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The service records of my Mk 3 indicated that the car’s timing belt had been changed on schedule at 60,000-mile intervals. The third change was done on 13 December 2007at 182,244 miles. On 7 December 2013, i.e. after the six-year recommended interval, the car had done 229,120 miles. Keeping in mind that Lexus recommend that the timing belt should be changed at 60,000 mile intervals or six years WHICHEVER COMES FIRST I concluded that car was now due for a new timing belt. Earlier this month I decided, therefore, to do things properly. I was also curious to see how the components had fared in an engine that had done 230,000 miles with no undue noises or loss of coolant. Armed, therefore, with my LOC Gold Card I went to Lexus Guildford where they were happy to give me a 10% discount. I also instructed my indie, John Hill of HILLSONS LIMITED in Angmering, to do the job. As a matter of fact, John, who has known my car since 2006, had done this job for the previous owner. Here is the financial side with prices shown AFTER the Lexus 10% discount: 1-Water pump £89.80 1-Timing belt £48.15 1-Idler £133.43 1-Idler £78.66 1-Tensioner £60.12 £410.16 VAT £82.03 Sub-total Parts £492.19 Plus Labour £175.00 11 lts Toyota coolant £45.03 £220.03 VAT £44.01 Sub-total Labour, etc. £264.04 Grand Total £756.23 Here are the components that John replaced: Here’s how the Water Pump looked, immediately after it was removed from the engine. Notice the absolute absence of sediment or debris which I would have expected after 231,170 miles, to be exact. John told me that he always used Toyota pre-mixed coolant when servicing the car. The previous owner felt that a genuine Toyota replacement timing belt would not be necessary, so John fitted a Japanese substitute that appears to have done the job very well indeed. No signs of wear could be seen with the naked eye as shown below. To sum up, in John’s opinion all the components he replaced were in very good condition and he attributed this to the fact that the car has been always very maintained. My approach might seem a little OTT to my fellow LOC members as I have also followed this procedure with my Mk4 which ‘only’ has done 168,000 miles. My two LS 400s are simply objects of beauty and delight. I keep both in show-room condition and I think they are worth every penny I spend on them. I now sleep well. Finally, I’d like to put in a good word for John Hill. Heis an excellent mechanic and I would recommend him without hesitation. Just PM me. Pepe

Thanks for the replies. I have settled on the 400 and will hopefully pick it up on Wednesday !

Well that's a turn up. Just got a second key (with a chip) made for £45. I dread to think what Lexus/Toyota would have charged. Now have two working keys and two working fobs. Now - that banging.................

Well not quite popping it open, you have to remove a small screw under the fob near where the key part enters the fob. Don't loose it !!. Then you can to pry apart the fob , might be easier if you take it off a key ring if it is on one. Then the three button electronics module comes out. You then have to take the battery cover off - again watch out for those two small screws. The battery you require is CR1616 3v - it is shown on the rear of the electronics module and the correct way round to install it. Once done you should be able to check it works ok before putting back in key fob housing You'll need a small Phillips headed screwdriver. You shouldn't require to reprogram the key if you are quick enough, but try not handle the battery too much as it will drain it. Use plastic tweezers of rubber gloves. Sometimes best to dismantle objects with small screws etc inside a large plastic bag so if you drop anything or it falls apart , you'll keep all the bits in the bag. I've done mine a couple of times.

As of a month and a bit ago, Lexus still has a fixed-price timing belt change offer of £295+VAT. That said, most of us replace the water pump at the same time which will add another £100 or so(?) and a couple more hours to the labour. Worth asking the local Lexus dealer, I think. On an LS400 with non-interference engine, I'd maybe stretch the replacement interval, but not for the later LS400s. I also believe this potentially pays you back in the future. Because if and when you come to sell it, some buyers are going to ask why you didn't replace it when it was due, and assume you haven't really looked after the car. If you do replace it now, you get peace of mind, and the ability to demonstrate to a future buyer that you have done the correct maintenance = easier sale, better price. No-one really wants to buy a car from a chancer.

