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Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/07/2019 in all areas

  1. You make some fair and good points Martin. I think you know, I also own a very nice Volvo V70 which is supremely comfortable (and contains many Ford parts!) Given the choice of only being able to own one, the Volvo would be it, due to it being so practical. There have been comments on the forum over the years re snobbery, and I understand completely what you're saying. Anyway, I'm glad you've got something that suits you, keep in touch with the forum, you've made some valuable contributions, maybe even saving some 430 owners going through what you experienced with your transmission. And if you find yourself down south at any time it'll be good to see you again. All the best. Phil
    3 points
  2. And that’s exactly the kind of snobbish attitude I can’t stand on these forums mate. It would seem I’ve touched a few nerves for having the gawl to suggest that a Ford can be better than a Lexus, they say the truth hurts but that really is the case. I don’t just mean from a reliability point of view either, as I said previously the LS430 seat would start to hurt my back after a long journey whereas the mondeo seat doesn’t, it looks good too and feels modern, it’s spacious and comfortable with a massive boot, the dashboard doesn’t rattle (although this was a GS rather than LS issue but you still expect better from Lexus), the speakers work properly, the heated seats actually make a difference, it easily and laughably outhandles the Lexus in the corners whilst still having a very nice ride, maintenance is cheap and easy, being the Ghia X it’s fully loaded, the V6 engine is an absolute gem, in contrast to the Lexus silence (which is still nice!!!) this makes a lovely V6 growl which is very addictive and then there is the piece de resistance at this time of year, the luxury of a heated windscreen which is absolutely bloody brilliant, let me tell you!!! It’s certainly more of a drivers car but perhaps more than anything else, it’s just good fun to drive without the fear of having to remortgage or sell the house should something go wrong. You never know, I may even go all out and get a proper posh Mondeo one day in the shape of a Jaguar X-type, after all let’s not forget that a Lexus is merely a posh Toyota!!! 🤣🤣🤣 Perhaps I should’ve kept yours for longer than I did Phil rather than being tempted back into a hybrid, hindsight is a wonderful thing of course and life is full of regrets and “what if” moments but whats happened has happened, I’m glad it’s new owner is happy with it though and it seems to have gone to a good home. At the end of the day despite everything I’ve said I do still actually like Lexus, (perhaps it’s lexus that doesn’t like me!!!) but it’s time to look beyond Lexus for me, I don’t do brand loyalty with anything in life, also I don’t do badge snobbery hence I have no problem going from Lexus to Ford, I buy things objectively for what they are rather than what they present to other people. Cheers everybody, oh, and Happy New Year!!! 🍻🍻
    3 points
  3. Something to do with the regenerative side of things. I don't know exactly what as I've never had to do it yet, but I do recall reading on here that you do need Techstream.
    2 points
  4. Hi Richard, I also experienced this transition when I first picked up my GS and adapted to it for a short while. But after I renewed disks/pads, flushed the brake fluid via Techstream I can barely feel the transition anymore. So how old/how many miles have your disks/pads covered and has your brake fluid been flushed in the last couple of years?
    2 points
  5. Thats interesting because every single car that I have had be it company or private, Ford, BMW, Alfa, Mazda, Peugeot, Renault, VW, Audi, Honda... I have always had serviced on a Saturday. My current MX5 had the big 3.5 hour service done on a Saturday morning last year. However you have made a very good point regarding independents. I have a friend of mine who owns a family garage, MOT and service centre it has been operating since 1960. I may as well get them to do the servicing work as they looked after my Volvo for 5 years perfectly and my mothers cars. The Lexus stamp is not going to make the blindest difference to value when I sell it in 3 years time - it will be pretty much worthless then anyway. When I next get a nearly new one I will keep that maintained at Lexus themselves until it reaches a high mileage.
