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Seems like the right approach, had a mate who spent £2K on 430, rushed into it, when his second LS400 was playing up. He totally regrets that. Now he has just spent £5K on his second 430, and spent some time as a rear passenger this weekend, like being in a 4 star hotel. His approach was to give himself 3-6 months to find the 430 that he was going to keep. I quite envy him, the 430 is a heck of a step up from 400, but still love my 400 too much to upgrade just yet.

Completed a little road trip today 609.3mls from north east Scotland to east Surrey and returned a pretty good MPG figure, 29.1mpg not bad considering I was in sports + mode with throttle commander set high and valves open on exhaust system.. and wasn’t exactly hanging about

The hoses are 10mm and you can mount a cooler directly in front of the AC condenser, there's loads of room and a good solid base for it, it doesn't need rubber mounting. The cooler in the radiator is very small, about 70mm high and a tad shorter than the radiator. The defunct fittings don't need plugging but it's probably good practice. All you need to do it get some decent hose to make the connections. My local motor factor suggested fuel hose which is what I used. On my current car I just replaced the radiator, much easier and reduces the risk of radiator failure. Personally I wouldn't bother with a cooler, just buy a new radiator and be done with it, it should last many years. Fill with fresh Toyota coolant, job done, takes less than an hour and can all be done from the top.

And who stresses that it is a private sale, so buyer be very aware !

You'll not find me down any dark alleys! I'll be in my garage scratchin' my head! 🤣

Many thanks all. Very helpful advice. I've got a deal in the offing for a 2014 GS300H with 44k at a main dealer. Very well priced. Your posts have been helpful in coming to a decision. Cheers!

So my 2010 has just ticked over 100k miles. Do we have many 100k milers on here? In the year I've had her, I've had zero issues.

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

Done a few improvements this weekend. First one was to change the info screen. Although my RCF is a low mileage car, someone in the past has cleaned the info screen with either the wrong or a dirty cloth. It looks worst out of the vehicle. The new new is much clearer now. If you want to do this here's the part number. Easy to fit. Also changed the two scuff or kick plates. These get marked up as you leave and enter the car. They just pull off and the new ones click back in.

I've been surprised with our GS as thought it would be thirty, not the sporty one just the 2.5 but we got 44 mpg on a long trip from Yorkshire driving around the speed limit, but we were stuck in traffic for quiet a bit which probably affected it. We had a diesel CRV and it used to struggle to get 30mpg most of the time.

I don't know the answers to any of your questions but the previous owner of my 430 had one fitted. If it would be of any help at all I could take some pics for you? Sent from my EML-L29 using Tapatalk

Few trips to Wales and the land of Scot have yielded mid 30's for me, but as @B1 RMA mentioned, primarily ragging it to work on backroads, manual, valves open... MPG has no hope then! 😛

Not senile yet! 😛

This should help:

According to this site: https://www.consumerreports.org/cars-who-owns-which-car-brands/ Toyota Motor Corp 'has a stake' in both Subaru and Suzuki - whatever that means in detail.

It should do. When the screen is icy I leave my steering wheel lock in place but fire up the engine so that I can soon defrost the screen without having to use deicer, while I go back in the house to keep warm. I always use the 'auto' function because it's climate control. You set the cabin temp that you want and the car does whatever it has to to keep that temp for you. As the engine heats up the air will start to blast out from the footwell area because hot air rises and this is the quickest way to achieve cabin temp. As Peter said above, check the thermostat for correct operation.

Today while I was doing this... ...this happened

Quite unusual, bad batch of fuel can cause this though. I remember a friend who fairly recently put some fuel into his brand new BMW. Fuel had condensation in it, the car wouldn't start, spluttered and was recovered. Fuel removed, fresh batch put in and it started

Is the engine getting up to operating temperature? If not I would check the coolant thermostat is operating correctly. Sounds like it's stuck open

Blimey, can’t disagree, and all because Malc said we should pray 😜

Alex you say on your computer the only code is PA080. Was this done with Techstream or some other system? Normally with a PA080 code you will get other sub codes directing you to the battery block number (a battery block is two specific battery modules consisting of six cells in each module so twelve cells in all). Any failed modules can be replaced without replacing the complete battery. Lexus will not do this they will only replace the complete battery, and then only give it 12 months guarantee. John.

