sparkyhx

whats 'normal' I drive to the speed limits, I do 25-30k a year, cant afford to lose my licence or rack up points. I do track days for fun instead.

I get my petrol from Morrisons, so nothing special. The 64mpg ended with 62.7 after the 8x 4.5 mile runs to and from work and return journey back from Swindon to Halifax. p.s. hx-Swindon journeys were done with aircon on and cruise as well. The hx-swindon Journeys have a number of 50 and even 40mph sections which helps. I'm pretty good at driving economically, I once got 82mpg from my Hyundai i30 diesel. on a Halifax to Northampton run. I temper my economy with aiming to get below 10mpg on track in my other car. I accelerate slowly, always use cruise control, and do lots and lots of anticipation, I very seldom brake, most 'braking' is just engine braking. (Brakes on my Hyundai lasted 60k miles :-) )

Last 2 fill ups, and trip down

I'm getting 60+mpg (on the computer) on my halifax to Swindon trip round trip. Motorway 370 miles, country roads/dual carriageway 70, local 4 mile commute each way 4x a week - hotel to work. + aircon on for the entire up and down trip and on the commute back to the hotels in the evening. Largely at the available speed limits where possible. Couple of sections of crawling in traffic for 15/20 mins. Pretty impressive.

Well I'm back in the fold, I originally had a LS430 some years back that had been LPG'd. I loved that car. Since then I've been running a Hyundai i30 diesel 1 year old to 5 years without so much as a hiccup, but boredom, the signal that Diesel has had its day and the fact I missed the premium feel of the Lexus, I decided to rejoin the fold. So I bought a IS300H Executive Edition 2014, with 14k on the clock. I've done 1500 miles in 3 weeks and averaged circa 54 according to the computer. Compared with about probably 55-60ish i probably would have got for the Hyundai. Which I find is pretty damn amazing for a car with 200+bhp, albeit one that does not feel like it has 200+bhp. Similar power to my toy, a BMW 330ci, but that is major faster (and thirstier). I dont care particularly about the performance cos as a daily driver I generally drive like miss daisy except when having a play. I was originally quite concerned at the prospect of CVT, but in the IS its fine, I cant say I've even noticed. I did originally start looking at the CT200h, but it just didnt feel special, the IS on the other hand is a step change. I like the look of it, and the the quality. It handles fine, goes fine (if you press the loud pedal hard enough) and is fantastically quiet (not up to LS standards though) Dont like I think the centre console is a bit meh the infotainment system is supremely non user friendly and over complicated. Ive never really had to read instructions for basic operation, but generally do read them to get some of the 'hidden/unexpected' features, but the damn NAV system was infuriating. Got the hang of it now, but at first, I couldnt even set a destination. Same with the radio presets, whats wrong with a radio with numbers to press for the presets. Everything takes an unnecessary sequence of button presses. But I suppose thats new cars in general, even the Hyundai was a pain to adjust certain things. front needs more cubby holes. There is nowhere to put my phone other than in the big central bin, similarly somewhere to put the key would be nice, I dont like my keys making holes in my pocket linings and digging in my leg. Stupid active noise system - WTF. Whats that about, Why would I want to pipe false engine noise into the cabin. Far better to have done noise cancelling tech instead. Otherwise I am delighted with my purchase so far and look forward to many years happy motoring. Sparky Marky

I don't actually know - local auto gearbox place arranged thru my garage. They had been helping diagnose the problem. I also got one similar price from a place in essex, just by querying gearbox prices online.

there should be no problem to fit a cooler there is plenty of room I would get a thermostatically controlled one so the fluid gets warm enough I personally think this is a bit of a bad design to combine a rad with a atf cooler. That said, its not unusual to find this on cars. Looking at the boards this looks like its a 'common' problem with older 430's (common by Lexus standards), its a shame a bullet proof box has such a fundamental and catastrophic week spot. Its a bit like the Skoda Superb with the 2.0 ltr diesel whichj has an issue with a poorly designed oil pump - failure = new engine. I think this needs to be added to the Suspension and starter motor list By the way all the Skoda haters the Superb is ...........er superb

My fears exactly. One for making you laugh - on place wanted £1200 for a scrapper with 1 months warranty - It made me laugh. I'm slowly coming round to the idea of getting it fixed

Been quoted £150 for a scrapper box, but not sure I want to go down that route with an unknown item - and several hundred pounds of labour

Well, it looks like my rad/ATF Cooler failure has trashed my gearbox. So I have two choices - fix it or scrap it and buy a new car.....three if you include fix and then sell it. I have a quote for £1300 for recon gearbox and fitted 1 year warranty. car is a 2001 LS430, with 160k on the clock and LPG conversion. Everything else is fine. I had intended to keep her a while, but now I'm wondering if i've reached a stage of big bills and I should cut my losses. Trouble is i'm a bit short at the moment and can't really afford (don't want to afford) to replace the LS and get it LPG converted. A ready converted one would be affordable but can't find any at the moment. The other option I am looking at is the diesel Skoda Superb, which would come in around 4k, with half the milage of the Lex, less years and similar MPG as the lex. Whats your thoughts. p.s. I really love the lex, and was going to replace her with another in a few years

'common' is obviously relative If it happens 10 times to a Lexus thats classed as common still its worth a warning - for a relatively cheap preventative 'fix', it could save a car from a very very expensive, if not terminal, bill.

Its looking that the ATF cooler and RAD combination are an issue with these cars - there are 3 'failures' on this first page. If you fit a cooler - let us know where and how much?

looks like I have got away with it, but judging by responses and another post on here - its looking like the ATF coller and Radiator combination is a 'weak' point, with potentially ruinous repair bills. Personally If I had an old LS430 |I would be looking at possibly installing a separate ATF oil cooler as preventative maintenance. probasbly wouldn't cost more than a couple of hundred for a garage to do it, which is a lot cheaper than the potential bill. As my next car will be another LS, I shall be seriously looking at this.

Last night I started loosing drive on my LS430, revs going up but car not changing gear (auto). No warning lights at all. Pulled over and immediately found that I had lost all my water, poured water in thr rad and its coming straight out the bottom. I know there is an oil cooler for the gearbox but where is it?. The RAC guy and the garage recon my gearbox is fubar, but not had any confirmation yet, the garage are waiting for a response from an auto transmission specialist. What I don't understand is how the gearbox and lack of water can be related - especially as its ****** out below the rad when you fill it up. Any help would be appreciated, and possible damage. The car is 2001 4.3 with 160000 miles, so it may be not economical to fix.