    2 points
  6. I think that is sound advice, but I would add, having recently replaced a Toyota/Lexus battery at under 3 years old, that allowing the battery to run down in the first place, will prematurely age the battery. LS430’s have a constant drain on the battery to run the various electronics, alarm etc., so you are much better charging the battery to full, and then putting a trickle charger on to replace the drain from the car. I have just invested in a CTek charger, which will boost the charge, then lower to trickle to maintain. I was quite shocked to find just how much is taken out on starting in cold weather, and unless you then do a decent mileage to recharge from the alternator, next time you start from a reduced battery state, and so it goes on. That ruins batteries. Good luck, Roger
    2 points
  7. Sincere apologies! Not wanting to appear snobbish at all. But I don't think that we are comparing like with like here. From what I've heard from friends, new jags are not everything they are cracked up to be either. Good luck with your new car.
    2 points
  8. Pending me test driving it and seeing the paperwork mots etc I have offered 11.5, I'm not being deliberately harsh he just came at me unexpectedly and just after Christmas too, I've only just had my RX serviced and also I insured it last week so I'm smarting a bit! We'll see what happens
    2 points
  9. As mentioned in another topic, I'm looking to purchase a 2014/15 Series 3 model at some point this year. I had a good visit to my local Lexus dealership this morning. It was very quiet, so the helpful salesman had plenty of time to talk it through, let me look at other models etc. An RX is still definitely what I'm after, tempting as a GS450h Sport they had would have been - quick, but sadly no folding rear seat which limited its practicality and when could I use 155mph?! Jumpingjehovahs kindly let me have a drive of his RX last year and I'm happy from the driving experience and his real world thoughts that it will suit me very well. I have also been considering a Subaru Outback and Mazda 6 with the new 2.5-litre engine, but I think the former would be too thirsty and the latter wouldn't be much of a step on from my current Avensis (although the 6 is an attractive car). The white 64-reg Premier with 43k miles at Cambridge is what I'm in negotiation over. The optimistic price will be reduced....... Given that this car breaks two of my three stipulations (I was trying to avoid white paint, air suspension and panoramic roof - at least this one has a sunroof) and it is significantly more than I've ever paid for a car before, I'd just like to satisfy myself on a few things: I've read of reliability issues with air suspension on earlier models, but are there any issues with the late series 3? Are there any other unique toys on the Premier which might cause a problem? What service should be due next? On some cars I've noticed an additional tax that's payable based on its original list price until the car is five years old, will that apply here? I hope not, I'm looking forward to this being one cost that's less than my current Avensis. I'd have been quite happy with a Luxury or Advance, so the extra equipment levels on the Premier aren't critical to me. Remember I currently drive an Avensis and have a fleet of various older cars going back to a very basic 1973 Datsun which doesn't even have carpets, so any RX would seem very plush. I'm sure I'll enjoy the ventilated seats, ML stereo etc but I don't really want to pay too much extra for the privilege. I'd be grateful for any thoughts/comments please. Thanks.
    1 point
  10. With a saddened heart and mainly because of financial a financial situation I've had to say farewell to my RX450h today. I didn't want any more car finance so now I'm better off a few hundred quid a month. So I'd like to thank all here who I've encountered chats with. To those I may have helped and to those who have helped me you are a good crowd. I'll keep popping by to see how things are. I've gone back to Ford. Yes I'm a lover of Ford's and I'm back with my 3rd Titanium X Sport model which I know well. Blimey it's got more kit than my RX did. Adaptive cruise is astonishing absolutely brilliant. A superb safety feature. Anyway don't shout at me lol. Take care all and enjoy your fabulous cars.
    1 point
  11. Gents 2 years after taking ownership of my 98 LS400, I’ve now moved to the dark side having acquired a 2006 Jaguar x350 XJR. I was impressed by the Lexus, as it did everything I needed it to with aplomb. It was hugely efficient but not one to stir the soul and this is the primary reason for selling. Having moved from London to Woking during my ownership, there are decent roads on my doorstep, so driver involvement has become a higher priority. The Jag appears similarly refined, averages 30mpg (good for a 400bhp V8) and handles like a much smaller car - very strange sensations for a 1700kg car. The Lexus has gone to a LOC forum member (via Pistonheads), so hopefully it will continue to be enthusiast owned. I’ve enjoyed my time here. All the best Shirish
    1 point
  12. Something like https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Motamec-CS-M5-Heavy-Duty-Ball-Joint-M5-x-0-8-Thread-Swivel-Rod-End/232530903648?epid=3007618495&hash=item3623ec0260:g:viAAAOSwCMFZ6kkD:rk:13:pf:0 perhaps? John
    1 point
  13. True, but I was just parking there, not property hunting!!! paul m
    1 point
  14. The sport button on the sterring wheel was only on the later models with the larger central rev counter & LED DRL’s. The blue panel steering wheel came in when they updated the ISF to include the mechanical LSD around 2010 - all depends when the car was registered. I had the sport button, large Rev counter & LEDs on a late August 2011 but did see one of these models registered as early as March or April 2011. Until I bought my ISF everything I read had lead me to believe this model was only available from 2012 onwards. Good luck with the search - they are a brilliant car & you won’t find anything else with its performance that is as bomb proof.
