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I must be so so lucky with mine ...... now turned 206k miles and approaching 23 years and of my ownership for last 7 years and 83k miles, she has lived on the coast, for 2 years about 100 yards from the shore at Herne Bay and for the past 5 years or so on the Town Quay at Queenborough ............. all in Kent ..... and so full of salty air but ' touch wood ' still no signs of rust that's worthy of note. She's a delightful lady ☺️ Malc

My 1995 MkIII was one of the best examples of engineering ever experienced but not exempt from rust. Rear wheel arches, door sills and rear sub frame are what I would examine carefully. 'Rear springs rusty' ran as an advisory on my MOTs for a number of years. The rubber boot seal can look OK but let in water. Definitely worth looking for a good Mk IV which I would still have though my '04 Ls430 is perfect for me.

Many thanks, can you also help with this....?

If you have not driven an LS previously, best to test drive one or two to get a feel. £2.5K seems a good budget, and check for last cambelt change. Even high mileage should sound nice a quite once fired up, and then find some speed humps to drive over listening for any knocking to check control arm wear on the front. Check for rust in rear arches (prod with small screwdriver), and water in the boot (easy one to solve), and check all electrics and dashboard lights (which is a pain if you need to start taking dashboard out). There are enough good examples out there, so do not jump at the first one you try, unless it really feels and sounds right. When I bought my Mk4, having pranged my Mk3, I did buy the first one I tried, but I spent over 3 months on ebay/autotrader scouting around, before heading off to have a look. It just felt right and I took it for test drive on my own, found a layby and gave it a good prodding (so to speak) before saying yes. The only thing I did not do was really poke around in the wheel arches, and five years later discovered the extent of a festering problem (now solved and watertight). Best of luck in your search

Hi Malcom, welcome... I have been an IS300 and GS430 owner and they are fine smooth cars to drive... sticky brake caliper and 02 sensor tends to be the most issue with these models as they age and can be annoying but so long as you get the slid pins serviced regularly it keeps them in check... for power i will say go for the GS430 make sure cambelt has been changed if not budget for cambelt change .. knock sensor tends to failon the V8 engines the older they get and its not cheap to replace due to being labour intensive job but besides that, they are solid engines. try and limit to a car with fewer owners...Good Luck!

So, when I bought my RX300 a couple of weeks ago, one of the things not working on it was the reversing camera. Something I now find pretty essential! Last weekend the plan was to see if my cheap £5 Chinese reversing camera could either produce a signal the sat nav unit could use, or even better replace the Lexus original. Well, I can report I've got the camera working and displaying pictures on the sat nav unit. It wasn't all smooth sailing, as the sat nav unit refused to display the signal from the reversing camera on it's own. There seems to be some feedback from the Lexus camera that lets the sat nav unit know it's connected. Without it the sat nav shows a blank screen. However, I'm not one to be beaten, so by keeping the rear PCB of the Lexus camera connected and just tapping the Chinese camera into the video line, I've now got a working reversing camera. The Chinese camera even clips into the original Lexus camera housing without modification. All I had to do was remove the guts of the old camera to make space. The Chinese camera requires 12v and the sat nav unit supplies 6v so I tapped into the 12v supply for the passenger side reversing light. That way power is only supplied when reversing. The wiring ended up like this. The yellow video wire from the old camera is cut and the new camera connected between the black and the yellow wires to the sat nav. The black, red and white wires stay connected in order to keep the sat nav displaying the video signal. As you can see the power leads off to the reversing light and the rear PCB of the original camera is still in place to provide the feedback signal. The PCB ended up wrapped in tape and tucked into the rear hatch. Once I'd proved the camera could work, I fitted it into the original housing, then the housing was screwed back onto the mounting bracket by the two screws and then bolted back in place in the hatch. It ended up looking ok: On the left is the old camera unit. It simply plugs onto the circuit board that stays connected, so I just unplugged it. Finally here's the result on the screen. It has the guide lines, but you can buy cameras without these and also with or without image mirroring. You just need to specify when ordering. This is one I already had so I wasn't fussy. The other thing to specify is it must be the American NTSC video standard to work with the sat nav, not the European PAL system. I haven't tried the fancy stuff like park assist yet as it hasn't been necessary. I'm just happy to be able to have working video. If the guide lines affect parking assist I might have to bite the bullet and fork out for a genuine camera, but we'll see. I hope this helps anyone with camera problems in future.

