Leaderboard

I had a bit of time this morning before a work appointment so I made a start and did the first front strut. About two hours but I think the next one will be much quicker. Some say it's not necessary but I took the upper control arm joint apart as it made things much easier. Also replaced the drop link.

I must have read a different thread to you. There are many 600/460/430/Celsior owners on this forum and, apart from one 460 owner, I haven't read anywhere that it is not a good idea to buy one of these models. Malc opened the thread to get some opinions on moving to a newer LS. He was given honest answers from those of us with experience of those models. None of us said 'Don't buy one'.

I have recently swapped my IS250 for a GS300h (Premier). The GS feels like a substantially bigger car and it's quieter and significantly more luxurious. If you can't get comfortable in a GS I doubt you could be comfortable in anything. The seat has 18-way adjustment (premier spec - lesser versions have less adjustment) - main problem is trying the infinite combinations! It definitely has more 'driver space' than the IS. I haven't driven an IS300h but I imagine its performance is pretty similar to the IS250, and the GS300h is much the same - not exactly a rocket but perfectly adequate for UK roads. I think the only place you would feel it lacking is if you are used to German autobahns at more than 200kph - GS300h max speed is about 119mph. Acceleration is quoted as somewhat slower than the IS250 - 9.2 secs to 100kph rather than 8.5 - but it doesn't feel like it - if anything it feels at least as quick. I did worry that I would find a 2.5 litre four a bit of a step down from the wonderful V6 in the IS250 but really it's almost as smooth and anyway, you're used to the 4 in the IS300h! The GS is definitely a more relaxing drive - maybe it just lulls you into a feeling of contentment with the world! My wife comments that the GS is a lot more luxurious than the IS - she was horrified at my spending the dosh but she's happy now! I plan to keep it for a long time!

Hi John, I've got an appointment with Tony Banks on 19.11 9am to change the whole exhaust system as I couldn't find anyone around my area ( Peterborough) who can do that. My local Lexus main dealer quoted me a price of nearly £900 just for both back silencers and Y pipe + gasket and bolts 🤕 sounds crazy I know 😬 Tony Banks offer is custom made stainless steel exhaust system + labour £650. There some lads I know here around my place who also have there exhausts done by Tony and to be honest they not only sound great but look awesome too. Will upload some pics after the job's done

Because why not? Cat-back system from GTHaus, SUS mid pipe and titanium rear boxes, videos in order - cold start valves closed, cold start valves open, cheeky rev in an acoustically pleasing car park. Maybe not everyones cup of tea, but the ear to ear grin hasn't worn off for me whenever I press the go faster pedal 😛 IMG_3886.MOV joined_video_0f729a34cc6649f59d298f2b077bfecf.MP4 IMG_4128.mov

Funny you should mention rodents as I went to view a car the other day for my son and upon opening the bonnet it was a no-goer! The rest of the car was sweet but there was no way I was gonna chance finding any immediate unseen damage that may have been done by Mickey and his friends to for example the wiring loom,hoses or anything else that tastes real good in the mouse world! paul m.

Looks like @rich1068‘s man oop north has delivered the goods. Coolmobile has a shiny new MoT and a few other wee bits. The actual EML issue that two main dealers could not resolve, was basically a dodgy connection around the nox sensor caused br some of rodent friends who share our field. She’ll be back home in few days. 😀😀😀

We shall see. The ISF is something i am actually enthusiastic about since the s2000. Will keep you guys posted.

I used to use one of those blue tooth to fm radio type devises in my transit van. It worked ok but those little blue tooth ear piece units are better. One big advantage to the radio/bluetooth I had was that it blocked the signal from the vehicle tracker the company I work for had just fitted to all our vans...lol

Good work... and the area around your strut looks beautifully clean...and rust free.

Thank you. I resisted driving it until the other side is done. It was very satisfying to see the car rise to its correct level! Interesting to see the original ones with the top mating metal to metal whereas the new ones have a fairly hefty rubber mount.

... I presume you mean because of the black upholstery ...

Valves open, yes, valves closed it is minimal to none. Unless accelerating in a poor gear choice. If in doubt... floor it! 😛

Also you can see the lower strut bush looking very tired.

Thanks guys... I did try the longer spray and lo and behold it works.... even got the 4th sweep after about 3-4 secs. TBH I did not consult the handbook Roy... ooops.. too lazy I guess. But thank you all!!! 🙂

my '98 ls400 had it, and it was the same gen nav as yours, i'm fairly certain it will have it - lots of interesting stuff to be found inside as well

The first opens electrically and then closes electrically

Welcome to Europe's Leading Lexus Club! Please Enjoy!

