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Showing content with the highest reputation on 07/01/2015 in all areas

  1. Stuart ,I assume your wire readings are in k Ohm's ,if so they are all within the 25k maximum resistance as specified in the manual . Assuming your air filter is not clogged or exhaust blowing badly , you could try replacing the ECT sensor if you haven't already ,might help with emissions if it is sending the wrong info to the ECU . Replacing the ECU capacitors made a major difference to my beater Mk2 . Hope you soon get it all sorted .
    2 points
  2. So we're are patiently waiting for our IS300H to arrive in the UK, hopefully only another 4 weeks :) Just saw this What-Car review comparing the IS300H with a Merc C300 hybrid, which is one of the other cars we considered when ordering the IS300H. http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/mercedes-benz/c-class/lexus-is300h-vs-new-mercedes-benz-c-class-hybrid/1329598 Reading the review it all seems quite positive for the IS300H, a much nicer hybrid experience, quiter, better equipped, more economical despite been a petrol....But some how the Merc C300 still comes out as a clear winner . I cannot help but feel too many reviewers just cannot get their head around the point of the hybrid drive train...which is to deliver a comfortable/smooth driving experience, with enough speed, and without the clattering nature of a diesel engine. If I wanted a fast car to do 0-60 dashes in the IS300H wouldn't even be on the short list, and actually I completely disagree about the steering/road handling of the IS300H. I've been lucky enough to drive/own a whole host of amazing handling cars, and the IS300H chassis/steering feel is up there with the best....I was really surprised at how well the IS300H coped with the B road sprint I took it on during the test drive, in fact compared to the factory M sport suspension on my E90 BMW 335i I would say the IS beats it!!! ....Sadly the drivetrain just isn't geared towards spirited B road driving. But over the pound Lexus have stuck 300bhp NA V6 into the IS chassis, and in a number of reviews it has come out as a better drivers car than the new F80 BMW 335i (and a host of other fast small saloons ) http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/road-tests/reviews/a5213/the-comparison-65-3-roa1013/ Oh well, all the better in my view, means more exclusivity on the roads, since ordering our back in late November I think I've seen about 5-6 IS300Hs in total, one nearly ran me over the other day in a B&Q car park, I was looking at it and than all of a sudden it started moving (I forgot for a second the IS can move without the engine been on) B).
    1 point
  3. Since buying my RX I have been working through a list of potential problems, gathered from posts on this forum, for which my thanks. To date: Aux battery replaced with 45 Ah. Solar charger connected via OBD. Power pack installed in rear. Moon roof drain holes checked/cleaned. Roof rail mounts & tail lights/valance checked for leaks. Rear callipers were done by Lexus 12 months ago. Chose the hottest day of the year to check the headlight level sensors !!! Rear N/S actuating arm was corroded/immobile. Removed, cleaned, freed & lubricated. A relatively straight forward job with the rear N/S wheel off. The sensor itself was well sealed and clean. All replaced with a generous coat of grease, which I appreciate will need a further application each year but better that than a £400 bill !!! And so to my question. Where on earth is the front sensor ? I have had both front wheels off and cannot see anything attached to the front suspension which would perform that function ! Has anybody found this sensor and can explain its location/appearance, (photograph even better). Car back in working order, I am sat in front of a fan with a cold beer to plan my next foray. Any thoughts you may have of items to be checked would be welcome, (when it gets a little cooler) !!!
    1 point
  4. Stuart if you haven't located the ECT sensor yet ,it is behind the top coil ,and underneath the plastic bridge piece that carries your nice new plug wires between the two banks , they usually have a green plug on them . This part is quite important as a reliable engine temperature reference is needed by the ECU for fuel trims etc . Although after market ones are available and maybe ok it is safest to source an OEM part from Toyota ,you will need a deep socket to remove and replace ,cannot remember the size offhand . Those curly black binding pieces on your original leads are positioned at stress points on the leads to help guide them and prevent fractures ,they are easily removed and can be reused on your new wires to serve the same function . Always a good idea to clean the throttle body if it is looking coked up . If you dont feel competent with a soldering iron and don't have access to a decent fairly high wattage soldering station with a small tipped iron then don't attempt the ECU caps replacement . You might be able to find a computer repair wizz kid or old style TV or audio repair shop that still employs some service people ,to do the job for a fee . Unfortunately with today's throw away society these people are becoming as rare as old LS's .
