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The traction battery will be fine for many weeks. The 12v battery could be hooked up to a maintenance charger, if you have access to mains supply? I have used and would recommend the CTEK mxs 5. Just connect to the 12v battery and leave connected for the duration.

I agree totally, and is why I fitted a 110 AH battery in my GS last summer. Many on LOC said basically they did not see the point of this, but perhaps surprisingly it cost substantially less than the OEM size battery. I am now in a position that the battery would hold enough charge to keep healthy for the next three months. Of course I am keeping it on charge, but in my situation this is very easy. For others it will not be so possibly requiring the removal of the battery from the car to take indoors for charging. I do appreciate that not all cars have the space for a larger capacity battery, but would urge people to check for this. It may be there is a taller higher AH battery that would fit in some vehicles where the battery tray is full with no space around it. John.

Last week I gave the Car its bi-annual Wash and wax. Scrubbed up quite nicely considering I only take off Birds muck and wash the wheels more regularly after long trips. She (oops) "it" is only 27 years young. Did manage some time ago to almost push out that Hail dent in the rear d/s quarter wing. If anyone has a T-Hotbox I'd be interested to know how they got on with it? Saw Ed China (not his fault its his name!) using one on a Chevrolet Luv to remove dents from the roof. Amazing! As I've got possibly fifty dents in total on boot, roof and bonnet, I may if I ever get to France again (praying frantically) spend some time removing the dents and of course re-spray the front wing with the proper colour (not ebay seller wrong paint chart) that I left over there. No garage here so...

Howard The first method you describe is the easiest and safest you will use approx 2 litres to bring it back to pink. Use a turkey baster to syphon out the reservoir and refill with new each time until the fluid is fresh and pink. I advise against removing pipes and fittings when doing fluid changes it can lead to leaks and air pockets which then lead to problems in the system.

Good luck with the search for an ISF. We swapped our 2011 IS250 SE-L last year for a GSF and haven’t looked back. You won’t be disappointed. I was however very disappointed with the part exchange value I was given by the Lexus dealer for the IS. After Initially accepting it just to get the deal done (I had been waiting for the GSF to arrive at the dealer for 2 weeks and we were about to board a plane to Spain) I advertised the IS on AT and it sold within 2 hours of us landing back in the UK for £2500 more.

Six months ago I was offered this car, which my friend bought new in 1996, by the current owner who bough it from him in 2016, but he barely used it. As a result of it sitting on his drive for over 3 years it is now in desperate need of some serious TLC. I have had a few projects since I retired (I don't like golf), but they were all BMW and Mercedes-Benz, so this is my first Lexus. I was offered the car in 2016, when it was still in regular use, but had to refuse due to other projects on the go. Two things in its favour - the mileage of 79,000 and the price of £400. How could I refuse! So far I am impressed with the build quality, especially compared to my previous projects. As an example, the wheel nuts were not seized and the alloy wheels were not fused to the hub, which has happened frequently to me before. I also noticed that Lexus used what looks like stainless steel bleed nipples - very thoughtful. Once the immobiliser had been disconnected the car started with no trouble, even after its extended slumber. I have made a list of jobs that need doing, but no doubt that will change as I get more familiar with the car: Overhaul the braking system. At least the parking brake works well and wasn't even seized on after 3+ years Change the bonnet struts (common) Treat the car to a new Lexus battery Carry out a full "B" service, although I might pass on checking the valve clearances Replace the timing belt, along with the water pump. I'm not sure about idler and tensioner though. Replace the N/S mirror glass (common) Recommission the A/C Get the climate control LCD display repaired (common). Apparently @steve2006 can help there Get the electric aerial working properly (common) Get the sunroof working properly. Apparently it's never been used in 24 years. Investigate the non-working heated front seats (common) Dry out and clean the interior. It looks as though water has got in behind the dashboard due to a blocked drain Tidy up the bodywork, especially the scrape down the offside Repaint the wheels I did find a rear brake pipe had rusted through, just where it passes through a clip, so I had to cut the pipe and cap it, then I could at least manoeuvre it off the owner's sloping driveway. That was fun! Some photographs follow, but those of you with a sensitive disposition, or OCD tendencies, might want to stop looking now! I will keep you posted with progress, time and weather allowing. PS: Are the registration letters appropriate? VRP = Very Reasonable Project. Alternative suggestions welcome.

