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Dont know about VRT an the like but in the UK all options are worthless Just makes the car more desirable or easier to sell.

Have owned two different Jaguar XJ s over a period of 26 years. The second one, a 1998 XJ8 3.2 which I bought in 2002, I had intended to keep forever and pass on to my son with the hope that it could become a show car. Big shock in January when, after advisories since 2009, the front sub frame corrosion was declared terminal. What to do? I didn't want a diesel nor a black car (the Jag was a superb Madiera Pearl) and eventually went to the nearest Lexus place and rather quickly (it was a very wet day) bought a Nov. 2015 IS300 Sport in pearlescent Arctic White , 6600 miles on the clock. My early impressions? Very quiet, smooth and comfortable along with 45 versus the Jaguar's 26 mpg. I do rather wonder about the lack of any spare wheel .... both the Jags had full size spares and hefty 60 profile tyres at that and they also had better all round visibility (need those proximity sensors in the IS) . Inevitably the Jags had more grunt for overtaking but overall it's good to have a change. My daughter, though, thinks that it's too boy racer for an 82 year old.

James ... do you still have this issue? I may have the old good sensor in my garage which I replaced when I done both banks - only one failed but I replaced both. Its the original one but definitely an OEM sensor. If you want me to send it out to you I can do which will bottom out the issue of the sensor being fake etc I need to see if I still have it but let me know Cheers

That's the wrong battery - like many battery suppliers Halfords try to fob you off with one that will do (as indeed it will). It is a Type 030. IS250 needs a 068 - that's a rare size (it doesn't even appear on many battery size specification charts) and few battery suppliers stock them. 068 is the same size as 069 but with the terminals in the opposite orientation. I'd suggest you get a Bosch S4026 or Varta E23 (they appear to be identical). Suppliers include CarParts4Less, GSF etc. You are unlikely to find it in stock in a shop. It is likely that your battery is knackered - modern batteries frequently fail without warning. You don't mention what year your car is (and your profile says you have a 2001 IS200) but I think all IS250s need the same battery size.

I think you can just replace the bushes but probably need to be installed with a hydraulic press. A complete arm with bush isn't that expensive if you purchase from the US (Rockauto for example).

Hi Mark, there were two reasons I didn't proceed with seat back picnic tables. It wasn't that i didn't install them but as a prototype I didn't feel the end result was worthy of my car's interior. The second more crucial reason was there was a small head rest motor that was causing an obstruction which wouldn't allow the table to close fully. Rather than remove the motor I decided not to proceed. I had a donor seat back to experiment on during the build process. I did think if Lexus had ever designed a table it might have been loosely based a similar idea but of course using Computer Aided Design they would have done a superior job of it. It was only because in the past I had cars previously fitted with tables. One of my Jaguar's and 3 of my Bentley cars. Silly really because they got little use, they just looked nice. You can see why my efforts were miles behind a manufacturers engineered marvels. The Jaguar and Bentley were once mine.

I must stop listening to all this 'piped' 'F' music it's having an unhealthy effect on my mental state............🙃 🐀

I live on a very steep country lane the doesn't get treated by the council. I was feeling very smug on Thursday when I pulled past a land rover that couldn't make it up the hill, he wound his window down to get my attention, I stopped and he asked if it was rear wheel drive, then said he couldn't understand why he couldn't get any grip. I just said Landrovers are rubbish and carried on my way. Thought that would be more fun than letting him know I have winter tyres on.... The IS is pretty good though even on summers, I assume it's due to there been quite of weight on the rear axle due to the batteries.

Sounds like the headers have been done too.

Presumably you put the offside bulb in the nearside connector to try it and it worked. Did you also put the nearside bulb (known to be good) in the offside connector to see if it worked, or did you not bother and just relied on seeing the suspect bulb light up in the nearside connector? If both bulbs are good, and the fuse for the offside is also good, make sure connections are clean and tight. If it still doesn't work then you have a break in the wiring somewhere and you'll have to start tracing the route back from lamp to switch to fuse to see where it is. Time to buy a multimeter if you haven't already got one. EDIT: Doh, I forgot about the relays - well done Colin

If the fuse is ok (there should be one for the left and right low beam) then it is probably the relay. Not 100% sure but I believe there is a separate relay for left and right low beams - I imagine they are the same part so you can swap them to verify.

