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So the battery on the F finally gave up the ghost, I did notice over the last few weeks slow crank on startup. On inspection turns out its the original battery ! so its done well to last 10 years. Removed the battery turns out its made by Panasonic. After a quick measure up sourced a replacement from Tayna online. The battery they have listed on their site for the ISF is incorrect, it will not fit as its too long. The correct size battery is the one they have listed under the IS250 https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/enduroline/069/ Fitment was straight forward, the battery fits perfectly, and the plastic casing which goes round the OE battery fits perfectly over this battery. The only slight variation are the terminals are situated on the front of the battery not the rear. Not much difference, and the cables are long enough to fit nicely. Just needed one of the clips on the positive wire moving along a few centimeters to clip on the battery case housing. Car cranks over much better now so job done. Took 15 mins.

Todays job i pulled the engine back out and changed the engine mounts over to the vibratechnics 1s. Also managed to sort a coolant hose under the exhaust manifold to the back of the water pump. I had some left over reinforced silicone hose in my box so cut a short section out and trial fitted it. Once i had it measured just right i pulled it back off, put some reflective heat tape on it and refitted using mikalor hose clamps. Had to put reflective tape on it as it sits very close to the external wastegate pipe. Ive also removed the loom again to start modifying it to fit, ive labelled up all the plugs i will still be using and the rest is coming out, ends heat shrinked and taped up. Its looking like i will have to lengthen this loom to like i had to with the body harness. Pictures of this to come once im chopping and heat shrinking.

I sold my Evora late last year ready to buy a house this year and this time next year will be looking for a cheapish car for a few years that won’t lose too much £££. I bought and sold my previous isf for the same money 2 years in and 10k mikes later. Are values still holding well? I’d be looking at a later car this time around. Ideally 2013, low miles etc. I am liking the c63amg coupe but residuals don’t seem too clever! Even on a 5 year old low mileage example. Stu

Looks like forza driving! Cheeky little nudge.

Really useful info! From the info you've given I'm pretty sure the right battery to get would be a 068 (not the 069 you have). It appears the 068 is same dimensions and spec, but with the terminals reversed. That also ties up with what ECP recommends for my reg number.

Hi folks Just thought I'd share a recent experience I had with Autoglass. My windscreen had a big chip in one corner and when driving towards the sun I noticed hundreds of tiny chips which had probably accumulated over the years. Some of them were so small I thought it was tree sap so I tried cleaning the screen with IPA and then a clay bar but no improvement. Time for a change, it was worth the £75 insurance excess to see where I was going. Booked the fitter to come to my home and was given a six hour window on a Saturday. When the day came, the fitter called and said that because of the snow, he'd have trouble getting to me so could I go to him instead. I was going to go into a monologue about if he couldn't drive to me because of the snow, surely it worked both ways but, I wanted the job done and figured that a warm dry workshop was better than the job being done under a gazebo. I drove 17 miles to Poole, handed the car over and went for a coffee while the job was being done. I got a call an hour later telling me all was good, checked that it was ok to drive and set off for home. A few miles down the road and both my wife and I noticed that there was a lot of noise in the car and there was a big draught coming from between the screen and the dash on the passenger side. Then the creaking started around the area of the rear view mirror. Then I noticed that the side trim was loose. I was tempted to turn round and go back but not only did I doubt there was another Lexus screen in stock but the fitter had told me he was going straght on to another job. I guess that driver refused to come to him. When I got home, I noticed that the trim and the clips hadn't been changed, see pic, (the receipt said that they had been) so I contacted Autoglass to tell them I wanted the whole job done again. The fitter came to my work today (I asked them not to send the same one) and he had no intention of changing the screen until I insisted, he said he only needed to do the trim. When he took the trim off, I felt around the bottom of the screen where the draught was coming from and pulled gently on the screen, there was easily 8-10 mm of movement. In the end, the screen, trim and clips were changed and I waited a few hours befor driving the car. Pleased to report that all is now good, the car is quiet and draught free again and everything looks neat. In a chat I had with the fitter, I picked up that they were demotivated by their T's and C's and very few of them had pride in their work or were inclined to deliver good customer service. Sounds like a rant but I'm happier now and wanted to let you guys know to be wary if you're in the same situation. Regards to all. Mike

