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Hi everyone, I’ve already introduced myself on the new owners page but was advised to come and say Hi on here and introduce myself. I’ve been in the British Army for 25 years and have just left. I’d always promised myself a nice car to keep as a present to myself for 25 years service. It had to be a V8 as they won’t be around forever!!!!! I looked at the normal suspects (M3, RS5, C63 etc) and purely came across the RCF by accident about 3 years at my local Lexus Dealer in Hedge End. I genuinely was stopped in my tracks at the design of it. I thought it was absolutely stunning from every angle. Then, when I found out it had an n/a V8 I was hooked on it. So, to today. I found this one last week at the same dealer when I went with my mate for him to have a look at a car for himself. (I always get asked to go car shopping with friends as I am a proper petrolhead and car geek) I couldn’t get over how clean and tidy this car was and how well it had been looked after. It was plain to see it had been someone’s pride and joy and been garaged it’s whole life. 7 years old and only 19000 miles on it led me to believe it had been a weekend car. And the service history spelt that out too. I booked a test drive for 4 days later after putting a holding deposit on it. I was told I wouldn’t be disappointed by the sales team. They weren’t wrong. I did the deal on the same day after returning from test drive. I’m really happy. And it will continue to be a fine weather weekend car and to take to shows.

Yes. Absolutely the correct choice. I am now on my second Lexus and don't reckon there is anything in the market place that comes near to quality, reliability and customer service. I think some dealerships are currently struggling to meet client service of old due to circumstances outwith their direct control and I have a degree of sympathy with them. It must be frustrating to be unable to meet demand for the product they sell when the manufacturer has erratic supply chain issues. It will be worth the wait. Drive a Lexus and you will experience amazing!

Precisely! When you described how effusive they were about Betsy, I did wonder if that’s what they were thinking too! 😊

The light has now come on afte 100miles of driving. Must of been a glitch in the system. panic over everything works as it should

I've only every used Super Unleaded, mainly Vpower, but do sometimes stick in Tesco 99 Ron or Costco Super Unleaded. Im average 24/25 mpg, I did average 35mpg driving to wales a few weeks ago doing around 65/70 mph. I did notice after a proper service, plugs filters, all fluids including gearbox and diff the car just became more economical on fuel.

He asked £100 as a trade rate and I paid him £120 before I had even seen the car. I think I paid him too little as the pictures do it no favours. Its like a sheet of glass Finnish. The tyres aren't done in the pictures as they don't use silicon products inside. They done the tyres outside when we were collecting it.

Great job Shada. How much does a job like that cost if you don't mind me asking?

Two lovely young ones might have made for a more interesting narrative…

James was so pleased to receive such kind compliments about his car, he later discovered his car key was missing but thought it would turn up and went to bed. The next morning he discovered that his Lexus ES300h was gone.......a familiar looking lawnmower now stood in its place.

Greetings from the North. Enjoy your purchase, you have chosen well!

Yes they should do. I had an IS300h and it had absolutely perfect panel gaps and fitment all around

In the RC300h (and I'd imagine other Lexus models with active TPMS) the TPMS "reset" button simply sets the current tyre pressure as the benchmark which the system checks against. When tyres are renewed and presumably inflated to the correct pressure, the system doesn't need to be "reset" as the benchmark level hasn't changed.

Thanks for your service and welcome. Nice RCF, I haven't seen many other white ones on here 🙂 Enjoy the pearlescent sparkle, it really shows up in the sun. I'm glad these cars are getting noticed and appreciated, sooo many people just jump straight for the German brands. Honestly most people have no idea what a Lexus RCF is and I've had nothing but positive reactions personally, with some people's minds genuinely being blown that Lexus makes a 5.0 V8 luxury sports coupe with 470 BHP. If you keep the traction control on the car is really safe and approachable. The back might slip a little, but the car keeps it minimal. If you go into expert mode you will get quite a bit of wheelspin at times and the back end will kick out a more easily in a turn, but only up to a point. You can also go fully off (hold traction control button for a few seconds), though obviously then you have little to no safety net if things get sideways. Enjoy the car. Use manual mode a lot that's my recommendation.

Congratulations and enjoy! The best colour and year! I have a Quicksilver exhaust on mine and loving every minute of every drive, happened to drive past Lexus Hedge End today. Another Hampshire RCF, there must be enough for a local mini meet before long...

That is quite a change though at the moment quite worthwhile. I was a submariner and lived in Gosport for some time as a marine engineer too! Small world.

+1 this, though there are now some good quality at home products that will last. No getting away from the fact that there is hours in the prep however and once it’s on, it’s a pain to get off.

