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I thought it might be time for an update on my LX600h. Some of those with good memories will remember that I bought this from Lexus Stoke around 18 months ago. It is a 2008 model and had 100k on the clock when I bought it. It had a full Lexus service history which I am determined to maintain. The dealership included a 3 year warranty in the purchase price. It went for its second major service yesterday having just clocked over 130k miles (around 11k since the last service). A grand total of c. £120 was spent on a pair of windscreen wipers (for the MOT) and a service of the air conditioning system (due to the car's age and part of the normal schedule). Not bad for one year's motoring! The car was cleaned and fully valeted as part of the service. It looks brand new but sadly too dark to photograph now. The previous service at 120k was a little pricier with one major piece of the exhaust system that needed replacing. I'm looking forward to another 18 months of motoring and then will take stock and see whether I will be selling this car or carrying one with it for a longer period of time. Difficult decisions but I'm very, very happy with my LS600h and the accompanying ownership experience at Lexus Stoke. First class in every aspect.

My rather battered 1998 Mk4 LS400 went to a dealer for not a lot of money just before Xmas. As some of you may have gathered, this was my second stint of ownership with the same car. I first owned it in 2011 when it was only a 13 year old car at only 85,000 miles that cost a little over £3k.... I was blown away by the car in every respect and had three and a half years of trouble free motoring, every MOT a straight pass. I sold it to my mate in 2014 with 120,000 miles on it because I had moved house and it did not fit on the steep drive very well and ground it's bottom on the high spot heading out onto the road. It also was not very practical for the local lanes and remote country car parks that were really 4 wheel drive territory in our new location. So, I manged with a Honda CRV. Then my mate upgraded to a smarter lower mileage LS400 and he was selling it... I wanted it back... and although I have enjoyed the last year of re-ownership, I've had to face up to it not being the same car I once owned. My mate had given the bodywork a good beating in car parks and a low speed non insurance bump in the snow producing a mangled wing. It now had 160k miles on it, is now 22 years old it did not feel as smooth or as a quiet as I remember.... but the main thing is even though I adapted the driveway with strategic concrete humps to ease egress, the car still ground if the boot was loaded or the fuel tank full. It was a nostalgia re-purchase... a good blast, but I have had to admit defeat and now have a Lexus RX300 which I rather like and is more suited to my zone. I'm sure I will keep poking my head in here, but just to say a big thank you to all the LS400 forum contributors, especially the long term LS400 owners on here (you know who you are) who share their knowledge which has been and will be invaluable to past and future owners of these amazing cars. All the best, Stu

Phil I will, I keep all the records (receipts) in case I need them. Someone told me it can take up to 1 year to get a refund from council! It's not just about money, it is principal for me, we pay taxes and roads are ******* and being repaired as bad, no preparation just patches over potholes - shocking! Funny thins is - the pothole I run over was fixed 2 days later! 🙂

My SatNav was not working well (freezing etc) when I got my RX300 last month. I tried removing the DVD, it looked fine, put it back in and the SatNav stopped working altogether with 'unable to read disc' message. I'd read on other forums that the drive motor can go on the Nav unit. So I removed the unit and opened it up hoping a simple clean of dust might cure, but maybe check the motor... but it looked pristine, despite having historical water ingress sloshing around in the boot, more than that, there was no way I had the expertise to strip this down to the drive motor which I could not even see.. so I put it back together, put it back in the car and hooked it up... still not working, took it out again and had it stored in the dry warm house for a week while I considered my options, looking at used units on ebay etc. But I knew that 'Herbie' was spot on...as in, why bother with it at all. I asked myself... if it were working... would I still use my stand alone Garmin anyway... the answer was of course yes. So I thought, to hell with it, but I might as well re-install the Nav unit just in case... so put it back, hooked it up, gave the map DVD a good wipe with a lens cloth, popped it in, and hey presto.... it's been working fine ever since... how long for I know not, nor care anymore.

