Leaderboard

Please excuse the shirt, but it was a great day

That is because society wants actions.... whatever bloody thing that means... you know to fight climate change. Planes, trains and industry have strong lobby behind it so they are inconvenient targets, but some scapegoats are needed to kill off blood-thirst for action... yep you guest it right - individual car drivers who all in all contribute ~2.4% of pollution (2.1% diesel and 0.3% petrol) are exactly suitable target to "solve" the problem (as you said easy targets). Obviously, there are no issues with consumerism i.e. cheap clothing which we throw away after single use or cheap Chinese electrical goods and toys which keeps braking and we throw them to landfills.. no that is not a problem - problem is motorists... well you know ... just because!

Nice post. Mirrors my own thoughts in the main. Mercedes,Audi, BMW,are not as reliable as they used to be perceived. Not as rare as they used to be and certainly not driven as respectfully as they used to be. I`ve had 4 Mercs and one Audi. Never again. I`ve had my GS450h for 5 years now and nothing, repea, nothin,g has gone wrong. Lexus is the "numero uno" for reliability on the Planet. By being reliable it is also by definition economical as costs for repairs are excluded from the calculation. No doubt young Executive twirps will acquire F Sport models whilst the B.I.K. remains favourable and respectful Lexus driving will go out of the window, but that is for the future and we who are really in the minority will continue to enjoy what still remains a closed secret.

I scared the life out of a guy in one of those new Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio's on an A road near me. He was hanging off my rear bumper through traffic and I think he thought he was in a fast car until the traffic moved aside and he witnessed 50-100 from the RCF two or three times...we stopped at some traffic lights about 5 minutes later and with a big smile on his face, he opened the window and said 'f**k that things fast! what is it?'...it amazes me more people don't know about these F cars...and most of them would consider themselves petrolheads?!

So why did I buy a Lexus GS? My previous car was a Mercedes W212 E-350CDI Sport. It was mostly a cracking car. Fast (6 seconds 0-60MPH), huge amounts of torque, economical (I once managed 60MPG on a trip from Bolton to Gosport ... but it wasn't difficult on a motorway run to get late 40's early 50's MPG), comfortable (I once did Bolton to Dijon only stopping for the tunnel) and it looked quite aggressive. However it wasn't without fault... when I was changing it (4.5 years old, 85K Miles), it had a leak on the turbo seals and the DPF kept playing up and sending the car in limp mode. On top of that it was in negative equity and MB customer service can be awful. So, when I looked for a new car.... I considered downsizing to the MB C-Class but the sales staff at MB didn't have a clue. BMW ignored me when I visited a showroom (Quite liked the 5 series at the time), Audi are just too expensive and Infinity had fantastic customer service but was let down by the product. Lexus offered the best complete experience. I wanted a car with similar characteristics to my E-Class but a bit different. I looked at the 300H but felt it was too slow for me... a drop from 6 seconds to 9 second 0-60 was just too much when I'm spending £30k on a secondhand car. The 450H offered the right balance of performance, economy, comfort while also being a little bit an alternative choice from the German marques. Also being rare is a benefit to me. So the ES ... for me the FWD/RWD argument is not as much of a problem these days. Do I prefer to be pushed rather than pull round a bendy road... of course RWD is better. But with all the modern electronics which are used o FWD cars these days I don't think the gap is that huge. Saying that, Audi do go AWD on their more powerful models. The problem for me is the engine size. The 300H is just not powerful enough for a car which is supposed to be a direct replacement for the GS (Quoting Lexus). I don't want to go back to diesel and the competitors non hybrid petrols are a little thirsty for the same performance. Will my next car be a BMW/MB/Audi Hybrid... nope. My understanding is that on paper they look great but with the 46L petrol tank and a massive drop in MPG when they charge the batteries on the move (I drive 20K miles a year) make them less economical to me than my 450H. Also if I remember right, the 1.4T used in the Audi has insufficient power to charge the batteries on the move. So either I will keep my GS for a few years or look at the RX450H.

There is some silly advice and silly opinions being given on this subject. Fill in the form, which you have done, or send a letter outlining your case. Simple as that. If you come up against a brick wall threaten them with the small claims court, and put time limits on when you expect their replies. You don’t need to do FOI Act requests or requests for risk assessments at this point, if you ever will need to. Keep it simple, send them an invoice for repair, tell them you have video evidence, are willing to go to court to recover costs and the matter will find its way to the legal department.