    1 point
  15. Techstream ensures your brake fluid is flushed correctly and working at 100%. When was your brake fluid last changed?
    1 point
  16. Hi Richard, yes it is a well known problem with Lexus regenerative braking. More apparent on the 400h then the 450h if my memory serves. I can sympathise as it can be a bit off putting at times but once you get used to it it is not really an issue as if you are braking heavily then you are effectively on hydraulic braking only. Bri
    1 point
  17. I don't smoke anyway but I'll never understand people wanting to smoke in such a small enclosed space, not to mention devaluing the investment. I once went to buy a Ford Granada 2.8i Ghia X and as soon as I opened the door I was hit by such a horrible smell that I just said I didn't need to look any further and walked away from what initially looked to be a superb motor.
    1 point
  18. In the majority of cars these days it's called "a slightly open window"
    1 point
  19. Hi Richard If you do a search on this forum you will find that there has been a lot of correspondence on this, but as far as I am aware no resolution. There was even more about it on the American Lexus forum and I believe there was talk of a class action against Lexus. Tony
    1 point
  20. I absolutely agree with everything you have said there regarding the mechanics at main dealers. It is completely ludicrous that most know very little compared to experienced mechanics and engineers, they rely on plugging system checkers in and seeing what the diagnostics come up with. They NEVER agree or acknowledge comments that you may make for example I used to have a Honda S2000 and am a fanatic about them. There were very well known minor issues / niggles with them that have been documented by owners and Honda themselves but if you ever mentioned anything to a Honda mechanic no matter how experienced they were they would deny / act as though they had never heard of such a thing. It was completely ridiculous. In fact with the S2000 there are a handful of independent specialists that are Far Far better than Honda when it comes to servicing and repairing them, Honda are not at all good with them. I actually work in a Motorsport company (Export division for past 8 years) but one of my biggest customers is not a Motorsprt team / individual but a prestige insurance repair centre in Thailand. He works on Porsche, Bentley, Aston Martin, Lamborghini etc. Occasionally he has Audi R8's and (in his words definatley not mine!!) low value cars. I order parts for him from bodywork to the smallest electronics items like Air bag detonators etc. A few parts I ordered for a Lambo the other week were delivered to me by the Audi dealership and in VW/Audi branded cartons, obviously I know of the company ownership structure etc. However I was concerned because I could not accept them in as there was a slight difference in part number on the label although the actual parts looked identical in every way to what I had ordered. I phoned Lamborghini and they apologised and said their parts were on back order so substituted with the exact same Audi part. They thought we were fitting it so the box part number difference did not matter. I told them it had to match in every way or my customer could not put through with the insurers in Thailand who had signed off what was going to be an £80k job following a smash! So they arranged for me to receive some cartons branded Lambo with the correct part number on them, I established following receipt of the invoices and phoning them to query them as too low value (from what we had BACS payment across to them) that each Audi part which was exactly the same as the Lambo one was 30% less expensive!!!!!!!!!!!! This is just one of the examples of the lunacy that goes on in the car world that I have seen. As you say a good independent wants to keep their customers and because they have no allegiance to a specific brand can be as truthful as they wish. My Mazda was maintained on the dot every year by Mazda regardless of how low the mileage was at the time for a full 12 years and it made diddly squat difference to the resell value of the car.
