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Showing content with the highest reputation on 03/06/2023 in all areas

  1. It's more to do with annoying the crew! When onboard a ferry it's recommended to disable/cancel the tilt and intrusion detector as directed in your handbook page 87. Press the switch in the overhead control panel after switching the car off. One cannot disable the main alarm but that would only go off should someone try and break into the car. It's all in the handbook
    5 points
  2. First step taken today on the list of repairs/improvements - I replaced the interior light bulb! Otherwise had a rather enoyable day out in it, on my own with a few things to do but no particular time pressures. Loaded up the CD player. Found a friend. Took it to where I lived when the car was brand new - I was living in a cheap, not especially smart rented house here and the concept of me one day owning a car that would then have cost over £35,000 new when I was doing 20k a year in a tatty Datsun Sunny that I bought for £750 is not something I could have comprehended back in 1992. Wafted around town for a bit then drove home the back way, enjoying the quiet, dry B-roads and good visibility before the hedges get their leaves. Haven't had a drive like that in the LS for a long while, it really is a remarkable thing.
    5 points
  3. Not often - always! That is why I said on many BEV discussion that it is extremely hard to find unbiased and reliable source. I would almost say - don't listen to what they say, loot at what they do! I doubt Toyota would have invested as much in Hydrogen if it would be wrong solution, or BMW would have agreed to make Zupra just to peek at the technology. My guess as to why both now announcing more BEVs is that they cashing in on the hype, but I still believe long term they are planning to offer Hydrogen vehicle. I personally think that key issue with Hydrogen at the moment is that it is unsustainable, kind of defeats whole purpose of replacing ICEV... but the same can be said about BEV... so what! Just as reminder - hydrogen is only made in two ways 1. gas reforming during oil extraction 2. is electrolysis. It is clear why 1 not great - to get hydrogen we need to extract oil, and the whole point of transition is to stop it, so that makes no sense. The option 2 really depends on where our electricity is coming from, I think what we can all agree on is that it takes more energy to produce 1kg of H2 than can be made by using it and that is why it is simply better to charge the BEV directly with electricity, than use it to make H2... that is obviously assuming you have where to charge BEV and have time to wait. So it is kind of obvious that future for Hydrogen is electrolysis, but for that to happen we need to find the way to produce a lot of clean electricity. My solution for now would be nuclear (forget renewables - they all suck!), but really fusion should be our goal and then suddenly it no longer matter whenever it is 1.5KWh or 50KWh is required. Again just as reminder - single fusion reactor can make nearly limitless amount of energy, the only thing that matters is distribution, so assumption is that most countries will want to have at least one of them, but apart of that even single reactor can power the world. For now let's not forget that we waste 40% of ALL nuclear electricity produced and I think we can put it to better use. Why it isn't done? Because electricity from NPP is extremely cheap ~ 1.5p KWh, so NPP operators just doesn't care if it goes to waste (it is less than ~£7200 per day). As you can imagine it would take very long time (or more specifically 76 years) to pay back say £200m experimental hydrogen generation/hydrogen turbine reactor to save £7200 per day. So from our perspective it seems that even at absurd 50KWh/Kg consumption each reactor could produce 10 tons of H2 each night... it seems like at current cost of £12/kg this should be profitable enough for somebody to try, but it seems big business consider it too risk to put much effort into it... as realistically there is no demand (at least for automotive use) and as always we are in chicken and egg situation. Better solution would be to have separate hydrogen burning reactor to produce electricity from hydrogen during the day, but as always it is more complicated even than that. In short - just wasted electricity for nuclear can produce 60 million tons of H2 a year, but nobody cares, because there is no demand for 60 million tons of H2 a year, yet it would require a lot of investment. For that reason I have always said - long term infrastructure project should be long term government policy, business will never stick their money and risk it. The problem is that out government as always are barely capable of scratching their balls and v*s, energy strategy is way above their head ( I am kind of making the picture of monkey in the zoo in my head when thinking about intelligence of our government in this particular subject)🙈🙉.