    1 point
  5. Indeed... I got a Q5 brochure and started to select options to bring the spec in line with that of a NX premier... and landed firmly into RX territory... and gave up even before exhausting the list of available extras. Decent sound system, navigation, bluetooth, heated seats, electric seats, dipping mirrors, electro-chromatic mirrors, to name but a few... all available at an extra and rather high cost. Nah. Not for me. I may not be 100% sold on the looks of some of the Lexus models, or details such as the antiquated maps on the satnav, but to me these are small compromises that I am happy to live with and that are far outweighed by the quality of the car, the decent service, and to some extent exclusivity afforded by Lexus. Who notices when an Audi drives past?
    1 point
  6. runsgreatasanut........high CO2?...... Cheapest thing to try first is to change your air filter, get some sort of system cleaner and take the car for a good long run (with engine revs high). This will clear the system of any carbon deposits and will often bring an older car back within the required limits. PS: I'm wondering if that is some legit stuff - Wheelers Dealers showed Terraclean Fuel System Decarboniser on a Jaguar XK8: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiViPKIoG68
    1 point
  7. I'd go for a late 06 or 07 plate if you can, the vehicle was facelifted in April 2006. 2005 to 2006 - The SE-L gets the Mark Levinson premium stereo, Sat Nav with reversing camera and rear ICE DVD player/screens over the standard SE. The SE optionally can have Sat Nav with reversing camera and the rear ICE. With the facelift the Mark Levinson stereo could also be specified as an option on the SE. The standard pioneer stereo isn't bad, the Mark Levinson is definitely better. The rear ICE system isn't great - it is certainly possible to have an aftermarket system added which would be better than the standard system. Better still just to get a couple of tablets with cases that fit around the headrests.
    1 point
  8. The revised system (oct 2000 X reg onwards) doesn't do away with the accumulator, the master cylinder is made larger and some of the components uprated which certainly seems to reduce the reliability issue.
    1 point
  9. Agree Dan - looking at my profile picture I think I am in last 3% of the UK population. This explains why I was not able to find a used car to my preference :) My valeting cost will certainly go up but love the ivory colour and walnut wood pack in my car - really nice. BTW Audi is releasing Hybrid Q5/Q7 (Think you know already) come december so worth checking that out. I was biased towards Lexus having driven Prius for many years and knew I can trust Toyota for a reliable Hybrid.
    1 point
  10. Thanks to all for the comprehensive feedback. Very useful. Sylm - I agree... I like the toys and aiming for a Premier if I can find one in the right colour combination. I am not a fan of dark interiors! As an aside, I popped into my local Audi dealer at the weekend, primarily to check how much of a compromise a smaller car would be. I was chatting with the sales staff and explained that I did not want a silver car, or a car with a dark interiors. Their response was that, if I was to go for an Audi, I would be hard pushed to find a combination that I liked: over 97% of cars sold by Audi in the UK have a black interior!... and a large proportion of these have black or dark grey headlining. Boring lot! ;-)
    1 point
  11. Im not too keen on Adblue though - my brother in law has a Q7 with it. Literally eats the stuff. I think the RXh screams loud enough - when the windows are down anyway. I guess you could always cross-shop but then you could easily say the M4 loaded to £70k is a much better car than the Macan so it'll always get trumped by something unless its a Ferrari the Ferrari I think we've forgotten that Lexus likes to do things differently, and the RX has always been more of a Luxury SUV with a focus on ride comfort and serenity, with a level of calm to it that no other manufacturer can come close to - (probably the way the hybrid system encourages you to drive). The F-Sport has always been a decent handler, its pretty fun in the corners but its no Macan - but then it wasn't exactly designed to be was it? I realise that the CVT annoys some people, but I actually really like it. Its smooth and not jerky, you dont feel any shifts which I like and the car never really drones unless you're doing 0-60 times so I dont find it a problem at all. Now now Mark, if we paid attention to the journalists, you'd be in an M4 and I'd be in an X5 lol
    1 point
  12. Hello Carl D from Lancashire, my RX is a year older than yours and the underneath is horrible. I have been told not to worry by my garage but if I had enough disposable income, which i don't, I would have a couple of days in the historic town of spalding whilst the people at rustmaster/buster, whatever they are called, 'dealt' with my car. Spalding, because the firm there uses Dinatrol, and everybody else uses waxoil. Having read up on both products I would place my trust in dinatrol, but I think it has to be applied properly and professionally, and me scrabbling round underneath my car with a grubby old paint brush getting rust flakes in my eyes doesn't meet either of those criteria.
