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  1. Ian Schmidt

    Your Garage: Lexus GX vs. Toyota Land Cruiser vs. Toyota 4Runner

    My first choice out of those would be GX550, Luxury+ package, in Nori Green with the Saddle Tan interior. Second place would be Land Cruiser, Land Cruiser trim, Premium package, in Heritage Blue with the Java Leather interior. I'm with @Gecko on the brown leather, I'm still sad the Chocolate...
  2. Ian Schmidt

    Is this sound under the bonnet normal?

    I don't have a ton of experience sticking my head that close to a 2GR but in general I'd believe the mechanic if everything else is fine (no check engine light etc).
  3. Ian Schmidt

    Reviews & News: The Lexus LC 500

    This is close to being great. The inset parts of the fenders should've stayed white and then that would be a hot look. Right now it's fighting the car's lines instead of working with them.
  4. Ian Schmidt

    Is this sound under the bonnet normal?

    I don't immediately hear anything unusual in that video. What are you concerned about specifically?
  5. Ian Schmidt

    3rd Generation Lexus GX (GX 550, GX 550h) Megathread

    I get people thinking that, but at least around here it's not uncommon to be stopped at a light with 2 or 3 Land Rovers. And then you hope they still run and drive when the light turns green! :p At least from what I see the G-Wagen and LX are the rarest higher-end SUVs right now.
  6. Ian Schmidt

    Lexus LFR Megathread

    They probably came up with that strategy before the bottom fell out of the BEV market. We'll see if they adjust.
  7. Ian Schmidt

    Electrical issue

    In a 2015 there's likely multiple 12 volt constants going into the cabin so just looking for one won't get you far. If you undo whatever you changed, does it restore correct operation?
  8. Ian Schmidt

    BMW Vision Neue Klasse X

    This is a big improvement over current BMW styling. I wonder how much of a concept it is, because none of it's out of range from current production cars except maybe the colors.
  9. Ian Schmidt

    2022 NX250 electronic issues?

    Of course, and people here do read all of those other sites (and more).
  10. Ian Schmidt

    2022 NX250 electronic issues?

    If anyone else is having issues we haven't seen anything about them. Doesn't mean they aren't happening, of course.
  11. Ian Schmidt

    5th Generation (2018+) Lexus LS 500 & LS 500h Megathread

    Tesla has attempted to thwart people from doing that in their software updates, but fully stopping hands-free driving is impossible short of handcuffing the driver to the steering wheel. That's why every system except Ford's was Marginal or worse on driver monitoring and none of them were Good...
  12. Ian Schmidt

    Rivian Introduces R2, R3, and R3X

    Haven't dug into the specs yet, but the R3 screams "AMC Pacer" every time I see it. Can't wait for someone to make a photo wrap that actually turns it into one.
  13. Ian Schmidt

    2023 Honda CR-V

    I like to think Toyota would've gotten more than 29 miles out of the battery-only mode, but yeah, cool tech.
  14. Ian Schmidt

    The right rear speaker does not work Lexus rc 300h 2018

    That's usually either the speaker or the wiring. Try swapping the left and right speakers temporarily (just move and connect the speakers, you don't need to actually re-mount them) and see if the problem changes sides.
  15. Ian Schmidt

    No custom Order. How does allocation work?

    And after the allocations are set they'll have to trade with a dealer that has or is getting the spec you wanted. For my current LS, my sales guy (who is awesome) put in several days of work to locate one of the right spec that was en route from Japan to California and negotiate with that...
  16. Ian Schmidt

    Car won't star; dealer says water damage

    Sunroof drain clogs are a thing on pretty much all cars, and it's easy in many cases to go a while without actually noticing the water. It sounds like the dealer's going to replace the interior wiring harness, which is definitely expensive, but unfortunately there aren't a lot of mechanics that...
  17. Ian Schmidt

    How much should I be expecting to spend on these repairs?

    How old/high mileage is the car? Those are all regular maintenance items except for the wheel alignment, it just varies how regularly. If you're in a hot environment a lot of those things will need replacement more often than average because rubber is just that way, for instance.
  18. Ian Schmidt

    Toyota BZ4X

    There's been a fair amount of that kind of accident ever since all the manufacturers stopped doing the PRNDL that everyone knows how to use in favor of increasingly weird levers/knobs/whatever. I don't know the psychology behind it, but when Park is a completely separate button from the rest of...
  19. Ian Schmidt

    The Lexus RZ 450e Megathread

    As VinFast discovered. I don't know if those targets are feasible with current battery technology, but they should do it if it is. Teslas and Nissan Leafs with dead battery packs are starting to pile up because people can't afford $20k for a new pack, and that's further depressing whatever was...
  20. Ian Schmidt

    Toyota chief apologizes for cheating on testing at group company _ again

    I don't pretend that, but this is also completely different from what (for example) VAG did. In this case, the engine passes certification with the stock ECU as shipped to customers, but the certification is technically invalid because they used a development ECU. No rules or regulations were...