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Not sure about the cost but I am a great believer in changing gearbox and diff oil. It seems to have fallen out of favour in recent years. My old Mercedes W124 needed auto gearbox changes ever18k mikes and an oil change and filter change ever 36K miles. When I sold it at 147,000 miles the gearbox was silky smooth. The question is this, The gearbox costs to replace £5,000???. An oil change is peanuts in comparison. Why not change it? What will you loose?

I've had my LS400 for a year this week and I've been planning the future maintenance out so that I can try and make sure that all the areas are covered. My car has full Lexus history up to 46,930 (23/9/2002) and the service record uses a Schedule A/B/C system which takes place every 6,000 miles. I bought the car from a private estate who were the original owner. After 2002 the estate employed the services of a mechanic to visit the estate every six months and perform checks on all the vehicles and replace anything necessary. The problem with this is that the estate secretary filed the invoices each month and so when I purchased the car they said they weren't going to dig through 13 years of estate accounts to find the Lexus related ones - I couldn't really argue with that. So I then found myself with a car that has obviously been maintained, but not knowing exactly when last items were completed. After I purchased the car I was provided with the details of the mechanic to contact; I went to see him and he confirmed that he had replaced anything required and whatever cost. The temperature / clock LCD displays had been repaired and the timing belt & water pump had been replaced 'a few years ago'. I'm now trying to build a T0 so that I can cover all of the regular service items in a timely manner. On purchase Japex in Hertfordshire looked over the car and advised on which items / fluids should be replaced and which appeared to be as new. By collating information from different online sources I came up with the following which uses a 7,500 interval (from a US document I found) opposed to the original 6,000 miles. I just like the round numbers! Interval (Miles) Interval (Months) Engine Oil & Filter 7,500 12 Pollen Filter 15,000 24 Engine Coolant 30,000 24 Engine Air Filter 30,000 24 Brake Fluid 30,000 36 Fuel Tank Cap Gasket 60,000 72 Spark Plugs 60,000 72 Timing Belt 90,000 120 I have put this into a spreadsheet and attached it incase anyone else is interested. I would be interested in people's thoughts on the following intervals (mileage / time) to add to the list: Automatic Transmission Fluid (Drain / Refill) Differential Oil (Drain / Refill) Power Steering Fluid (Drain / Refill) Mark L400-Service-Schedule.xls

Phil I take on board your views on mechs and techs ,but the issue is not with the ability to repair a part it is weather it as economically viable to do so,bearing in mind that a lot of components are manufactured as non repairable these components are virtually destroyed getting into them. Electrical components are now sealed for life when made and a lot of the mechanical components are similar. The ability to enter these units and reassemble would take a lot of time and not be perfect as some ingenuity would be required in reassembly and that in itself annuls the integrity of the part. Dealerships have set criteria and time boundaries for repairing cars and disrupting through flow by having vehicles stood about waiting to be fixed is not viable to a service environment. JIT( just in time) supply chain was invented by the Japanese to cut down the cost of keeping massive inventories during manufacture it also applies in the service and repair sector ie; not having parts or vehicles stood around doing nothing.

A chap I know worked at Jaguar when the LS was first introduced to the UK. Jaguar bought one and took it apart. Their verdict? If this is what Lexus can do at their first attempt then we are in trouble. John

Had this done today to get rid of my exhaust blowing where the cats join the y piece of the exhaust , both where rotted to nothing .flanges where cut off and stainless pipes welded to cats , then a new y piece made in stainless and slides over the two pipes from cat . Excellent job cost me £200.

Hi all - Some of you may have seen me posting recently since I have been in search of my second car and have found it! Just bought myself a IS250 2007 SE-L with everything on it including a sunroof which was hard to find in itself without it having over 130K miles. Only has a few paint scuffs which I've been quoted around £150 to repair aside from that it looks in perfect condition. Could not however get that annoying warning message to go away on start up / reverse on the sat nav - anyone know how?

Hi, Average mpg is variable, depending on lots of things, from speed to outside temperature. If you are doing mostly motorway miles at 70 plus the you are better with a diesel. The hybrid works best around town or on A roads at speeds of 50 mph or less. I currently get 55+ mpg from my IS on A roads but this drops when the weather is colder or on the motorway. I would expect slightly more for the CT but it depends on driving style. To get the best from a hybrid you need lots of anticipation to know when to let the battery take over. Don't take too much notice of reviews, especially about the CVT whine and engine noise at high revs. The motoring press don't test drive cars as they should be driven in the real world. Book a test drive and find out for yourself.

