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Hello - Wow was I surprised at how damn good this car was - This is my playful review which I hope you find balanced and fair. Its ok I asked the mods if I was ok to post. :)

Just a potential FIX for you bashing your head against this particular wall, The problem, a 2008 is220d, 110k miles, with embarrassing quantities of white smoke from exhaust that smells of diesel fuel. My parents car has been smoking like a pig for the last few months, Diagnosis.... Garage condemmed the DPF and replaced it..................Still smokes. Garage says "just keep driving it, the smoke will soon stop"............It didn't Garage says "er, drive it some more"...................Still smokes. Garage yanks the injectors and send them off to be tested, by people who are not idiots..................non idiots send them back with the verdict, injectors are perfect...........................Still smokes. Garage now say they are sure it is the turbo which will need replacing...................At which point I get involved and rescue the car. No sign of misfire, compressions good, no play on the supposedly fragged turbo, no headgasket doom. Not trusting the fifth injector, I unclipped the fuel line and plugged it by clipping another injector on it. Went for a drive, white smoke gone! So confirming fifth injector misbehaviour. Changed the fifth injector, a total git of a job............Smokes, Argh! So it is the ECU telling the fifth injector to keep on squirting. Techstream turns up from ebay, so plug it in. The dpf pressure values are all over the shop, so tee in a magnehelic guage, which disagrees with the values from the software. Wiggle wiring, AHA! Gotcha! Pressure values in the software change in sympathy. So I remade the wiring from dpf sensor to the ECU and then got good values for the dpf sensor pressure. The ECU "learns" whilst you drive, but the corrupt dpf pressure data had totally confused it. Unplug car battery for ten minutes, reconnect, ECU starts to relearn with good data. Relearn the window winders by driving them for a couple of seconds against their stops at each door switch. AND THE SMOKE STOPPED! and mpg has gone up from 25mpg imp to 40+mpg imp. The magnehelic gauge reads 5kPa (20 inches water gauge) when regeneration of the DPF now starts. So to recap, check the DPF pressure sensor to ECU wiring carefully before spending lots of money on the garage partswap goosechase. Good luck on what is a fantastic car. Warning!!!!!!!!!!!! ! I only disconnected the fith injector for long enough for diagnosis, if it is disabled for too long, the DPF will probably clog up! I only disconnected it for 20 miles.

If anyone with an LS430 is considering fitting a camera (assuming you're not lucky enough to have a factory one) don't even consider it unless you have even more patience than a saint. When I fitted one to my MK1V it was fairly easy, but finding a way through from the boot to the inside of the cabin on a 430 is a nightmare, mostly due to the various bits and pieces behind the back seat. Lots of knuckle skin to be removed, followed by a stiff neck and aching back. Still, the image from a system that only costs £19 is just amazing.

Brake pad warning light put out due to me being too tight to buy a new pad wear sensor cable Fluid light put out as one stop light happened too blow at the same time as changing the discs/pads And hooked up with a chap who is breaking a mk3 for its running gear for a mitsi L200 conversion,had his amp for mine,we now have sounds again And she still surprises me on the trip there and back,embarrassed one or 2 much more modern boxes,cant recall the models they all look the same

Defintately not. One to avoid I think.

Here's a couple. I put it in the corner of the dash as I did with my last one, simply because there isn't anywhere else suitable. It's the only place that doesn't obscure vision (although it looks like it in the photo it doesn't) and as it's near the door mirror I naturally glance that way anyway.

I would check all the fuses in the car, it sounds like the "receiver" that gets the signal from the fobs is not working. Do you have your owners manual to help you locate the various fuse boxes in the car?

So, an update on my own thread. :) Work done so far: - Consumables; wiper blades, bulbs, etc. - New transmitter key - New document wallet from Lexus - Removed all five speakers to be sent away and refurbished (new foam plus dustcaps where needed) - Four new Goodyear tyres - Fully refurbish all five wheels - Lube service plus air and pollen filters - Auto box fluid and filter change - Replace air suspension compressor mountings and lubricate compressor - Remove rear discs and pads, overhaul calipers, clean up and fit new discs and pads - Remove front discs and pads, clean surfaces of both hubs and discs, overhaul calipers and reassemble - Remove all ride height sensors, clean up and lubricate - Bought manuals from USA, turns out the American 2001 LS430 doesn't have the automatic door unlocking/button lock so I'm missing that bit. On the to-do list: - Figure out what on earth is going on with the automatic unlocking; more on that below. - Replace radiator - Replace front brakes (it's still juddering, but not as badly and only usually above 50mph) - Replace suspension components as necessary so wheel geometry can be properly set up. Unfortunately some of the suspension components are rusted to the point that they cannot be unbolted or adjusted. - Professional interior valet and minor repairs to leather - Get hold of updated sat nav DVD, mine is OLD. The automatic unlocking is confusing me. - If I walk up to the car, it unlocks. I get in, drive, park, get out, lock the door using the button, walk away. Everything's fine. - If I park, turn off the engine and either sit in the car for a bit or get out and wander around, so the key is going in and out of range of the car, then finally lock it, it may or may not lock using the button; I may have to use the keyfob. - Then, if I've locked it with the keyfob, when I come back it will not always automatically unlock. It knows the key is present as it turns the courtesy lights on but will not unlock. I've looked on the keyfob as I've approached the car and I can see the LED flashing away as the courtesy lights turn on, but it can still be flashing and the doors won't unlock. Any ideas? The brakes judder a lot less now the rears have been replaced. They were missing mounting clips and bolts, were pretty grimy and hadn't been fitted properly! However - if I drive from cold at around town speeds, it more than likely won't judder. If I head out to the nearest dual carraigeway and brake from 50mph+, there is noticeable judder, especially if I'm going down hill. Apparently the front brakes were also pretty grimy but have been cleaned up. So it looks like I am going to need to replace the fronts as well unless anyone has any ideas? Finally, is it possible to retrofit reversing sensors? Having had them on my Camry, I would like them on the LS. Lexus have told me I cannot take the reversing sensors from a 2002 and retrofit them as apparently the computer won't know how to talk to them. They have said they can supply me with sensors compatible with the car and fit them for £450. I can't see why they would change the sensors so much between the 2001 model year and the 2002 model year that they wouldn't work. And I would assume that sensors were a factory option for my car, so presumably some of the wiring is already in place, it just needs the sensors and some kind of control module to be fitted. Has anyone done this? Apart from these points, I am loving the car so far, the 18mpg around town is a bit hard to stomach but some how I am justifying it!

Hi Chris, I have an IS250C and have just had the nearside headlamp unit replaced under warranty. It had suffered water ingress resulting in condensation and a rusty tinge to the reflector bottom edge. I understand the new unit was close to £600. The breakers will know this and consider charging 20% for a used unit to be acceptable. In that context, £120 is probably reasonable.

I picked up my first Lexus (RX450L) a couple of weeks ago from Swindon Lexus. It's 3 yrs old with a paltry 11k on the clock. If I'd put '14 plates on it you would accept that it was brand new. Here's the issue; I can't suppress the feeling of smugness and utter contentment behind the wheel. Journey times have lengthened because I don't want to arrive and then have to alight from the vehicle. I struggle to break speed limits and I have developed a habit of giving way to people and pedestrians (not that they can hear me coming). My wife is gravely concerned that the husband she knew has been replaced by this weird but pleasant and chilled individual. Can anyone help??

Sorry sheldrake, that's not going to happen! You can have my wife though if you want? Low mileage, one careful owner, looks like new, perfect runner......On a separate note; I'm intrigued by your nickname - that used to used as an old code word. Deliberate?