Congrats and welcome to F club, now an official F-er 😉 Have a good nose about, ask all the burning questions as we're a laidback lot 😛 I bought my GS F from Hedge End funnily enough, if it is the same group from a few years back then they were a nice bunch. What a lovely treat post-service, recommendation numero uno - get an exhaust!!! Hampshire seems to have a lovely collection of F car owners these days so maybe you'll see some about and I am fairly sure there are atleast 2 (I know of) in the Southampton area. I commented on your Simply Japanese thread, but the F forum is where you'll likely find meet up details etc, there is a thread going at the moment for late this year if you fancied it, I am trying my best to attend as many events as possible this year starting with FoS!

Hi found your thread, interesting cars, as I mentioned a chap at our local Pistonheads pub meet had one in a grey colour. It certainly got a lot of attention. Not surprised at the MPG but then anyone buying a performance vehicle is in no position to moan about fuel consumption. I'll keep up to date with your thread as it's always nice to hear about something that's not mainstream car wise.

The owner's handbook does mention charging in France will take longer, at a lower amperage. It also states not to use extension cables or converting adaptors. I guess the best option is to talk with your dealership, perhaps they can supply a suitable cable for use in France or direct you to a dealership in France? You never know they may have 'loan' cables for overseas trips?

I also believe the electrically assisted steering in the hybrids (maybe all models) need the steering ecu to be recalibrated and zero'd (centred). This IIRC needs to be done with the front wheels off the ground.

Not a problem at all mate.

Does the car need to be told, using Techstream, that a new unit has been fitted. Maybe each unit has a unique code, reflecting internal loads/resistance etc..?

No, but you still have to be hybrid qualified to work on the system when it does require it, regardless of whether it's a main dealer or not.

John The TPMS in US use a different Frequency to oura so will be no good

I too have noticed an increase using super unleaded. Had been getting around 24mpg but currently at approx 26.5mpg using super. Possibly works out cheaper to use it.

That’s outstanding value for such a superb result! Pretty much a full day’s work, I imagine?

Different bulbs in left and right? Wrong internal resistance in the new LED?

There's a term for that haze on your car MrT and I can't remember it. The car body shop I took my car to to eliminate as many scratches off my car as possible (and there was thousands now just tens (to get rid of the tens means a full respray)) said that the haze effect is caused by incorrect use of products and can only be rectified by rubbing/polishing down to almost the paint. Personally I'd find a car body shop and get their advice and pay them to go over your car.

Meh, I replaced a 2l 50mpg diesel Mondeo with my isf 3.5 years ago. Despite the extra fuel/tax costs I don't regret it for a minute. Go on a roadtrip and your faith will be restored. Only thing I'd replace mine with would be another Lexus 5l. You should be able to get your money back, but I fear you may regret it at some point.

Now the correct answer would have been "Azure Blue", but to the two lovely old ladies who had come to buy one of my surplus lawnmowers, the appropriate answer was "it's a Lexus". They then wanted to know all about Betsy - how many miles I did each month and what mpg I was getting (eyebrows were raised and "oooh"'s uttered when I told them of my peak 53mpg average on a trip to the Saarf Coast and back). It's a shame that they came in their own car, otherwise I could have used Betsy for her intended purpose and taxied them home again.

It should be 88460-48061 https://lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/product/lexus-rx-phase-2-air-conditioning-condenser/

Not too bad so far. Longish journey today and had two people stare and 1 thumbs up 🙂 Have posted a few updates here: Only 800 miles in, so too soon to say really. Surprisingly, it is not as superior to the GS than I thought it would be. However, I don't want to hijack Ben's thread, so perhaps we should continue this discussion on the my Kia thread should you wish to do so. Sorry Ben 🙂

I have just sold an LC500 V8 and got back very nearly what I paid for it 3 years ago.I spoke to a couple of main dealers and both were extremely keen to buy it for cash. I know that these cars are selling steadily even with the crazy fuel rip off. Who knows what the future holds but having discussed this with all of my car pals,none of them are selling for any other reason than they have access to more than one nice car and are just not using one particular car enough. A J.

I know what you mean, I've just booked my RCF in for it's annual service and I've only done 600 miles in a year since its last service. Must get out more.

I just paid £630 road tax and only do about 2K "leisure" miles per year in the IsF. Fortunately we have our "everyday" car, an IS200t. This is the one that bugs me on costs. I just topped up with V power ( for the turbo's sake ) and paid £1.98 per litre AND it only does 26.5mpg; that's only 3 or 4 mpg better than the IsF. It all works out at about 40pence per mile just for fuel and tax and Insurance. I have considered a SORN for the IsF because I think that once the dust settles and we go all electric then these cars will become more desirable after a brief panic drop in assumed value. Who knows? Look at he price of old Dodge Chargers and Challengers, you couldn't give them away at one time. I still want one though🤪 1969 DODGE CHARGER RT 440 AUTOMATIC FOR SALE £118,271 AS STATED 1969

