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That seems to be a common thread on this site. Age related no doubt but still a bit mystifying to me. Reliability, refinement, longevity, comfort would all come before - whether my Nokia 3310 would connect to the CD player.

Well, I can't disagree with any of what you post there Herbie. I managed to survive my first year of driving a hybrid without incident but then I have an inquiring mind and quickly discovered many of these 'quirks' I think it quite sad that these days many, perhaps even, most buyers are more concerned with the audio system and whether their phone will connect with it.....

So the moral of the story is. Its a lovely car, find an excuse to drive it every week. 🙃

Here's mine. 20mm wheel spacers for front&rear wheels, that really make a big difference!

Just discovered today that my ventilated seats have filters 😵 I suppose it makes sense as most cooling systems do but I never imagined there would be such a thing (and if you have the rear vented seats they have them as well) Initial investigation so far to purchase said filters (as I would imagine mine would need replaced by now) shows an average price of about $23US each so thankfully I will only need 2 I wonder what other unknowns await 😆 (if links not allowed feel free to delete - I tried using the link only option but it unceremoniously kicked me off the page!)

I know you're only trying to be helpful and I thank you for that and I also applaud your public-spiritedness, I do, but I think we all need to think of safety. As you say above, "Covid trumps cat" - but personal safety also trumps cat. One of the 'cat theft' videos I saw on YouTube the other day showed one scrote jacking up the car while his mate was standing in full view, broad daylight, with a two-foot long machete in his hand, looking quite nonchalant and as though they had every right to be doing what they were. I have to say that, faced with a two-foot machete, they would indeed have the right to take mine. In reality there is so very little we can do; nowhere is safe to park and no amount of parking against walls or whatever will deter them.

Hi. Yes, but par for the course, there will always be people who prefer\choose the easy option regarding income. It's the unscrupulous scrap yards that buy them that encourages the theft. Regards.

on a lesser note, many years ago I was quite involved with Longplayer, a company that provided insurance coy replacements for stolen etc videos, records, dvds and the like .... long gone with the advent of say, spotify etc NOW we had a big big issue with office waste bins, and yes, it was a big H&S issue at the time believe it or not The rules frequently moved between having metal bins, wicker bins, cardboard bins and I think finally back to metal bins for fire safety issues ..... and quite ridiculous costs in between all the changes Malc

Out of curiosity I rang Lexus Parts Direct to establish the build date of my 1996 model, which apparently was built in April 1995. It was helpful because these are the options on Amayama's website, and it saves dismantling to investigate. For example, my ECU, which was only used for 8 months, is 50251, substituted by 50252, but not 50351. Hopefully this helps. No PNC# (SUB) OEM part number Required per car Production period Name Applicability Please order in advance 01 89661 89661-50250 01 10.1994 - 01.1995 COMPUTER, ENGINE CONTROL UCF20..EUR 2,163.08 USD (SUBS) 89661-50251 01 2,163.08 USD 02 89661 89661-50270 01 10.1994 - 02.1995 COMPUTER, ENGINE CONTROL UCF20..RHD..EUR SOUTH AFRICA SPEC 2,174.96 USD (SUBS) 89661-50271 01 2,163.08 USD 03 89661 89661-50251 01 01.1995 - 08.1995 COMPUTER, ENGINE CONTROL UCF20..EUR 2,163.08 USD (SUBS) 89661-50252 01 04 89661 89661-50271 01 02.1995 - 08.1996 COMPUTER, ENGINE CONTROL UCF20..RHD..EUR SOUTH AFRICA SPEC 2,163.08 USD (SUBS) 89661-50410 01 05 89661 89661-50310 01 08.1995 - 08.1996 COMPUTER, ENGINE CONTROL UCF20..EUR 1,782.76 USD (SUBS) 89661-50351 01 2,139.31 USD 06 89661 89661-50350 01 08.1996 - 11.1996 COMPUTER, ENGINE CONTROL UCF20..EUR (SUBS) 89661-50351 01 2,139.31 USD 07 89661 89661-50400 01 08.1996 - 11.1996 COMPUTER, ENGINE CONTROL UCF20..RHD..EUR SOUTH AFRICA SPEC (SUBS) 89661-50401 01 08 89661 89661-50351 01 11.1996 - 07.1997 COMPUTER, ENGINE CONTROL UCF20..EUR 2,139.31 USD 09 89661 89661-50401 01 11.1996 - 07.1997 COMPUTER, ENGINE CONTROL UCF20..RHD..EUR SOUTH AFRICA SPEC