Hi all, as you know I just bought 460 and drove back to edinburgh from manchester area. My first journey in 460 and first time in life :) did about 300 miles, mixture of A roads and motorway. Here is my opinion purely based on 1 day driving, later my opinion might change :) Here is my comparison 430 vs 460 460 POSITIVES: 1. Looks new modern and lots of latest gadgets inside compare to 430. 2. Feels bigger than 430. 3. Power steering is super light and smooth 4. Brakes are very sharp and very precised 5. better road visibility. 6. Better MPG 7. feels much lighter and easy to drive. 460 NEGATIVES: 1. Tight boot space. 430 boot is much bigger. I keep couple of boxes in car always full of cleaning stuff and topups etc and still there was plenty space left in 430 for shopping bags but with 460 hardly any space left in boot. my Suitcase which fits nicely in 430 doesnt fit in 460 :( 2. 8 speed auto box is good but feels slow and sluggish when it comes to kick down, if i put my foot down to over take, it feels sluggish and takes its time to shift down and feels like gear box is confused and struggling to decide which gear to select. 430 kick down was much faster. ( maybe its just me getting used to 8 speed box ) 3. Ride quality is not bad but I think 430 rides much better. 430 sticks to road on motor way with sport mode on, 460 feels like is struggling to grip onto road when you suddenly go over some bump / dip. 4. Interior is nice but feels, clumsy / plasticy / fragile. 5. 430 cabin was much quiter but in 460 you hear wind noise. ( not bad just being very picky here ) Thats all for just now :), Will add more to it as time goes by :) QUESTIONS : Rear left Door would not lock or unlock using key fob or keyless or using lock / unlock button on drivers arm. Soft power auto closure not working sun shade is not going up or down But window goes up n down. feels like there is no power but window works ok, but why all other functions related to door have stopped working. ? driver side window when going up suddenly starts going down. as if you pressed down button suddenly. happens very intermittently but did happen to me 2 times out of 10. Boot opens and closes very slowly, is that normal ? Thanks AJ

Prices are generally stable - however, its not a sellers market Private sales of IS-F's seem to be minimal, and do stick around for a while before they go. Probably loads of timewasters or wanting ££££s off.

Just a line to say my preferred dealer checked the car today and there was no fault code history in the vehicle's memory as per member's posts who correctly stated any code cleared was likely to clear the history. Car behaved normally for the 230 miles round trip but at least I feel confident that a true report was given to me and there was no charge unlike my local dealer who wanted £120 to plug the car in. Bought a code reader off e bay which is a step up from some of the cheaper generic models and lists manufacturer specific codes depending on the make etc. Next time any lights come on I will at least be able to see what parts are potentially giving cause for concern.

Sadly I am not looking to buy until this time next year. Looking for a car that will lose as little as possible over a 3 year period. Appreciate we all are bit wondering what prices are like they look pretty stable with 50k mike cars still fetching 18k ish.

Cars up for sale often end up with flat batteries which is the cause for a re-calibration

There are a couple of 2013 ISF's for sale £27k-£30k, one in white is a beauty and a forum members car. These prices are very close to the RCF, the cheapest being the silver one at £32k. You would imagine the ISF might be a bit more £££ resilient but who knows, the RCF is a much more modern looking car.

So @Comedianin his Blue Rcf was spanking @Steviebee in his Gt3 around the Nurburgring when his bag of talent ran out and he resorted to the Australian method of winning cheating.........

Ah, shame to hear this but I'm hopeful it will result in an an even better day! I've cancelled all the FB events I created. I'm sure if they want to know why they can come here to find out more.

Like this:

Yes, but if you turn the 068 battery around 180deg, the positive terminal would be drivers side and at the rear.

BTW I found the reset sequence here: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/58458-one-touch-open-or-close-for-moonroof/ Worth a punt before you buy it I reckon.