Following on from the demise of my old 430, another joins the fold... This is my third... The first one was sold many moons ago, the second one had a slight mishap, well, alright, a **** for a driver.....ME...!! See it's rise and fall here.... I couldn't find another Blue one with a grey interior but I did find a nice Smokey Granite Mica one with a grey interior, I do like the grey and I love the Granite colour, same as the old 460 I had, it's a 2005 so two years newer than the last one but has done the same 130,000, it has a very full and detailed Lexus history up to 100,000 with a new cam belt. If was then looked after by the previous owner who kept records of all it has had so it has been loved a bit... I picked it up last night and drove it around 200 miles, it drives very nicely, slightly better than the old one but still not quite right... The engine is very quiet and really does purr well... The plan was to make a great one out of the two so today I took them both to my mates garage and stole a couple of his lifts for a couple of hours... Beauty and the beast And, yes, that is a tow bar on the new one, a Curt made one from America, these are about £350 to import with all the taxes and then there is the electrics as well, I was just about to buy one for the old 430 as I have a small trailer I use, as we are refurbishing a house.... It's not the prettiest of things but there again nor is the back of a 430.... I have made it look better (IMHO) by removing the LED light strips that were wired into the reversing lights but most of them had burn out...!! So, get them on a lift and pose for more pics..!! And just as I thought, the bottom front wishbone rear bushes had gone, this causes a terrible wheel wobble when braking from speeds above 60mph, it feels just like warped discs Not to worry I had two new ones on the old car.... also swapped the front discs and pads as they were very new and swapped all four wheels and tyres for the set I had just had refurbished and fitted four new Dunlops.... I have bought the salvage of the old one from the Insurance company so I'm not stealing anything, I do want to keep it drivable though, and yes it is roadworthy as all the lights work and there are no sharp edges... Maybe not to good at night as the headlights have moved back, but it's handy to keep it mobile. It took a while to fit 4 front bushes, 4 discs, 8 pads and 8 wheels...!!! That was about it for the mechanical swap overs, I took those LED lights off whilst it was airborne and had a good check of it underneath, noting it's two new rear suspension sensors which the previous owner had just done. The inside is in nice clean undamaged condition apart from the driver's seat which has a hole and some other damage... Not to worry I have a spare.....!!! luckily it is the passenger seat that has damage on the old one so I was able to make a good set out of the two... Whip the seat out (5x14mm bolts and three electrical plugs) and it wasn't too bad underneath for 13 years.... A quick hoover and it's ready for the new seat (If you do one, remove the door threshold, saves damage from the bottom of the seat..) If anyone wonders what it looks like underneath their seat it's like this..... right side of the picture is the front... Bottom center of the picture is an oblong hole, this is where the filters for the seat heater/cooler go, they do get full of fluff.... An airline blown from the back sorts them out.... The drive home was superb, the 430 felt like new and had got back it's "waftability" and Magic carpet ride.... A few more things to swap over and then it's bye bye to the old one.... The new one needs some bodywork, it has a scrape on the rear nearside arch and a few other little marks... I shall machine polish it and see what needs doing, there are also a few other things to do with it..... May have to spend the weekend with the polish as my brother is coming to stay next week and will be in his absolutely mint SC430...

Hi Guys just thought I'd share my first Lexus with you , got it from Lexus Sidcup and their service was outstanding and their level of care and preparation exceeded my expectations, photos attached, this car is amazing the amount of kit is unbelievable and i just keep finding any excuse to drive it, in power mode the car just throws you back ! I do have a question about the radio I set my favourite on number 1 then after 5 seconds it just keeps going back to another station it looks as if radio 1 has been set on permanently it's really annoying anyone know the fix , I bet it's really simple so apologies in advance

With Lexus' record of IT competence on the My Lexus UK portal, I wouldn't hold your breath for this feature. 😉

On this first point Malcolm, you can tackle it yourself (there is a video on YouTube I think) as it usually is one of two of the cells that fail, not the whole unit. Alternatively, this chap has been mentioned here - in fact I think he posts here - and is definitely worth a look: http://www.hybridbatterysolutions.co.uk Second point, yes I had a set of a aftermarket alloys with full winters and never had a problem, although admittedly in the time I had them we never had a serious winter here in Hampshire! From previous experience, they are day and night to summers. Harry Metcalfe got his Rolls to the Arctic Circle on winters (check YouTube) so that's good enough for me... ☺️

