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I read an article today in which it was claimed that 85% of all French and German cars built are still on the road. Then I turned the page to discover that the other 15% made it home! 😌

On the 12 March, we went over to Scotland (from Holland) to spend a couple of weeks with friends and family. On the 19th I received a text from the ferry company saying 'The last ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam leaves on the 21st - do you want to be on it?' The answer was 'Yes' and we cut our visit short. Before we left, realising we'd be in lockdown for a while, I made a trip to Halfords to get some materials to clean and shine the Lexus. These are what I bought: Over last weekend I set to work. I had never used a clay mitt before and was amazed how easy it was - and how effective. The headlight restorer worked well, also. The headlights weren't bad, but there was the odd scratch and a bit of discolouration in the corners. The kit is easy to use and comes complete with everything you need. After polishing, I applied the extra gloss protection. I'm very pleased with the result, see what you think: I need to get the alloys refurbished.....but that can wait. Next weekend, I'll do the interior.

I bought two models from e-bay of the RCF both were about £150 the blue one has all opening doors etc and the engine detail is superb, the orange one doesn't have opening doors. The detail on both is superb and they weigh an awful lot just like the real thing.

Toyota's own advice on their website says that to keep the 12V battery topped up during the lockdown period, put the car into the READY state for about 60 minutes each week (making sure that other things like the radio, the climate control etc., are off) with the transmission in Park, and the engine will run as and when necessary to do the job. Obviously, don't leave the car unattended whilst doing this

At least from some point this year she can get cheaper essentials servicing available for vehicles 5 years old to save a bit and still have the hybrid health check.

Correct, the DC-DC converter will take the voltage from the hybrid battery and convert to 14.5volt to run the low voltage system, including recharging the aux battery whenever the system is in Ready mode. The petrol engine will cut in and out as required to keep the hybrid battery charged.

Hi Herbs, I do get your sentiment about service costs at Lexus dealerships, and extortionate labour costs. However my daughter has a 2015 RX 450h, bought privately with a FLSH. She intends to keep it long term, so FLSH not really relevant per se. When she needed a service, I asked a very good local independent who I know for a price. She then compared that to Lexus Chester, but when you include the hybrid health check, including warranty, there was not much difference. Then factor that the dealership will use proprietary consumables, plus correct oils, so you can have confidence, she went to a Lexus Chester, so not all bad. I would agree it is sensible to get a price for other repairs, from indies, but tbh, and touch wood, these vehicles are so reliable, you would hope it was not necessary. There is much written about service costs, and how to cheapen them, and of course you can cheapen anything, but I have usually taken out service plans, mainly with my wife’s Honda, and used the main dealer. Taking everything into account , including resale values I have been delighted with not only the costs but also the peace of mind, and of course reliability. My own Lexus is cared for by Paul Frost, with me supplying the Lexus consumables, and I am delighted with the result and of course the costs. I doubt my LS430 will ever see the inside of a main dealer🤗 and thanks for your help 👍

Regen braking doesn't produce much power at all and it doesn't get dumped into the 12v battery. Much more power available from the hybrid battery. Not sure what current the vehicle will supply to the 12v battery to charge it, as with a conventional vehicle the charging system is really only designed to keep the battery topped up, not charge it up from a semi-discharged state - you use a battery charger for that.

Of course, but if the purpose is to keep 12V battery charged you don't need t move car and make warm cabin.

That is my understanding too. You could use an ordinary maintenance free lead acid battery with vent as I have on my BMW E39 for many years but there is a rear bulkhead in the Beemer (unlike the RX450) which would provide some protection from acid in the event of an accident or explosion as somebody showed the result of in a thread started several years ago on this forum. The AGM batteries have the acid stored in glass matte, are lighter and not affected by severe angle of tilt, so in the event of an accident are safer and specified in the Panasonic Battery Lexus fit to the car. There is another type of battery which uses a Gel but I have not considered that because the recommendation is that batteries should be replaced by like for like type.

I bought an IS300h at the end of December 2019, a 63 plate with 22,800 on the clock. Having owned both Honda and Mazda previously, the Lexus feels far better built than the others, and they are pretty well screwed together! The mileage I do is fairly similar to yours and I'm having no issues at all, with no battery problems and on the coldest days I was getting 38 mpg around town and suburban. The Honda Civic gave me 28 to 32. On a long motorway run to St Albans on a very cold January day I got 58 mpg at almost warp speeds, the Civic gave me 48 mpg at best. Currently in lock down conditions I'm only doing the across town run and I'm on 44.5 mpg. Bear in mind that I'm running the F Sport which has wider tyres, hence a little less mpg than the standard saloon. I have no issues with thoroughly recommending any Lexus to anybody. My colleagues who run German stuff, and that's all it is, are somewhat kicking themselves right now and every single one of them who've ridden in the Lexus has been totally gob smacked. Buy the IS, it's the only car I've ever owned where I'm impressed every time I do so much as click the seatbelt on.