The hybrid health check can be done at any time once the battery is out of it' normal guarantee. It does not require any service history or any continuance of the health check. If the hybrid system passes the health check in say year nine for the first time the battery is guaranteed for 12 months from that test date or 10,000 miles which ever is sooner. You can have as many health checks in a year as is needed to maintain the guarantee if your millage is high. Obviously if the battery has been tampered with "modules changed" the guarantee is void. All module in each battery are coded and each code must match. Toyota have the ability to check module serial numbers in the battery against there records for the serial number of the battery. John.

There'll be a 5 yen coin under that lot too.

And don`t overlook St Richard of the Hybrid Battery Solution who walks along the Road to Damascus, so to speak.

Awesome, @hockeyedwards! I am not sure why... but it sounds pretty familiar... 🤔😏

Such times as this Barry 😄 From my imported Caldina, explained the poor ventilation and odd smells!

And Lexus is here https://www.lexus.co.uk/owners/servicing-and-maintenance/hybrid-health-check/

Did she forget to press brake pedal and so NX did not start? 😇

I suspect it is not going to last as long as a genuine one hence the need to stock a couple. But if I get a couple of years out of each one for a tenner, I'll quite happily keep changing them out!! ;) Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Supplying spare parts contributes greatly to the profit of manufacturers, If manufacturers can get parts made cheaply elsewhere they will do so. I remember on a W124 Mercedes I had in the late nineties the under bonnet loom degenerated to the point I was getting a bad misfire. I was told it was made in Poland and was known to fail. Also,even back then some Mercedes components were being made made in China. I don't know whether Lexus buy in parts from China but being aware that Chinese tend to make anything they can sell, it comes as no surprise to me that they will make a version of Lexus parts. Some of what is made in China is very good, I was surprised how good some HS drill bits I bought were but some stuff is very inferior. I remember buying what was ostensibly a North Face jacket from a large Government supported store we were expected to attend as part of a tour of China. It was cheap, and on close examination the material and stitching showed it was not genuine. Maybe they have improved in recent years but I would not automatically accept everything they sell as aftermarket products is of the same quality as sold by major manufacturers, even if the OE parts were made in China. Having said that, the difference in price of the level adjuster as detailed in this thread would probably tempt most people with an older car go that way, even if the part might not be so long lasting.

Which really makes you wonder just how the price for genuine parts is justified. I took my 11 year old Volvo door card off recently to repair a speaker and I noticed the window motor is Chinese, the same for my ex 2003 Vauxhall. I'm glad it's working for you, and good info for others.

Well no forecourt petrol station shot from me. To be fair this is a 228k car advertised for £2k so you have to manage your expectations accordingly. I concluded I could find a better one and spend more. Main stopper was the interior, which was scruffy and somewhat dirty. Secondary issues were non-functioning boot release or auto-close, steering wheel in/out motor (both claimed working in correspondence). When braking a mild graunch could be heard and I didn't feel it was particularly spritely (sadly a short urban drive only - inadequate in itself). It was however near silent and lovely to waft in. On the upside I have finally inspected and driven a 430 and this car gives me a benchmark. It was still a Wonderful car and it has made me want one even more. Watch this space.

Just ticked over a hilarious milestone on mine recently...... BOOBS!!!!

I'm nearly there at 99300 on my 09 ISF so wont be long. Relatively low mileage and still going strong.

I’ve always found car brands willing to let me have a car for a reasonable time. And if they won’t, my money goes elsewhere!