Works very well when I am in Spain for 6 months of the year. Eat, drink and be merry Phil, for we know not what tomorrow brings !!

Just a rider to this Topic, another reason for the USA differentials on parts and distribution is the fact that they build Lexus cars there in Kentucky and employ 7000 US citizens .Now the deal to build a Lexus factory in the US will have major input on the price of Lexus cars in the states and not just the ones they produce in Kentucky, there will be concessions on import duties as a trade off by US officials for the benefits of the factory location. It is well known that there is a substantial difference in price on any Lexus bought outside of the USA this is sometimes a lot to do with the spec as they don't do all up models like we do in the UK one of the reasons for that is they sell a lot more cars there and can bespoke offers ,here we are given little choice as volume sales make it impossible with the import cost and jit system. Take a look at the factory its very interesting. google" Lexus enthusiast Kentucky factory."

Fingers crossed for you

I’m sure the car will be nothing short of excellent, I didn’t extend my warranty and 5 years on it’s only been servicing costs, I was more angry that they sold it to me with the cracked manifold BUT have since learnt that they are all independent franchise and no longer “Lexus”......Lexus would have insisted the manifolds replaced prior to sale hence the dealer saying “they all sound like that”.......when they could of said “we think the manifolds are cracked, bring it back in two months for a warranty claim”.........other than that the car has been 100% faultless and is still a pleasure to drive, take it easy until you’ve a clear road and definitely stay out of manual and sport mode together as this will really bite u in the arse 😉.......enjoy it and don’t abuse her and she will give u plenty of thrills in return, you’ve purchased an investment if u look after her. all the best and keep it straight 😉😂😂

Collected it today. What a machine! It's quite intimidating. Didn't help that I mashed the throttle merging on to the motorway as I left the garage and got the tail sliding in traffic. Never felt that happen in a straight line at 60mph before! That scared and quietened me for a while...[emoji1751] Car seems really tight. No rattles and the handling seems spot on. The power is immense! Re: 12 month warranty. I called another Lexus dealer who had a 2008 rx450h on the forecourt. I asked him how long the warranty was and he said only 6 months also. I probably should have insisted on it anyway though but I didn't so hopefully it doesn't come back to bite me in the arse. Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

Hello, So I've picked up another IS250 last year. I had one previously and I missed it, so here it is. Manual, black leather, sat nav with Mark Levinson audio system, air conditioned seats and the rest that's pretty normal for these cars. Bought it completely stock. Soon after I've done an oil change, I replaced a dirty air filter and put an HKS Super air filter in it and changed the oil cap for a Mishimoto aluminium one. I've replaced a dirty & damaged gear knob gaiter and disgustingly used gear knob that just pained me every time I drove it. Then the exciting stuff happened.. a set of RAYS Gramlights 57CR 18x9.5 ET38 paired with very average TOYO Proxes TR1 225/40R18.. I've used the older compound (T1-R) tyres and they were fine. Definitely a very noticeable upgrade over the previous 245/45R17 Continentals that someone put on it. 245s are just way too wide for the amount of power this car has in my opinion. It feels a lot more nimble now on the narrower tyres, but also much more grippy due to the Toyo's being just better in every way. The AVG mpg's have also changed after changing an air filter & wheels. I used to average 21mpg on my way to and from work (14mile one way mixed commute - dual carriageways, town and country roads). Now it's around 26mpg and strictly motorway driving - cruise control at 70mph went from 36mpg to 43mpg. Safe to say I'm very happy with it so far. Currently I need to get rear discs & pads all round as these are sh*t and very bad on dusting. Plans for the future are: TEIN Flex Z Fully adjustable coilovers to improve the handling. HARDRACE front LCA steering response bushes - that should stiffen up the steering wheel a little bit as it's way too sensitive for me at the moment. GT86/BRZ OEM differential & 4.1 final drive - will reduced the top speed, but will increase the acceleration which is something very noticeable, especially on A/T cars as they have 3.7 FD and M/T have 3.9 FD, but my Manual will benefit from it too. HKS HI-Power exhaust (currently on back order - should arrive in April) - unleash the V6 noises! Sound clip from someone in the USA here Rear diffuser Vland tail lights + lots more but I won't list everything..

