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Nice snow foam @Rusty CrobarI've been frequenting the hand car washes a bit too frequently. Although they're better than the garage roller washes, they still don't do it properly to avoid fine swirl marks. Now nights are drawing out might invest in a snow foam adapter for the pressure washer.

Looks great. Since discovering g-technique c2 v3 I have never looked back! It is spray on and buff off and takes me 20 minutes to do the whole car. It can also be applied to glass and plastic. It's used by pro detaikera and lasts for 6 months with one coat. Epic stuff.

Maybe it was a silver ISF

Yes enjoy your run in safely. Leave the hairy bits for the track. Take care lads and take plenty of photos.

All this talk of cleaning has made me want to get out there on mine!

Would love to learn how to do that, is there a masterclass in Mid Wales? @Rusty Crobar @Flytvr @Big Rat @Mark G @Warrington guy etc, etc.?

@Rusty Crobar She's gleaming matey, so it's about time I did some pics of mine, here she she is 15 months ago on the day I picked her up :) Big Rat

After months of truly miserable weather that ALWAYS seemed to coincide with my days off, I finally got the weekend I'd been craving. So I gave my car the first proper clean its had since its been in my ownership. Not a full detail, but I'll hopefully get a chance to do the stuff next week that I didn't have time for today. Products used were mostly old favourites that have been in my kit for a while, but new to me was Autoglym's new flagship Ultra High Definition shampoo. Like their other HD products, its quite pricey but with the current Halfords offer plus LOC discount, it cost me £12-odd for a bottle which isn't too bad because it's really good and well worth the money IMO. Anyway, as my aching limbs will attest, I spent about 6hrs in total washing, claying, polishing & waxing. The fact I was doing everything in direct sunlight made the job more time-consuming and harder work than it should've been, but I don't care. The end result was very satisfying. Products used; Powermaxed Traffic Film Remover Bilt-Hamber Auto Foam Autoglym HD Shampoo Farecia G3 Clay Mitt Autoglym Glass Polish (outside) Autoglym Fast Glass (inside) Autoglym Rapid Detailer (door shuts, wheels) Meguiars Endurance tyre gel Autoglym Super Resin Polish Soft99 Fusso Coat (Dark)

At what speed does it become airborne with those doors open

The colour is correct!

Got to be one of my favs! I know it's from an advert, but could so easily be our very own Big Rat!!!

Ooooooo errrrrrrr Mrs. I hope it wasn't painful.

I cannot support that sort of behaviour, hooligans, no need for it, there will be none of that nonsense in Wales........................................will there?

@Spacewagon52 Especially concentrating on that back seat for me 😂 Big Rat

Hand car washes are evil! We can chat about our snow foam nozzles on the Wales trip 😄

One of the problems with forums like this is that it's possible to convince yourself that you've got every forum niggle going. As I said, drive a few to see if yours is any worse or on a par with others. So subjective and so many different variables I would think

@Tom24 looking good! Gave mine a wash too, this is how it was supposed to look last Saturday 😶

I bought a 2005 Lexus RX300 only supplied with 1 key & it wasn't a master as I found out, big problem if ever lost it or so I thought. I wanted to blank out all lost keys & remotes to be safe then add new keys/remotes, being a 4D transponder inside remote this will be locked to the 1st car it's added to, so if deleted you can't re-program it to any car again. I purchased a Lexus toyota smart key maker (online) to add new keys bought from Lexus directly, the keys being 3button remote with 4D transponder inside With my only key in the ignition so not to blank it from the ECU IMMO I pushed the smart key maker into OBD2 port under drivers knee holding the button until I heard beeping sounds, (THIS BLANKED ALL KEYS I DONT HAVE) putting ECU IMMO into enrollement mode ( looking for new keys needs 3 keys coded to stop this) I then removed key maker & was able to start & drive with existing slave key, the security light not working as should was telling me it's in enrollement mode, I took my 1st new key inserted into ignition for approx 8sec then my 2nd new key after 5 sec security light was off tested all keys started car ok, then programmed remotes to lock unlock doors, job done. Using a t300+ Obd2 tool I now Have 2 new master keys & 1 original slave key working on my car😃

Hi Just bought a new NX300h Luxury Nav in Velvet Black from Nottingham Lexus. Got a fantastic deal and excellent trade in on my one year old CT200h Sport. Very good team there who are very helpful and well worth a call if you are looking to buy.