It was a press feature car for quite some time.... according to my data it does have TVD, was on a private plate for sale for quite sometime and didn’t sell, a two owner car I believe. For the record I love the Orange.... 🐀

Perhaps surprisingly the hybrid system works better in a front wheel drive car such as the Prius or CT200H. It would also be more efficient in a four wheel drive vehicle where regen could be gained from all four wheels. The problem with rear wheel drive hybrids is that there is only so much energy that can be recovered before the rear wheels begin to lock up particularly in the wet. This effect is much reduced on front wheel, and four wheel drive vehicles. The Toyota/Lexus hybrid system reverts to mechanical braking at any sign of a wheel under rotating or if the car is rolling in neutral. It must be remembered that the hybrids get all there power from petrol. Using EV or milk float mode uses more fuel. This is because of the losses involved in turning engine power to the generator produces a loss. Turning the 3 phase electricity into a DC charging voltage produces a loss. Using the electricity to charge the battery produces a loss in the chemical reaction. To reverse this chemical reaction into electricity produces a loss. To turn the DC battery voltage into 3 phase AC produces a loss, and finally using that electricity to turn the electric motor produces a loss. It would be much more efficient to use the engine to drive the wheels. The hybrid gains when energy that would normally be lost when costing or braking is recovered for re use. There is another time when using the engine to drive the wheels that allowing the engine to produce more power than is needed for this. The excess can produce electricity to charge the battery allowing a wider throttle opening with less pumping losses within the engine. Thus making the engine run at a more efficient level than it normally would. John

I take it a 2006 IS 220d wouldn't be ULEZ exempt as diesel? Why aren't they targeting planes, trains and industry more. They have more clout than the easy prey motorist! Not that I have ever been to London, but sure in the near future, Birmingham will do something similar. I'm sure if all towns and citys have a charge we won't get a reduced road tax. I liked the French system where you pay a one off charge on engine CV during your ownership. If I remember correctly you got a discount if car was over 10 years old. In 2003 had a 1986 740GLE estate 2.3 James

The noise is cased by the oil draining down from the VVT "variable valve timing" sprockets. They then rattle on cold start till they are filled with oil. According to Lexus this is not problematic apart from the noise. The official Lexus cure for this is to strip the top of the engine, and replace the 4 VVT sprockets, and empty your wallet. Many Toyota/Lexus engines suffer with this problem to varying degrees. I have developed a low cost reliable solution that pressurises the oil system before the engine starts eliminating the noise. The system also reduces cold start engine ware as the engine is lubricated before it turns over to start. I am testing the system at the moment to iron out any possible bugs, but I am virtually at the point of issuing the details of the method here on LOC. Parts used are all obtainable on the net the most expensive part being a 12volt DC solenoid valve at circa £12. The other parts are mainly small pipe fittings, flexible hose, and a suitable pressure container holding about 1ltr. John.

You should have told him the truth... I mean we all know there are no limits for Vauxhall Calibra customisation Look even found one in Sun Flare colour! P.S. I am obviously joking (right?).

@Jon_B Expensive time looming close now then matey...... now you've given him a taste for American muscle he's going to be wanting one of these then..... when he's seventeen...... whole new insurance thread about to start there 😉 🐀

@Big Rat, what I've just realised is that it was that Dan's 6th Birthday and he is 15 in August 😮

For God's sake man! Stop being so reasonable! This is a forum! If we can't go wildly off topic, speak with authority on something of which we have no experience and have arguments that we'd never have face to face then what the hell are we all doing here??

@Jon_BGreat pic don't worry about the attire full 'Boss Hog Look' goes with the occasion 😂 🐀

I consider myself a badge snob (love BMW's) so when I was searching for a new car I never considered a GS, well, it has big petrol engine, heavy, not popular and while test driving other cars (after GS) I was doing my research and Lexus is comfy, plush inside, actually quite a looker, very reliable BUT hitting 62mph under 6 seconds was one of the factors I like about the car even if I use it 20% of the time. I like quick acceleration or even just to make a quick maneuver and having this ability just makes driving safer, for the same reason I would not buy my wife a car that is slow but "economical", it can be not safe. For most people (people buying A-class 180d for example) acceleration does not matter but it does to me. Just saying.

I always wanted a 69 Charger 440RT. Hired one for my sons birthday a few years ago now. What a noise and what a size 😀

Or it's this...

Jay, I was lost after word WHILST! 🙂

Worth mentioning that this will only be for a limited period of time

Wax cylinder for me, mate. But that was only a recent innovation. I much prefer the actual artiste in the car, nothing like a live performance.

I've got a rather nifty mini disc player in my IS300. I believe you had some sort of phonogram in yours didn't you Glyn?

Streaming? Spotify? Bluetooth? What is this witchcraft of which you speak? Can't we get back to sensible discussions about balancing carburettors and so on? 😉

Good to know Nissen products are good. They cost the same in the UK as paying for Denso products from Rockauto anyway.

hi I paid £49 for denso from states and then VAT when it arrives. I am trying to use everything OE on the car. I ordered the pipes from the gearbox sump to the radiator from today (4 pieces) for £97 from Toyota

At the end of the day, you need to do what feels best for you. If a warranty gives you peace of mind, then it's worth every single penny. Now, just sit back and continue to enjoy the IS300h!