Today I started the Head to toe service on my GS450H while SORNed. First thing I thought was front brakes. The discs did not look bad looking through the wheels, but I removed the front nearside wheel to do a more thorougher inspection. The discs were not scored or pitted, but had a small lip on the outside edge. I removed the caliper, and cleaned the lip off with my angle grinder with a flexible grinding disc. Checking the thickness of the disc i found it to be 28.5 mm, and the minimum thickness stamped on the disc is 27mm so all good there. Next I removed the pads from the caliper. The outside pad came out easily, but the inner pad would not move. I also noticed the inner pad was slightly thinner than the outside. After much levering, and tapping the pad came out. Both pads had more than 50% of material left on them so no need to change them. On trying to push the caliper pistons in I noticed the bottom inner piston was seized, and it's rubber boot damaged. Peeling the boot back showed a rusty piston. Strangely the car past it's MOT Less than 100 miles ago and the brake balance was near perfect, and so past the test without problems. Ordered 2 caliper repair kits with pistons from "Big Red" and 5 ltrs of brake fluid DOT4 although the handbook say's DOT3. DOT4 is compatible with DOT3, but has a higher boiling point, and is less likely to absorb moisture. The brake fluid is something I forgot to order with all the other fluids to start with. Tomorrow I will strip the front offside brake to see what I find Then on to the rears, and possible seizing slide pins. John.

I have to say that since the lock down, I have been doing new things such as posting here for the first time. I have been a club Gold member since 2015 with not a single post but I follow the forum time to time especially the F forum. I SORN my Lexus IS 250 today as I don't see the benefit of running 2 cars in the household with the current lock down. New 12 months road tax of £315 is due from 1st of April and insurance renewal is due 16th April. To save on household expenses during this unprecedented time, we have decided to run on our £0 tax 2011 Lexus CT 200h until things get back to normal. I am sad to SORN the IS 250 but my intention is to upgrade to a ISF 5.0 with same colour. There are 2 silver ISF on autotrader at the moment but will have to wait until life gets back to normal.

I couldn't find info anywhere so I'll write it here for the next man Stock f sport wheels I am told from the guy that sold them to me, 2017 model. 225 40 18 Front 255 35 18 Rear Fyi they fit perfectly no rubbing etc👌

FYI the YooToob channel AutoDoc has now uploaded some ‘how to’s’ for the RX400h.

Timely intervention it seems John. I recently changed the front pads on my old IS for my friend, which demonstrated to me how much I miss tinkering with cars. I just need to convince the misses to allow me to get another car to play with

cleaned the outside of the missus's car, started the inside then decided the easiest route would be to fit a whole new interior!

That may well be the case if we were talking purely about an electric motor but I don't think we are because it's not as simple as energising the motor which then cranks the engine. Toyota have been extremely clever in developing what they call the Power Split Device or PSD and starting the engine is part of it's duties. There used to be a great animation here http://eahart.com/prius/psd/ but it seems to have disappeared, although a great explanation of the PSD and the role it plays can still be found at that link.

That looks amazing - grey leather is easy to keep clean

It takes the same 'power' to crank the engine.... as Power = Amps x Voltage ... because the traction battery is high voltage, the current drawn is much lower

Actually John , not necessarily applying to this Yaris, but in the small print on battery guarantees is they are only covered for faulty manufacture. Allowing them to run down and therefore the plates sulphating, is not faulty manufacture, and led me to buy a CTek charger and use it all the time. Having said that, I did get 3 years out of last battery, which I thought poor until I realised it was constantly running down and therefore shortening its life. Still 2 years is not great, Cheers, Roger

I've left it a while just to make sure but …… the noise seems to have gone. Thanks for all the suggestions. I did move the rear seats between the various positions and that does seem to have coincided with the noise disappearing so hopefully that was the cause of the issue. Cheers all, Carl.