Whilst HSE can be a PITA, the number of lives saved/improved by the rules being enforced over the years has been massive. HSE is there to provide a minimum level of protection for those who don't know better. Before HSE workers were unwittingly exposed to all kinds of nasties and very little was done about them because companies would always put profit ahead of safety even when they knew they were killing their employees. ISO is International Standards Organisation, based in Switzerland. It has nothing to do with Health and Safety nor anything to do with the EU other than that most EU states are members of ISO, along with the UK. The EU equivalent of HSE is EU-OSHA https://osha.europa.eu/en and yes they copied many of their rules from HSE when they were setup in 1994. I work with MV Linear Accelerators used for Radio Oncology (pic below) and our safety rules are extensive and complex but then again you aren't be allowed anywhere near it until you have done extensive training and passed several exams. The machines are very heavy and powerful (crush damage), can electrocute you (very high voltages), contain hot coolant, and emit VERY high powered X-Rays. I wear a film badge all the time when working and that is used to measure my total dose over a 3 month period, but when I go into the treatment or plant rooms (behind the blue wall) I also wear a dosimeter that shows my immediate dosage and alerts me when the level exceeds an extremely low threshold. Both of these are a requirement thanks to HSE. As for Calder Hall/Windscale/Sellafield it's all the same. Calder Hall was the name of the Nuclear Reactors built at Windscale in the 1950s to manufacture weapons grade material for the UKs nuclear bombs and later on for power production. Windscale became Sellafield as part of a mostly pointless rebranding exercise in 1981 following public reactions to the Three Mile Island accident.

Nothing uses the traction battery when not in Ready mode, and everything uses it when in Ready mode. Dropping 1 bar on the display after 10 to 15 mins seems normal to me even if just using the radio as all the vehicle electronics are powered up too - if you have the AC on then the compressor is also being powered by the traction battery.

1. Economy will be worse in cold weather, due to the hybrid battery not having as much usable capacity when cold and the ICE having to run more to keep the coolant temperature high which is used for the cabin heater. 2. This is normal, especially if the cabin temperature is set higher than the actual air temperature - the system will make the ICE run to provide heat for the cabin. 3. 12v 'aux' battery is small because it isn't used to start the engine - it is therefore easy to discharge it. Always put the vehicle in Ready mode so the hybrid system is powering the vehicle and charging the aux battery. 6. Engine oil should be changed every 10k miles/12 months. Brake fluid every 20k miles/2 years. Plugs every 60k miles. Not sure about air filter on your model, probably every 40k miles/4 years but certainly check it every 20k miles/2 years. Coolant at 100k miles, and then every 50k miles. 7. Fuel filter at attached to the pump in the tank. It doesn't need to be routinely changed.

Yes, you've reminded me that the most frequent fault logged by the computer support team at a firm where I once worked was " N.P.I. ". (Not Plugged In.)

Yes, had errors on the battery and codes appearing. Only time I've seen the mpg on mine go below 30 and I check it quite often. This is over the whole tank however so you might have bad patches below 30. I can't imagine the car not throwing errors if multiple misfires are detected..... Check engine light would surely be on if this problem was bad enough to cause this. Do you feel the hesitation in sports mode? I drive mine exclusively in sports mode cos it feathers the acceleration to make it feel smooth in normal mode so much it feels like it is hesitating. Turning sports mode on and that goes completely.

I've just tried to look what size jubilee clips I ordered, but my Ebay purchase history from 2 years ago doesn't show what size I bought. Just measure the diameter of the hoses, you don't have to measure them exactly, as jubilee clips have a wide range of adjustment. That's one of their advantages. I agree with The-Acre on this. The corrosion in the unions occurs because owners don't change their Anti-freeze every 5 years and the corrosion inhibiter looses its' effectiveness. This can be made worse if you have a leak on the system and keep topping it up with plain water instead of Anti-freeze, it dilutes the corrosion inhibiter faster. Worse still can be the back street garage that will refill the system with plain water after they have worked on it to save the cost of anti-freeze! Keep the Anti-freeze in the radiator up to strength and you shouldn't have any problems. I only use an external transmission cooler in addition to the cooling coil on the radiator because I tow a big caravan. John N

Naturally. Neither of them is getting much use at the moment though.

Some surprising results. ID3 came 2nd! Pity it does not actually work!

I do feel the hesitation, but since I just bought the car I'm not sure if that is normal or not. For sure when I quickly floor there is a small delay. Regarding callipers/disks/pads I checked them this Saturday and they were fine.