So, 6+ years later, the first issue arises with the IS300h. Ours is a 63 plate, so one of the early ones Admittedly, one that I diagnosed before the car was even started by the way the door mirrors opened. Yep, you guessed it, duff battery. AA man recharged and car is fine. It was left for 2 weeks as we were on holiday. A relatively simple and cheap fix so Im very pleased to be perfectly honest.

Got my tyre changed today and wheel alignment done (it is needed to be done apparently) at Lexus Glasgow, so the accident with the pothole cost me £221! I have not driven my GS for 2 weeks and it felt so good to be back and comfy! I had Mazda CX-5 diesel on holidays and then I was driving my wifes Citroen (diesel as well) and it was good to be back to vibration free salon! 🙂 Was not much impressed by Mazda, have to say I used to like it the way it looks and the reviews always were nice, but no, I wouldn't get one and the main reason are front pillars - a bus can be hidden behind them, these are massive! It was also the first car I drove with Head Up Display, sign recognition and lane keeping control - loved all of these features!

How long was it left standing and not used? Lexus only fit small capacity batteries in their hybrids and it's not unusual for someone to park up at the airport for a two-week holiday and come back to a flat battery. The starter motor of a normal car will draw more than 300A as it cranks the engine to start it, so the battery has to be big and beefy to supply that current. As you'll see from the photo below, my RX450h only draws 15.32A to boot the computers and get the car into the READY state, so they save a bit of money by only using small capacity 12V batteries in them. The best way to deal with the possibility of a flat 12V battery is to carry one of these battery packs in the glove box or the boot. They are superb, work really well, and eliminate the need for an AA man or a donor car.

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

Good luck Stu and enjoy your new steed.

Given both my LS suffered leaky boot syndrome (easily fixed), and the situation desrcibed here, it amazes me given that Japan has twice the rainfall of the UK, how the heck can Lexus owners manage in Japan when their cars get a little older. My dads 20 year old Peugeot 406 (and when my wife had a 15 year old Honda) never had a leak in their lives!!!!

Stu, Totally get that the LS is not your thing with current geography. There are days when my (206K miles, Year 2000) motor seems as quiet as a mouse's f*rt, and other days when it seems be allowing too much road noise into the cabin, which makes me think about a GS450, or RX, and I am sure if I did try either it would tempt me to consider leaving the LS family. Enjoy your RX, at least it is a Lexus.

When you have an hour to spare, read this thread... it's possible that the membrane behind your rear door card has been messed with or a door seal gone etc... but water will settle at lowest point, so wherever you are experiencing water, the rear boot of the RX is probably the source because it can run from the boot into the cabin...see my write up below. So....I was aware of the RX leak problems before I purchased my RX300 last month which indeed came with wet rear footwell carpets. The history showed Lexus had already had a go at fixing water ingress in 2014 swapping out the rear light gaskets. I tested sunroof drains, they were OK and clear, sealed up boot lid hinge plate bolts... I stripped out the rear boot floor/plastic trays etc. I sat in the boot of the car when it rained and watched water seeping in along the seams at back under boot lip exactly as per pictures on the last page of the above thread posted in March 2018 by 'Steve.ch'. No water came in from rear lights, so that was one possible ticked off the list. Looking in the stripped out boot, I could see how water coming in could find it's way to the cabin carpets via gaps on each side of the 3 or 4 inch high crossbeam/bulkhead running just behind the rear seats. I had an idea!!!! I wanted to have a go at fixing the leaks in time, but I wanted dry carpets much quicker than that. So, a 'managed coastal erosion' kind of thing sprung to mind. I filled the gaps each end of the crossbeam/bulkhead with expanding foam, once dry, I sealed over with bathroom silicone sealant which I also ran along the seams the of crossbeam and in it's holes. My aim was to prevent water reaching the cabin from the boot. Secondly, there are several small rubber grommets covering 5mm-ish holes in several places in the boot floor. I removed these, now water can come and go as it likes without wetting the carpets. I put everything back together and dried out the rear carpets as much as possible with swapping over towels with weights on them to sponge up the water... I also had an 8 hour drive to do over Xmas, so did this with heating on full aimed at the floor, sunroof open to vent the moisture (luckily no rain) It's worked... the rear carpets are dry even after heavy rain. I can lift out the plastic trays and see only a cup full of water accumulates at the back of the boot after rain (our drive has a slope and I park rear down... old habit from the LS) before it runs out of the holes.... and now after the long drive, with no rain, the boot is bone dry because it's also getting ventilation via the opened grommet holes. I might get round to fixing the actual source of the leak, but no rush now!