Oh well. Something to do tomorrow then. ☹️😁👍

Today has been a bluesy sort of day so thought some Tab Benoit would fit the bill.

Method 3 below, where it says pump out the reservoir as Phil mentions, use the turkey baster to remove the fluid. http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/steering/psflush.html

Plus one on the above and for the same reasons - I done it once on my mark 3 years ago

Can someone enlighten me please as to what action. if any, is needed to ensure that my batteries remain in reasonable condition whilst my car is parked up, perhaps possibly for many weeks to come. At the moment it is just over two weeks since it was last used. Is there some way that I can check to see what sort of state they are in at the moment? I have a multimeter but I am not a competent user of it. can I put it across the 12v terminals to check and if so, what settings will I need to use? I'm not sure where the 12v battery is located in my NX, I will have to dig out the manual today and have a look. If the battery needs charging, can I do it in situ, or do I need to disconnect the lead to be on the safe side? If I can get the 12v one healthy, what can I do about the hybrid battery. Would it simply be a case of sitting in the car with the engine running for say half an hour? Thanks for any help that may be offered. Hope you are all managing to keep safe and well in these difficult times. Fantastic response to the 8pm applause session last night, can become quite emotional really. Well done to each and every one of them.

I use brand name brake stuff bought from third party supplier that compete hard. BREMBO or BOSCH or the like. Prices are about 1/2 or less. 5 years now on those. Works perfectly. Why overpay? The markup on oem stuff is huge. Why pay that if you do not have too ?

Another of my all time favourite bands from my idealistic University days. The The, unknown by far too many people. I still mainly listen to the exact same music I grew up loving - Billy Bragg, Lloyd Cole, Elvis Costello, Suede, The Smiths, Morrissey, Kirsty MacColl, American Music Club, Galaxie500... Great times. Great memories.

Thanks In case you haven't seen, a few more photos here: Although I admit that I didn't go for any specific colours in mind as Premier models are so rare. Luckily the one I found was a colour that I quite liked

So just me then 😆 I didn't have the strength left to dance! I'm sure all the neighbours wondered what on earth I was doing smacking my own car with a sledgehammer though. Probably thought I went made under lockdown conditions haha.

it does make sense, if 12v battery is low, the engine will fire up to charge that, even if it isn't needed for anything else. My worry is I've heard a few people say about this and the lack of notice you get of pending failure. With a traditional car you get signs of battery decay when it doesn't start as well.. but with these you have no clue until it doesn't fire the computer.. needs a warning message ahead of the problem!

Olusegun Kolade Thanks for your good wishes re selling our IS200D F Sport, its advertised on this platform. I have sold the car once on ebay and again but then the buyer could not travel from Birmingham due to lock down. Its a bit inconvenient and we are waiting for the next opportunity !

Hi all - thanks for the advice - I got hold of an auto locksmith and he fixed the problem in less than 10 minutes - basically the "wafers" were bent and he just got in there and straightened things out!

Toyota/Lexus seem to have skimped a bit in the provision of the 12V battery. My 'normal' cars have had batteries of 75Ah rating but my RX450h battery is, if I remember correctly, about 50Ah or even less. Because a hybrid doesn't have a traditional starter motor it doesn't require such a big, beefy battery as a normal car. A traditional starter motor draws upwards of 300A to crank the engine, whereas my RX only draws 15.32A to get the car to the READY state, so in that case the smaller capacity battery doesn't matter. However, there is always a quiescent current draw for things like the alarm, radio presets and other stuff that needs to be powered up, even when the car is parked up and not being used, which is where the lower battery capacity makes itself known, in not lasting as long as a higher capacity one. It also has to be said that traction battery voltage is not the only cause of the petrol engine firing up. The engine provides heat for the cabin so it will fire up to provide whatever temperature you've got the system set to and to keep it there.

