Leaderboard

Just thought i'd share some recent mods I did. I haven't had a chance to publish it on my blog yet but it's on my instagram. The 4 main mods here are: Hydrodip Interior Panels - I hydrodipped the centre console and steering wheel switchpad cover in black micro carbon weave pattern with a 2K clear coat on top to get a nice deep shine. I had recently wrapped the steering switchpad in gloss carbon fibre but wasn't too happy with the level of shine and depth of the pattern. So I hydrodipped it. I also took this oppertunity to finally change the outdated wooden centre console to the same design. Just have to do the window switches still. LED Upgrade - I took the oppertunity to change the LED bulbs inside the switchpad to blue. LED's are very cheap. I bought a pack of 100 for a few pounds. Plan is to change all the green LED's out on the car at some point. Aluminium Sports Pedals - I've always been after some OEM aluminium sport pedals but don't like to spend too much, so managed to finally source the whole set from a breaker for £20. Hybrid Blue Start Button - I wanted to upgrade the standard start button to the blue hybrid one to match by blue interior and exterior theme. I first purchased a hybrid blue start button from an earlier hybrid lexus for £5 but wasn't happy with the tone of blue and the backlight was yellowish, so i gave up with that. Then I purchased one from a CT200h for £10 and the blue tone of that is perfect and is like a pearl blue and the backlight is white. So in the pics you will probably see both start buttons. Some pics of all these mods below:

Did they all manage to leave ok without the help of recovery services? 😁

Actually decided to go with Lexus Parts Direct, will have to wait a week for the shocks, but for the sake of an extra £180 (and not needing the car for a couple of weeks), may as well go OEM. That will be one more job done until the next biggie (cam belt on next 10K miles)

Welcome Alif, These are all I have. Lexus Indie Garages.docx

I forgot to add that I also took the oppertunity to change the shift position bulb to a blue LED. But when changing that bulb you need to wrap or black out underneath the bulb so that you reduce the light from bleeding. I also polished that perspex shift position trim. It's plastic so scratches up very easily. Mine was in a nasty condition so a polish has made it like new again. A few pics of that below:

Hey there Farqui, A lot of cars, but I suppose ones that stand out for me were: Audi GT coupe, Renault 5 GT Turbo, Porsche 944, Merc E200 (W124), BMW 530i manual (E39), BMW F30 328i. Aside from these a few Golfs and other hatchbacks.

Come the colder weather no one will want to be sitting in a quickly cooling car, hardly able to see out the misting up windows, the barely big enough screen obscured by the driving rain.....

Ah, here's a recent news report; https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-53006214 I doubt they'll last long as we now have great set-ups at home with movies on demand. Plus the fridge is nearby to satisfy any cravings 😋

There`s a recommendation in Preston Ezzie. Lexus Indie Garages.docx

Both ISF - and Silver. 2009 and 2012 with BCA 2009 at Paddock Wood Kent 2012 at Enfieid North London They have just come through on my email notification and are under the hammer today. The 2012 was the car at Lexus Sidcup the 2009 has minor damage to front lower bumper Be interesting to see if they get sold and how long it takes for them to appear on AT and ebay

My LS400 was written off by my Insurance company as deemed too expensive to repair in Jan 2017. I have just checked the registration number on GOV MOT site and seems it was mot'ed in January this year. I assume it was bought from Insurance company and repaired so wonder if anyone here has this vehicle now. It is now registered as S286 GPN. If someone has this vehicle I still have the service booklet stamped upto 12/03/2015 and 170609 miles. I also have a couple of bits for it, spare wheel tray, tool kit, 6 CD cartridge and under seat tray/box and manual.1 Cheers Chris.

Steel tins fine with clean metal, and an aggressive flux, Back in the sixties I was tort how to lead load by a skilled body repair worker. It had the advantage of preventing rust on the repaired area, and did not flake off the steel like filler can. John.