Morning Neil, my RX had the same sunroof issue when I bought it. Just needed the set-up procedure done on it (took 60 secs) and it's been fine ever since. I think they sometimes lose their calibration.

I would say probably 10 years to be honest, more so if you're not using the AC and it dries the seals up so you get leaks I had my RX done after 5 years and it lost a negligible amount of refrigerant. Generally, I would make sure someone reputable does the job. Its quite easy to do but if you get air in the system it can make all sorts of groaning and creaking noises

If I had to choose it would be the one in Edinburgh, and I might go as high as 5£5K, but given my recent work on the rust on my year 2000 Mk4, I would be having a darned good poke about in the rear arches for rust. But that is another storey which I will post on, as ine if going in for MOT this Tuesday, and once that is all done, I'll do another post with some photos of the holes in rear arches. The Edinburgh one says it has several layers of wax, but it under the body where it is also needed.

What? That's ridiculous! Lovely car but what's the point if you can't drive the dratted thing?

Missed this Steve, and thanks. i can’t see these being any better/different than the Kilen springs I have. I doubt blue print would make their own springs, so are probably rebranded items.

That's been for sale a long time

Battery prices are all over the place on the web - ranging from £1k to £6k, depending on exchange refunds etc. Second hand ones go for around £600 on eBay. You would never purchase a new one from Lexus - just get the individual cells replaced by an independent.

Hi Burroo. I spoke with a Lexus dealer at a business event recently because they were exhibiting some of their latest models. I asked him about the traction batteries and he said that they had never changed one due to failure of the battery itself. They had changed a couple that had failed due to "external forces" like an IS that had been driven through a deep flood which also knackered the engine and another car which had developed a small fire and the fire brigade assumed that it was the traction battery so they just cut through the wires. I asked how much new batteries were and he asked me to guess. I suggested about £3,000 and he said "No, you're nowhere near." Anyway he said that for the smaller cars like the Prius and CT they are about £650 and the larger cars such as the GS and RX are about £750. I don't know whether that included VAT or not but it's clearly nowhere near £3,000 odd. People get hysterical about the cost of replacing these battery packs but they happily drive round in diesels which have many expensive parts to go wrong which don't last 200k but they're more than happy to take that risk. There are also a few specialist companies that refurbish them for similar money so maybe Toyota/Lexus have dropped there prices in the face of competition! I hope this helps.

OMG!!!! You just posted that up on a public forum????

I took a little trip to Quicksilver Exhausts on Friday to pick up some systems for myself and others and had a long chat with the owner Paul Goddard, I'm a past owner of a Gt3 a 996 so was chuffed to be shown his own car it's a low mileage minter mind you it's now on its 3rd engine it seems that the chocolate motors of the past haven't quite been eradicated by Porsche. Major engine problems never effected the previous GT and turbo cars it's a shame hopefully they've solved it now wouldn't want to run one without a warranty 😳

Good News. I got it fixed. The problem lies with the phone. I had to wipe the Cache Partition. Here's how you do it: Wipe cache partition Turn off the device. Press and hold the Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key at the same time. When the phone powers on, the Android System Recovery screen appears approx. 30 seconds later. Release all of the keys. Press the Volume down key to highlight "wipe cache partition." Press the Power key to select. Press the Volume down key to highlight “yes” and press thePower key to select. When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Partly, yes, and also the mechanics of it too. Hybrid cars often have AC compressors that are driven by an electric motor rather than a traditional drive belt in a 'normal' car and the windings of the motor are immersed in the compressor oil, which has insulating properties. If that oil becomes contaminated with 'traditional' compressor oil then bad things can happen. Most aircon specialists can deal with hybrid AC systems, but definitely not places like Kwik-Fit etc. Some interesting info here.