    1 point
  13. Its worth noting that although the discs may be the latest version, they could be up to 3 years old. Therefore, the maps may not have roads on it made in 2012. My car is a 2012 running the 2012 disc but it doesn't pick up my house which was completed in 2010 This is the problem with any sat nav that is updated by discs rather that over the internet. Firstly the map supplier has to notice that there is a change to the road, then the maps have to be redrawn, this data is then sent to the sat nav supplier and finally after testing to make sure that there is no conflict the new maps are incorporated on the new discs. The only way to get fairly recent information is to use a dedicated sat nav supplier such as TomTom or Garmin who updates over the internet as soon as they have the information from the map maker, or to use something like Google maps on a 'phone or tablet. The point that I was trying to make was that considering the price of new sat nav discs I would rather pay the extra and get the most up to date information that was available. The discs that were in my sat nav were dated 2007 so they they probably had roads built in 2004/5 and nothing later. I am absolutely over the moon with my latest purchase, my Rx400h, so at the moment I want to treat it to the best, I know, Daft ain't I. Cheers.
    1 point
  14. Had the same problem with mine over the last couple of months - drivers mirror was only dipping about 20% of what it used to and the passenger about 50%. So, this morning whilst parked on my drive and with the car switched on, I selected reverse and then pressed the adjustment button to maximum downwards position, then back up to maximum upwards position and then back again. I did this a few times with each mirror to run them through the full range of travel to 'exercise' the motors - the result - both mirrors now dipping normally, as they did when I bought the car. I can't say whether the motors were lazy or whether the mirrors just needed adjusting, if that's possible, but it's fixed them.... at least for the moment. Dan
    1 point
  15. I think one of the problems is that drivers of German cars will only try German cars, where as Lexus owners have more than likely had/tried German cars and made their own decision to have a Lexus. I unfortunately had an Audi Q5 because reviews said it was the best mid sized SUV ever made. How wrong they were. It was by far the worst car I've ever owned.
    1 point
  16. I have never read a brilliant review of the IS A colleague at work who will never drive non German told me he was surprised that I had ordered one as a Company car as the reviews were so poor I gave him an easy curt response.................."Have you ever driven an IS300H ? No - I thought so, shut up then !" I decided on mine after a 48 hour test drive I did 300 miles in my A5 Coupe yesterday and my back is killing me today !!
    1 point
  17. Most Lexus owners will agree that their cars have seldom been favoured by European reviewers in borderline comparisons with German ones. And yet we have still chosen to drive a Lexus, in most cases with few or no regrets, and this implies that while we may find specialist reviews interesting or enjoyable to read, we have ultimately ignored the opinions offered. As for myself, the 300h I am currently driving my fifth Lexus and still fail to understand why reviewers tend to emphasise negatives even when their overall impressions may be broadly favourable, though I have noticed that the opinion gap has narrowed with recent models. Mostly, comparative reviews are informative enough as regards quantitative data whereas final verdicts and how they are arrived at and presented are to a large extent subjective and therefore prone to bias. Since it is common knowledge that magazines and other media are largely financed by advertising income and that some advertisers are more important than others, it follows that any reliance we place on the good faith of reviewers, assuming we care, depends on how cynical or mistrustful we personally are. And even when the magazines do not carry advertising and trade on a reputation for fairness, the thought must still occur that journalists, editors and publishers can be influenced by other means and that vested interests are not always easy to identify. In short, it is a fact that car reviewers rarely find it in their interest to favour David over Goliath. In this connection it would be interesting to know if the ability of the big Japanese car manufacturers, with the Toyota Corporation at the helm, to influence media coverage and opinion in Asia and Australasia might not equal that of the Germans in Europe and with comparable results. European imports in the luxury sedan segment in these areas appear to sell largely on the basis of exclusivity (and maybe a bit of snobbery) in much the same way as low numbers on the road are an attractive selling point to many Lexus customers in Europe (myself included), the technical excellence of the brands concerned being universally acknowledged irrespective of their origin.
    1 point
  18. 13 More obvious LED rear lights ( brake and side) 6 LEDs on each side instead of previous 2 or 3 Are the rear lights on the facelift model a different shape? I was just wondering that if the external is the same shape, would it be possible to fit a new 'internal section' to accommodate the additional LED's. Anyone know the answer? Also regarding 'White door courtesy lights instead of red' I find this rather confusing. I never regarded these sort of lights as being courtesy lights, more so that they were warning lights to traffice coming from behind that the door was open, hence the need for red. How stupid am I then!!
    1 point
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