Lexus dealers are probably as frustrated as you with the current situation. I can't see any reason why a Lexus dealer would treat you badly unless their hands are tied and they are genuinely unable to offer you their normal service. Lexus dealers have to meet certain standards of customer care set by Lexus or they face loosing their franchise. Having said that there is only you who knows how you have been treated. Buying a 40 grand car is not something you do very often (well at least I don't) and yes it would be nice to be treated nice, and I'm sure the vast majority of Lexus buyers are, I know I was. Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

I agree with steve2006 do you really want to be driving 20,000 miles a year in a car you don't like. Assuming your 20K miles are not on country roads and there's only 1or 2 people in the ES you should be returning around the 50mpg mark. Will you be charging this car that you don't like at home or rapid charging at a motorway service station. You must have liked the ES to have placed a deposit on it so I assume that is the size and weight you would prefer. Stick with the ES it is a superb car.

Hi all, I've owned the ISF for a few months and i've carried out all the preventative stuff. Im turning my focus on the suspension / LSD got a few questions: Im thinking of refreshing my shocks for oem units, although the oem units are pretty stiff, i hear later models are a worthy upgrade? Also Bilstein B6 offer some oem equivalents - anyone had first hand experience? In regards to the LSD anyone carried out a swap? i.e LSD fitted in original casing or just sourced a complete unit? Thank you

for info they are the same as the Supra 05/93-08/02 bushes if you wanted to go the aftermarket route

excellent - ill probably just get oem bushes for the rear diff, I get no wheel hope which usually is a sign of wear but equally its rude not to refresh whilst the diff assembly will be removed. Now its a case of finding a diff!

if it's " just " the fuel price that is concerning then rest assured they will come down to more sensible levels at some time ......... possibly sooner than we might suspect ........ when the forecourts sales and Govt revenue "take" collapses as people just, like you, don't refuel very much ............. and good heavy using monster cars will again be all the rage .... stick with it I say Malc

not my business to pry, but it looks like you have two cars, any chance you could not use the F as much, i just think you may regret selling it down the line.

The IS300H is probably the least tunable car going. Sure, 2 models back, the Toyota derived IS300 with its straight-six engine is well known for being tuned. 1 model back, there was an IS-F with a very nice V8 engine which is also available today in the USA. The model you have was also available with a V6 2.5 litre engine and also with a turbo-charged 2.0 litre 4 cylinder - both with traditional auto boxes. But the IS300H has an e-CVT and a big lump of a 4 cylinder 2.5 litre engine. This is renouned for its efficiency, but not for its tunability. Even if you could get some parts to make it go faster (and to the best of my knowledge, you can't - neither on the IC side nor the electrical side), then the rest of the car would be unsuited to the performance uplift. Some have spoken of lowered suspension, but as the IS300H will happily scrape its belly far too easily on road "yumps" and any speedbump taken at more than 20MPH, then I can't see this being a good idea either. The transmission is also terrible if you want to go fast. Think of 1980's turbo-lag, and you'll have the idea (except, it's not caused by a turbo, but the delay in response is the same or worse). If the above makes the IS300H sound like a terrible car, then let me assure you it's not. Its a fantastic car for everyday motoring and cruising. But for driving fast, no! Others have gone down the road of blacked-out windows, after market wheels, de-chroming, spoilers, etc but in my (very subjective) opinion, I think the standard car looks terrific and I wouldn't touch it if you want to avoid the "Halfords look" Why not just relax your driving style and use the car as it was designed. If you want more performance, then you will just have to accept you bought the wrong car. Sorry!

I can’t think of a reason NOT to! In fact, I’m sure they will be eventually built-in to new cars. I have them on both our cars and have recorded many examples of bad driving that could have resulted in accidents. One was egregious enough to warrant Police visiting the driver and issuing a warning. One helped another driver who was hit while navigating a roundabout. And when my Accord was written off on the M25, the camera recorded the HGV changing lanes and persuaded its Insurers to settle the claim in full without further delay! Of course, there is a downside. It records your own driving as well. So in that respect it might improve it. For one thing, it may make you more patient. There’s a lot of satisfaction in knowing that however badly someone behaves in front or behind you, you’ve got them on video.

I’ve come from owning a 08 ISF for 5 years to a late 10 MY11 ISF with the upgraded suspension. I’ve got to say it’s a vast improvement over my 08. Definitely a worthy upgrade to do if you can get it. With regards to the LSD, if you can fit one do it. I was constantly on the look out for one when I had my 08 and even considered buying one new from Lexus but £4800 seemed a bit steep. Couldn’t fault my 08 handling wise, but I always wanted a bit more fun out of junctions etc and the LSD really does transform the ISF, it’s so much more playful/fun on road and on track.

