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I have got my car back for the second time from Snows repair centre at Southampton. They took it back because I was not happy with some things, the main one being the air suspension compressor/pump. They agreed the noise it was making was excessive and must have been damaged in the accident. They said it would add another 2K£ to the cost (which seems a bit much to me but I'm not paying), so would have to get this approved. Anyway, this and other things now done and I am looking for a legitimate reason to be able to use it in these times of Government imposed restrictions. Meanwhile, I have got myself one of those battery saving devices so I can use in conjunction with a spare standard battery I have whilst the car is not in use. This will enable me to remove the Panasonic battery and check more precisely what I can fit in its place even with some adaptation. This may take some time as the car is on my drive and it rains most days here in Devon or so it seems! However, I will revert to this battery aspect in due course.

I ran three powerful and high torque RWD saloons on winter tyres every winter from November to March. Pirelli Sottozeros. I couldn’t believe the difference in performance in all types of winter weather. In cold wet weather it was night and day difference between them and the ‘summer’ high performance tyres the cars normally ran on. All 20” tyres and very low profile and wide. The Winter tyres fitted on the same rims and the dealership charged me £25 every time to swap the tyres. £50 a year then and this included storage of the tyres not in use. If I lived in the mountains I’d run winter tyres whatever car I owned. Cross-climates could I think be a good middle ground option if not wanting to go to the trouble of having two sets of tyres and possibly wheels. I aim to find out by having these tyres fitted all round at next replacement. Up a mountain though, definitely winter tyres.

That's really good to hear. And if you think the entrance is tight you should have seen it when the premises were in a Brighton mews! Another MK4 LS400 has made a permanent appearance near our house, I often see it when I walk the dog. I think they're a fantastic looking car, and when you walk past one they just look sooo long!

Used CT owner here. Recently drove from Edinburgh to Teesside to visit family. On reaching my destination, noticed horrible scraping/squeaking noise coming from underneath the car which necessitated a visit to Lexus Teesside to check it out before making the return journey. As suspected it was the loose exhaust heat shield problem which is a well known issue with this model. Heat shield was resecured and an ongoing issue with the tyre pressure was also reset and resolved (without asking for this to be looked at) Car was also given a quick clean and vacuum all for the total price of £15 ! Nice to know wherever you travel, you're never far away from good customer service from Lexus :-)

I have two, a TireTec and a Draper, both similar to the ones linked here. They read within one psi of each other, that's sufficiently accurate for me. Unless they're both 25% error 😱.

I've bought 3 during the last 2 years , no issues so far , recently they had a promotion to register for a lifetime warranty but I never received the confirmation email , but at the price offered I don't mind

I too bought the TireTek off Amazon as supplied by Odyseaco. I think the pressure range is more appropriate for car tyres and I liked the rubber bumper protection. Also the way it retains the reading when disconnected and its use as a way of deflating tyres. Only downside for some these days is that it’s made in China - but the distributor is in the UK. It proved to be very easy to use and consistent in its readings. And you can complete an online registration for a 12 month warranty. As it happens it developed a fault after 6 months! It ceased to hold the recorded pressure on removal. I contacted Odyseaco and they sent a replacement by return and told me not to bother to return the faulty gauge. This has performed perfectly ever since. Out of curiosity I researched this problem and found it was a known - but rare - event and was easily rectified. So I feel a bit guilty but I do now have two working TireTek gauges! Meanwhile, full marks to TireTek customer service!

I bought this gauge about 7 or 8 years ago, and have had no trouble with it at all. The gauge seems very accurate and it feels like a quality piece of kit: https://www.drapertools.com/product/69924/Tyre-Pressure-Gauge-with-Flexible-Hose

This is the one that I bought and I have to say it's excellent. Good, clear, easy to read and very accurate. Highly recommended.

Hi Jerry, sorry to hear about your cat theft. This has been discussed in quite some depth on this forum. See this thread here for lots more info: https://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/121976-urgent/

THIS IS THE BEST FOR THE MOST REASONABLE PRICE, IVE GOT 3 AVAILABLE FROM AMAZON. TIRETEK BRAND USA DESIGNED BUT MADE IN CHINA https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B015FMBAA6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

A mini-update about this. Toyotamapsonline have said that there is a Lexus fault associated with some versions of the map: https://toyotamaps.online/blog/lexus-issued-a-tsb-for-vehicles-with-navigation-software-issues As I have one of the versions mentioned, I'll follow up on this and see how far I get with Lexus.