I've got the roof rails, not fitted yet as I haven't decided whether to go with Lexus' own bike racks or hit Thule or something...anyone have any recommendations? I'd like to get an e-bike at some point, but as far as I can tell no roof-mounted rack supports that much weight... Nick

Hi. Thank you for the advice. Regards.

does everyone on here have such skinny bum padding that they really need heated seats ? Malc

......and we all know......ye cannae change the laws of physics, Jim. I'll get my coat.

I never had this effect on any of my BMW or any other cars, my first car with this "crabbing" effect is the GS, I even went to Lexus Glasgow and checked alignment but it didn't help. It was happening mostly in cold underground parkings, i think I had front tyres Bridgestone. When I changed tyres to all season this effect disappeared. On this forum I also heard that Mercedes and Jaguar suffer from this, however, I have 2 friends who own a C-class and an E-class and they never told me about this happening on their cars!. You can check also this thread:

in the GS the battery is in the near side rear quarter inside the boot, the 12v Battery is the Achilles heel of all vehicles, take too much out of the battery and your vehicle wont start, the issue is how quick you get to that point of having a non starter, but as long as your aware of what can happen then it shouldn't be an issue.

Had the same problem with the rear screen on my RC. Solved by buying a micro fibre cloth pad on a handle from Poundland for £1.00! Makes the job so much easier. Always do mine in the Spring so it's clean until the Autumn, and then the haze that builds up reduces headlight dazzle through the winter. Then do in the Spring again. Do the other glass monthly.

So true, having watched the rise of 'ISO this' and 'BSI that', we have ended up with lots of documents and less ownership and responsibility. I wonder if we 'obey' the rules more because we are a more litigious country than a lot of places in Europe.

Before doing any alighnment work you should check all the suspension components and eliminate any play between the members. Similarly for the steering wheel, all ball joints and wheel bearings. Also have the shock absorbers checked. Also check that the tyres are a fairly true circle and their steel belt is good. Chris.

I do always drive with the shocks in sports mode, but get absolutely none of this. In fact it seems to absolutely ignore winds, particularly when compared to my last cars. It may be while the shocks are fine, they were misaligned and the car is riding far too high? I guess that could cause this kind of effect as the GS has quite a high weight for it's profile so should be less affected by winds than most cars.

1> 22 mpg is shockingly low. Even in this weather I get 30 mpg+ from mine and its got 170k on the clock and is a year older. Only time I saw even near 22 was when the traction battery was screwed. 2> Yeah, completely normal. I think it will always start up the engine just to check it still works before you actually start moving. Even in summer I think it was still starting every time if it hadn't been driven in x hours but would turn itself off after a few seconds until I put my foot down outside of my car-park. 3> In standby mode, everything uses the traction battery as far as I can tell. There is a guide in the manual which you can find online but basically yeah, there does seem to be quite a lot of draw. I noticed this in mine but I think its just because standby mode has a lot more active than in a lot of cars. It'll quite happily run the AC with the engine off for example. 5> Thats odd, the adaptive sensor shouldn't need cleaning as it's radar based which is really only affected by metal. If its cold enough to form ice on the sensor that could cause an issue but normal dirt shouldn't affect it too much. Normally its a parking sensors which use sonar that need cleaning.

Thank you so much for the answer @ColinBarber. In question nº3, I'm referring to traction (hybrid) battery and not 12v battery. The 12v battery is not that small, it's a 450A with 60Ah. On my old car I had the same battery capacity and I could easily stay 5h listening to radio while repairing my car. Do you know exactly what accessories use traction battery while parked with READY OFF? Like is the radio powers by traction battery? Seat heaters? etc... Because something is draining very quickly traction battery and it doesn't feel normal to me.

Sorry but I think there is no special requirements for owning/driving a hybrid. The car is designed and configured/programmed to be as efficient as possible when driven 'normally'. As with any make model or type of car, it's design efficiencies can be altered for better or worse by driving styles. Regarding long intervals of non-use, I think Lexus are no different from many other marques. My AMG had to be on a trickle charger if left more than a week. Many models now come with factory fitted charge points. Lexus/Toyota have been selling hybrids for many a year now and clearly there has been no significant feedback complaining of poor 12v battery life

We’re not really discussing whether Lexus/Toyota think it’s acceptable. We’re talking about whether it is acceptable to owners who are suffering flat 12v batteries or who are taking steps to prevent it or who are concerned this may happen. The two things are different. I’m just surprised. It clearly is an achilles heel.