Autoart have some quality stuff pricey at 1:18 scale but all doors, bonnet,boot open I'm not 100% as I've not looked at my aristo for a while but think steering wheel moves wheels aswell Pics below just for reference of quality not my car Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

And cabin temperature. The engine is the only source of heat so if you have the cabin nice and warm, the engine will be firing more often.

Thank you, will do

blimey, more like the cost of just 2 pints of draught Guinness .. but that really is special sorry i digress Malc

yes, although the criteria should include whether the seats fold like with the IS300h or fixed like the ES. Gases from charging are covered as some flooded batteries have a central vent which can be plumbed outside, but gases from a damaged battery from an accident could still come through the ski hatch if open. On the Prius IV (2016 onwards) they have moved the battery back to the engine bay, and flooded - plus made it a little larger compared to the previous generation.

When I had to choose a top quality fully synthetic oil for my car, I had to read a lot and ask the advice of professionals. You have to choose the viscosity best suited for the climate the car is used. For my car, 0W20 is recommended for Europe. But for countries like Israel, 5W30 is recommended because of the higher ambient temperatures. For UAE countries, a much higher viscosity is recommended, because of the higher ambient temperatures.If you use a lower viscosity oil, it will give you better mileage but the engine may burn some oil and it may wear out sooner, depending on its tolerances and gaps designed by the manufacturer. Some manufacturers design their engines to burn some oil in order to gain mileage. However, if the engine is fitted with a catalytic converter, the burnt oil will eventually blog the catalytic converter which will lead to replacement. The cost involved is usually quite high. Another important factor to always consider is the ACEA C specification suitable for an engine in question. This is the compatibility of the oil with respect to the catalytic converter fitted by the manufacturer, in terms of the amount of SAPS content [Sulfated ash, Phosphorus and Sulfur] of the oil. Using the wrong ACEA C specification will lead to possible engine damage and blockade of the catalytic converter. For Toyota and Lexus, C2 ACEA [ a minimum of High Temperature High Shear viscosity of 2.9 m Pa.s] specification is recommended. Toyota, as far as I know, please correct me if I am wrong, does not state the C specification of their engine oils. Chris.

Hi, From the repair manual, POA1B 163,164, 192, 193, 195, 198, 511, 512, 786, 794, all refer to errors relevant to the inverter converter assembly. The recommended repair is to replace the complete assembly. You have to wait at least 10 minutes after you remove the service plug to allow the capacitors within the assembly to discharge completely before you begin any work. Like other learned members already mentioned, you must find the cause of the problem and cure it before you replace the inverter assembly. The some parts within the assembly are available from Toyota. I know for sure that the capacitors are available. Chris.

I can't remember the answer. I think you have to put it in as a destination and then save it as a POI or marked point as home. I'm using the Alpine sat nav, Google Maps or Waze depending on my mood but I do agree a paper O.S. map is king and so much easier to upgrade when the newest version comes out. It's not always recommended to save your precise home location just in case the car gets stolen but when I get back in the car tomorrow I will check the correct procedure to save the home address.

All fixed now, fitted a new coil pack and spark plug and it runs like a dream, wasn't an original denso coil pack but will try and get one of those as a spare. Luckily I took a snap of the diagnostics otherwise those guys would have been swapping out the rear packs.

Problem sorted https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124133985382

Pressure washed my block paving. Got some mud splatters on the RX so had to wash it ⛲

Connected battery charger to a car, just for a day.

Changed the clear indicators that were on the car back to the original orange. The side indicators didn’t fit properly, they were too small and the front ones were full of water and misted up. Don’t know where the clear indicators came from but they were different and didn’t fit as well as they should. Before after

Seeing A Forest up there reminded me of these cover versions. Both as good as the original although a little different.

Here's one for our present time. And I see someone got there before me!

and with more time on our hands, we can enjoy the majesty of 2112...but different. The version of another brick in the wall by the same guy is about as scary as the original

Any good? https://www.amazon.com/312-Motoring-2002-2011-MOLDING-PROTECTORS/dp/B006XKKLNC

The TPMS is a separate sensor that can be swapped from wheel to wheel but a lot of the time they are a bitch to remove as the alloy cap has corroded and siezed solid