Busy day today. I knew i had some caliper slide pins to get checked and the weather has been just great today. First up was the wifes MX5. This has a very similar type of slide pin set up to the Lexus and they too require a bit of TLC from time to time. Did all 4 and had a quick test drive. To be fair they were in good order and moving freely but i cleaned and regreased the lot. And yes I was using the correct grease. Next up my Lexus. I always dig out my copy of noobies guide for the fronts and rears. In truth I could have done it from memory as it all comes back once you get started. Found the lower guide pin on the rear drivers side was a tight little so and so. A bit of jiggling and gentle persuasion and it came apart. It looks like the rubber boot was not sitting quite right and had allowed water in. Needed a good bit of wet and dry to get the surfaces smooth, then re-grease and reassemble. Swapped the car round to do the nearside and this all went really well Until I got to the upper slide bolt on the nearside rear caliper. Its useable and working but I'd like to source a replacement. Part of the thread has sheared off in the carrier side, which was bloody annoying. Seems bloody hard to find though. Only source at the moment is good old USA if I go new route or seeing a scrappy will separate a part for me....kind of think they might not be too helpful on that route. We'll see. Anyone got any surplus bolts? Its this that I'm after ...the bolt on the right. Anyone ever need to source one in the UK?? Anyhow, its all back together and functioning but I know I need to get it sorted in the near future. While I had all the wheels off I pushed out the centre caps and removed the chrome Lexus logo(2nd time I'd done this). They were silver as the wheels when I had them refurbed last year. I preferred the idea of them being black. So, I cleaned them and cut them back with fine wet and dry (1200) and degreased and left them to dry for a few minutes. Then sprayed them 3 times with 15 mins between coats and left them to dry in the garage. After 30 mins I put them in the sun and left them whilst carrying on with the slide pins. Next i bonded the logos back on (only on the pin part) and then added a blob of hot melt glue to be extra secure. This is how they look now. I'm pleased with the result .... it's exactly what I wanted to achieve. Next thing will be a full set of new shiny wheel nuts and a chromed set of locking nuts.

Good morning all, Well I've been a member since 07 I think and I originally had a IS Sportcross which I loved. I always wanted an LS though and have been close to buying one on a few occasions and have made various posts on here. Anyway my mind was set and I just wanted a 430. So yesterday a put a deposit down on a 06 plate silver with black leather. The car has had two owners and the dealer sold it to the second owner in 08 and has bought it back from them, which i think is good sign. 81,000 miles with full Lexus history from Edgware Road. I rang the dealer went over the history and nothing unusual came to light, just it seems a well maintained car. Also I checked the MOT history and noted it's never failed one and had few advisory's. I did pay top end at £6995, but it's the car i want in the colour I want. Also a low mileage car. Lastly I was pleased it was registered January 06 so have avoided the car tax hike to £515. To say I'm excited is an understatement and I collect the car next Thursday. Will post some pics next weekend. I have always liked and enjoyed this forum and hope to be a more active member of it. Oh and can I connect my phone to blue tooth (does it have blue tooth even?) or will i need a Parrot? All the best for the day, Nick in Sheffield

My long awaited parcel turned up yesterday Heard good things about these products on dark coloured cars. gave the car another going over with the clay mit beforehand Completed one panel at a time as I've never used poorboys products before. i usually would have gone over the car with meguires scratch x beforehand but time was short so a carried on with the glaze and the wax. I have to say that these are the easiest detailing products I have ever used, goes on really easily and comes off with a single wipe, no residue or dust was left even when I was a bit heavy handed with the application! I was amazed how little I used to do the whole car. The black hole glaze gave the paint a nice deep depth. the nattys black wax gave the car a real wet look. In the words of my wife 'wow, I didn't think you could make it any shinier!' Really pleased I gave them a try, will definitely be using there products in the future. not the cheapest but well worth the money, I don't think you'd be disappointed. Pictures don't do the shine justice 😎 Matt

move OUT ;) easy , easy , very easy :)))))

Where do you find all these pictures!?!?!?!?!?

Fluff ordered.... Doesn't say Rusty exhaust proof, I will need to go to NASA about that.