I've just replaced my front tyres (18's) which were some no-name brand that have been on for 18 months, with Falken FK510's. I'm amazed at the difference in feel and confidence, maybe it's placebo effect but I don't honestly think so. Got a good deal locally, £75 each inc fitting when on-line prices were starting at £65 plus fitting so well happy 🙂

1645kg is the weight listed for all the Approved used Gen-3 IS250s currently for sale. 1570kg is stated to be the weight for a 2005-2010 one. 2011+ models are lighter still at 1530kg. That's something you're going to feel, and the official figures confirm it. CO2 Emmisions and consumption are both higher in the newer car when comparing like-for-like. It's something I noticed last week when browsing, because I found it surprising that the weight difference would be so much. There were a few 250 F-Sports on sale so you could directly compare models with the same trim levels and wheel sizes, but it looks like they've been moved on.

I tow with a 2007 GS450H, and this probably has the same basic lighting system as the RX400H. I wired the electrics myself as the Lexus module was expensive, and still not plug, and play. I used a bank of 12 volt relays in a plastic box, coils operated from the rear lights, with the contacts fed via a suitable fuses from the 12 volt battery very conveniently fitted in the boot of the GS. This not only works well for the lighting, but also gives split charging to the caravan battery with 12 volt fridge operation when the car is in ready mode, and on the move. It is important for my van to have a fully charged 12 volt battery because being disabled I have a remote control motor mover fitted to the van. This essential for parking at home, and very useful on site especially as I can drive the van up to the cars tow ball without risking damage to the car bumper. John.

You'll also gain nearly 100kg, making it even slower and more thirsty than a 2nd-gen one.

I would be up for a 'blat' - Welsh or otherwise...my lady is already 'softened' up (!?) so no need to organise a pass. I will look into routes and dates for early/mid October and circulate a link to the required b&b bookings...on the basis of £40/day on petrol as advised by Ratty I'm guessing you covered about 200miles each day, so for the route I'm looking for two stops each about 200 miles away from one another? I presume criteria for accomodation is close to a pub with at least breakfast included...leave it to me

Danny, I used to use Gas & Go in Swindon, he was ex-Lexus technician, but he has stopped doing it now (shame). I live near Stroud and have started using Autocraft Services in Thrupp, they see the LS400 as old school mechanics, and in next year or so they will need to do my Cambelt. If you are prepared to travel, Japex near High Wycombe seem to get excellent reports. I would suggest best place for alignment/tracking is Chris Mullins in Glous (sort of opposite Pro-Tyres), he knows his stuff inside out. Also used Auto Trans Gloucester for a full flush and refill of gearbox (cleanest workshop I have ever seen, and the owner thinks only two cars worth owning are Lexus or Jag). I do keep a list on my PC at home of other places I have used (or come across), I had the dreaded Y-piece leak, and had that sorted by a place near Didmarton just off M4 (went for a walk through James Dysons back garden while they were doing the work). So feel free to PM with any requests I'll see what I have (Doing this reply at work, so do not have all info that may be useful once you land the LS of your choice.

Will need to Google that!

It's good to hear that I'm not the only one who thinks this. I have to say that I can't remember a single occasion, over many years of driving in many different cars, where I've accelerated on a normal road 0-60 at full throttle. As it's a feature I never use, I'm not interested in how long it takes. I'm not sure that many other people are doing it either. I certainly never see them. Maybe I need to go out at 2am to see the people who are interested in this feature. So why car makers and reviewers keep emphasising this virtually unused feature is a mystery. On the other hand, I join motorways at, say, 40 mph on the slip road and it's nice to get up to 70 as quickly as possible, particularly if there's heavy traffic going at 70 mph in the left lane. Being able to do this rapidly is a far more useful feature than being able to get from 0-60 two-tenths of a second faster than in another model. Agree with this too. What I really like about the transmission is being able to cruise at almost any speed with the engine generally turning at around 1200 rpm.

blat blat/ NORTH AMERICANinformal verb 1. make a bleating sound. "horsemen on ugly steeds, grunting and blatting and howling" 2. travel quickly. "blatting down the motorway" noun 1. a bleat or similar noise. "the blat of Jack's horn" Take your pick from the above!

Just been through the new MOT with two front tyres with similar cracking and passed with that being the only advisory issue on the car. Should be Ok.