Got it today and many thanks.

It's the ECU within the inverter assembly.

Congrats on your purchase! Interesting choice, I would think that GS would have been more comparable as replacement for Xj (if not LS, but that is a bit steep in terms of price). As for the grunt I have the same feeling when I get in anything marked with 300h and I merely comparing it with 2.5L v6 in my current IS250, not a 3.2l Jag. Lexus hybrids are really oriented towards efficiency and cruising and need some time to adapt the the style of the car. They don't really like being pushed to the limits and feels much better placed at slowly and quietly accelerating or simply cruising at constant speed. The one given thing is that the car will last... probably even longer than you would want to... as I cannot fault mine in anyway which prevent me from changing to something else... it is kind of hard to replace car which gives no problems whatsoever.

Halfords after-sales service is a mixed bag, I think it depends on the store/staff/product. I've seen equal numbers of forum posts praising and criticising them. However, their 'attempt' to fit a new battery to my IS about 18 months ago was embarrassing and inept, although reportedly they seem to be quite expert at fitting dashcams (?)

+1 on Not going to Halfrauds, there is plenty of competition out there and if you are a bit tech savvy ( I guess you might be as you asked advice on this forum) then you will see that the type of owner/driver that frequent Those high street 'Garages' ( term used loosely ) will be the type that do not know how to open the bonnet and pay through the nose thinking that is the norm. paul m.

Spoke to dealer today and yes it had a cherished plate on it previously and asked about the recalls and both have been done which is good.

Hi Vasilis as mentioned by a member this glove box fault is a common issue after a number of years. It is down to wear of the catch mechanism. Lexus changed the catch on the newer LS from a horizontal arrangement to a vertical arrangement to stop this dropping of the glove box lid by a fe mm. I found the original fix on You Tube, just type in LS460 glove box fix to watch it. The cable tie fix does work but you have to use the biggest cable tie there is to effectively wedge the lid when you slam it shut. My photos show where the cable tie needs to go. You can see the before and after by virtue of the seam line of the lid to the dash. Steve

I don't think it will make an ounce of difference even if 100's were asking for them. It could influence unreleased models to come, but I highly doubt they would engineer a pack to sell for cars that have been in production for years. There will have been good reasons why one wasn't offered, I'm sure it wasn't a rash decision, so a few of us asking for them is unlikely to change their minds.

And of course, no UK cars have had a spare wheel allocated. Utter BS. Which is why we collectively need to make a noise, to get them to change their stance. There is absolutely no technical reason why a spare wheel should not be available, so those owners who want one can purchase one.Other comments are invited.

I believe that there is a cut-off point where optional extra's are deemed "worthless" as far as the VRT is concerned, but I don't know how many years old the cars have to be. I imported a Merc E220 cdi, with a lot of extra's included, it was an ex-Daimler staff car. It was about 10 years old when I imported it, and the guy doing the paperwork, in the Revenue office, said that the extra's, metallic paint, panoramic sunroof, 17 inch star alloys, drop-down rear seat option, heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, would make no difference to the VRT as after a certain age there is no loading because of extra's. Parkman.

Resurrecting this topic, I've seen a lot of correspondence about making other wheels fit with spacers etc, but why can Lexus not provide one? I asked soon after buying the car and was told there isn't one listed, but I'm sure they are available in other countries, those that require a spare to be carried. What I'm suggesting now is that all the RCF's and GSF's have to go in for the fuel pump recall soon, so when we're in the dealers,ask the question again. They will of course say no. We can then all (those that feel strongly enough) take the issue to Lexus Customer Services. If we all start making a noise they will have to start taking notice. As it happens I have their MD's email address so if we get nowhere with Customer Services it can be escalated. I know the spare won't fit in the GSF wheel well because it's full of TVD electronics but the boot is big enough that if you wanted to carry a spare in a bag the other luggage would still fit. What does everybody think? Graham

a very easy and relaxing car to drive. Most of the time in Eco mode, but switch to sport mode and the acceleration is :)

GS is a traditional saloon with fixed rear seats - better sound insulation and strength but at a loss of practicality. The IS series I and II were the same.