Indeed, it has a separate mic, was going to try mounting the mic in different places but good shout about the fluff 👍! Alot of YouTube videos, of anything remotely fast, has interference caused by wind. Better not Google 'fluff', but with try something similar.

You're right Linas I was teasing a bit... Agreed on manual I would choose auto next time. I had to re-learn shifting for the is250 as too many years spent in low reving 4 pot diesels with turbo lag. The car is no hot rod granted.....but if you can keep the revs on or around the powerband.... it's not as poor as maybe some think for a heavy car producing 200-ish bhp. I can generally hang on to my mates Bmw 330i (2001) and that's supposed to be 225 bhp. Sent from my iPhone using Lexus OC

I can't upload my settings to my Lexus either from the version I have in my car (63 plate with latest update) so looks like this is designed for much newer cars anyway.

I am actually surprised as well... merely leaning on the seat will leave some ripples in the leather. It is natural material, it is meant to stretch and be flexible to make your bottom side comfortable. If you that concerned, you can probably wipe with hand to the sides and ripples will be gone, it is not defect of any kind and I am confused of what you want Lexus to do about it. You always have an option to go for BMW or MB stone hard slippery leather, which regardless how you press it won't change and therefore feels very uncomfortable. Lexus uses soft good quality leather and that is actually advantage.

I think people, including myself, were just ribbing you my friend.

So all Welsh Blat participants caution is the by word, controlled fun, obey the law and do not exceed the limits of your ability or that of the 'F' as we do not want any of this :( No body was hurt incidentally. Big Rat

Wrong colour! In all seriousness, given that we all have walkie talkies, you could defo talk us through some driving tips.

@lockeyboy Mark the car is a long term prospect and I just want to try and guard against a few unforeseen eventualities. The wheels on an IsF are corner specific, they are rare and are the thick end of 1600 quid each 😳 I got four off a member on here for just over 500 quid. I suppose if we ever get a winter again they could have a set of winter tyres on them ! Big Rat

Excellent, I look forward to the tuition 🐀

@emjay82, you do know that @Big Rat is a bit of a driving god? He really does know his onions re driving.

I'm a patient chap, it's ok

I'd go into the dealership and ask to speak to the technicians. I'd sit them down in a quiet corner of the dealership and show them my video. Afterwards I'd ask them what they thought. Then I'd make it clear that I knew what a Lexus hybrid was and I loved the car and they were lucky I wasn't planning to put the video on YouTube and naming and shaming the dealership. I wouldn't take it any further than that

and more....

How come you bought a second set of wheels for the isf? Just for spares?

Nice car for a 19 year-old! First mod I done to my IS200 was to lower it with Eibach springs. Maybe you could also get a wheel refurb. Looks like a bit of kerb rash on the rear?

way I see it as a win win we still got top gear and now we also have the grand tour whats not to like . Must admit Matt looks much more at home now Chris has gone. Both programs need a little tweek to get the formats right but I do see 2 great programs in the future good luck to them both

Is this a joke? Doesn't everyone know pink seats ripple.

After a few hours cleaning.

Looks normal to me Bound to get ripples if you sit in it! But generally, looks the same as mine does!

Disappointing Lexus turn out (4) but not too bad for a school night. Fantastic venue... @peter174 @Chetz

Not a 460 but my 600hL..... doesnt fit in any car park space ,both cars backed against wall