Its not a bike, but it wouldn't be far behind

I've used both Porsche Edinburgh & Glasgow to look after my GT3 over the past 8 years and the service has been up and down. Routine service work - fine. Warranty work - not so fine. I fought with Glasgow for almost a year to replace the front shocks due to knocking. They changed everything else on the front of the car, but the noise persisted, in the end, they finally changed the struts, hey presto - cured. Toward to the end of warranty (paid extended warranty c. 1300/yr) I had noises from the rear suspension which they were absolutely useless. At one point I was told, it was an old car and to expect noises!!! Lexus have over filled my ISF twice now with oil which is just school boy stuff. Tbh, I've yet to find a Main Dealer whos really worth the money. The annoying thing is, its needed to retain the value and above all, make the car easier to sell on come end of ownership. A good trusted specialist blows the socks of a MD in both quality of workmanship and cost, but selling the car with 'FMDSH' is always easier than 'Specialist' history. Go figure!! Stevie

'F' Car 10 Year Meet Major Changes Well had a long chat with Tim Huxley and his team at Cheltenham and due to circumstances beyond there control major changes have to be made. The two main reasons for the changes are firstly the huge unexpected numbers for such a small venue which will lead to both traffic and parking issues which clearly none of us want. And secondly on the chosen dates the now unavailability of the Lfa for the two days, it's a vehicle in high demand that has to be shared both in the Uk and Europe and Tim feels to just have it as a static display with the occasional start up defeats the object somewhat So plans are being prepared for the following......... The published dates of the 21st/22nd will become one day not known which as yet at Cheltenham Lexus as a purely Toyota performance car day of vehicles past and present with open house to workshops on site parking food drink and so on and all are wellcome. As and when I know more I will update as soon as. So as regards the 'F' car event this will be held off site at an as yet undecided location but will have much added interest that would have not been possible at the dealership. This will be held some time in May or June over one day, the venues that they have access to are 2 Hill climb sites which have many facilities and an airfield storage site that has a permission to use dragstrip. The drag strip and or hillclimb will be available to use subject to instructional presence which will be provided, there will also be a much larger number of 'F' cars available to drive test Rcf Gsf Lc and so on, all Owners club members and families are welcome. I can assure all that every effort is being made by Tim and his guy's to come up with the right mix of things to participate in so we can all get the maximum amount of enjoyment from whatever is decided upon. Big Rat

I did and posted earlier in the thread - over 2k for shocks, springs, strut mounts, spring pads.

Hi Phil - i tried BC already - they said even their softest spring would not be as comfortable as standard, so i've backed off that route. I may investigate further, but i have all but KYB rear shocks sat in storage at present. I guess new KYB shocks will feel stiffer than 107k standard shocks, so that may not be a valid consideration.

Batteries should be OK even at that mileage. Hybrid health check each year costing £59 gives you an extra 1 year warranty on the hybrid system. But overall, these things are much more reliable than other vehicles, so its unlikely you would get a bill to do with the hybrid system More likely itll be the standard items at that mileage - bushes, maybe waterpump etc

Bit disconcerting is the fact that the R4V site states that my reg is available for £499 when I beg to differ! paul m.

I bought mine on fleabay, up for £100 and accepted £85.00, seller then realised there was a fee for transfer to nominee and asked me to donate £10.00 towards it which I was happy to do. Paperwork arrived but seller forgot to sign it but soon returned and sorted, went up to the DVLA office at Nottingham (when they existed!) and got it changed over within an hour, had the plates made up presenting the authorisation form and job done.

I got a NI Plate for £25. I thought it was too good to be true, but thought I am gambling £25, not £200+ To be sure I called them and asked why they were priced so low. The explanation was they get them in bulk from NI, and sell them just to cover their costs and it attracts people to their web site. I ordered one, and a few days later received a call from them. They apologised and said their was a typo, and the last digit of the plate I had chosen was a '5' and not a '6', did I still want to proceed? I said yes. The process took a little longer than I had hoped and after ten days or so I contacted them. From that point onwards I got regular emails giving me updates, and too be fair the delay did appear to be at the DVLA. If you Google the company they have had CCJs against them, and a bit of a mixed reputation. I went with them as the amount I was gambling was small. The paperwork came through after about two to three weeks from the DVLA , and all was fine. The company I used was was www.R4V.co.uk and they appear to currently have NI registrations from £29 I am not giving them an endorsement, but it worked for me. I would suggest you call them first and make sure they have what you need, and talk about the turnaround time. Good luck.

sometimes it's easier not to reply ,even when you believe you are right

And he was being sarcastic just as I would have been

I suspect he was sorry because you told him you didn't know what he was talking about......

sorry just an opinion , just changed from gen 2 to gen 3 , so assumed i could make a reasonable comment on actual cars i have owned recently .