It's obviously different for a company wanting to make money, but...until last year I had a Vauxhall Vectra estate which I used for work, and a regular issue is the little plastic housed motor that operates the air re-circulation flap, it's a nasty Chinese made part. It has 3 nylon cogs inside and a tooth always breaks off a cog making it click as it operates. Not wanting to be beaten I took it apart and replaced the tooth cog with a piece of plastic from an old tooth brush which I fixed with glue and re shaped. It lasted 5 years, so some DIY fixing is worthwhile just for the satisfaction of beating the system, and that's worth more than money!

......... engine air filter for me seems to be every year, it gets so crappy after about 10 / 12000 miles in my neck of the woods ............... others might well be able to eek 30,000 miles from their's but I know mine would be a solid lump of grit by then and totally useless in fulfilling it's purpose in life Malc

not quite what I meant really ............ notwithstanding everything is reset to the correct parameters at that moment in time, if the bushes or whatever are not quite right, the resetting won't repair the damaged or worn bushes and that means that the alignment might immediately go awry again once the car is driven and those components are under road driving stress. Does that make sense ? I'm just a novice trying to think it thru' logically ! Malc

I agree. This is a very 'normal' set of data, i.e. before it is out, and then it is set up correctly. American Hamilton alignment machines have taken a lot of the guesswork out of setting up a car. The computer says 'what should this car be set to?'. It then finds out what it is set up as, and finally after adjustment, shows you in green that it is spot on. I can't see what more they can do but get it pretty well 'spot on'. It might be a very very slightly binding brake. A tyre swop around might also help.

Well you do have the satisfaction of knowing it's been done properly. BTW, what was the condition of the plugs you took out?

Little bit more progress on the car last 2 weeks, nothing exciting just its 6th service. The car has only done 43k but decided to go all out and do the spark plugs early anyway as they have been in 6 years. Was dreading doing the plugs due to people on the internet claiming its a nightmare job, but to be honest it was really nice and easy, takes a little bit of time but its really not hard to actually do. 6 nice genuine plugs ready to go in Part Number for anyone who requires it Also replaced the intake manifold gasket seals, wasn't really necessary if I am totally honest as there was nothing wrong with the original but better safe than sorry and didn't want to get involved taking the intake of again if I did cause a leak Half way through the driver side of the plugs changed and the intake tube removed Intake manifold removed and plus getting changed Intake Manifold removed, bit of tissue stopping anything going inside the engine and area cleaned New seals installed ready for everything to go back together So the car has now had its 6th service and plugs done, just need to change the break fluid at some point also. There was nothing wrong before so all of this did nothing but 1 of those jobs that's got to be done and well worth getting out the way

Idly watching old 'Wheeler Dealer' on Quest channel (it rained....!) often pops up this concept. Fixing, not replacing. Just come from Garden centre, where you can BUY a garden; no need to actually PLANT anything. A bit like getting a new carpet... Tis the modern world! I have a review of Ser 1 (2?) LS 400 where they compare it with a Rolls and say it's better in all but status.

I agree with that entirely, and of course it has to be viable which means not every part is worth repairing, but many are. An example would be the power steering leak on the early LS400, Lexus wouldn't do it but the repair costs approximately £2. An example from the Jag man last week was the diesel particulate filter on a car with 30K. The main dealer wanted £2.5K to replace it but it was removed and cleaned by another company that the Jag specialist has contacts with, all working again for £300. So yes, it has to be viable, and it's not so easy of course with electrical components, I'm thinking more of mechanical.

Hi Kris Congrats on your purchase, they're a heck of a lot of car for the money. I've got the same model/year as you and it's the best car I've ever owned. If you're referring to the SatNav screen message telling you to "Drive Safely, obey traffic rules" etc, then AFAIK this can't be turned off. It's a symptom of the nanny state we live in.

Some more pics for you . Welding was all carried out without removing cats , which is another bonus studs can snap and cause problems

It has an MOT after a bit of work. Can't understand those side repeater position? Are they like that on RHD Cars for the year? Only a fail and pass shown on DVLA so must have been imported recently. S'pose the dents may pull out with a bit of effort. Never look good, however Not a lot of miles away from me but don't think I'll be buying for my next trip to France.

