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At westfield shopping centre.... Along with a pair of red and white LC's....

As I mentioned yesterday the RcF has gone to Lexus Cheltenham for a service and a bit of personalisation. They kindly gave me this to runabout in for a while and I must say I'm very impressed.......... I requested it about a week ago as I've never driven one before and my first impressions are wholly positive. From the outset it's obviously a drivers focused car and has clearly been designed as such from the outset. No doubt most of you have read plenty about them as they've been around for some years now, but what I really appreciate is normally aspirated petrol rear wheel drive. This one is a manual which most no doubt are the gearbox is great close ratios stacked together well for acceleration in any gear, bit noisy and buzzy at motorway speeds 80mph in 6th equates to 3000rpm, I understand the auto 6th is an overdrive. Great pointy steering and the vehicle is easy to place in part to the raised front arch bumps, but like an Elise or Exige. Engine revs out pretty well past 7000rpm albeit this one is still tight as it's only done 199 miles and naturally I'm being sympathetic........ c The interior is great IMO all the tech and kit one would want with swathes of suede in all the right places, great seat and positioning nice and low just right for a little fellow like me. The pedal/steering to gear lever are just right and feel just right, engine produces just short of 200bhp would I want more not sure really would quite like a go in a super charged one to see. All in all a great package chuckable car with a fairly spacious boot reliability as I understand stand it and not a bad price what's not to like 🤗 Big Rat

yours is facelift - the giveaway is the face lol (headlights, bumper , grill)

2004 is facelift with sleeker front

Can’t you get some of your staff to carry the car out? Probably need about half your staff - say 30 to lift the RCF however 😜

Just a quick vid best to listen with earphones..... 😊

Well that time of year again and although I have no need , I always view this time with anguish. Well glad to report flew through again, no advisories, for the 4th time on the trot. 92000 miles now and took the opportunity to look underneath, and all looking good. My only concern after reading the threads on here was the LCA, so I asked him to check and they were absolutely fine. Roll on next year, cheers, Roger

Seriously considering unsubscribing Club Lexus after seeing the Stripe-It-All ad they are currently running. I don’t want to sound snobbish but I can’t imagine a more tasteless product for any RC or other Lexus owner 😧 !

I have the same problem with my GS, and have found polarised sun glasses eliminate the problem. Sitting in the car in a car park today I was watching a motorcyclist putting on his crash hat.with my glasses on. I removed my glasses to wipe them, and to my amazement I could not see either the motorbike or the rider through the glare, and replaced and took off the glasses several times to note the effect. John

Parking brake all sorted, 1 trolley jack, 1 flat head screwdriver, 20 minutes some minor cursing and all is working as intended, TPMS is next, I have the code for the new sensor, so should be easy to sort, will probably get it sorted when I stop playing with all the gadgets 😁

It’s me - Davina!

Good news Andrew, and interesting that you prefer yours over a brand new one! I've still got my slight knock, but after more than 3k miles it hasn't got any worse. With the AC fan going you can't really hear it but it's really annoying when you can. I would actually like it to get worse as it'll be easier to locate the problem. If and when I do find it I'll report back. Happy motoring! 🚗

After exactly two weeks I have my car back. New wing mirror, new TPMS, and most usefully a new right rear shock absorber. No more thumping noises over speed bumps. It’s VERY gratifying having my own car back and after two weeks in the slightly annoying but entirely competent 18 plate IS300h I’d forgotten just how good my (now a decade old!) GS feels. It feels more solid, it’s far roomier, the stereo is better, and it’s hyperdrive fast. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi great to read the feedback on this car, my 'other car' is a MX5 retractable top ( my second) but I to am not a fan of the new model and I am looking at the Toyota as a replacement .I would miss the fresh air but my IS250 is a convertible so I appreciate your comments Dave

I think he has wandering eyes..... 👀

Lexus took one look at my exhaust and rather than quote for a replacement, they offered to weld it up, which surprised me until they let on how much a new exhaust would cost. At this age I didn't opt for any repairs as I felt I'd be chasing leaks regularly, so a shiny new s/s custom exhaust has since been fitted.