My 2005 GS300 certainly wasn't limited to that private road speed because I tried it in Germany. I know this sounds silly but when you say the revs were redlined, is it possible you dropped the shifter into a lower gear without realising it? Unless the transmission was slipping, which I guess it can do at high speed as well as low.

I usually buy my oil on ebay, but from a genuine store, who use ebay as a sales outlet (like opie oils) ... often they are free postage on ebay, but pay for postage if you goto the same people via their online shop!

Welcome 🙂

First off why do you need the air con regass .if it not blowing cold air .its either a leak ,blocked air con rad or the system isn't switching on .dont waste 70-100 quid on regassing until you have been to an air on specialist or your be wasting money .

Closer to 5 litres rather than 6 as he put in 6 quarts and nearly all of the last quart overflowed. But that is for an AA80E transmission which is larger and hold more fluid than the A960E.

Many thanks@Royoftherovers.

You are right. I was working on my car with the music on and when I was done she would not start! Luckily after letting her rest for more than an hour the battery had just about enough juice to crank the engine, but barely. I was lucky. So I reminded myself not to do the same whenever I work on her again.

I'm not sure if it can be set at all. My car, first registered in November 2013 does automatically lock when you reach about 10 or 15mph, but I remember reading somewhere that they discontinued this facility on safety grounds as there was some difficulty getting the doors open in a crash.

Lovely!!!

There is a demand for the used Lexus side rails which complete the look of the car in the eyes of some. They also provide the basis for the Lexus cross rails. These are very easy to fit. I was unable to to get used ones so purchased at a discounted price from 'Lexus Direct', (a Lexus dealer in Swindon) who posted mine to me.

Hi All, I've just become the proud new owner of a Lexus GS 250 (approve used from Lexus Sheffield). It's grey with black interior and only 47k miles on the clock. It's so lovely and different to all my previous cars. I have been finding myself just taking it out for a drive of an evening simply for the enjoyment of it. I can't put my finger on what makes it feel so special I am just enjoying it so much. I certainly love the engine and although it's not the most powerful it sounds lovely and I prefer it to more powerful diesels I have driven in the past. Also just to say thanks to all of you who give your feedback on questions and comments on this forum, it has been helpful in my search for a great car. Cheers!

You’re probably right insofar as the crack doesn’t go all the way through to the inside of the boot-lid. More information to come when I get home and speak to my (and my insurance company’s) trusty body shop.

Hi everyone whatever your model ,I have whilst browsing the copart fans forum a new to me parts sourcing website. This site actually uses original manufacturers part number lists and diagrams which is priceless when identifying the exact part you need. If you sign up to the garage proviso all you need to do to get the best price worldwide is to first identify the part number on the vehicle put in your vin number and they find the correct part at the best price and availability. I have checked out some of the prices and the variance is surprising and these are mostly genuine OEM parts. The site is www 7zap.com

At this early age of your vehicle I'd have a word with the dealership you got it from.

Yes, you are right. I find my self regretting getting an IS250 more often than I would to admit, but still love the car. I got it directly from Lexus/Toyota used, so it had checks and repairs done by them.

@finchy40 As others have mentioned not around these parts anymore....... I have looked at the reg number and unfortunately I have nothing on this particular car.....but in the area you mentioned this was around there some years ago but according to DVLA number never issued ?

Looks great Ahmed and Paul, well done Changing those trims certainly makes a big improvement and I'm very tempted to get mine done. On sunny days, when the sun is at the wrong angle....the chrome gear surround often dazzles the front occupants. So I'd definitely like to dull that area down/out.

Most cars have these hidden away somewhere. They are there for two reasons. When the heater or AC is on drawing air from outside the air in the cabin would have to be compressed unless some air was vented. The air in the cabin has to be vented to make way for the fresh air. The other reason "more noticeable in older cars without the feature" is that it enables easy closing of doors. If say only the drivers door is open and you try to shut it the air in the car is compressed particularly if the door is slammed or closed quickly. This can prevent the door closing completely. The vents have a one way flap valve that prevents airflow in the reverse direction. This also helps keep the car from flooding if driven through deep water. John.