Good tools, using "single pin" one you should succeed in doing the work. When I had to do something similar I used a tiny screwdriver for watchmaking.

Shocking thread this. Hope you get a good resolution 👍

😮 my GSD makes for a great co-pilot on occasion but I have to tone down the lead right foot ha!

In answer to the question about where we live, it is a very small village at 3000 ft up a 6 km small and steep mountain road. The road is cleared regularly so it is not a problem unless you want to leave or are coming back from somewhere when it is snowing. I suppose we would put chains on then. But we do go skiing and you can get caught in bad weather then. However as I said before we obviously WILL have snow tyres as we do now on the xtrail. Thanks for all your answers and I think we will go for an NX.

😀 To be fair, I don’t think the OP was asking if anyone used their NX in those conditions. He was asking what they’re like in the snow though.

Be surprised Paul if there are any who live live over 3000ft up a mountain. In the Pyrenees last night a temperature exceeding -30 was recorded according to Aljazeera.😊

Given the recent weather there must be some NX owners on the forum with experience of their cars in snow. It would be interesting to hear their experiences and know what tyres they are on etc. I had an NX back in 2017 to 2018 and drove it every day during the snowy weather we had in the middle of December 2017. My car was on the Yokohama OE tyres. It surprised me how good it was and I could feel the all wheel drive when pulling away. I daresay an NX on decent tyres would be ok in very poor weather. Most likely not as good as a JLR product with similar tyres but it seemed fine for me. Haven’t had chance to drive my current NX in snow yet.

As it only does it on full lock, could it be the front tyres skipping (aka crabbing) due to the cold weather? A number of threads recently regarding this ...

I can just see this happening to me now because I’ve been too blasé about it on here 😀

It was on Autotrader but only for about 10hrs. Went up Sat night and by 9:30 Sunday morning a deposit was taken.

A decent set of winter tyres is the solution here. Or a set of Michelin cross-climates which are the only all year round tyre to meet the winter tyres performance standard. One of the TV car programmes, can’t remember which one, drove two identical SUVs up an indoor ski slope. The only difference was that one was 2WD but with winter tyres all round and the other was 4WD with standard tyres. Think it was a Ford Kuga. The 2WD version got much further up the slope than the 4WD version. That said, I’ve found both NX cars I’ve had to be good in snow and very slippery conditions. Both with standard tyres. I plan to get some cross-climates at replacement time though.

Mine is used as a taxi so I regularly have passengers in and out of the car. I used to do a school run and one of the little treasures decided to post some items through the grille one day, didn't take long for the filter to become nearly blocked

Its quite a popular "mod" in Japan. they use plugs that terminate at the end of the harness with the resistors built in.

im tempting fate here........ Ive done 120,000 miles in 2.5 years and as yet haven't triggered it. I wouldn't say I take anymore care than I would in a car that doesn't have the system fitted, it was only when my nearly flat battery triggered the warning a few days ago that I remembered I had the system

So finally got her in today and the mechanics could not fault anything. Checked callipers, steering rack, wishbones, everything. Only suggestion was hitting end stops so all greased up and time will tell? Good news no costs involved.