I have a feeling that this issue will not do Lexus many favours. Many owners buy a Lexus because they hardly go wrong. Not knowing if your Lexus hybrid will start up and having to carry a battery booster around or regularly have the battery on a trickle charge just in case will impact the ownership experience. I used to trickle charge cars in the late 70’s and early 80’s before I started driving much newer cars, haven’t done it much since then. It’s possibly something that would stop me from buying another Lexus hybrid to be honest.

Here you go Alan, made this earlier, hope it helps: https://youtu.be/7K4HELfg3hw

There have been a few discussions/enquiries in various threads about the 12v battery in the boot of the IS300h. I made a short video this afternoon showing how to charge the battery with a smart charger, not teaching granny how to suck eggs and I'm sure many of you know how to do this but it may help someone somewhere. Link below: https://youtu.be/7K4HELfg3hw I was going to do a jump starting video too but I'll leave that to someone else 🙂 Also for those who don't have an electronic version of the owners manual or it's in the glovebox when you don't want to go out to the car, see attachment. is300h.pdf

So an update - Car will land in the UK on 10th February 2021. I originally ordered from Lexus Bradford but they have since closed permanently. So its being shifted to Stockport as its part of the same group. Not a problem as Ive dealt with them before and it was a great experience. I have looked at the Model 3 already, as most of you may know. I know it has a huge following but apart from the turn of speed and the technology, its utter garbage. The build quality is honestly better on an early Jaguar XE - Id know - I have one! Additionally, as the car is being kept for atleast 5-7 years, Id rather go with Lexus on this one. Personally I prefer build quality over technology and speed, mind you the UXe isnt exactly slow. Its also not as common as a model 3 - its basically the new 3 series round my end.

No they aren't unfortunately.

There is a permanent 12v connection in the fuse box, under a cover, and you then use the engine/body for the -ve connection.

Not sure - I know mine don't - wished they did! I would suggest, no ...?

And it is done, rear alloys are done too! To be honest the car needs washing but it is too bloody windy and occasional rain doesn't help either! Will be waiting for a better times! 🙂

Agreed - it is a poor design. Agreed - you should be able to leave a modern car for a good number of weeks. The text in red is the most important. Hybrids are a 'relatively' new technology and they are very complex and they are certainly not the right car for some people and/or situations. Just because I can get a decent sound out of my home hifi doesn't mean I can walk in and operate the mixing desk at a live Rolling Stones gig tomorrow! It never ceases to amaze me that people squirt thousands, even tens of thousands of pounds at a car without doing research first, and expect it to operate and be like just any other car they've ever owned. Google (other search engines are available) makes it easier than ever before to find out a widget's strengths, abilities, downsides, and anything else you could ever wish to know about a given widget before buying it. Hardly a day goes by without someone in this club or the 'other' club on Facebook bleating about leaving their car for a couple of weeks and now the 12V battery is flat. It's just so unnecessary and could easily be avoided if they did a bit of research before buying the car. I passed my driving test in June 1975 and since that day I have never, ever, ever, bought a car 'unprepared'. In fact, my wife gets annoyed with me because when it's time for a change I usually have an idea of which make and model I'd like, so for about three or four months beforehand I get every book, magazine, search the Internet, join the Owners Clubs and basically drive her mad with constant talk of it until I either go ahead and get one or decide it's not for me after all and move on to some other make/model and start the process again. Instead of blaming someone or something else, people need to take responsibility for their own actions. There you go - rant over Oh and Paul, I'm not having a go at you mate, it's just that your post had all the salient points in it

The problem is that there has been no respect for the law or anything/anyone for so long now that it's just a way of life to some people. One of the cat theft videos on YouTube shows the 'lookout' stood in broad daylight, quite openly and brazenly holding a machete while his mate jacks up the car. Two minutes later, they're off and gone. I'm 63 and of an age/upbringing where if a police officer even looks in my direction I feel guilty. You only have to watch a couple of episodes of something like Police Interceptors or Road Wars to see just how little respect remains and how people openly treat the police with contempt. I'm afraid that the only way to be sure of not being a victim of cat theft is to buy an electric car because they don't have cats - otherwise, any car/cat is fair game to the scrotes of this world.