My NX300h Sport has been with Lexus Swindon for the past three months so that they could fix what they - and Lexus UK - thought was a very minor issue until they investigated further. Glad to say it is all fixed now and Lexus has provided me with 'goodwill' of a free set of alloys (for my Winter tyres) and free side-steps as an apology. I've had Lexus courtesy cars for the duration, mostly a 2017 NX300h F-Sport, and I thought it might be useful to compare that with my own Sport as the differences were far greater than I expected. I should say that for the first two weeks - bear in mind originally my car was expected to be at the dealer for less than 24 hours (!) - I had an IS300h Advance. I liked it to drive, but it was no good for me as I have mobility issues and I also struggled with the foot operated parking brake, so Lexus provided me with a new NX F-Sport to use instead. It was interesting to have it for a while though. Based on my experience, God alone knows why I don't see more of them on the road and fewer Audi A4/BMW 3-Series... Anyway, the rest of the time I had the NX F-Sport. I'll start with the positives. First, it is far more 'focussed' to drive, and the handling is in a different league. I know manufacturers talk about the differences between different models, but until I had the chance to drive both for an extended period 'back to back' I wouldn't have believed the difference could be that noticeable. The normal Sport model feels a bit 'wobbly' in comparison. 1-0 to the F-Sport. Second, some of the extra goodies that the F-Sport comes with are useful. The headlights are especially good far, FAR, better than those on my Sport and they look groovy too. I like the fact that it comes with front fog lights as standard, and the way they light up the kerb automatically when cornering which I found surprisingly useful. A couple of other nice touches missing from the Sport model, both of which I thought to be gimmicks until I had them. The lights under the door handles are really useful, as is the way the (electrically adjustable) steering wheel moves out of the way when getting in or out of the car. Who knew? Not me, that's for sure! There were some things I didn't like about the F-Sport though. First, the ride. I've said above that the handling is much better, but at the expense of comfort. It isn't uncomfortable as such, but again I'm surprised at the level of the difference. The ride quality in the Sport suits me far better personally. Secondly, the seats. I couldn't really get comfortable with the seats in the F-Sport, mainly because they were harder, deeper and the bolsters too high. Now, I do have mobility issues around my hips and legs so this is a big thing for me that others may not notice. Even so, getting back into the soft 'armchair' seats in the Sport was a relief and I find them much more comfortable as well as easier to get in and out of. I'd say that if you are considering an NX try both the standard and F-Sport seats if it is likely to make a difference in your circumstances. The biggest difference though, is the amount of noise in the car at pretty much all speeds. I can't work this out at all. In comparison with the Sport, the F-Sport had so much more road noise. The difference is so stark that I've found myself wondering whether there was something wrong with the F-Sport I've been using, although I guess it could be partly down to tyre fitment? I'd be really interested in views on this and whether others have noticed the same. One other odd thing. Colleagues of mine - mainly not 'into' cars I should add - thought that the basic Sport was actually the model higher in the NX range. I'm sure a lot of that was down to colour, as the F-Sport I had was white which I personally don't think suits it as well as some colours, but even so. Weird, right? I thought the F-Sport looked obviously 'superior' because of the grille and wheels, but there you go, just shows what I know! My summary? Keener drivers will prefer the F-Sport, of that I have little doubt. That isn't me though, as I prefer to waft about. I didn't test-drive an F-Sport before I bought my Sport, but having had the chance for this comparison over an extended period I'm happy that I made the correct decision for me, especially given the extra cost (from new) involved.