I have been looking around to change the grill on my IS250 SE-L but couldn't find anything that I wanted. Alot of the American sites that sell updated grills are ....well......awful, all tend to have far too much chrome going on. Those on Ebay I just kept coming across were knock offs either plain or carbon which looked okay, but after I contacted a guy in the US who had bought one and then forwarded me some pics, decided it was not for me. I like the grill on the IS-F and Ahmed's grill thread where he managed to make a grill fit from an IS-F was just what I was looking for, and so started to look around for an original IS-F grill. That's when came across this grill on Ebay US, specifically made for the IS250 manufactured by Konzept Automobiltechnik and taken from the IS-F style......Perfect! The quality is quite good and actually better than I expected, the only thing was that I wanted to use Carbon inserts and so the front section had to be made solid or the insets would not fit into the "L" emblem, hence my work so far below. This is the IS-F style grill for the IS250 the quality is pretty good, obviously copied from the IS-F original and molded into the IS250 fitting. With the removeable "L" piece, I would say because of the way it has been molded the "L" piece is seperate. If you were using this with the OEM standard "L" emblem you would need to glue this piece in place, but it is a good fitting. 3mm plasic sheet from Ebay to make the centre piece. Shaped centre piece, filed and sanded with wet and dry, quite easy to do. Glued in place with two part epoxy resin, ready for filler. Filler started, more to do then more sanding etc. In primer after a few rounds of filling & sanding. Ready for Satin Black and "L" emblem. Carbon inserts. After a few coats of Satin Black. So I bought the Black Pearl emblems and have to say they really are nice, here is the finished grill with the carbon inserts, just need to fit it now and then change the rear emblems to match. Black Pearl Fitted: Keith

evening all, after years of performance cars I have had enough and decided to go sensible!! so got a 2011 F sport! brought it from lexus Cambridge for £14,500. I am a lexus/Toyota tech so had it in the workshop today and gave it the once over and its a stunning example! put it on the GTS and changed a few settings regarding the locking and window's up using the remote but was annoyed I couldn't programme the mirrors to fold looking at doing the LED kit including the puddle and doorcard lights and maybe a F-sport intake and lowering springs

Saga, well, my experiences of them are as absolute shysters of the first degree ...... wait till next year's premium comes thru .................... will any of them ever be honest and ethical ....... sorry, rhetorical question .... we all know the answer Malc

Insurer's are just highway men without the mask. Ive just got my renewal through, it was £300 last year ive got a extra years no claims so guess what theve put it up to £410, bargain NOT. Im now going with saga £278 now thats more like it.

Very nice Rudy, If my LS was to break, (which isn't likely...) one of those in an estate would do nicely

I know the specialist I used recommended a non OEM pump as the OEM ones fail so often!

Looked at in the context of the cost of depreciation if you keep changing your car regularly, £750 spread over a six year period on a car you are keeping is a relatively modest sum. I will be keeping my two LS400s and will have no hesitation spending a similar amount on them when the time comes for cam belt etc replacement. Money well spent!!

Yes, I am studying philosophy, in my fourth year, and although I am an agnostic who leans toward aetheism, I have a deep interest in religion, and studied it, albeit briefly, for a term, last year.. I would point out that almost any world religion has a huge degree of ambiguity built into it so that it is, in my opinion, a one size fits all moral guidebook...the problem with that is the ambiguity allows many translations and interpretations, and these translations can be tailored toward the ends of a minority of individuals world wide...ask yourself, how many innocent indigenous people the world over, how many innocent men, women and children have died the world over for as long as we care to remember in the name of Judaism, Catholicism, Islam and Protestantism? Historically, an untold amount. I have nothing but respect for our armed services, they do a job I could not and goto fight where they are sent. My problem is with misguided, crooked or sycophantic politicians who bravely take these decisions for them, in Iraq alone there have been over 100,000 civilian casualties from 2002-20013 from the result of 'allied' bombing...yet the situation seems to have worsened...so, the solution...more bombs...Albert Einstein said his definition of insanity was doing the same thing over an over and expecting a different result....he also said there were only two things he knew to be infinite, the universe and mans stupidity...he then added, but I'm not sure about the universe....I think the application of his first definition gives truth to his second, don't you? I do not consider myself to be someone who is cleverer, more morally correct, than anyone else...I would never shove my views down anyone's throat...people may have different opinions to me and that's cool, but I'm pretty sure we could sort our differences without it coming to blows...it doesn't seem to work that way in the global scale sadly..