And if the long test drive can embrace a weekend and allow some night driving and perhaps a fill up of fuel at the garage you normally use, then one can begin to experience real world idiosyncrasies of the vehicle open which one proposes to spend a small fortune ?

In the past I have used a combination of vacuum and compressed air and knocking them to clean air and pollen filters if they look pretty fair and never had a problem. Of course there comes a time when they have to be replaced.

I changed mine when I bought my Celsior and found a very dead but interesting Japanese bug in it, plus various amounts of dry vegetation!

And probably good for another 100k 👍👍

Short update on this problem. Took it into Lexus and gave them a short test drive/demonstration. They weren’t convinced there was much of a problem and I also had a run in another RX to compare things, not much difference so left it at that. Also asked if there was a “maintenance mode” so you could rev the engine without it being in gear and was told no. Still annoying the poop out of me so I started trawling the internet for any info on this apart from Stringbender’s report and surprise surprise. There is a maintenance mode, but the throttle response is pretty poor so it’s difficult to keep the revs stable. Also in the USA there are some reports of vibration and resonance on some RX models, but mainly 350 models. Anyway I’ve found there has been exhaust dampers fitted to some older models. Toyota Part No: 17581-31010 Damper, Exhaust Pipe I also discovered that if you start the car, engine warmed up, select drive then reapply the parking brake, you can increase the revs to the point of vibration. Back to Lexus again and spoke to their Master Technician and showed him the “maintenance mode” which he did know about, demonstrated the problem by increasing revs while in gear and parking brake on, but he didn’t think it was a significant problem. Tried the same thing with another RX and it wasn’t as bad as mine. Mentioned about the Exhaust Dampers and he did say they were fitted to some older models, but they did have a tendency to cause cracks in the exhaust pipes as the cars got older and the pipes got rustier. Next plan of action is to source a couple of these dampers and see how it goes, if no real difference it’ll be bye bye RX and see what else is available.

Good weekend job: check your pollen filter. Mine was dry, but with bits of leaf in it. Gave it a good clean.

🙋🏽‍♂️

Apart from those wheels. 🤢

And just for Rich . . . Operation Smile

There's a reset procedure to go through if the 12V battery is ever disconnected. You don't specifically mention them but I'll bet the windows and sunroof are also not operating properly either. I can't remember the reset procedure but it'll be in the owners manual (available to download from Lexus if you haven't got one).

The question is - Are the UK Authorities as smart as the Dutch ones, or will we not have a clue when buying our fuel. My experience if working in Netherlands is the Dutch hate bullsh*t, where as UK is full of that kind of stuff when government involved. I guess I am lucky to have a Mk4.

Hi, I wanted to update you so others can see the results. After a few months of minimal use during the holiday season, I got in touch with Richard at Hybrid Battery Solutions in Northampton. He quoted me £750 for the battery fix and a gave me another option of a complete recondition of the unit for £1,500. I took the cheaper option and he had it for a week. Richard told me that the car would be safe to drive before the work and the electronics wouldn't just die in a dangerous situation. Richard was happy to offer lifts to and from the Thrifty Car Hire depot nearby and communication was very good. I gave a £100 deposit to secure the booking and then paid the balance by bank transfer before collection. The car is much more responsive than it was previously and I am getting a good 5-10 mpg more. He said that a 200K fix of a hybrid battery was typical and he seems to get quite a bit of work around cars of this age. As well as fixing the faulty cells he also boosted the nearest 3-4 cells to failure and seemed confident of a reasonable period of good running. I haven't put my foot down much yet but acceleration seems much quicker than before. Hardly surprising about this and the MPG but I am a happy customer. Highly recommended. Cheers, Richard

Panic over! I figured it out. Theres 3 visible screws, 2 on the door side of the dash underneath the removable flap, 1 under the jamb of the glovebox door and finally the last screw is hidden under the leather strip covering the side of the centre console which can be accessed by removing the top panel where the gearshifter is situated and removing the 1 screw holding the leather strip in place. Handy enough.