Lexus being niche - is undeniably an attraction of the Brand for some\many. Personally I moved to the brand having owned\driven\experienced BMW, Mercedes and Audi, and, quite frankly, Lexus are better. Maybe not in car magazine land where how a car goes around the Nurburgring is top priority, but in real life, where the things that really matter are: build quality, reliability, ride quality, dealerships. Both my Lexus cars - an IS250 and now a GS250 have real quality in depth. The Germans, in my own experience, are good at flogging a veneer of quality, but lack it in depth. My 13 plate GS never missed a beat, has no quality issues at all. My wife's 16 plate Merc E class has been back to the dealership on a low loader twice, and now has an infotainment fault. And the reality is also this: Take away M cars, AMG etc and the bulk of their models aren't all that to drive either, and most ride badly. Read any modern BMW review, if you dont spec £thousands of adaptive suspension then "they dont drive like a BMW should" I believe the real barriers to Lexus sales in the UK are: 1. styling - its marmite with the current models and 2. Badge snobbery. An Audi says "Im doing well" to more people than a Lexus does. 3. other brands offer much cheaper PCP deals. You can currently get 10k off a brand new Audi A6

I rather suspect that 'self charging' hybrids are more popular than plug-ins. Just look at the catastrophic depreciation of pretty much every plug-in vehicle from every manufacturer, compared to how well many Toyota and Lexus 'self charging' hybrids tend to retain their value. Lexus will forever be a niche player. It has to be, because that's the only way it can survive. Slightly odd people like me buy cars like the GS purely because they aren't the tiresome Germanic default. The moment they try to copy the endless-variation-on-a-theme approach of Merc or BMW or VAG, they'll lose the only market they can ever have. If you're a Lexus 'brand follower' and you're alienated by their refusal to target the mass market, I would respectfully suggest you've chosen the wrong brand to follow.

Another update, engine is back in the bay!! Looking right at home too! Will let the pictures do the talking. as you can see in the last picture the manifold is VERY close to the suspension turret! Looks like i will be using the competition vibratechnics mounts to minimize engine movement. I had those in my mk1 focus rs and on cold start/idle they would literally shake the car to pieces!! 6cyl engines are more balanced so im guessing vibrations wont be as bad not to mention the lexus is put together better than an old ford 😂. Also there is an issue with the powersteering pump and reservoir, looks like i will need a relocation kit as the reservoir is going to be obstructed by the throttle body. As you can see ive just thrown this back in, ive not done any of the loom as i just needed to create space in the garage. Its easy enough to lift back up to change the mounts and put the loom back on if needs be.

The answer is simple: 291 hp are from only petrol engine, while 345 is the equivalent combined power of petrol and electric engines. And to complicate the calculus, electric motors have specs of max 200 hp, but the combined power is NOT the sum of both power sources. For sure, GS 450h is a fast car.

Here’s mine -

Hi Greg, Totally 100% agree to clean the brake bits every year or so. Literally takes minutes per corner once you have put in the hard hours initially cleaning them up and getting them back up to spec. I've bought some silicone lubricant for the rubber boots, which will slow down the rate they perish. Good question about break fluid flush, I want to do this as well (and have everything I need). I'll be putting in Toyota DOT 5.1 (non-silicone/silicate, whatever!) as I have about 5L lying around to do my MR2, Celica and Lex! Ta, Chris

Lexus Brum do reasonably priced new rear sliding pins, you can find them on eBay - £11 a set delivered. Rubber dust boots for front discs are exorbitant at Lexus - £55+vat! Again can be sourced on eBay as a mini-refurb kit (1 kit does 1 wheel). If you can, try to use the red/pink high temp lithium grease and not copper or multipurpose stuff, it'll save you time in the end! I've not fitted rear drum shoes yet (but have some ready and waiting). Agree that they are a pain to adjust, just remember to count the spins so you can set each side to the same amount to keep the parking brake equalised - also just for more merriment, if the drivers side requires upward spins to tighten the shoe, then it is a downward spin on the passenger side! If lost, just slacken both sides off and then adjust whilst counting the spins - can take between 20-40 individual cog/star movements when prodding through the hole with a flat blade screwdriver and seems to take forever!! Chris.