    3 points
  4. That's exactly what I've got on order (in Takumi spec). My local dealer had one in the showroom at the time and, certainly in my eyes, it looked pretty much perfect. I've always been a fan of Terrane Khaki. I wanted it in my existing UX three years ago but I'd have faced quite a wait to get one (nothing compared to the horrific waiting lists today, however!), but I was set in stone on getting Terrane Khaki on order this time around. I wasn't sure on what interior colour to go for at first, but as soon as I saw hazel, I knew that had to be it.
    2 points
  5. With instantly warm in the winter and cool in the summer I would disagree there Malc plus unlike leather they don’t wear out. Same with no sunroof, more headroom, no leaks, no drains to worry about and a cooler car in summer.
    2 points
  6. Today I embarked on a 130 mile motorway journey as my quest for the best mpg continues. Before setting off, I filled up from empty with Texaco. The end result was very surprising, I averaged 53.9mpg across the entire journey. I can't be sure if this increase was a result of different fuel or whether it was that my ECU took longer than quoted 500 miles to learn its new map. One things for sure, it wasn't a change in driving style. I'm pretty sure this wasn't an anomaly and as as such am really happy with the figure. If I can maintain 50mpg+ on the motorway, I'll be well and truly pleased and it will fall in line with previous similarly sized diesels I've had before. Loving getting to know and understand my first Lexus.
    2 points
  7. Could be so many things. I think it's best to wait and see what the garage says once they've had a chance to check it out. Please post up once you've heard back from them so we can continue to increase our collective knowledge or offer suggestions if the garage haven't worked it out.
    2 points
  8. It works like it's supposed to - it lifts a bit when you operate boot release then you can lift it to fully open almost effortlessly.
    2 points
  9. Much of what i do most times these days in mine .......... ain't it brilliant eh ! 🤩 Malc
    2 points
  10. All depends on the condition & Service history, Trim levels, colour of interior, etc If you go for a straight car that is HPI clear not a CAT N OR S thats been previously involved in an accident. Expect to pay £15,000 on the lower scale ranging upto £20k + on the facelift version. With hybrids and EV cars being in demand its resulting in these cars to retain their value. Good for a seller but not if your buying. Realistically around £16-17k will get you a good example, the dealers cars are always over priced by at least 1-2k with the guarantee of 1 year warranty. However even if you purchased a car from an independent trader at a reduced cost say for £16k & you go to Lexus for a service they provide 1 year warranty anyway called LEXUS RELAX, I do not see the benefit of buying from a dealer. Owned mine for 2 years now nothing has gone wrong. These cars are generally very reliable no turbo, or flywheel, starter motors to worry about. Just check the tyres are in good condition no wear on the inner edges or cracked due to age, the brakes are good they last a long time but are known to squeal a clean up resolves it simply regrease the caliper slider pins & your good, check the 12v battery is in good condition & you have nothing to worry about. The paint is soft just look out for stone chips that may turn into a rust spot. Other than this cant think of much else. Smooth drive everybody thats been in mine has always complimented it & the satisfaction of being different than your typical German rivals like the 3 series, C class , A4 etc
    2 points
  11. Glad you got it working and apologies for late reply. Been very busy and i'm not always on here. for the interest of saving others time in the future and to prevent myself answering this same audio question over and over again, I will explain the audio solution on the Model A. I get quite a lot of messages about the audio issue on the Model A installation. It's not really an issue and comes down to the installation and understanding how to wire it. The audio is very simple. If you look at the connector that comes with the Teyes model A harness pictured below: The white end of that goes to the back of the Teyes screen and the blue connector goes to the OEM unit to the pictured port below: Once this is connected your sound will work. It works through the factory aux channel. Also have a look at the pic below. The pink ones I have put X on do not plug anything to them. The red one is the AUX as I mentioned above which you connect the wire i showed you above and the blue one next to the aux that ive highlighted in brown border needs to not be connected but instead the connector that originally comes there should have a single wire on it which connects to the Teyes harness which also has a single wire on it. And another thing to mention is that the teyes comes with a spare Aux in connector but the main Aux in is included with the main connector that has the Mic In connector so you wont need the Aux in connector. finally, the canbus setting you need is pictured below:
    1 point
  12. If you want to know a little more about the damper and flywheel assembly on a hybrid this video shows you what it is and what it does:
    1 point
  13. Last nights charge shows 48.0/44.1 Previous actual 41
    1 point
  14. Very unusual problem to encounter on a Lexus or Toyota hybrid - was that a Lexus dealer diagnosis - if not maybe worth getting a diagnosis from them before getting rid of the car and IMHO for such an unusual problem I wouldn't let it put you off another hybrid - there are many out there running happily with 2x or 3x your mileage. I had a Honda Accord about 8 years ago that had very similar symptoms to yours - slow speed hesitation but nothing at higher speeds. Reading the codes did indicate a faulty coil and once I tracked down which one it was and replaced it all was well. Also had a car with overdue spark plug replacement some time back and that again showed similar symptoms - didn't try and read any codes with that but changed the spark plugs (you could see the tips were well worn on pulling them out) and all was well. It may be worth checking spark plugs - were they changed to schedule - could even be faulty one. Coils should throw an error code but I guess there's a possibility they may not. Buying one coil and replacing each in turn should rule that in or out?
    1 point
  15. Mine's still the original Lexus maps (car is 2014 model). TBH I use my phone with Google Maps most of the time now (I have a phone holder that goes into the CD slot in the dash) and only occasionally use the Lexus Sat Nav if for example there is no/poor phone signal when I try and put a route into Google Maps so I can get in my way until I get a better phone signal. I could download the Google Maps to the phone for offline use but that takes some pre-planning and the Lexus nav, even if a bit outdated, gets me on my way in those circumstances so don't see much incentive to upgrade.
    1 point
  16. Just ordered those SGS IS300 2005 struts, because they will arrive faster and I dont mind mind to give a little help to the tailgate to open. But there is also another approach with struts from KIA Sorento https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=SG250007+(48-0859QR)&crid=3J2SW772UR9FX&sprefix=sg250007+48-0859qr+%2Caps%2C266&ref=nb_sb_noss
    1 point
  17. Should be possible. Take off the same part from the other side and have a mirrored similar made.
    1 point
  18. I've often wondered about the new miracle of 3D printing stuff . is that feasible ? Malc
    1 point
  19. Thanks Malc. I'm glad you are enjoying your LS400. I have fond memories of my two LS400s. I've never had a Honda Legend but I have had plenty of other Hondas over the years. Great choice. FWIW, the new RX450h+ is a business contract hire proposition. I can't see the point of purchasing a new car outright personally nowadays. The tax benefits are significant and as I pay myself next to nothing the BIK payments will be minimal. When the time comes to sell the business, or move on, I'll be looking for an older Lexus again. But I wouldn't purchase a LS600 or similar without a full main dealer warranty in place.
    1 point
  20. Seems that way Vlad. Will keep you you posted. Thanks for dropping by and take care
    1 point
  21. Hi James Yes I am rather enjoying the IS220D, its been faultless for 1500 miles thus far and as you say with such low mileage, should serve me well. I really like your SE in Burgundy, a very underrated colour I feel. And yes I agree wholeheartedly the build quality is something to behold. All the best
    1 point
  22. How long,if at all,will your reviews last? I left a very negative review for Carlinkit for an electronic device that didn't work.The review disappeared within 5 minutes. I also had problems with Gant clothing recently.Aweek or so later they sent me an automated email asking for a review.I thought"why not" and expressed politely,but assertively,my dissatisfaction.They replied saying my comments did not meet their standards.... I guess this is commonplace with many companies.