That's what my garage told me also

Gumtree like eBay is a good site for the unscrupulous as others have pointed out there is a nice looking 93 in Bristol. Cat c but not mentioned in the listing I'd put money on this being the same, Just checked doesn't show as cat c but only registered in uk in October last year

If the transmission fluid meets the cherry red, not burnt criteria leave it alone.The diff oil is good for at least 150k .

Unbelievable ,How can the trader ask that money for that example and keep a straight face . It is a good candidate for how not to treat a LS400 and next stop is the breakers yard ,the rear wing damage is not repairable or at least not economically and its left hand drive status as probably excluded it from British roads on its safety factor. If this is the kind of money the public are prepared to pay for this example what is mine worth?

Absolutely, that's why it's so good having the Jag man and "mechanics" like him, he'll take components apart and repair them if possible, you certainly won't get that at a Lexus main dealer!

However, in my experience, a good independent who is a 'spanner's man' not a 'fitter' is to be highly valued.

Apparently Cadillac said the same thing.

Modern cars can take high miles if serviced correctly. When I had to work,(no more,yes!!) I took my last car (Rover 75) to 220k with no serious issues. My RX400 now has 90k on. Some people in the states take them to serious mileage +400k. http://www.edmunds.com/lexus/rx-400h/2006/consumer-reviews/review-204401699/ 24k a year should not be a problem. Might suggest getting a fully serviced +100k model.(Make sure cam belt is changed) They can be picked up at good prices. many people do not like to purchase high milers.

Tbh 24k miles would be quite good for the engine anyway on an already reliable car. You shouldn't have any major problems really

You don't start stripping a car engine hoping to come across a starter motor though, do you? You must have an idea by looking at the car. I use a backstreet independent if I need work done on our cars that's beyond my capabilities, when I've been at the garage, even they consult the Internet for info on cars they're not familiar with. Why is it that lessons learnt always cost lots of money? Good luck, that a lot of engine codes.

Like Steve, I'm wondering why they removed the "lower engine" to do the starter, it suggests that they didn't actually know where it was located. Unless you know, it's not generally where you would expect a starter to be which sounds possible in this case. Be very careful to keep records of all conversations and every scrap of information, just in case you need it, but let's hope you don't.

How did you pay? If you paid by credit card you can go too the CC company and they will refund your money, as for the problem you now have nightmare comes to mind. The problem could be one of a dozen things. I dont envy you, but I do feel for you. Good luck.

They took the lower engine off to replace the starter motor... Worryingly the starter motor is accessed from the top of the engine after removing the intake manifold. Given the problems already caused I would not be considering going back there, from the print out it looks like they have missed some sensor connections, the MAF being one plus the CTS and both O2 sensors. From the codes they have obviously cleared them and they have come back up (history and current) Have they replaced the gaskets or reused the old ones. I would be thinking along the lines of taking it to Lexus at their expense to get it repaired properly as the garage you have used obviously haven't got the necessary skills to change a plug in a lawnmower without cross threading it.

Was it like it as soon as you picked it up from the garage? If so you need to get it back there and demand that it's put right, you have the law on your side.

I'm also no expert on alignment but obvious as it may be have you checked the tyre pressures and the condition of the tyres for cuts/bulges etc. You could also swop the wheels from front to back (not side to side though) and see if the situation changes. Where did you take the car for the alignment? "The best we can do" wouldn't fill me with confidence regarding their ability. Any advisories on the last MOT regarding suspension component wear? Another possibility is a sticking front brake caliper, check to see if one is much hotter than the other after a run by feel but take care when doing so.

Hi John, great looking car. Test drove a Red RC 300h, but wanted red interior so went with F-sport white. Like you had my one 3 months now and still to see another one on the road. Check out the RC section, not many posts yet.

Yes looks a stunner there john.

Hi John and welcome to the LOC, we are a friendly bunch and some of us even know how to pull them to bits and put them back together again, with of course the one bolt and washer left over. We always like to see pictures of members cars so don't be shy. Love the red colour. We recommend you spend a couple of mins looking over the rules of the LOC, we will be asking questions later. http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/terms-conditions/ Regards Mike

Welcome John.....lovely looking vehicle. Those wheels look a bugger to keep clean !