Lexus GS450H Buyers Guide 2006-2011 S190

Hi,

This was a fairly requested video. I've put together a buying guide for the gs450h. It's specific to the 450h but might be use to gs300/430 owners. What to look for when buying a Hybrid 3GS, common problems and rough costs. If you have any other things to add to the list please let me know :-)

[bobbyrobbyn]

Just picked up a 2007 450 in a dark grey color, she drives like a dream. I appreciate you making this video.

[XSilvenX]

This was extremely helpful. I'm looking at a 2007 GS 450H with 200K miles tomorrow with good service history, and I will definitely have to keep an eye out for all of these. Excellent video, and thanks so much for blessing us with your personal experience.

[Dyesnipa]

I like the little hand you have to point at stuff

[DogeHodler]

I got an Obsidian Black 2011 in great condition. What a dream car! 94k miles. And it does proven 30mpg on highway. I drove it for 1000 miles averaging 30mpg. Some other enthusiasts even managed 35mpg.

[blackterminal]

Enjoyed your video. Your pointer stick made me smile.

[gabaro]

Great video, enjoyed it
Just brought 116k example and all the issues mentioned with exhaust rust and leaking shocks are present
Don’t mind doing all the work as I already love the car

That thing is a gem

[chrislee]

Bought one 3 days ago, it's really nice. It's black on beige interior, I never saw one with black interiors before so I can't compare. All I can say is that it's classy!

[Tevron_]

Lexus GS 450h 07 owner. 140k

Pros:
- Comfortable ride for long journey's
- The car is fast as f##k
- Good on fuel when your driving in straight lines or on Highway's
- Good technology inside for its age
-Cheap on Insurance (£800 - £900)

Cons:
- Expensive to own
- Its heavy on the brakes compared to the average car
- Exhaust needs active care as they rust, wear and damage easily
- Alloy wheels can wear and scratch easily
- Doesn't have Bluetooth (Had to install a built in one)

Modifications and service I've spent for the past 4 years:

- Exhaust fell off after finishing my shift in the office. Changed it with a custom made exhaust (£650)
- Shock absorbers full replacement. This one will sting you the most. Every 2-3 years this needs to be replaced on MOT (£1000)
- Some deekhead scratched the rear side of my car in the car park. Came back from shopping and seen the paintwork scratched off (£120)
- Tire change every 7months - 1 year which is normal (£150 - £200)

Everything is fine. Its reliable on others areas. Just the exhaust and the shock absorbers are a nightmare. Replace the exhausts with modded/aftermarket ones when they look like its on its last legs, because the factory version is trash and will wear easily. I'm looking to get an ISF next year after I get my 2nd house before I turn 30. But that's money talking at the moment.

[petercoyshe]

Just recently purchased Lexus GS 450 H SE-L wonderful car, very quick for type of car, - all the luxury you could ever need, - and still returns about 28.3 M.P.G. in mixed driving
around town! Only thing i would say, is please make sure that the service history is FULL and complete, providing that is the case, - then you will have many years happy motoring.

[Icymaddo]

I also think you should Check if the window glass is original to Check if it was in a car accident . To check if its original you need to search a lexus badge, usually on the bottom left of the Windows.

[JasonISF]

Good video mate. I bought a 2010 Crown Hybrid recently imported from Japan to here in Australia and I LOVE it. For a heavy beast it handles and takes off impressively. Just replaced the front lower control arm bushings with hardened rubber ones as I've been hearing that the front has bad inner tyre wear with the stock bushings.

[TheMilkMan-]

The 09 changed the drive suspension and a few tweaks here and there, the best one was 2007-2008, and i agree silver paint and black interior is an easy seller 👍

[mattp]

Great video mate, I'm looking at buying a 2012 GS450h with about 60k miles, it'll be my first Lexus and first Hybrid car, was good to see all the potential faults before purchase.
Glad to hear that they are generally reliable cars, my last 3 cars were BMW 545i, Audi S5 and currently in a Jaguar XFR. All those cars have cost me a fair bit on maintenance over the years. Hoping the Lexus is a bit more kind on the wallet, and the MPG improvements will be nice after having V8s in my last 3 cars lol.
I hear the 2010 onwards have a few improvements such as BT audio streaming etc so should be nice.
Anyway I've dropped you a sub mate, thanks for doing this video👍

[gresea]

great review, I'm currently looking at buying a 2006 model. Very, very helpful. Cheers.

[darkstar]

Thank you so much for this video. Going to take a look at an 07 with 100k miles. They just replaced the dampers, and it has a lot of Lexus service history, but I didn't even realize all of the little things that could possibly go wrong. Hopefully it works out!

[momo]

Nice video. Would help a lot if I wouldn't buy my Lex in January Hahaha. So I got 2011 se-l and I took mine to Lexus to do the health check on all systems. They found 2 problem there nr1. Front wiper blade split, nr2. Front tyres that are quite yeah I was surprised 😮 😅 aswell. After 2 months of driving its still great, plenty of power 🔋, now I have spoken to My local Lexus and I'm planning on buying a extended warranty for 2years ( there is a deal now you pay for one year and you will get second free of charge), also in a week a manage to get 6 points this the part I'm not really happy.... so keep it going. All th best.

[garybarry]

Such a helpful video this!!! Thanks for all the tips. It's really made me want one lol

[anondev]

I bought one recently, somehow did not notice the dampers. Worth noting also the rear view mirror, they love to fail (going from clear to black, splotchy lines or specs) on this gen of GS, as mine did. Love this car! DIY fixing the hybrid battery this month. Lovingly failed on me during a drive, lmao.

[petercoyshe]

Thank you for a very informative video! I have just purchased a 2008 GS450H SE-L with every conceivable extra - long test drive with no issues.However just over 300 miles later (Check Hybrid System) warning appeared on dashboard. Had reconditioned cells fitted and balanced so far so good, I now find that all of a sudden after about twenty miles or so the engine and ancillary items die completely! Where do I go from here LEXUS has failed!!!

[universalbarber]

awesome vid ! I'm in Australia and desperate for one of these bad boys.
i know this is a super vague question but are these cars expensive to maintain (not including battery)
services, parts etc