John, just wondering - is it not the case that the combustion engine fires-up if the 12V battery so much as needs a top-up? I too noticed that the consumption on the GS450h improved by 2mpg average after a fresh 12V battery, and that the car switches to EV mode more readily. With the old 12V battery, there has been instances where the engine keeps running when the gear lever is in "P" even though the hybrid battery is at 3 bars+ and the engine has fully warmed up. So although charging the 12V only consumes 60W, the fact that an entire engine is being turned over to provide for this affects the overall fuel economy? Of course, just from my observation and that I may have read this from somewhere - I may be totally wrong.

The 12 volt battery is there to power the accessories, and boot the computers to enable the starting procedure. Part of this procedure after system checks have been done is to pull in relays *electrically operated switches" to connect the traction HV battery. It is this battery that starts the engine using one of the two electric motors in the transmission. If the 12 volt battery is low the voltages from sensors in the systems are also low or missing preventing the car from going to ready mode, and starting. John.

Good luck and stay healthy. It could be my Mrs has just had it, 38 temp but no other symptoms. Turns out she had served 2 confirmed cases at work, so likely that she has had it. She got away extremely lightly if that is to be the case. Lexus finance are being proactive and contacting customers to see if they need help. Going to leave it as long as possible. I think I might be ok.

I also have an Aldi compressor and it's brilliant for all sorts of things around the garage and house. Sadly, you have to wait until these things come round in the stores but a quick look on eBay brought up this one which is very similar. This one isn't quite as powerful but is free delivery and free toolkit as well. I initially got mine for blowing out computers that came in for repair; some of them can be quite nasty as you can see below (although these photos are from somewhere else, not me, as I've never had anything quite so bad):

I have a very old Ctek which I am currently using on my wife's Fiat 500. Thoroughly recommended.

Agree with your thoughts here given the unprecedented times we are living through. We are advertising our IS 200 F Sport, also Sorned, as we now have a new EV SUV, Better to control the costs than keep it on the road, We will be sad to see the IS go but needs must and hope that all our lives return to safety and normality soon. Go safe all.

Let's hope you manage to keep clear of it, it's always been part of my routine for many years to ask my circle of friends if they have any symptoms of flu as I have to avoid them, but of course that's a bit of a waste in supermarkets and just about everywhere else.

RX all day long, well worth it.

Welcome Segun. It does seem silly to tax a car that is just going to sit there. Are you going to renew the insurance? Even though I park mine on my drive, I would still be weary of not insuring it in case something happened. Good choice on the ISF by the way, and I not jealous at all, certainly not...

of course your premium is much higher, they've got to pay out more on lost holiday / coro virus claims, how on earth do you expect the insurers to survive without, as usual, screwing what they can out of everyone who is within their greedy grasp This is simply par for the course with zero monitoring by anybody useful to ensure they aren't just taking the p - -ss 😲 Malc

I have now finished refurbishing the calipers: I am awaiting the brake hoses and a few other important bits, which hopefully will arrive in the next few days. At least then I can put the system back together and put the car back on its wheels. I did spend a lovely hour or so under the car this afternoon scraping off the flaking paint and loose rust, so hopefully that's one advisory I won't be getting. I have also ordered 4 new Kuhmo tyres, but have no idea yet when they can be fitted. I'll just have to wait and see. I also ordered several service items from Car Parts 4 Less, so they should be here next week. There are a few bodywork trim pieces that need replacing, namely both offside wheel arch trims and the lower corner trims under the front bumper. I rang Lexus Swindon and they quoted £120 and £150 respectively for the front and rear wheel arch trims. Ridiculous. The bumper trim pieces are much more reasonably priced at £27.46 each. Mercedes-Benz's parts pricing strategy is equally inconsistent. One job I do need to do is remove the wiper arms and plastic scuttle cover to investigate where the water has been getting in. Hopefully it's something simple like a blocked drain hole, fingers crossed.