Very good question. In the IS-F it was a case of 'Look - somebody is looking at the car'. In the RC-F it's a case of 'Ooooo, that person isn't looking at the car'. I think mainly good attention. Kids will video the car, people will slow down on the motorway and on the rare occasion that I park up in a busy place, people will engage in conversation about the car. I suspect that a lot of the looks are along the lines of 'What is that!?' - in a positive way! Boxster is a great car. Like my RC-F my Boxster was a second car, so it was a special occasion every time I drove it. The engine in the Boxster was great - especially when it came on song and made that special noise (which I can't describe). F cars are totally different beasts to a Boxster. The V8 is central to the package. You'll get refinement and performance in one package. You'll also get utterly ridiculous reliability - no RMS or bore scoring issues. Stuff like that is unheard of. In the RC-F the car will get the recognition that ALL F cars deserve. Finally, you won't see many on the roads!

@Flytvr Hey Davi you ever thought about taking up photography, I reckon you could be............... 🐁

Snow shy

Just incase anyone else is going the cassette adapter route, I went back to Maplin the other day and picked up a wired cassette adapter in addition to the Bluetooth one that I got. The sound quality just blew me away! With the bluetooth one, I had to use Spotify as it has an EQ, whereas now with the wired one, the quality is so good that i can play even the worst quality of tracks and it sounds no worse than a CD R. I also purchased a cassette cleaner and ran it for 20secs (as stated in instructions) and that has got rid of most of the noise that the tape player makes and has also improved sound quality, so, for best results clean that old tape player first! Other non BT bonuses are that theres no issue of it running put of charge in the middle of the journey. Think i'm going to buy one for our other 430 as well, because it really is a great device and now means that i don't have to bother buying an expensive kit from Ebay and risk it not fitting/ damaging something. I have also noticed that since I started playing CD-r's in the changer (before I knew of the adapter) that now, occasionally the changer starts saying 'CD ERROR' ever so often, so using the adapter gives stops me having to use dodgy CDs.

It was about 80k. So not great. this new one should last a great deal longer than the OE one...

And I thought with Jeremy Corbyn coming to power that red would be the new colour of choice. All you blue ones will be the first up against the wall.....

My 2009 ISF came with DAB as a dealer fitted option, one of those DAB tuner boxes. Works really well. You can easily fit DAB to the car, wouldn't make it a deal breaker personally Marcus

RCF beats M4 https://d3rvezpmgp265q.cloudfront.net/lexusone/lexgbenv11/RCF-Car-Magazine_tcm-3157-1102870.pdf?_ga=2.127903109.966042708.1520027226-2077767765.1519844894

Thanks guys. Really need an estate...getting SO fed up of the kids bikes, etc that I need to move around all the time and certainly not going down the roof rack route. Like you say not really a good reason but a little stuck. I missed out a decent looking Sportcross around January and that would have been ideal.

Sent book out today - you should get it next week at some point.

Come on boys we are all entitled to our opinions.

Outside Poole Maternity Hospital.... Ps.... It's a boy ;-)

I agree, I shouldn't have read it. Always a bit difficult to decide in advance.

Always a trade off with anything like this, companies like Porsche fit active engine mounts which are highly effective but at a cost, for me in the event mine become a problem I'd just replace them with OEM. As the fact remains I don't want the condition described by @NemesisUK now I'm not being anal about this.......... Big Rat

Like you honestly have to ask?! Lol. I’ll happily carry on being the RR-Racing UK test dummy!

Definitely only one reservoir. Jets are not heated on any grade in the UK.

There's details on Lexus 400h recalls here: http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/recalls/recalls.jsp?modelID=RX400H&modelName=RX400H&makeName=Lexus&makeId=C4 Ez

Hi, Sorry for late reply. I found the DVD inside the cargo compartment. There is a number on the DVD.

Beemers are great if you want predictable maintenance costs. The same stuff goes wrong at the same mileages across the ranges so for that they can be good. Knowing what mileage car is likely to have a hefty bill just around the bend. Lexus approaches that in a different way..... Not much goes wrong. I prefer the Lexus option as it means more of my cash goes on spangly aftermarket parts rather than un-spangly essential mechanical items. Having owned 5 high performance Beemers in the past I wouldn't even want to know what they cost me in essential repairs over the years. Driving experience or no Driving experience. You can only drive them when they're not on a lift with some geezer about to tell you you need a new diff / steering rack / lower control arms / thermostat / PCV valve / rocker gasket / oil filter housing / injectors / turbos / cats.... Take your pick!