Hi Malcolm, welcome to the LOC. My IS300 cost me £3000 about five years ago. It was on 95k then and I took it to 185k; I sold it to a member here and it has just got through its MoT at the ripe old age of 17 (the car, not the owner!). In that, time I probably spent the same in maintenance. No older high mileage car will be big-ticket free unfortunately, but I never ever was left in the lurch by my IS, and I never hesitated to do 500+ miles a day in it when the need arose. They are superbly built vehicles - probably even better the older you go. Lots of good advice here when you've narrowed down to which Lexus best fits your need. If you want poke, may be a GS450h or RX400h might come into your budget, but more likely a LS430, GS430 or GS300.

GS for real Lexus quality and reliability.

Welcome to the LOC. Have fun.

As above. A great job done there. It'll help others in the future.

'The Linas Conflict'. Sounds like some pseudo dodgy James Bond rip off film. He's taken my car to the cleaners more times than I've taken my weddings / births and funerals suit. Try having the misfortune of owning a new Lexus with a turbo, its the equivalent of stabbing yourself in the eye with a pencil in the Lexus world....spawn of the devil I tell ya. Yet back in the day we were falling over ourselves trying to get a turbo in a Lexus. I left on a few occasions but as I've been knocking around here for a decade or more its like trying to convince a cat he can't sleep on that old shed roof that he's been sleeping on for years. I keep popping back and yet again ..somewhere my car's been torn a new one , if not by Linas he's straight on it like a ferret up a drainpipe and sticking that size 10 in where it hurts. bless..its about time you IS300h owners had some home grown truths 😉

I've got what is supposed to be the latest disc arriving sometime this week. I'm assured it's not a copy but part of an unwanted/needed full European set. Previously my car had it's original 2006 disc in. I'll let you know how I go on.

I can't understand the obsession with 0-60 acceleration times. The important figures are acceleration whilst the car is moving e.g. 30-50, 40-60 etc. I hope I'm not misquoting Rayaans here and it is a different car but I'm sure he provided figures that the RX450h although slower than a Porsche Cayenne to 60 beats it in the important real life overtaking speeds. Personally I couldn't care less if my car wins the traffic light Grand Prix but on a single carriageway A road I like to spend as little time as possible on the opposite side of the road. The beauty of the hybrid is the added punch given by the electric motor and the seamless way the car uses it when required so I'm out and back in as quickly and safely as possible. I admit I haven't driven a IS300h but I had a short test drive in the GS300h, which I assume is a similar engine and motor and it certainly wasn't lacking punch. Finally I really can't understand the comments about CVT drone. Accelerating it's a different but not unpleasant noise (certainly not from the 3.5V6!) but cruising it is exceptionally quiet, regardless of speed.

Great work there Mark @Delphius1

congratulations and well done 😊

Excellent, a job well done Mark. Thanks for posting the write-up.

My two, Lexus RX400h for Winter and BMW Z4 for Summer - Perfect!

It has been thesame pattern in multiple threads over time. Linass writes down a polarized opinion, other readers react to this and The Linas Conflict is born, he seems to thrive on conflict and hijacks the thread with a constant agressive and sometimes offending diarrhea of opinions. As long as others bite he will continue. i have been reading this blog less and less over time and that is the reason why. On topic i drove a 250 for 4 years and a 300 for 3. Both great cars in my opinion. 250 more refined and 300 more modern. 250 - buttersmooth engine but a little too weak for a six, not enough torque below 4000rpm, chassis a bit choppy and when really pushing the car it starts to fall through, steering too slow and brakes too weak, but a great cruiser with bankvault like buildquality. The 300 is newer and has a better overall package, roomier. Chassis lightyears better can handle many more horses. accelleration from standstill to some 40mph is way faster than the 250, above that it starts to slip. Both enjoyable but heavy drives . you cant go wrong with either of them really.

Just changed the front pads on GS450h after 31k - pads are similar in size to a Ford Focus, so even with Brake assistance from motor regeneration the wear is similar to a typical car. Car often driven by wife who treats it like a pussycat, whilst I drive it with gusto at times. All pads wore evenly and true.

Level sensor issue? Do these cars have a lever attached to the suspension strut or roll bar to determine the ride height?

Amazing cars. And many of the parts will weld straight on to an RC-F apparently 😀

It's a "Moon Roof" I'll have you know. Or so mine tells me whenever I leave it open and step out of the car ;-)

Today I bought my first LEXUS. I would also like to say goodbye to my 306 as it served me well for ten years and the poor mpg has me ready for my new car so in at the deep end with a 2001 IS300, it’s a big step up, but the 100 mile trip home was worth every drop of fuel for the smile on my face