@BTCC_ Racer Out of curiosity I spoke with Gripper Diffs (as mentioned above) they dont currently manufacture a unit for the ISF, but can do bespoke applications, for a 1 off it would be £3000 +VAT (their off the shelf diffs are generally around the £1200 mark so more than half the price goes into the engineering costs) If a few of us were interested that would obviously bring the price down. THE OFFICIAL GRIPPER DIFFERENTIALS – LIFE-TIME WARRANTY ‘Buy direct, with full factory support’ GRIPPER DIFFERENTIALS is a UK based company with a wealth of experience in manufacturing Limited Slip Differentials. We have been manufacturing LSD units for over 16 years. Our in-house design facilities and CNC machining ability’s make us responsive to the customers needs. We have a large range of limited slip differentials currently available ready build direct from our stock and new units are constantly being developed covering all forms of Motorsport as well as Road use. With the latest developments using the Quiet Plates the Gripper Differentials can be set up with varying amounts of “Preload” and Ramp angles to suit individual needs giving Quiet, Smooth, Progressive control. With certain settings the “differential action” is hardly noticeable, the improved handling being all that is felt. Alternative settings, say for “Rallying”, will give continuous drive even when a wheel is lifted or indeed a broken drive shaft, instilling complete confidence in whichever type of vehicle you are driving. For more details regarding set

Looks to me like something is having reaction with your vax, of maybe it needs to be buffed better. Agree with what others said - you need to machine polish (or hand polish if you brave) after using clay bar. The way to reduce time it takes to wash - first of all cleaning leather every month is massive overkill, you will probably scrub it off doing it so often. So I would do it at most once or twice a year. Perhaps would use good sealant for protections and just vacuum the corners if there is some dust/sand build-up. The other way to slightly reduce cleaning time is to go ceramic, it takes time to apply, but it reduces washing and especially drying time if done correctly and many ceramic top-coats can be used as QD nowadays. So my cleaning would be interior vacuum, with soft-bristle brush just to dust off vents and panels, then quick vacuum corners of seats and then the actual carpet, the individual carpets I do outside of the car. This takes max 20 min. And I do full interior deep clean at most twice a year, that adds probably 30-40min, definitely not every month. The outside cleaning is pretty much snow foam, whilst it is working on the paint I would do wheels and then move to grilles and badges with soft-brush and APC, by that time snow foam mostly softens everything that was on the car and I just rinse it - again that is maybe 20 minutes. Then contact wash - I do as little as possible not to scratch the car too much, so lightly go over the panels with MF mitt and two buckets, ceramic coat helps here. 10 min max. Rinse again and then spray QD/Drying aid/Top coat and wipe with MF drying towel, and then go over again with MF cloth. maybe another 20min. Then quickly complete windows - outside usually is good from washing, so just some fingerprints from inside. 10 min. That is a about all 1-1.5h give or take. But that is obviously after full 3 stage polish and ceramic coat which I would do once 1-2 years and it does take like 12-24h to do depending on the car (closer to 12h on IS250, but I struggled a lot with RC).

Three times now I've nearly reversed into something whilst parking in Betsy. On each occasions I've had someone in the car rabbiting away at me. The parking sensor beeps and the BRAKE! warning don't seem to make any difference. This demonstrates why I do not like having passengers. I am yet to discover whether Betsy will take over and apply the brakes before it is too late. Oh and another thing. Why do non Lexus drivers have to slam the door of any Lexus they are fortunate to be travelling in? Is it because the fit and finish of their Scheissewagens necessitates this? The next person to slam one of Betsy's doors is going to get a bunch of fives, make no mistake.

Hi mate! It's a small world!! If you've listened to any of the YouTube clips then two of them are mine with my car pre-modifications! The H&S was the first thing I did on mine, a week after I bought it. Are you back at work now, would be happy to arrange a meet so you can hear the exhaust in the flesh, sounds so much nicer than in the videos 😍

I recently returned from Spain, 2600 miles in my 2008 ISF.....the ride comfort wasn’t an issue BUT their roads put ours to shame, as for issues the valley plate seems to effect the US cars, the heat must play a part as the car in Spain wasn’t as nimble as it is here, there’s a lot of US cars tracked and I assume this is probably a contributing factor along with the heat, I know of a German ISF with the rad issue BUT this is also a regular around the Nurburgring, I think the biggest issue is something very hard to know and that’s how the cars been looked after and driven by the previous owners, yes they’re built to withstand hard driving BUT if it’s relentless it’ll take its toll in time, I’ve had mine 5 years and apart from the odd road imperfections I’ve never had an issue with suspension, I have had the manifold issue which is the most common fault, I’d go for aftermarket ones or GSF manifolds (on mine) BUT these would have to be installed by an Indy as Lexus will not fit GSF parts or aftermarket ones to an ISF. 5 years on and she still makes me smile. good luck with your hunt.