve at top of engine was leaking oil.. Use some gasket sealant and replaced valve- Oil leak stopped.

Car is very smooth and silent. Handles very well, but tends to roll a lot when cornering. Seats are not very good. Although it is very roomy inside. Stock stereo system is OK.. For some reason not as good as my Bose system in my J30. Car is very nice just not great.. And for the price I paid for it.. I expected better dealer service and a car that was more than just OK.. The J30 is now 10 years old; but I actually enjoy driving it over the GS300. This car could really use a sport suspension and better brakes... Whenever I am braking I have to really press on the brake pedal.