    1 point
  21. What kind of front brakes F Sport/Takumi have ? Rear armrest control panel look a bit cheap. GS ones was much nicer. I also don't get that trend of stitches in plastic door panels 🙂 In general ES is taking the value of the GS which was under the bonnet to the "in your face" area 🙂 Most probably it will increase the sales volume but will not appeal to drivers like myself. I don't care about car play but would like to have more interesting drivetrain and brakes. Why you can't have takumi with adaptive shocks ?
    1 point
  22. To be fair juice drinker, even when my Passat was under warranty, my local indi serviced it. I don't like franchise dealers at all. And I don't believe a dealer stamp actually makes negligible difference to the price when you sell. My bone of contention with them is they charge exorbitant hourly rates, but the guy on the spanners is not far off the basic minimum wage. If the guy was paid a decent hrly wage of 20-30 quid an hr I'd find it more palatable. But your paying for a pretty lady to guide you to a seat and a posh glass showroom and a coffee. But the other issue I have with franchises is that the technicians are nothing but fitters. The majority are not true mechanics. If the computer doesn't tell them what's wrong they don't have a clue. Years ago I had a pos zaffira b turbo diesel. Had nothing but grief with it. On the last issue I had with it, the engine was chattering. The top tech ended up dealing with it and he didn't have a clue. They threw an induction manifold at it, new airflow meter, then a turbo. At that point I asked if they new what they were doing because turbos work or they don't and it was deliverering boost. In the end they took the top off engine and found a broken rocker arm. But then they were going to fit the original timing belt they had removed until I went ballistic at them. Thankfully it was all under warranty. My local indi in comparison had the haldex diff off the car and opened up to see if they could repair or get it repaired. Sadly the bearing had gone between the cogs, cracked the diff case and was a complete wreck inside. They then spent a week searching all their trusted suppliers looking for a second hand unit, but no success. They were a few on eBay, in Germany for about 1500 but we both agreed that as it wasn't one of their trusted suppliers, it was better to go for a new unit with warranty. Whilst the Lexus stamp is nice to have, I trust my local indi far more. Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
    1 point
  23. With the hybrid system normal braking is done by regen. With the RX on all 4 wheels. However if the system detects an under rotation of one wheel such as may occur when braking over a wet uneven man hole or drain the system changes to full mechanical brakes cancelling all regen. This gives rise to the feeling for a split second that the brakes have been released. The gen3 Prius had a recall on the brake software to reduce this effect because there were so many complaints about this problem. I encountered it with my gen2 Prius. On rare occasions on a particular stretch of road where I did a left turn, and braked in the wet over a man hole that could not be avoided unloading the nearside front tyre. I was able to replicate this if I tried quite easily. At first it is a little alarming, but after a couple of times I got used to it. John.
    1 point
  24. I'd say you'll probably need Techstream to evaluate it properly but have you noticed what the state of charge of the traction battery was when it occurred? I'm thinking that regenerative braking came on as normal but if the traction battery was fully charged and nowhere to put the electricity being generated, there would have been a change from regenerative to hydraulic braking so maybe you felt the changeover? Just a guess.
    1 point
  25. Ha ha, I'm exactly like you... many years ago I was a car detailer and will not let anyone wash my cars at all. Mazda and Honda never understood why I always said 'DO NOT' wash my car when they were serviced.
    1 point
  26. All good advice. I normally have a thing about battery charging. In the past every winter I took the battery out and clean it, topped it up and a long 4 amp charge. Seem to do less now, but next year charger on. I would have done more than 17 hours but had to use the car. Hopefully not too much damage.