Do you mean that it opens to its limit and then electrically closes again or do you mean that it just won't stay open and falls back down of its own accord? If the latter, it's probably the gas struts failing. You can get replacements from https://www.sgs-engineering.com/gas-struts

It is 600, I was down in Port Isaac back in June to visit friends (on the one day the film crew were not around) and running a 400 along the lanes in no problem, just need to not drive as fast as the Doc does. The one thing I really love is the swooping down hill dual carriage way sections across Bodmin Moor

I didn't notice any obvious improvements to my infotainment experience by updating - there was no amazing feature or UI update that made me want to use it more beyond standard features like connecting Bluetooth devices using radio etc. I don't use local MP3 files so cant comment on that issue. I looked for change log from Lexus on the specific updates but dont see any for the premium nav updates - https://www.lexus-tech.eu/Navigation/base. You might have better luck. In any case, updating the nav is a little like putting lipstick on a pig 😉

Here you go.

Had to replace a fuse on my car after I blew out the one for the passenger side window this morning, which left the window in a partially open state and unable to move. Lesson learnt - bad things can happen when you try and open windows that are frozen shut... ❄️❄️

Finally made a decision and decided to go down the dealership route after negotiating a good discount on an immediate service and service plan 👍

but the Sane is in France.How ridiculous !

Many thanks for ALL the advice. I am leaning towards getting rid of the air suspension and go for the spring strut system. It all depends on the garage report. (I don't have the knowledge to do the job myself). Thank you all once again.

All valid ideas and resolution but the only stumbling block is the guys knowledge and competence to carry out investigations and repairs .

I don’t have any specific knowledge of the Lexus air suspension, but my MB CLS63 has air suspension. I had similar issues with mine and the compressor gave up the ghost. Whilst MB failed to find the fault, I did find it in the end and it was a crack in one of the airlines. The fix was a £1.90 John Guest push fit connector. I had to change the compressor as well, but in total a £127 bill for parts and a couple of hours effort. A whole lot better than the thousands I was expecting if I’d had to change out the air struts. It could be as simple as that, so inspect all exposed lines very carefully. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Bad news I'm afraid. The parts of the suspension that hold air have a habit of rusting. When the rust gets bad, it rusts through to the air chamber and causes a leak. Your compressor runs and runs trying to keep the suspension inflated, but eventually it either burns out or wears out and the suspension eventually deflates and stays deflated. The suspension legs are an eye-watering amount of money to replace and unfortunately you'll have to replace at least one of them, although it's best practice to replace suspension parts in pairs. That'll be a £1000+ bill just for the parts I'm afraid. As Herbie says above, it may be time to consider replacing the air suspension with a conventional spring-based setup, because once one shock absorber has gone, the others won't be far behind and you can get a complete spring-based replacement suspension setup for less than the price of a couple of air shocks. Once you are on springs, you won't have the worry of the air shocks. Of course you could replace the air shocks, but at £600-ish a corner (plus a replacement compressor if that's died in the meantime), it's probably as much as the car is worth just to replace the suspension. It depends on how much you like the RX if you want to spend the money essentially buying the car again, or if you want to move on to something else. One of the reasons I especially sought out the spring suspension version when I bought my 2004 RX was to avoid the big bills of the air suspension.

Firstly f you seriously looking to save up for LS600 get yourself a cheap runabout for now. Something with a small petrol engine.. Secondly it is a well known ancient wisdom: the cheaper the Lexus, the more money you'll have to spend keeping it in good nick. One thing i have learned in life: NO ONE will sell you a well looked after car for cheap. That just don't happen. Hence why i stopped looking for bottom priced cars long time ago. Paid top dollar for my current GS still have few niggles but the car has been maintained from new with no expense spared. I suggest you stay away from those cheap rundown moneypit 600Hs once you start looking.

Today I decided to have a look at the boot seal, removed the seal, removed the trim below the rear screen, removed the 2 x covers on the corners of the boot, cleaned everything, removed all the gunk/adhesive that was used to fix the trim and boot seal, painted the areas where the gunk/adhesive had taken the paint off, cleaned the trim, attached the retaining clips properly then put everything back. I don't think it will solve the leaking seal but I have a plan to stop the water pooling in the corner in the first place. That will be a job for spring/summer next year though. Before and after photos.

Do you mean this symbol?

Not getting confused with another car perhaps? My ford shows a mini speedo Icon.

That's not a symbol I'm familiar with and I use cruise control all the time. Can't see anything similar mentioned in the manual either. Unless earlier cars are different, the green "CRUISE" to signify that it's available, is all there is that appears on the dash.

Excellent, I shall try that solution Thank you