I went 275 at the rear (245 at the front) and its made a bit of a difference. Agree with CB above that I was the same the first few weeks, it felt tail happy in the wet at first but you do get used to it.

Hi Bob and welcome. Have a search through the RX section and you'll find leaks are discussed. Don't limit yourself to the 300, the 400h sometimes suffers too. I'd double check the sealed sunroof but also check the roof rail feet where they're fixed to the roof (easy to remove and reseal), seam welds around the tailgate and obvious stuff such as glass seals. Too far forward to be rear light seals.

I think some have fit as wide as 285's on the stock wheels at the back, I will be going wider when my tyres are due a change.

VPNs are totally safe, been around for a couple of decades. If all you want to do is to make the Internet think you are in UK (where-ever you are), you could use a Draytek 2762 router as your own VPN handler, and then use free VPN software on your laptop/PC/Mobile phone to tunnel back to the UK (works better if you have your ISP provide a Static IP address). The only cost then is of replacing your current routerand the time taking to set it up (Personalyl I only ever listen to BBC radio when abroad and that works fine - and I use Get_iPlayer (on Git Hub) to rip BBC TV programmes onto my phone/tablet before leaving UK so I have something to watch while on the plane) ProXPN makes it so that you could appear to be USA user, or UK user (etc) dependnig on which web site you want to fool into thinking you are a 'citizen of said country'. If only this tech was available back in the 90's when I was permanently flying here there and everywhere (with my travel case full of CDs!!)

Safe in what way? You're not at risk of your door being kicked down by the rozzers or Russian mafia if that's what you mean. It's only iPlayer Phil. (Start 'em off on iPlayer, slowly get them hooked and onto the harder stuff like Netflix )

Traction this time of year can certainly be a challenge, especially on summer tyres. It really isnt a wild tail happy beast once you get used to it though as long as you have decent rubber, I had that initial impression after the first few weeks I picked it up were very wet plus I came from a quattro. Now i am happy to press on and my limits are reached before the cars!

Thanks for the updates. And the quick response. I like the sound of the M-3 more and more. Saw one this morning and it looks great. I did get an insurance quote from one of the comparison websites, and they ranged from £640 with LV= (for the LR model) to well over £1,300. What do you think of the one-pedal driving mode? - I tested this in the latest Leaf and I thought it worked well and was very intuitive.

Am sorry some of you guys clearly haven't driven something like a 340i at anything close to full throttle if you think a IS300H offers any where near the performance of a modern high powered saloon/hatchback. My last car was a 335i which was modded to 380whp (over 400bhp at the crank). Though the IS300H isn't slow, but the difference in performance between a Golf R, S3/S4, 340i and the IS is night and day. The IS is super reliable, and extremely smooth when used for commuting/pottering around, but push the drivetrain to over 7/10 and its awful. The throttle lag is horrible, the power delivery inconsistent, and when the small battery runs out there is a noticable drop in acceleration. If you want fun to drive the German cars are in a different league, but if you want reliability than the IS is way ahead. I wouldn't cross shop between a 340i/Golf R and the IS300H, two completely different breed of cars aimed at different target audience. My old 335i was the 2nd most unreliable car I have ever owned, and even though it nearly left us stranded in the middle of an Alpine pass when it developed an oil leak on a 2000 mile European road trip I loved that car, quite simply the best combustion car I had the pleasure of owning. Our IS300H is used by my wife to commute to work, nothing has broken in 5 years and its still even on original factory tyres. Though in that time its barely done 28k miles, that fact alone should tell you how much we like driving in it. Both are great in their own right, if I was make a comparison to my Uni days, one is like the mate who is sensible on a night out, will make sure you get home not too late and call a taxi. The other is the one who pulls a bottle of Vodka out of their pocket even before you get to town, and you wake up the next wondering why there is a ladder next your window and a pot plant on the roof......Chalk and cheese. As others have already suggested forget the IS300H, look for a ISF, or even the GSF.