Have a look here: http://nice-reg.co.uk/number-plates/number-plates/diplomatic-number-plates-embassy-plates.html. It's for non-diplomatic staff working (in my case) for an international organisation. I'll change it back though as insurers willing to provide insurance are few and far between. Admiral (who I was with originally) said they would but then conveniently changed their mind after I had gone through the process and was confirming the registration plate change, leaving me to find alternative insurance at about twice the cost (just before a Christmas trip to the continent)...

Interesting - I hadn't really considered the RWD impact on regen but of course it has to be the driven wheels which are 'braked' by the regen system. Fair play to Lexus - they've done a good job of tuning this system as it doesn't feel any different from FWD hybrids in use - I'd have thought braking just the rear wheels when lifting off on a corner would unsettle the car but it really doesn't seem to. Also, nice work on explaining what I was trying to say about losses in a much clearer fashion!

As a non OEM brand you might want to consider this product. Nissens has an impressive website and I do have a brand new Nissen Rad for my LS400 (cost just £45) which I have yet to install. So, I can't give any advice but for a cheaper product this may not hurt quite so much, bearing in mind the unknown as regards your auto box state https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-NISSENS-COOLANT-RADIATOR-64764-LEXUS-LS-430-2000-2006-TOP-QUALITY/273193844187?fits=Car+Make%3ALexus&epid=1037581648&hash=item3f9b9f3ddb:g:hGIAAOSwWFFa7GuX

Hi John thanks for your interesting comments, I have the car partially stripped down in my workshop, I'm a marine engineer and I always do my own repairs however not being familiar with the pro's and con's of these particular motors I decided to do some research, I like to be well prepared... I must be honest I started out with a plan to change the lot idlers pump everything, this was based mainly on thinking it would be a nightmare to get at should I get an issue with something else like the water pump later on, having got it apart its not as bad as I was led to believe, yeah its tight for space but it only took me 20 minutes to strip it down so this will probably take me 21/2 hours job time taking my time and I'm not familiar with this car At this point I'm seriously considering just changing the belt over and I'll have a close inspection of everything while I'm at it, I would prefer to leave the genuine Lexus parts in place rather than fit aftermarket parts if you know what I mean, also I'm not comfortable with dumping perfectly serviceable parts for no good reason, if somethings worn then that's a different matter I'll changed it out while I'm there You would think that Lexus would want to sell me more parts but far from that they were trying to prevent me from wasting it, rather refreshing I thought, good to get the opinion of others though thanks again.

My Celsior’s life in Japan.

I currently own a is200 2001 plate with 136645 on the clock and still run's sweet as a nut.

Grey colour is my least favourite on any car, best way to improve it is adding dark contrasting details.

Nearest thing I can find in the time I've got is the Diplomatic Corps - been through everything else UK-related and nothing else comes close.

ahem...begs to differ in my own humble way of course 😄

I still feel very smug overtaking on the motorway on the decent of a hill with the ICE turned off. When VW/Audi drivers talk about their valve deactivation technology, I do like to point out mine has similar technology and shuts down all 6 when not required.

Same. If I was in a position to purchase... RCF carbon in orange for me. I would then pretend I was driving around in a GT3 RS 4.0 in the Porsche Orange 🙂

Nah... It's always taken up by men in leather on crotch rockets. 😉

All done now (last week). Some miscommunication between Lexus and the insurer meant that the approval for the repair didn't come through to Lexus. Anyway, wasn't in a hurry myself as the car was driveable. Got an NX to drive for the week, which was nice. Wouldn't trade it in though, the RX is by far superior as others have commented. Thanks again for your responses earlier and now hoping that next year's premium won't go through the roof!

Assuming the 06/07 GS uses the same clips as my 06 RX then the ones in the eBay links above are the ones you want. I bought the same as @Chris111 linked to but from the dealer and they were considerably more expensive. Obviously! Part number for genuine is 53259-48010

The black one with black exhaust ends could be me and the blue one is more than likely my friend who I work with (at that certain insurance company on a big roundabout) Yep. Will get something sorted.

Fair enough. Either way I think a good bumper off respray is in order. Shouldn't be too expensive but will certainly lift the car

Brilliant well found Stuart this definitely deserves a pic! Clickable link to the ad - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LEXUS-LS-400-THE-ROZZERS-TOP-GEAR-COPY-BANGER-RALLY-CAR/332677335991?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D49129%26meid%3Db6b223d54f9143fa8589af9fdf50af57%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D132656423518%26itm%3D332677335991&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

Congratulations & grear colour choice - it certainly does look good in the flesh . I’m sure you will notice the positive attention & comments 👍🏻

That's it! My ISF has finally returned home! The gearbox has been paired up (remaped) with the car and everything is working correctly!

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.

Driving off without having unfolded mirrors stikes me as driving without due care and attention!

Having spoken to many a police officer in general chat, it's all down to their interpretation. A little spirited acceleration upto the speed limit, unlikely to pull you over IMO, however, two cars clearly racing which goes into excessive speed, you're getting pulled. The greater your competitive spirit towards other drivers....... the more chance you will enter the 'duel' and greater chance of getting pulled.