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Decades ago when potholes were rare on European roads, I used to travel frequently on business to "third world" countries where damage to tyres for which holes were largely to blame was accepted as a simple fact of life by the local motoring populations. On the relatively few occasions when I drove hire cars I managed, thankfully, never to get a flat, simply, I think, as the result of being highly circumspect as well as lucky. Certainly, I never acquired sufficient experience or developed the sort of skill - which would be useful on many European roads today - that enabled some local drivers, especially professional ones, to determine the size, depth and nature of potholes at a glance and then negotiate them accordingly. In this regard, there were - and no doubt still are - two directly conflicting schools of thought. Namely, you either accelerate on approaching a hole in the expectation of "flying" over it or, at worst, merely clipping its edge, or, alternatively, you slow down, sometimes almost to a standstill, and gently steer in and out of it. I suppose the decision depends on finding the right combination of self-confidence and rationality.

I would have swapped walnut for birds eye maple!

Thank you for the advice. I bought the generic tool set from Ebay and used the 1/4" sized item. The end of the tool which seperates the retaining clips/arms needed filing to an angle as per the toyota tool and it worked perfectly. Back on the road now! Scott

The car looks in nice condition.

Thank you Jon, I replaced the FP relay today and have driven about 20 miles and so far so good (knock on wood). The weather was a bit cooler than normal so I am going to test the vehicle out good in a few days once warmer. Should the problem show itself then, I will post back. Thanks again Lexus Owners Club 🇬🇧!!! Sincerely, Craig Rogers

So then. SUMMARY Q ….. is there a simple method to visibly check the cambelt condition ? Thank you Malc

Work on the house has progressed massively, stairs and kitchen is in. New master bed room suite looks amazing, and we might even have completion date soon :). We also ended up wasting some money on something totally unnecessary but so much fun for the garden :)

Anyone ?

That’s brilliant, are you going try a different spring rate on the RSR coilovers then?

Just had confirmation mine had arrived in Derbyshire for pre dealer checks, not had any updates previously, about build,or shipping. Good to wider choice of insurance and better prices, hope LV get their fingers out in the next week or so.

Well done !!! Always a pleasure to read about the work of someone who actually knows what they are doing to diagnose and solve electrical dramas on CANbus cars 👍👍

Hi, thank you so much, I found one that said “auto change to screen” and turned that off and that seems to have worked 🤞

If youve had your pads changed at Lexus they should have re-used the old shims. Mine used to squeal when braking and turns out the previous owner changed the brakes and didnt use the shim kits. So i bought it and got it fit but the brakes still squeal when applied. So ive learnt to ignore it and assume its the pads . Also if you can wait a bit its cheaper here https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166687780944?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338365712&toolid=20006&customid=EB211510275&

Thanks Kev good to know 😌

After a weekend test drive in Germany, I can confirm your observations, @Expatma. My wife doesn't like the passenger seat at all for the same reason you mentioned. I couldn't reproduce it exactly when I was riding shotgun. However, I found the passenger seat to be not as comfortable as the driver's seat for some strange reason I can't really describe. It almost feels like there is no support at all on the sides of my lower back. I'm curious to hear more thoughts on this.

I’m always suspicious when “somebody’s been there” but I think a damaged valve would be obvious and I know from experience the system can get scrambled if tyres have been changed. It’s not a big deal to reset it if you’ve got the gear.

Yes will definitely do a guide or a video. Just waiting for the weather to be more conducive. Its just been so cold lately. I seem to have figured out how to do it in theory at least. When i actually go to do it, as is often the case, new hurdles show up. This engine just seems so DIY friendly that im tempted to keep it forever.

From the experience I've had with my Ls430 I would suggest fitting a new VVT solenoid on bank 1 first. Mine had been failing and affecting performance for a long time, with occasional miss-fires, before triggering an engine fault code. I tried taking the valve out and cleaning it, but it didn't improve. When I did fit a new one the improvement in engine performance was instant, and it was only a 15 minute job to change it. (A lot easier than checking valve clearances!)

Great. Thanks Glyn

I don't think the battery will make much difference tbh and from what I've read, very unlikely to fail. Finding the sweet spot between accelerating and coasting on the pedal (where it keeps the speed constant) took me a while to find. Have you air suspension? Which brand shocks are installed?

The car is now on Autotrader https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202404259062785?utm_campaign=email_a_friend&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=triggered_emails

Thanks Steve, I'll drop him a line!

If you spot one you're considering, ask on here as some have been around for a while and have been looked at by members here. Also 2010+ have various differences around multimedia, body colour, mechanical diff and interior that's worth knowing. A few people on here have also gone down the import route, so that's an option too.

First time I have driven the SC and XK on back to back days. If I had to sum up the comparison with just one word to describe each car they would be; SC Silky XK Brutish I like both for the clear difference in driving experience.

Saga has just quoted me £1000 which is more than double I am paying at the moment with Lexus insurance £450 so be careful if you're due like me to renew. I haven't yet had my renewal come through from Lexus but will let you know when it does. I should add I have the maximum NCD and 50 years of clean driving