@emjay82 Hey Mark is that Sean chatting to the tall blond lady....... I tried but she didn't know where the voice was coming from...... 🐀

@Comedian Sean can't be me I need this to reach.......

Your AC may have a big leak hence compressor not running as pressure switch stops compressor from running when gas low. Your compressor may need re-shimming. If the clutch gap isn't correct it may not engage the compressor clutch. If the same as a Volvo 940 the centre part can be manually pressed in with a stick to get it to engage. Heat and expansion may be preventing it from re- engaging. Some youtube vids of re shimming. I have just had a company out to test my IS220D For AC leaks from a national franchise company called cool car and found the condenser is leaking. Had a sniffer tool for the hard to see areas. Cost £30. Ordered a new nissens condenser from ebay £174 so hopefully fitting Sunday. My Volvo 940 has a used compressor off ebay. It works fine and came with a 30 day warranty. Cost £30. I did pay a garage £120 to fit it and re-gas as access tight so bear the fitting cost if found to be a dud. James

Have faith in your motor at MOT time it's a Lexus not a Lada!!!!! And probably a sight for sore eyes for the tester!! paul m.

Good news again Roger.Well done.

On my 2014 IS 300h Exec (so 17" wheels) between 48mpg and 52mpg (as per the car computer) on average mixed driving, motorway, A road and towns (lower end in winter, engine has to warm up for longer and heat the car, and higher end in summer) - can get to 60+mpg on a free flowing A road running at 30-50mph and being light footed, and up to 55mpg free flowing motorway (at 70mph) and being light footed. Heavy footed (and Sport mode etc.) will drop this down quite a bit - more towards mid-30s

I think mine must be the facelift model - it has the six speed box, reversing camera, bird's eye trim and swivelling headlamps, which Wikipedia tells me makes it the facelift model. However, I'm no expert! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_LS#Third_generation_(XF30;_2000-2006)

If you're certain its the compressor, i'd get a Denso *new* (OEM) one from RockAuto - change the Condensor at the same time https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/lexus,2004,ls430,4.3l+v8,1426092,heat+&+air+conditioning I don't believe 2004 is facelift, i think that came in 2005/6 ?

Thank you Paul and Dean but I (sort of) owe you an apology. How can someone forget their car is still under warranty? I've no idea but I did The service manager at Lexus Sheffield pointed it out to me.... So basically I couldn't really care less how much the sensor is (£174 plus VAT) or how long it will take to fix. That said, I will keep you posted for the benefit of anyone having the same problem in the future. They're also on back order from Japan.

If it were me I would consider phoning a local independent specialist aircon repair business At least then you would get a sensible comparative likely cost from a proper professional independent and i don't mean the likes of Halfords Kwikfit or similar Just my 2pn'th Best wishes with it Malc

Just found that post and it was an RX300 rather than 400h, and it was £395 rather than £495:

Hi all. Sorry Big Rat as much as the yellow looks good the Blue ones look better especially with silver wheels ( head down for the flack ) Look forward to seeing the pictures when you get it back. 65mike

bought my son one at the start of the year - as his mum said he needed a new car....... absolutely brilliant to drive, very focussed, as others have said pointy steering, great gearbox and predictable handling. one of the wits from evo mag once described it as "the slowest fast car you can buy" - very true great piece of kit. and still haven't fired on a gsf.

Never thought of that @Flytvr. Will have to give it a try 🙂

Right, I've ordered the proper caps from the US for my mk4! I've ordered a few repeats and some caps for earlier models too, so if anyone needs a Kit for theirs just give me a nudge, hopefully that can help someone out. No one here I asked had a spare kit 😞 I ordered them just so I have peace of mind the right caps have been used on my ECU, i'd be paranoid that whoever repairs it might use something different otherwise!

My two previous daily drivers were the IS300 with the 2JZ and a V70 2.5T AWD. I haven't needed to do anything to see an instant 10mpg improvement! The Volvo in particular was very thirsty.

Pretty certain it was LG58 YHZ I saw coming out of work the other day (near the dealership), he gave it a little blast past and I waved with glee. Almost sounded like it had a non standard exhaust. But I could be mistaken.

