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So Thursday morning I'm driving to work and the M25 is in carpark mode, so I come off at Sevenoaks and take the backroads. After passing a van that was doing 30 in a 60 limit I come round a gentle curve at around 50 and see white road. I ease out of the throttle but the rear end starts to slide, so I steer into it slightly and steer with the throttle. Thank god for a precise throttle and good steering feedback. After about 300yds of sideways action the white ended and grip resumed. Chances are the VSC helped but I never had time to look at the dash to see if the light came on. I pulled over into a layby and spent 30 mins waving people down and warning them about the ice and got to see a car and a van swap ends (they didn't slow down). Then the gritter turned up and did 2 runs so I continued on to work. Winter is here so stay safe people.

Assuming the fitting is the same as the 400h, keep your wits about you. One of the nuts is very easy to get lost inside the panel. Also, a bit of thought towards sealant. After disturbing my rear light fittings I got a bit of water coming in behind the lens and had to remove it again.

I hate to say it... But RainX is your problem. It's fine in warm weather, or for the first week or two after application, but after that, especially in cold conditions (0-5C) it causes very bad smearing. The reason for it is that behind the wiper blade a very thin film of water is left, and the rainX causes it to bead at a much finer level than normal, so it appears as an opaque mist. This state lasts for 3-4 months after applying RainX. I stopped using rainX on the windscreen (and moved over to Gtechniq G5 for the side windows and mirrors), and things improved. The other bit of the puzzle is screenwash. Some screenwashes smear horrendously badly. A few years ago Halford's Double Concentrate did so very badly (not tried it since so no idea if they've reformulated it), and Prestone also. I've found Autoglym screenwash and Volvo screenwash not to do so. Phli mentioned Trico wiper blades - I had a set on my Honda that were great. I bought a set later on for my Volvo and they were abysmal. Also be aware that the clips on wipers wear out - I had a set on a car that made a loud "CLACK" every sweep when they stopped and changed direction at the top of the stroke. I thought they were hitting the A-pillar but they were not. It turned out that it was play in the clip, and a new set of wiper blades solved the issue. So, if you get juddering or noises, replace the whole wiper assembly, not just the rubber. If you get smearing, stop using rain repellant, clean the windscreen, put new wipers on and use autoglym or another good screenwash.

Hi All I took the car to another garage yesterday and they successfully installed the CV shaft. The problem came down to compressed length the shaft we removed was 32in and the new one was 1 in shorter and the first mechanic said it was wrong. If any one else has to change a CV shaft then then remember my comments. I have sent an apology mail note to the Rock Auto customer service guys. This is a superb company at amazing pricing. To recap Lexus UK was £830 for the LH CV half shaft Rock Auto was £65 + £25 shipping and this comes DHL to uk then Parcel force. As it was less than £100 no import duty but I had to pay Parcel Force £25 VAT to release the package? The shaft was made in China but it looks amazing can't believe how they do it for the price. Also my rear exhaust CAT back is nearly done Lexus £850. Stainless steel custom fit made in the Midlands is £350 Happy Motoring Roger

I just found this picture on the web where someone bent the metal flange back on a landrover matrix and it looks like the pipes do have a rubber seal and can be removed. I need to take a good look at the car now but thats going to be a week or so away. Kev

Hi folks, Quick update on my problem. Ive had to put the car back together as I need to use it and I was waiting on some things being delivered. The first was another heater matrix from a scrapped 450H and the other was a bottle of Forte Bio Degreaser and Cooling System Flush. My plan is to blow the cooling fluid out of the existing matrix and pour in the Forte neat and leave it sitting for a few days. I measured the water volume of the matrix from the scrap car it it held 400ml including the two pipes and by pure luck the Forte is a 400ml bottle 🙂 I also had a look at the other matrix and found that the two pipes that go into the radiator look like they are separate and are just held in by the surrounding metal being bent over (see the picture) and im assuming there will be a rubber seal between the pipe and the radiator. So im wondering if it is possible to bend the metal back, and remove the pipe. Maybe (big maybe) this would allow a small bottle bush to be inserted into the matrix to clear any crap or would this then allow the radiator matrix to be removed without taking the dash out ????? More investigation required for sure. What do you think ? Thanks Kev

Kal, if you get sensor errors it will throw a light on the dash and display check hybrid system. However this doesn't mean the battery pack is at fault it just means theres a fault in the system. You most likely don't have any battery related issues, just a cam sensor thats maybe getting slightly intermittent. Out of interest did it happen when the engine started or when it was already running? Do yourself a favour and buy a OBD2 reader so you can read and clear codes. As Lee and Roy have suggest the hybrid health check at Lexus is worth doing as if all clear its covers you for 12 months if the battery pack does fail. Plus you usually have your car valeted for free. Let us know how you get on with it.

Brill, thanks for the advice Lee. Yes its the outer unit in the image above that is broken. I've managed to get one for £50 off eBay. Looks identical with the wiring and backing plate attached so hopefully just plug and play once I manage to remove the old unit. It looks to me like the unit is only held on with one fixing in the image above and also the pics of the one I've bought look the same. We will see! Hopefully have the unit on Friday and fit over the weekend.