Not only does it clog the grinding wheel but if they go on to use the grinding wheel on steel it can explode.... Never use a grinding wheel or stone on on aluminium and then on steel....

Some nice clean pictures of the paintwork would help. I wonder (and suspect) if the car has had some poor quality accident repairs, the bonnet may have been painted by the dealer prior to sale to cover stone chips. For sales cars they don't usually use a Lexus Bodyshop (I know of 2 main dealers who don't) . I would get someone in a friendly bodyshop to put a paint thickness meter over the car to see if there are inconsistencies in the paint depth indicating repair.

Insist on 12 month warranty.....age is irrelevant especially considering the car’s history......check for ticking on start up especially from cold, ISF’s (some) had problems with manifolds cracking, bought mine like it and fell for the “they all sound like that on start up”.....they don’t!....mine is having GSF manifolds fitted next Wednesday,.....as for dealer relation......I bought a Subaru Outback for the wife and was dealer principal wife’s car, had to have head gasket replaced at a cost of over £800 and Subaru wanted nearly £2k to do, I’m the worst person where main dealers are concerned, don’t trust them one iota tbh........make sure the 60k service has been done INCLUDING plugs, labour cost is huge on these as back 2 are hard to access......I’m pretty sure Lexus are 12month warranty MINIMUM or they are not permitted to sell off their forecourt. Good luck you will enjoy her immensely

This is where a VPN comes in very handy. A VPN or Virtual Private Network lets you get around geolocked content by choosing to use a server in another country and setting up a 'private tunnel' between you and it, so that you appear to be physically located in that country. Say you were on holiday in Spain for example, and wanted to watch something on BBC iPlayer. You wouldn't be allowed to, because the iPlayer is only for UK residents. However, by using a VPN and connecting to a server in London, the system thinks you're actually in London and gives you access to iPlayer, even though you're really in Spain. In Steve's example, he could have been here in Blighty but connected to a VPN server somewhere in the USA and had full access to that .com travel website.

It’s the same in other marketing areas, I was looking to book a Caribbean cruise so priced it up with their UK website then with their US website. There was nearly a £1000.00 difference but they would not allow me to book via the .com website as I wasn’t a US resident. I then went via a US travel agent, provided a friends US address and not only got the cheaper price but $75.00 on board credit and a $32.00 wine voucher. When I boarded the ship I also got the pre paid port taxes refunded also.

Just went and checked, Dohhh it’s called Carlauncher by Agama! And was £1.99. The centre of the first pics is in fact a digital speedo!

And to echo comments above, I wouldn't pay any attention to reviews.

If you make a car that is far more reliable than almost anything else in the world, you risk having nothing to do to make a profit. The Honda dealership in Crewe closed down recently due to only selling cars and servicing. Singer Sewing Machines had to offer a part ex deal on the ones they made in the 1950's to the 1970's in order to sell new ones, the old machines lasted too long. Mercedes were the best cars in the world in the 1970's, but profits tumbled, so the accountants took over from the engineers, and now they're complete crap.

Given that the car has the revised head and rear lights, this has to be a MY17 car.

Well Dan, your post has taken people down memory lane, and it's not such a bad place to go!