Thanks to Bluesman and The-Acre I ended up in a very cold Brighton to at last, get to Grove Garage. As mentioned, Lee is ex-Lexus and the garage in addition to catering to all vehicles is badged up as a Toyota Specialist as indeed they are. Lee also repairs and fabricates exhaust systems. The entrance is small and tight but leads to a good sized workshop. They were very busy. Once the heat shields were off, it first appeared as though a quick repair would be in order with two leaks towards the front of the Y on both sides. These welded up but the driver's side section towards the Y would not hold the weld at all. Visibly all looked well but the metal was thin and as the pipes joined, there was hidden rust underneath and the weld kept pin holing. So it became apparent a larger repair was required. Lee fabricated a new Y section and joined this to the rear pipe and moved the muffler box a few inches back to get a better fit and weld. Total damage all in was £233. Looks good and tidy. At last I have a quiet motor and the correct back-pressure to get the smooth, full power delivery back. 😁 No doubt the petrol consumption will be back to normal - i'd taken a look at whilst trundling along at 60 mph and it looked a bit mean to me...a little off. Next on the list when I can get the weather sorted: have OE rear discs/pads ready to fit. Fan carrier bracket (Gates), ready to fit. Indicator unit ready to fit. Btw velcro is working well keeping old unit in place. I really have to sort out the dings in a few panels, the wheels and the front bumper that looks as though its molting. In our conversation on my 400, Lee said: "Don't sell it will you..." they are indeed rare and prized motors that will become desirable. It's got that shape that looks awful in some respects but in time assumes an attractive aspect. Look at the classics people crave now. No problem with adding my support for Grove Garage. I've discovered and met a garage of choice thanks to The-Acre and Bluesman. It is worth the trip from Reading: important to book in and agree timescales if you are coming from afar as this is a successful and busy busy business. I'll be using again.

Also RX has not snow mode, only old models. And here an example of NX on snow: Lexus NX 300h Hybrid Off Road In Winter Slippery Сlimb - YouTube

HV battery CAN'T run out, because they are recharged by thermal engine. 4x4 mode actually is AWD, meaning that you don't have to select a "mode" but ,provided you have a AWD NX and not the only FW version, the system automatically activate the rear electric motor when necessary.

Consider some all-season or snow tyres?

I disabled mine and got slated on here for it. However I've had countless pm's from people looking to do theirs. It involves bumper removal ect so if you want a how to then drop a pm.

Not to prolong the debate, but please look at the information from the manual that I shared o answer the question as to why someone would want to do it. If the car is out of warranty the repair costs a good percentage of the car current value. Each owner can weigh for himself the risk chance, benefit and reward. The requirement is to have a certain distance between the bonnet and the engine, the pop up system substitutes for that. How useful it really is could be up for debate, it only functions at certain speeds and sorts of impact. Thank you everyone for the responses.

+1 to all your comments. I've just driven back home in a UX250h while my IS300h is having a service. I'd certainly consider one - the boot space is disappointing though. It seems more eager than my IS and the ride is much smoother. I managed to work out how to put the radio on and I thought that the "ears" at the top of the instrument panel for changing driving mode and traction control (?) weren't as distracting or annoying as I've read others write elsewhere. I'm quite looking forward to the drive back to pick my car up.

the stuff i used to find in our video recorder that my first child had kindly posted in their he must of thought it was a letter box

Since it's pulling air from inside the cabin the cleanliness of the air inside will dictate how quickly the mesh gets clogged up.

You will be very unlucky if damage to the hybrid inverter has occurred. The fuse within the HV battery shouldn't have blow as that isn't directly related/connected to the 12v system.

Enjoyed reading these posts exchanges between Dutchie & Royoftherovers. Thank you Gents

Cycles of 50 years seem too long or too short in todays economy John. On one side Tesla reminds me of Tulip Mania and the old economy companies ,mostly family owned, seem to stear through the crisis reasonably well. Different companies different values. Shareholder value against medium term growth. Tesla worth more than Toyota, really?? Iphones selling like hot cakes for 1200 Pounds, really?? Billionaires had a great year, really?? Its a mentality thing. Trying to earn as much as possible regardless of the consequences against creating value for the company and passing it on to the next generation. Japan is known for the latter and maybe that is also the explanation for their conservatism in the automitive industry?

TWO YEARS? Crikey. If I ever felt like defecting to a German marque, that might affect my decision slightly.

Bernard, I know exactly what you mean. Thank goodness that somewhere in Japan there lies tradition and respect. In UK, USA and industrialised Europe there is nothing but greed. Bonus no longer means what it meant and how anyone can be deserving of "earning" one million pounds is and will remain beyond me.