I agree, I actually didn't mind spending on the brakes and Shocks, especially with my first baby arrival i wanted to ensure that the car was safe, I even invested in a full set of Michelin CrossClimates so that I never get caught out. It just gets a bit tiresome as when will it all end? Reading one of the topics apparently spending £700 on a recon hybrid battery doesn't stop the hybrid pump from failing. I think really best to enjoy the borrowed time for now and deal with it when the time comes. Could be sooner hopefully later!

Hi Kal, I endorse all that Lee has said. I understand that "officially" Lexus has not admitted to one failure of a Hybrid Battery, so why not ask Lexus to carry out a Hybrid Battery Health Check for you (approx £60). They will give you the all clear or a diagnosis of the fault and the cost to repair/replace. Then approach Richard again (Hybrid Battery Solutions) with the facts and ask him to quote for his work which I think I am right in saying will provide a 12 month warranty. Good luck.

Worked a treat, many thanks. I have been searching for replacement steering wheel audio controls for at least 6 months but couldn't seem to buy them without the steering wheel - now not necessary!

Update: I managed a good run at the weekend and the mpg's sneaked up very close to 40mpg I've not seen it that high for a long time and I wasn't 'milking' it either. Looking back over my fuel consumption, the mpg's have been pretty low over the year which I partly contributed to having fewer long journey's,. But it now seems that the poor tracking was perhaps the biggest factor. Will keep an eye on it. John @Britprius, if your tyre wear is okay then I can understand why you're reluctant to get the tracking checked. I'd still consider it as a preventative task and should have done mine earlier. To prevent the front wandering you'd be able to dial in a little more front toe, if needed.

Thanks for the comments guys. My service book has its 1st service at 5k miles from Lexus Liverpool. So I assume they sold the car from new tho I'm waiting for confirmation from them. The book however is missing PDI info. Mileage, stamp etc. Lexus Wolverhampton then did a service at 38k But instead of stamping the book they hand wrote it. I'm not a happy bunny with Wolverhampton branch nor any Vantage group dealer. I'll look into GDPR and get back to that Saint Albans garage.

All of them by the looks of it

I hope you have better luck than I usually do Darren. I always think I'm going to break them getting them off and can never get them back on again. Doesn't matter which make or model

I decided a long time ago never to mess with mirrors. I arrived home with new mirror and as I took it out of the car the mirror slipped out of the box......

If you cant source them here you can from japan . Theres a few auction sites. I get my importer mate to do it

Lots of nice imports about . Ive had loads of elgrands

Small update. Thanks to the excellent design of the ISF rear suspension, I was recently able to swap the oh so thin rear anti-roll bar on the SC430 for a much thicker American ISF sway bar. With new ISF drop links and brackets for the larger bushes it's a simple swap. The back end now feels so much better through the twisty bits. It's just a shame that the UK ISF owners are so careful with their prized machines that I had to resort to importing the part from the US.

GDPR is to do with personal data. Car service details do not identify a person if the previous owner's name were redacted. A car is not a person.

You're very welcome Jay. A couple of other things you could do if you get bored would be the switchback DRLs and the USB cigar lighter conversion

I think there is something to be said for driving a marque that doesn't really have any baggage. There does seem to be a maturity of attitude (and age) on here which helps. Obviously there's the F lot but even they seem to behave

It's because we are all so chilled from driving around in a quiet, powerful, comfortable, luxury cars!

I've recently switched over my 2008 OEM wheels after sourcing a set of 2012+ ISF OEM wheels from The States. Pretty happy with the outcome.....

Yes, good man, we need more people like you on our roads. Who knows how many accidents (maybe serious) you prevented. I spent hours driving in London yesterday and the lack of consideration for other motorists is shocking. Give yourself a pat on the back (not when you're driving though!)👍

You are a good man George, most people (most likely I am one of them) would drive off after this but you stayed and tried to warn people! Well done and thanks for drivers like you!

I think the tyre pressures are about right... They're in line with Lexus recommendation. I must say, as I am getting used to the car, the torque steer seems to be becoming less of an issue. IMHO, I think the suggestion that the rear motor could have more power does have some traction (sorry about that :-). After all, we have a chunky V6 in the front paired with a decent motor, and then just a Prius motor on the rear to help out. Something closer to a 50/50 split might be better... But then it would be a different car in many other respects too, and other strengths would be lost. Overall, I am extremely happy with my experience of the RX400h, with the torque steer being my only gripe. I'm still in the honeymoon period of ownership, I know, but it does seem to be a very very capable vehicle.

Well I've just seen today that the is300h I exchanged for my RX in June has Finally got a new owner. I can't believe it took about 6 months for that car to go. Leeds couldn't sell it so they moved it to Coventry. They couldn't sell it so off it went to Wolverhampton who've had it a fair few weeks. They only made a few hundred quid on that car which I'm happy with.

Vladimir, I'm not from that area but I've used Grinspeed just up the road from you in Leyland. They're x motorsport engineers and really know their stuff. Best of all they won't fleece you and will do a proper job. I discovered them/used them via the Honda forums but they work on other cars too.