    1 point
  23. Very ready to eat my words. As Malc alludes we have a number of doesn’t stack posts from trade…we’ve seen quite a few and this ticks boxes…the language is a ringer…let’s wait for specific vehicle details and a dialogue. Don’t hold your breath. 🫣😁
    1 point
  24. Hi Malc, Yes, I did 60k very happy miles in an LS600 over three years not so long ago. Prior to that, I had two different LS400s which I really enjoyed too. In terms of an 'all round' comparison, our current RX450h is a long way short on the refinement front. The new RX450h+ is a big step forwards in so many ways (I outlined some of them above). However, neither are the same as an LS in terms of waft, that near silent drive, and overall comfort. I've not had a current LS, but I read that these fall some way short too. The Mrs loved the LS600. However, she much prefers the higher driving position offered by the RX. And, to be honest, there are so many other things that the RX450h+ does better than the LS600. Hand on heart, I don't know if I would want to still be driving around in car with a 5.0 litre petrol engine in the current climate (financial and environment). I think the RX450h+ provides a brilliant step for those of us that don't want a fully electric car yet but still want the benefits of Lexus' brilliant engineering and their long-standing commitment to, and experience of, hybrid technologies. Finally, we did explore the options of a hybrid Cayenne. But our experience with the Porsche dealer was absolutely awful. I won't go into details but it has put me off ever going into a Porsche main dealer showroom again. In contrast, the whole team - Natalie on reception, James on the service desk, and the various other sales folk we meet at Lexus Stoke including Peter (yesterday), Jamie and James - have all been absolutely brilliant over the last 7 years. Nothing is too much trouble, we are always greeted with a friendly smile, on first name terms, and I can't criticise the customer experience at all. We sell luxury musical instruments on occasions. I know they are wanting to sell expensive cars to us, but these kind of human interactions really count in my experience. I hope you are still enjoying your LS400 Malc. Best wishes, Jonathan
    1 point
  25. Oops, didn't mean to start an argument. My comments were based on my own experience working as an engineer on British Gas' transmission system for 16 years. LNG has been stored for years in liquid form at various sites around the country but the characteristics of H2 are different. However the principles are the same. Rough was used to store natural gas for a number of years until some bright spark decided we didn't need to store any gas we could get all we needed from others(!!). As you point out Rough is not yet suitable for H2 but it is encouraging that Centrica believe in H2 and are putting their (considerable amount of) money where their mouth is. I think it unlikely that they will try and store H2 cryogenically in the Rough field which is vast (31 billion cubic metres I understand). If they did we might have icebergs in the North Sea. More likely they will store in gas form at some pressure which is deemed to not allow too much to leak. There is conflicting information on the internet about H2 and not all of it comes from trustworthy sources, some if which is conflicting. In a trawl to find out how much electricity is required to generate 1kg of H2. I had answers ranging from 1.55kWh to 50kWh! Which is correct?? Who are we to believe? Often facts are quoted out of context to prove what ever the author is trying to prove. And this is the layman's problem. One faction is saying H2 is the way to go and one is saying no go electricity. The volume of noise for electricity is greater than that for H2 so people will not buy H2 cars which makes them expensive (£60k ish) due to low volume and suppliers will not install H2 filling stations due to low demand so people will not buy H2 cars because there are few filling stations. Chicken and egg! I happen to believe that H2 is worth pursuing to a greater extent than it is at present for reasons I've already outlined. We just need to convince the invertebrates in Westminster. BMW , Toyota and Centrica are obviously onboard to some extent.
    1 point
  26. It may be somewhat unfair to compare the ES with a Camry (no longer available in UK) since it will undoubtedly be better built and insulated. The more fair comparison is with the old GS and I can tell you the interior on the ES is not a patch on the GS. Corners have been cut everywhere which are both visible and apparent in touch. This is why the interior also cannot get close to a 5 series since both the 5 and the old GS were superior cars for build. The ES is still a great car in many other respects, fine ride, smooth and improved cvt, quiet, economical (all better than GS in my experience), just not the interior build, that is all.