Thanks for the advice, what i will do is that i will disinfect the whole system and leave it on auto mode after. I hope i will find the drain pipe today. I'll update this topic with pics of the location if found.

Cool - I've bought some 15mm spacers so i guess a little trim is on order. Could've got 20mm spacers instead but didn't want the front track to be wider than the back. Bought 25mm spaces for the rear to be sure!

It's possible the LED lights are causing radio frequency interference and interfering with the DAB signal. With digital if you get interference you lose the signal completely, no hissy interference. If you try FM you might find an increase in background hiss when reverse is selected. Cheap LED units use electronics to convert from 12v down to 5v or so for the LEDs and don't always have the interference supression components they should.

Hi Rich, I had this on my previous IS200, I will start by saying this was a nightmare for me. I changed the O2 sensor on the manifold in the engine bay, the one nearest the front of the engine. This didnt resove it. I then changed the cat converter under the floor, this didnt solve it. For me it was a simple case of i had just done an oil change but used castrol magnatec grade C3, which was not burning right. I done another oil change and used magnatec A5 which i have always run my car on and this sorted the problem. Have you just had an oil change done? If you havent, then best advice i could give is start cheapest option first. Take out the O2 sensor and check the condition of it. Is there any discolouration to it? Grey/white? I think the part number for the one i changed was DOX-0205. Ideally you need to check if the O2 sensor is doing its job by getting a read out of the O2 sensors fluctuation. I cant advise what is correct here but a garage with the OBD computer could tell you. But using the wrong grade of oil was the cause of my problem. There is a post on here somewhere, when i had the same issue.

Well I'm glad I could ask the question no one else dare! I keep trying the method described above but I'm still at the booting it stage

Cool. That would be amazing. So would that make the cost be c.£1,400?

Which will make it a great buy for someone.

@Flytvr Nah don't be so modest you started it tunnel run man 😁 🐀

Just to let you know, I'm the new proud owner of KM11EFO, recently purchased from Lexus Coventry. Used to belong to Markg. On holiday at the moment with very intermittent internet, so will update soon.

Lol, thanks Paul. Car of the Show went to a Mustang! Had a load of scaffolding hanging off the back (ridiculous rear spoiler), and spent the entire day popping and banging off the limiter with anti-lag. I was able to resist starting my engine till quite late in the afternoon. I also allowed the engine to get up to temperature unlike the rest of them before demonstrating how a PROPER engine should sound! Let's just say I drew a bigger crowd, had people shouting encouragement from the stands, and the others including the zillion megawatt sound cars kept pretty quiet after that! As Lee P at SRD says, "sounds like an angry God".

Morning Folks, So amazing day at Brands in the sun yesterday (although I now resemble a lobster! Lol). 😂 Car was looking sharp, although no prizes this year (dodgy judging if you ask me). Thanks to my soon to be niece for some amazing photos, hope you like them. 👍😎

I had a friend who turbocharged his 2003 Civic Type-R. Admittedly front wheel drive so slightly different kettle of fish...but it ruined the car. He removed it in the end. My friend Phil has an AE86, they handle amazingly well...admittedly it’s not quite stock!

@Tfp It is in lovely condition inside and out I was just trying to place where I've seen that wheel design before as well, I think it's from the Dp's collection, there were some lovely AE86's on display at the recent Toyota day at Cheltenham I think @Rusty Crobarposted up some pics of them recently 🐀

I really wanted one of these when they were launched. I've owned several of it's older brothers the AE86's. But I felt it just needed more power. I too would like to try a supercharged one.

@Comedian Now Sean just you listen to me this is Mrs Rat he’s driving now and you now what a rubbish driver he is......he’s now responsible for me...... and you don’t want me to fetch my weapon of choice........ Mrs Jamaican

@Stuno1 As regards the wheels question you posed Stu my car goes in tomorrow to Lexus Cheltenham for a major service and some personalisation, my wheels have been diamond cut once before so I want to preserve 'the one more cut ' for the future so I'm having them fully stripped and powder coated in a dark Anthracite with a slight satin sheen to the surface I didn't want a glossy finish. And the calipers are going from black to 'Brembo Yellow' I'll post up a thread with lots of pics when I get her back. 🐀