I agree, it would be far better to have a solution from the factory. But again, a simple reading of the owners manual - as we all should do when we get a new car - would prepare you for it. It's our responsibility to find out how our new machines work when we get them. I'm not singling you out in any way but to be honest, I'm shocked at just how many people in this owners club and our 'sister' club on Facebook just get a hybrid and have no idea how they work or what they should do differently to owning a conventional car. I sometimes feel like giving them a good shake and shouting "RTFM"

Whichever way it's dressed up, it's a shortcoming. The cost difference between a full size battery which holds a usable charge for a month (a reasonable ask for any car owner) and one which after 2 weeks has the absent owner sweating like Fred West watching Groundforce is worth paying. The list price of my car was over £42k, if I was asked to fork out another £100 for additional reliability it would be a no brainer. If Hyundai have an effective solution then it has to be assumed that Lexus missed a trick. As a marine engineer I agree with your figures regarding cranking and draining but it's a problem that's been handed from the designer to the consumer.

I think it's the "something like that" option and nothing to do with the hybrid battery or DC/DC converters at all. Here's a screenshot from the owner's club showing a page from the owner's manual. The way I interpret this (and if I'm wrong I'm happy to be corrected) is that it's nothing more than a voltage sensing circuit and a relay. A circuit monitors the state of charge of the 12V battery and if it drops to a preset threshold a relay opens to prevent it dropping any further, to the point where it won't start the car. You get in and discover that the car won't start so you push the battery reset button, which then closes the relay and the 12V battery can then use its remaining power to start the car in the normal fashion. The problem with this system (or at least the way that Hyundai have implemented it) is that it's a special 12V battery that has been incorporated into the high voltage battery, so no nipping down to Halfords or wherever to get a replacement if ever needed.

I Have 40 years background in the construction industry and a good part of it was in the scaffolding industry started as a labourer and worked my way up to a contracts manager for one of the then big six nationals there were no one man bands working from the back of a wagon in the sixties when I started and the big six monopolised the industry and everyone who worked for them was cards in. I had just been promoted to a supervisor coming off the tools as the HSE came into being and most of the staff in the HSE were academics with no practical experience and were using a bible they had concocted with regards to our industry from the codes of practice parts 1/2and 3 formulated by the NASC national association of scaffolding contractors 3 being the section that covered suspended working platforms such as cradles and the type of platform used under bridges . This was one part of the industry that I had worked in at places like Windscale and Seaton Carew power station up in Hartlepool as well as other massive building projects. Whilst I was up at Windscale( we would go for two days every couple of weeks) working on an extention to the ponds that were used for holding the flasks of used plutonium I had cause to see in the roof whilst erecting cradles pigeons with severe moulting issues. Bearing in mind this was 1970 and the only checks for radiation was a badge we handed in to be scanned at the end of a shift to gauge how much radiation we had been exposed too. I told my supervisor I was not going there again and was promptly taken off that team which was a elite high earning position .Two years ago those ponds are now classed as the highest level of radiation in the world and they are still trying to figure out a way of safely decommissioning them they have a 300 metre safety zone around them. I was in my early twenties then and having spent the previous two years working at heights of up to 300 feet without harness and the rest of the safety gear they have to use today grew a sixth sense of what was dangerous. Now the point of this ramble is I believe that since the introduction of the Health and safety at work act the initiative for a person to think for themselves as been eroded to the point that they cannot and expect some one else to think for them. I said earlier that when I became a supervisor it was about the time that the safety officers were visiting our branches and spieling about how they were going to clean up the scaffolding industry and when they had finished my Manager who had erected the scaffolding for the construction of the dish on the Jodrell bank telescope( a worlds first) remarked Well it is a good job you guys were not around when Adam was a lad, to which they retorted why?" Because we would still be living in caves",said my manager.

Yes, it’s a combination on low temperatures, slippery road surface, low profile summer tyres with hard sidewall at full lock.

Hi Don and welcome to the best Lexus forum there is. You've got yourself a superb car. I've had mine since 1st July and its a corker. Look after it and it'll look after you for many many years. Silky smooth ride. Fast and quick enough. Surprisingly good on fuel. Because its new to you I suggest book it in at your nearest Lexus dealer for an inspection and service. I did with mine and glad I did as one of the rear shockers in their words was leaking and they wouldn't MOT it because they'd fail it. None the less I had the rear pair replaced with original lexus shockers at my local Halfords. Enjoy your beaut of a car. 👍

Why are you optimistic Mark ? I have seen no information that would make me feel optimistic.

As the RX was produced with both types of suspension systems the parts are all available to convert to springs if needed. If you do decide to change over I have the parts lists for all the required parts, as you mention top mounts etc will be required as these are integrated into the air setup, should you need a copy pm me your email and I will send over the exploded parts list.