    1 point
  27. Once upon a time, back in the 80's, I was that High Street Insurance Broker. Had a pile of Rate Books, one from each Insurance Company for which I was an Agent. I recall Commercial Union, Norwich Union and General Accident being my 'best sellers' in those days, together with their books of Cover Notes. Then along came a substantial desktop computer with a built-in system that calculated the best quote for you. That changed everything, including the introduction of that sly set of Underwriters calling themselves Cloverleaf, they insured anybody and everybody that the others wouldn't, at a price of course, but I seem to remember them being rather reluctant when it came to paying claims. By 'eck, them were the days. Sadly though, Samantha Fox didn't feature on my office wall! ☺️
    1 point
  28. The LC gearbox changes extremely quickly in auto mode and responds to the paddles faster than I could shift manually. These comments are tosh!
    1 point
  29. £23.99 each from here: Lexus IS300 Tailgate Struts | Boot Struts | Bonnet Gas Struts (sgs-engineering.com) You need 2. They work perfectly. (Don't worry that it says IS300 - they fit your car!) Fitting is pretty simple - you just need to take out the boot light and the luggage hangers, then ease open the gap between the top lining and the edge of the metal.
    1 point
  30. I must say, if it were my car, I would be very keen to get to the bottom of this. The thing is it might not bother you (at least for now) but what would a prospective buyer think? For my money it does look like a permanent crease so I'm not sure what could or should be done but given an all but identical problem was reported in the US then it does look like a manufacturing fault.
    1 point
  31. I would go back to the dealership, you never know if there's more hidden and yet to show.
    1 point
  32. Agreed, ridiculously so unless there’s a massive reserve tank that doesn’t register on the fuel gauge or miles to empty calculation when it gets lower 🤔
    1 point
  33. I can't speak for the unit you are referring to but I recently bought a wireless Android Auto dongle from Carlinkit.It did not work as it was advertised and I had to return it.Carlinkit customer service is abysmal and I wouldn't have anything to do with them.other members on here have had similar problems with them.
    1 point
  34. Well Adam I'd suggest either once a fortnight take your car for a 50 mile run with the occasional 'Italian tune'. To me you are strangling your car and probably coking it up. I also suggest you use E5, if you're not already, and I find adding a dose of Millers petrol ecomax helps a lot. I've been using it in all my cars for decades. My journeys are short like yours but I take my is250 for a blast once a week to clear the cobwebs and its fun also lol.
    1 point
  35. I've had my 220d for a year now with no issue but would be curious if there is now a SMF replacement to the DMF, also if the same parts fit from the is250 etc for higher rated clutches (I'm running over 400lbft of torque now)
    1 point
  36. Just got round to replacing my boot struts. Before, it needed a fair haul to raise the boot lid and it dropped like a stone if I wasn't careful enough. Now it shoots up after a short easy one-finger lift as in Chris's video and it needs a good pull down to close it. Note on fitting - if you have a workshop manual, it tells you to strip out pretty much the whole boot. This is quite unnecessary - what you do is: Unclip the boot light and remove the plug. Remove the two rope hooks in the roof of the boot - they have release catches front and rear - just squeeze them and the hooks pull out easily. Pull the upper boot liner rearwards slightly - this releases four clips along the rear edge of the liner. The liner will drop down sufficiently to get at the struts (it's a bit of a reach to the back). Unclip the back end of the strut by bending the 'ears' of the stainless steel clip away from the lug with a small screwdriver. The strut now just pulls off. At the front, again using a small screwdriver, remove the retaining clip and pull the strut off the ball joint. Just push the new strut on to the lug at the back and the ball joint at the front. It clips in to place. You should be able to do one at a time - one strut seems to be sufficient to hold the boot lid in the open position. When replacing the liner - make sure that the plug/wire for the boot light is poking through the hole for the light, lift the liner into position making sure that the four locating clips along the rear edge engage properly and replace the rope hooks - they just clip in. Plug in the boot light and clip it in to place. It is a bit tight. Make sure that the edge of the rubber trim around the boot covers the edge of the boot liner. Job done. I got the struts from SGS - £52.78 inc postage for the pair. The new struts are actually branded nitrolift.com - Nitro-Lift services LLC appears to be a US Nitrogen services company. Don't worry about the IS300 thing on SGS web site - those are the correct struts for IS250 and IS220D etc. And don't bother to try and find part numbers etc on the original struts - they carry the logo for KYB (a well known shock absorber etc company) and some japanese writing - no numbers.