Car: LS400 Mk4, Year: 1999 (T-Reg) I changed the coolant on my LS400 today. I’ve changed coolant many times before but it’s the first time I’ve done it on a LS and it took me quite a bit of time to locate the drain plugs. I checked many different parts of the LS400 service/repair manual and I found it wasn’t very clear where the drain plugs were located so I was looking in the wrong places for too long ! In the end I ended up finding them myself. One thing I liked about this car as far as coolant goes, compared to other cars where I’ve changed coolant, Lexus have placed special drain plugs with small nipples / tubes on the engine so that all of the coolant can be drained. Other cars do have engine bolts for draining coolant, but if the car is more than 4 or 5 years old and you try to open one of these bolts you might end up breaking the bolt since it has seized up, or you get problems trying to seal it back on to the engine block again. What this mean is that you have to make do with draining just the coolant in the radiator. Anyway if there are other MK4 LS400 owners wanting to change their coolant fluid they might find the below information useful (and possibly save themselves from beating around the bush like I did). To avoid confusion when referring to position of components (e.g. driver side or passenger side), the below is for a normal UK right hand drive car. 1.) Open the radiator cap on the reserve tank under the bonnet located towards the driver side. This is obvious to spot. 2.) Remove the engine cover and remove the 10mm bolt on top of the throttle body. This is what it looks like (photo below). You will need a 10mm hex key to open this. Be careful not to drop the gasket into the engine bay when you take the nut off. It is best to open the radiator cap and bolt before you start to drain the system so all the fluid can drain with gravity. FillerBolt 3.) There are now 3 drain plugs you have to open in order to drain all 10 or 11 litres of the fluid. One of these drain plugs is the radiator drain plug actually mounted on the radiator and the other two are mounted on the engine. The drain plug on the radiator is on the driver side end of the radiator. It can be opened from the under the bonnet. When the radiator drain plug is opened, the photo below (take from under the car facing the front) shows the pipe from where the coolant will drain when the plug is opened. Place a container under this pipe. The plug is a normal plastic one and should open without too much force. RadPlug 4.) DRAIN PLUG ON DRIVER SIDE: Next you will need to open the drain plugs on the engine. I was able to access these by getting under the car. One of the engine drain plugs is on the driver side of the engine. To locate it, it might be easier to follow the long black ribbed rubber boot which comes from the driver side wheel hub, and the drain plug can be seen just above it. This is shown on the photo below. In order open this bolt I needed a 10mm socket and a 11 or 12 inch socket extension. Yes that’s right 12 inches. Be warned: the nut is quite far deep inside the cavity than appears on the photo or even when you actually look at if from under the car. (At this point I got stuck because I only had a 3 inch extension for my breaker bar, so I had to phone a friend to buy me another 8 inch extension from Halfords and bring it round.) I combined the 3 inch with the 8 inch extension along with the actual 10mm socket and it just reached and no more. Even with a flexible joint breaker bar which I had there is not much room for manoeuvre. DriverSidePlug Anyway, you might want to attach a piece of hose pipe to the outlet going into a container. I did not remove the 10mm bolt, only enough (a few turns) to let the fluid out of the outlet. 5.) DRAIN PLUG ON PASSENGER SIDE: Now open the drain plug on the passenger side of the engine. It is located in between the cross-member support and the long black ribbed rubber boot which comes from the passenger side wheel hub. This is shown on the photo below. In order open this bolt I needed a 14mm socket, and again, the long socket extension. The access to this bolt has slightly better room for manoeuvre than the driver side. Again, you might want to attach a piece of hose pipe to the outlet going into a container. I did not remove the 14mm bolt, only enough (a few turns) to let the fluid out of the outlet. PassengerSidePlug The fluid took quite a few minutes to drain and towards the ended it trickled out for 5 minutes or so. 6.) You will need enough contains at the three drain points to take 10 or 11 litres of fluid in total. Once the fluid has drained, tighten all the three drain plugs. The radiator drain plug can be hand tightened. The ones on the engine should be torqued to 12.7 Nm. (I just tightened it with the socket and then gave it a slight nip since my half inch drive torque wrench does not go as low as 12.7Nm.). 7.) Make sure you have 11 litres of pre-mixed red Toyota Long Life Coolant. I purchased 11 litres from Toyota. I purchased two 5 litre cans, (part # 08889-80002 for £17.94 each inc. VAT) and a 1 litre bottle (part # 08889-80002 for 4.34 inc. VAT). Start filling in coolant slowly thorough the filler bolt opening on the throttle body until it becomes full. I filled it up slowly so as not to get any air locks. Towards the end you will also see coolant filling up in the radiator tank. Once full, put the 10mm hex bolt back on and tighten to 45Nm torque. 8.) Top up the remainder of the radiator reserve tank through the radiator cap opening until it reaches the full mark and install the radiator cap. 9.) Start the engine and turn the heater temperature (both driver and passenger temperature) to ‘MAX HOT’. By doing this, it will open the heater water valve under the bonnet. Rev the engine at about 2,000 to 2,500 rpm until the engine is warm. Once the coolant starts to circulate and the engine is warm, the coolant level in the radiator tank will drop. Wait for the engine to cool down again and re-fill the tank to the full mark. 10.) Over the next couple of days of driving you might need to top up the radiator tank if the level drops below full. Always remember to check the coolant level when the car is cold for an accurate reading.