Don't want to tempt fate but my 2005 400h has just notched 160,000 miles and shows no signs of being anything else but a reliable daily driver. Just come back from Europe after a 2.5k mile trip - mostly cruising at 80mph and with the MPG indicator showing 32.8 - awesome! OK, some issues, parking brake cables seized, auxiliary power sockets gone dead and CD player died. Found that the cable ends had fossilised - probably because of non use - and fitted a pair of cables along with some new brake shoes, now ace again. The power sockets and CD player are on my to do list. My gut feeling is that this car will be capable of breezing past 250,00 miles without major problems and that is based on over 50 years of motoring in every thing from Austin sevens to modern Jags, and even Fords. Sorry no actual stats, just a feeling that tells you when you have a superbly made modern masterpiece of engineering. Oh by the way, anybody got a spare £60k? cos I'd buy a new RX tomorrow!

Had ours now 6 years and have only had to replace the small battery common prob , have looked at changing to newer RX but preferred the older Shape and style, can,t see us parting with ours for a long while yet.

TO ramsascooby ,I don't know what kind of problem you have with your lexus but i can help you by answering your second question, You can disengage your RWD motor by turning your traction control off. but you'll have to do these steps every time you start your car ( at least until you figure out your problem ). NOTE: i read about this method in a forum and was posted by a Toyota mechanic for CAMRY models, i tried it and now i can have FWD or AWD without traction control, How to do that : WARNING: The RX has open diff(s) on all wheels ! with that amount of power and torque wheel spin will occur on slippery tarmac & wet roads and your Lexus will understeer SO BE CAREFUL ( DO IT ON YOUR OWN RISK ) !!!!!!! Method 1 ( FWD Maintenance Mode ) 1- put your key in the ignition and switch to on BUT DON'T START THE CAR 2- press and hold the brake pedal ( until the end of the process ) 3- GEAR IN PARK - fully press the throttle and release 2 times 4- GEAR IN NUTRAL - fully press the throttle and release 2 times 5- GEAR IN PARK AGAIN - fully press the throttle and release 2 times 6- DONE - the information display should show the following message ( FWD Maintenance Mode ). 7- you can start your car now and release the brake, only traction control is off now but in FWD only ... just turn the ignition key off and re-start your car and every thing is back to normal ( AWD with traction ) Method 2 ( FWD Certification Mode ) 1- put your key in the ignition and switch to on BUT DON'T START THE CAR 2- press and hold the brake pedal ( until the end of the process ) 3- GEAR IN PARK - fully press the throttle and release 3 times 4- GEAR IN NUTRAL - fully press the throttle and release 3 times 5- GEAR IN PARK AGAIN - fully press the throttle and release 3 times 6- DONE - the information display should show the following message ( FWD Certification Mode ). 7-you can start your car now and release the brake, only traction control is off now but in FWD only ... just turn the ignition key off and re-start your car and every thing is back to normal ( AWD with traction ) Let me know if it works, Cheers,

you should first disconnect the aux battery (in engine bay) open the rear near-side door, at the side under the seat is a plate which pulls up and reveals the service plug. Using gloves, slide locking lever up and plug out the plug. Do not touch the terminals and wait 5 mins. before touching any HV cables.

probably the best option would be to try and find a second hand unit from a breakers - there must be some 400h vehicles which have been scrapped due to a front-end collision.

diagnosis seems correct: it appears that the diff is only supplied as a whole unit

Hello and welcome to the LOC. With Lexus Hybrid technology being fairly new age stuff I doubt there will be many if any independent specialists out there who may be able to tackle a job like this. I've looked on the database for the RX400H and there is no mention of the hybrid traction motor system and in the parts list the sensor you mention is not even listed so may not be available as a spare part. It would appear you are at the mercy of Lexus and even though it may be a simple sensor fault in the hybrid drive system they don't repair assemblies they just replace the whole unit hence the high prices. It's a bit like buying a torch and then when the batteries go flat buying another instead of just replacing the batteries in the one you already have. Converting to FWD only again is possible but will need specialist attention possibly a replacement ECU from a FWD model which would probably cost even more. Sorry it's not good news.