    1 point
  27. To be fair I've never known a franchise dealer service cars on a Saturday !! Parts dept are generally open to mid day but that's it. As for time windows on servicing cars... They only need a nut to shear or find something unexpected and the timed slot goes out the window. I never use a franchise dealer. I have my trusted independent that's local enough to walk to. They drop the car off when they are done and I drive down and pay them for it. I work nights, so it's a big help to me, but I've used them since 2001. They trust me and I trust them. And when they drop your car off with nearly a 4k bill outstanding and tell you to try the car and come down the following week to pay. That says alot about the relationship I have with my indi. And no it wasn't the Lexus that landed me that bill. It was my Passat alltrack that lunched it's haldex 4wd. A bearing failed at 39000 mile !!! The new part was 3400 quid.. so much for famed VW reliability.. Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
    1 point
  28. I picked up my fsport a week ago, came from an is300h fsport and have to say very happy with the es
    1 point
  29. They normally do a video on the car. Brakes tyres exhaust etc and send it to you, by email. Pretty good in a way, at least you get to see the underside of the car properly. I have always had the car picked up. At a day that suits me, comes replenished with a tank of fuel. I opt out of the car been washed or cleaned. I am a funny bugger do them jobs myself.
    1 point
  30. A trickle charge over the Christmas period or any other extended period of non use is a good idea. The problem with only charging a flat battery at 1 amp for 17 hours is that it will have acquired in that time only about 12 amp hours of charge or about 18% of it's capacity. Charging is not 100% efficient. Although this is enough to start the car it can put a lot of extra strain on the alternator, and could cause early problems with it if it has to make up the difference. Charging at 1 amp a 70 AH battery from fully discharged would require something in the region of 90 hours to fully charge. Bear in mind the alternator cost of replacement with labor is perhaps 3 to 4 times the cost of a battery apart from the inconvenience of time lost off the road. John.
    1 point
  31. I also have a Mondeo along side my 250 and I gotta say that it's horses for courses, of course they both get you from AtoB but if I'm going to supermarket guess which one I'm in ? Likewise when working away and driving for a couple of hours to a job then it's gonna be 'the nice one' as my wire calls it! Just gotta treat yourself sometimes and not worry to much about the cost, can't take it with you... paul m.
    1 point
  32. I could argue that mesa red is the only colour in the current line up. All the rest are 50 shades of grey. But I'm biased.
    1 point
  33. Personally I love Ford Mondeo's as they look amazing, have a sturdy build quality and are gifted with quiet ride a real credit to the Ford. A friend of mine was an avid Mondeo fan (being in the owners club) and even turned up on those's ford event days, with his exciting looking ford Mondeo, all polished and even cleaned with cotton buds for those hard to reach areas. He once proudly told me "they do break down but the parts are cheap".
    1 point
  34. Looks like it is a few hard stops for me too, will report later on it. Good idea about doing it in Neutral!
    1 point
  35. Must admit I find it a very helpful reminder, especially when driving unfamiliar roads...
    1 point
  36. If it has been serviced by Lexus then it should have 0W-20 oil in it. If it is actually low then putting in some 5W-30 is better than nothing. I don't actually believe that message is for low oil, just a maintenance reminder.
    1 point
  37. Shifting to neutral before braking forces the use of the normal brakes since the regen cannot work in neutral. This method is also kinder to the tyres as you can use the brakes over a longer period while descending a hill. Going back into drive while still moving is not problematic or harmful. John.
    1 point
  38. I agree, but having had my RCF for a while now (and liking it more as time passes) I find it can do wafting very well indeed. I've concluded it's the AVS system, the other day I had a 200 mile round trip which included a fair bit of dual carriageway etc so knowing that the roads were littered with camera vans I decided to take more time leisurely drive so set everything for comfort. It compared very favourably to my CL65 which was a real wafter. On the way back I took the scenic route put it in Sports+ and Slalom on the TVD felt the suspension tighten up and had a good blast. This car does both really well.
    1 point
  39. Here's where things got interesting. I knew when driving the car that the parking brake wasn't working. Minimal response from only one side of the car - meant (in my mind) that the shoes were likely ruined/poorly adjusted. I stripped it all down and pulled it off the hub, having already purchased new shoes and mounting hardware. With the disc/caliper off: Doesn't look too bad, maybe it just needs new shoes/adjustment. Stripping the shoes/hardware off, things took a turn for the worse: the parking brake backing plates have rotted through to the knuckle behind - on both sides! There should be a little bracket in the lower portion of the backing plate, that helps to align the star adjuster and one of the tension springs - it wasn't there - nor was any of the metal that it should be spot welded to! It was at this point that I also discovered that both parking cables were broken, and one was completley seized up. They had both separated at the point the cable connects with with the backing plate: Find out how this was solved...in the next post!