The 430 telescopic stuff might well cost you a grand to sort out. The window will be several hundred possibly too. I would steer towards the Ls400 Malc

I have only one reservation on this nugget you have discovered ,the security of your car is now compromised . The fact that a non licenced key transponder can be made for your car means it can be replicated by anyone.

Very surprising that the oil hasn't been changed for 5 years especially if the car has been serviced by Lexus - even for minor services, they will change the oil and oil filter. Ultimately buying cars like this of any age all comes down to condition, history and gut instinct. Cars like this don't normally have several owners and in my opinion, if a car has had multiple owners it could be a sign that it's potentially a dud and that previous owners have just wanted to get rid !

Hi Takes a brave man to admit there mistakes :-) Well done Jon

Hi Ok, a warning from the stupid, when draining the engine oil, dont drain the transmission fluid instead, I did! Both sumps look very similar, transmission fluid is hex key, oil sump 14mm spanner, one would think I would have known this after replacing the transmission fluid earlier in the year! Luckily I drained into a clean dry container, so went straight back in, without the need for £60 of type iv. cheers Jason

You can buy it from here too...£5 for both http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRAKE-CALIPER-SLIDER-PIN-DUST-BOOT-LEXUS-IS-LS-SC-TOYOTA-ALPHARD-ARISTO-RAV4-MR2-/261607992105?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276

Hope it serves you well. Lot of car for the money, better looks than the LS430 and that bonnet star still appeals. :) I looked at getting one of these before narrowing the search down to late LS400s. I disagree, and I'd want to get them off for looks, but more importantly to check whether MB's well-known rust issues of the period are showing up here. Don't get me wrong, I suspect the S220 MUST be better than the LS400 (it was developed after it and MB had to up their game), but I'm a bigger fan of Sacco-era MBs.

Thanks for the replies, chaps. I had done some driving abroad (Holland, Dubai, USA), but was still more than a bit daunted by the idea of 9 countries' various road layouts. Motorways were fine, but the more complicated urban junctions - where to look, priority, etc. But basically it's a very big car with UK number plates so the plan was that wherever there was confusion, take it slowly, indicate clearly and let everyone else avoid me. Toughest parts of the drive were definitely the narrow country roads between Croatian villages and up/down the mountains. I only had to reverse perilously a few times to let tractors past (satnav route suggestions not always the best!). The LS400's Satnav gives up at Calais, so we relied on Google map printouts and the CoPilot app on the mobile (variable success, including some plain daft suggestions). The Other Half had done all of the hotel planning, and then after that it was 'make it up as we went along'. So at a vineyard, we did the tasting (or rather the OH did!) and then we asked for suggestions for local cheese makers, then set off for the next village with a name and just a rough idea of where to go. One goat cheese place we only found because I just noticed a goat skull next to the gate. Foodwise, the find of the trip was that local salami - so tender and juicy and far tastier than the supermarket/deli stuff over here. Graham, I'd definitely join in the 'just do it' chorus. I've never done this before, and it was fun - a completely different sort of holiday. Tiring at times (a 4hr autobahn trip in pouring rain on Friday took over 8hrs), but at least we got out feeling fine. Had the LS seats' lumbar support thingy fully set forward which really helped. Why only 2600 miles? Just happened to be the result of the route we planned, with a lot of quite local trips, from the 6 places we stayed at. We went for quality, not quantity! ;) Only prep I did was a belt change (car was new to me and there was no evidence of a belt change) and two new front tyres. I'll check the brakes, because in a few of the longer downhill stretches, there was definitely some fade. Never lifted the bonnet once, just frequent visits to the petrol stations. Although the last leg of the trip including the tunnel and Kent was pretty efficient, as you can see: One negative: the LS400 boot is not as big as I first thought. With two small suitcases, we only had room for about 70 bottles. So we're already planning a trip to Riesling country in May...