Out of curiosity how is your warranty on the ID3? I just found out to my astonishment that VW in The Netherlands is providing a 4 year warranty on all models but with exception of electric vehicles. It is is writing that all ID3 models produced in 2020 will have a 2 year warranty that also cannot be extended. Even replacement vehicles are not covered and will be at cost of buyer. They clearly saw this one coming! How is the warranty in the UK? What they are doing is deliberately pushing underdeveloped models in the market and let the customers be the Beta testers. If there are problems they quickly seem to close the door and leave you outside. I now see why the 2020 models are called first edition... To me this is still thesame mentality that caused dieselgate.. On a positive note the mother of all software updates that will end all issues seems ready according to the German press.

hi all Unfortunately my cat converter from our '61 CT200h was stolen off my driveway yesterday evening. They took less than 3mins to do it. I have some questions that I would be grateful for the forum's help. Apologies in advance if these questions are covered in earlier threads. 1. is there anything I need to check/do to prevent further damage to car? So far I see the heatshield hanging down and when car is started, it sounds horrible. Can short journeys be done if no other alternative? 2. I spoke to a leading independent garage specialising in Lexus/Toyota who quoted £650 approx to fit non-Lexus cat and oxygen sensor. They note that non-lexus parts are not as in demand by the criminals as the Lexus converter. Does the forum agree? They assure me this part confirms to European standards and made in the UK by a large manufacturer of cat converters. Would this repair/replacement be covered by most insurers? A cat lock security plate would have be sourced from Lexus and cost £250 extra. Is this worth having if the non-Lexus converter is fitted. 3. The local Lexus dealer is quoting £1250 for replacing with Lexus parts and a further £250 to fit cat lock security plate. What are the benefits of the dealer route versus the non-Lexus part from independent garage? 4. I have heard that steel cable can be wrapped around cat converter for anti-theft - has anyone had this fitted? Thank you Jerry

Hi John, you want negative talk about Lexus service: I was told by the Lexus service assistant that the SD-card for navigation was having a lot of other data from my car and not only the updated street maps and other navigation data. Completely bull****. Unfortunately, I was stupid enough to let him order a new SD-card from Japan and paid in advance. 7 times what it would have cost me to buy a similar card from eBay. Then I had to wait more than a month for it to come. If bought from eBay it would have been 3 – 4 days. I was told that Lexus had UV protection in all windows. Not how much though; he would search and inform me. Never happened. Found in my belongings a UV measuring device and found out that front windshield indeed has 100% UV-A and UV-B protection. Side windows less than 5% which is no more than all common glass windows have when they are not protected. When informing him that, he told me I could have UV protection on the rear side windows and making them dark. Not what I wanted. Asked for fully transparent UV protection in all door windows and was told it was not legal to have film in front door windows unless I had documentation from medics and the explanation about the needed illness he gave was once again completely not true. Bull**** is what I got when asking almost anything. I searched and found out that 3M has the UV protection I was searching for, but the 3M authorised workshop here told me that they would not install the transparent UV protection film. I also found out that 3M has had so many problems with their transparent film that I continued my search. Found https://europeafricarussia.llumar.com/choose-a-product/automotive-window-films/clear-window-films and being stubborn as I am I found a workshop that would install the transparent film here and now I have 100% UV protection, even in the sun roof so I can see out without having my bald spot exposed to UV. I wrote a complaint to the boss from the company and informed about the poor service quality I received from the service assistant and asked for another person to handle servicing my car next time and had a real bad treatment so no more going there. Unfortunately, the nearest service spot for Lexus not owned by same company is 2 days on ferry away so I suppose I will have only battery maintenance once yearly here made with Lexus and have other service, oil change etc. made from an unauthorized Toyota service workshop (that is servicing most hybrid taxis here for maybe obvious reasons) and not going to the Lexus/Toyota authorized here. I have seen that some on this forum recommend to have a service contract/warranty or insurance or something like that, and if (as I expect) Lexus is such trustworthy a car, it puzzles me why it should be needed. I do not use both suspenders and belt to keep my pants in place and except from Alfa, Austin/Morris, BMW, Matra, Peugeot I have never found any car so poor in quality that I have been thinking of having a service insurance. Lexus is really a great car and does not deserve such a poor service organisation

Hi All Thank you for your comments but have since taken the car to Lexus who have had the car for two days now. They have found that one of the heater motors/ servo's are faulty but on fixing this another fault has come up so still waiting. So far costing me at least £500 to remove the dash I am annoyed that my car is a 2016 plate, serviced regularly (last one 10th Dec) only done 21000 miles and the 3 year finance deal will end on the 10th of this month with the final payment being paid off.