    1 point
  40. so the front end is now looking like this (with exception of new inner tie rods, boots and track rod ends: Final front end work items: Renew steering rack bushes Renew ARB bushes - remove ARB to scrub/repaint You'll notice that I've installed some Tein Street Basis Z coilovers! More on those in a bit.
    1 point
  41. Slightly out of sequence, but here's R&R of the inner tie rods and track rod ends. I assume the parts on the car were original from manufacture. Inner tie rod ball joints still good - but rust had got to the adjusting thread and lock-nut so it was all seized together. Track rod ends weren't original I don't think, but were knackered anyway; boots weren't original and joints were quite loose, if not super loose. I used a 32mm open ended viscous-coupling spanner to get the tie rods off the rack. Aftermarket tie rods aren't a straight match, so rods adjusted by eye - and it'll go for an alignment once all the work is done: Getting the inner tie rod end off the rack was a right pain owing to orientation of the flats for the spanner. I clobbered my thumb hard doing it - and didn't realise how much it had bled until I took my glove off - ouch/yuck! Doing this is mostly self explanatory, but a good DIY write up is here. Reading these American DIYs always makes me envious of how little rust they seem to have to deal with!
    1 point
  42. Exactly mate, they’re only cars!!! I’ve lost more than enough money on them I can tell you. I just expected much better from Lexus given their reputation for engineering and reliability but it’s not to be. I’m running a Ford Mondeo at the moment which is doing me fine, I can now spend some money on the other cars I love running, radio controlled ones!!! I apologise to other members if I’m putting a big downer on Lexus but that is my experience with them and I’m not going to lie about it.
    1 point
  43. Must say.... Do like the RCF in a BMW Motorsport style colour scheme. A bit different 🙂
    1 point
  44. For some reason it does not remind me M4 at all in this colour, much more 911 GT3 RS... maybe because of black details?
    1 point
  45. I used to work for a big major insurer and the reason insurance go up if you tell them you park on a drive or garage is because they think someone will break into your house for the keys and take your car. Also if your car is red, insurance premium go up and that's because they say it attracts thieves. I wouldn't bother with Adrian flux, they are not cheap and sometimes they won't bother insuring you. I went with brentacre but another good one is Chris Knott.
    1 point
  46. I have owned mine for just a couple of months now and I love it. I was open mined to weather I bought an early or late one and I looked around for over 6 months before I finally bought. Its all about the condition and service history and for me the colour combo. Existing warranties are transferable so I picked up 14 months from the previous owner and as @FTBBCVoodoo says the warranty can be extended if the car is less than 10 years old or 140k miles (and either full Lexus service history or inspection) . So I bought 2 more years and now have a 2009 car with 40 months warranty. What's not to like. The point being how confident Lexus are about the reliability which gave me the confidence to spend a good chunk of money on an older car and buy privately. Good luck with the search. In fact I'm just off out for a drive now. I have nowhere to go but Im just going out to drive. I love it.
    1 point
  47. The 2009 one on AT with 65k on clock for 17k looks like a decent one. It's under 10 years old so you could get it inspected by Lexus and get the 2 year warranty including AA cover for £800. In terms of inevitable jobs that will need doing.... There aren't any unless you include brake discs/pads/tyres if they need replacing. These consumables are a lot cheaper than the M3/C63/RS4 consumables. Check water pump has been replaced which most should have had done by now. Its about £800 if not but if you have the warranty it pays for itself if it goes while covered. I have a 2008 that has just ticked over 80k miles. I renewed the warranty the day before she turned 10. She has been tracked a fair amount of times and has never missed a beat. I love her... 🙂 Good luck
    1 point
  48. Good luck with the search Nick, patients is the key to get what you want 👍🏻 There were a few guys on here debating selling. matt
    1 point
  49. Just to add, this is exactly the reason I bought my ISF, we are very close to the point where these cars do not exist anymore, so want to enjoy it whilst we still can!!!
    1 point
  50. Hey, nobody wanted to help me, but i talked to the support of ECUMaster this is the correct wiring.
    1 point
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