    1 point
  37. All fitted now. They are the correct ones. The Inner connector is slightly different to the standard Lexus ones. On the originals it has a kind of rectangular clip with wraparound lugs which need bending out with a flat bladed screwdriver to remove. The outers (nearest the bumper) have the standard C shaped clip which you release with a flat bladed screwdriver. Previously I had to physically push the boot all the way over the fulcrum before letting go or it would slam back down. Similarly, to close it I had to control it;s decent until the final few inches before letting go. My other half simply could not manage it so she let it drop from height which shook the whole car when it slammed. With the replacement struts fitted, unlocking just pops the lock as before but now, with a single finger to set it on it's way, it glides up to fully open. Closing is as you would expect for a normal boot. I've made a short video of it opening with a single finger. Thanks to all who contributed.
    1 point
  38. What is it about the responses I read here about Lexus and Toyota and Diesel? Come on people. Toyota make some of the best diesel engines in the world. They are tank proof. Just look at the video's on TopGear of the Toyota diesel they tried to trash. The real issue here is technology for technologies sake. Isn't this a case of taking common sense out of the thinking and pushing technology too far? My own feeling is that Lexus are now using and pushing technology beyond the realms of what is useful. Where is the published research that modern engines with such torque require a Dual Mass product. It's not as though we are driving a Formula1 car now is it. It's almost as though we have to live our whole lives cosseted by the nanny state, the nanny this and the nanny other. Correct use of the clutch will cause wear on the clutch. I learned to drive in the early 70's when such objects as Dual Mass Flywheels weren't even in the mind of the designer and there were cars equally as powerful and with just as much torque as the Lexus IS220 diesel coping quite happily. So why a Dual Mass unit. Whose brainchild was this? I am now looking for a conversion kit to take it back to a plain simple lump of steel machined and ground that the friction clutch can sit on, and of course if driven properly, will do the same damn job without some techy getting his fingers in the pie that then costs me an arm and a leg. And one final note. I am being made to look like the idiot at my office. I have colleagues driving 5 year old Audi A6's and VAG group give them a reduced rate on servicing and repairs in order to keep their business. My line manager just paid £220 for a full 60,000 service which included all parts and labour. My IS220d equivalent was over £500. Why do I drive Lexus? because my original GS300 did 289,000 miles without a murmur.Can somebody explain to me why have Lexus reduced the quality of build on their cars? Is is across the range? I'm not going to risk my money to find out. This is my LAST Lexus!
    1 point
  39. Just had an update email this morning from Lexus customer relations regarding my NX350h Takumi ordered 12th of February 2022. "I can now advise that your vehicle order will definitely be a MY24 when it does get matched, meaning it will benefit from the new specification. However, we have still not been able to get a matched or confirmed build date for your order and have been advised that based on your order position in the queue for the NX Takumi model, realistically we are now looking at an estimated delivery date of around October 2023. (could be subject to change)" So good news about getting a MY24 spec car, and not so good news about possibly getting it 20 months after ordering it. Swings and roundabouts as they say.
    0 points
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