Nice, one of the first things I did to mine was get the red interior wood changed, mine is Lexus woodgrain, certainly brings the car up to date

I just use two cross bars that clamp onto the roof rails.

I wouldn't run on ignition for that long even if everything is off and you just have the sound system on. You are risking draining the battery quite low. You will be using the amp which has quite a high power consumption. And remember that a car battery is not designed to be totally discharged, yes it can recharge with the alternator but the battery isn't designed for that and it will degrade prematurely and have shorter lifespan. It's supposed to hold enough charge to start up the car and replenish this once the car is started up. Deep cycle batteries are for that and can withstand several hundred total discharge/recharge cycles.

Hey there I am selling my RX450H https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202005189389115 Call me via number on the add and let me know that you are from the Lexus club. Looking to get around 9.5k. Good condition and top spec. Just got a new shape 66 plate RX and I can tell you now, will miss the head up display and sunroof big time.

The PO40 was made some time back, and i always found it to be way too expensive for what it does. I was going to make my own but then nowadays the asian market has so many universal systems that all work the same way. I bought mine for £6.49 so works out cheaper than making my own. These kits are now going for about £10-£12 because of recent lockdown restrictions the prices have gone up a little. Video of my set up below. I've got a full install guide on my blog. I've installed this for a few people too and for those who are far away they were able to take my install guide to a mod shop that followed my guide and did the mod for them.

What a shame, sorry to read this but hopefully a simple repair. Just hope there's nothing untoward lurking behind the visible damage to the bumper, crumple boxes etc.. I also assumed the boot would be metal, interesting.. Please keep us updated how things work out.

You need to register to gain the garage app. you could google those part numbers and obtain suppliers that way I did that as part of my research and the shields came in around £25 each.

😂🤣🤣

Thanks for the warm welcome, it's great to finally be a Lexus Owner and part of this forum 🙂

All DIY

Yes and no. They may only have the one machine and so don't want to risk cross-contamination. As little as 1% normal PAG oil in ND11 'hybrid' oil can damage the insulation on the compressor motor windings and allow current leakage to earth (vehicle body) which would shut down the car to prevent electrocution - the hybrid compressor motors are 500V three phase AC so you really don't want that flying around.

It could of been a great car with a bit more product development. Auto, my preference, better engine/ gearbox response. Oh no I'm describing an IS 250! Liked all the airbags even passenger knee as well. Loved the colour too and shape. Hope your head gasket lives for a very long time. James👍

When I was there,this lot turned up.

Welcome K, Always nice to see another GS owner on here. The colour is very nice, but then I am bias

Hi K! I'd say welcome but I think you've bought the car I've been eyeing up for the last few weeks every time I called to see Russell in Lexus Parts. So you know, YOU BOUGHT MY CAR!! You clearly love it so keep us posted and a grudging welcome...

As above but I would use a dry PTFE lube spray (as used on MTB chains) WD40 is rather thin, more a water dispersant. Either way, looks like a strip-down required.

Small update, managed to get the gauges finished in the nav unit and it turned out really good! Over the moon with it, just need to see if i can get the proper plug connector from Toyota for the unit. 20200622_002212.mp4

Thanks Herbie, your help is very much appreciated.

Cheers David, it was excellent! Five years ago I had a triple heart bypass so things like that are a very rare treat for me these days. I had a look for the wiring diagram but the info is spread over multiple pages, so I've just sent you a private message that should help.

Hi Herbie, thanks for replying - sorry for having confused you. The car doesn't have a power tailgate but the unit I'm talking about is a small electric motor, an actuator if you like, which acts against a lever to release the latch. At the moment, the only way I can release the latch is to climb into the boot and manually move the lever with my finger through a little access window. I've attached an image of the unit I'm trying to replace.