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It's a bit of a journey for me, so I won't be there in person, though will be in spirit. John still 'reminds' me to check the manual first, as I was doing yesterday... ( Having lost my own mother recently, I know the pain and huge jumble of emotions, that last longer than I thought and probably for ever.) My sincere prayers for John, his life celebration tomorrow, and his friends, family and forum colleagues.

Lexus recommends the following coolant/anti-freeze change: - 100,000 - Radiator & 150,000 - Inverter Its well debated online to follow manufacturer recommendations v Reports of early water pump failures due to the coolant becoming acidic. Dont over think it if you want to do it just get on with it. Mine is on 52k & 8 years old it was not due however if I leave it until it gets to 100k it would probably take 15-20 years before it is replaced i'm sure you will all agree anything more than 10 years is questionable. (Disclaimer - Do so at your own risk) Tools required 10mm deep socket & ratchet, Flat head screwdriver, Axle stand, funnel, Ramp, Jack, chocks, 10L bucket, Gloves, Cardboard, Lexuspartsdirect provide 7L of Pink Super long life coolant for the 100k service package. This was just right for both inverter & coolant. However if you run short you may run into trouble. Best practise to have 2x 5L bottles to hand. The remaining you can just use for top up as necessary in the future although its a sealed system there shouldn't be any leaks if your loosing coolant theres a problem! Warm the car up, put heater temp to max, airflow (blower) on lowest. This will open the thermostat & drain the coolant from the heater Matrix assisting in getting most of the coolant out. SAFETY FIRST Drive the car onto ramp, apply handbrake, chock rear wheels, if you want to lift the car higher jack it up & place axle stands. Remove the plastic undertray held on by 10mm nuts & plastic push fit clips. Place your cardboard under the car now. You will see 2 drain valves dont remove them initially just loosen so it can start draining position the bucket right under the drain valve so you catch the coolant you can control the flow. *It may be hot if you warmed the car up so be very careful* - Yellow drain valve is the radiator coolant & white is the inverter. One at a time doesn't matter which I chose to do the inverter first. Approx 20 mins for full drain. Remember to tighten both of the drain valves back up. Now go to the top remove the inverter coolant cap using your funnel slowly pour coolant until it is above the F marker. You want to slightly overfill the reservoir to start with so it doesnt run the inverter pump dry as soon as you try to start the car it will bleed the air and gulp the excess coolant. >>>>> Do not mix the caps <<<< Next remove the cap for the radiator reservoir & top up to the Full mark. Now remove the radiator cap & Place the funnel there & fill coolant slowly until it pours out you will see bubbles coming out. You can help squeeze out any air locks by squeezing the rubber hose. Providing both reservoirs are full & there is coolant in the radiator you now want to bleed air out of the system to prevent overheating. Leave the caps off the inverter & radiator. Go to the car > foot on brake> press start within 3-4 seconds BEFORE the engine starts turn it off. Do this 2-3x. This will run the inverter pump sucking in the coolant. If the level drops below F top it up again to the Full mark. Thats inverter pretty much bled & done. Put the cap back on. You need to put the car into maintenance mode before starting the car so the engine remains running to warm up & bleed any air locks. Otherwise it switches to EV cutting the engine out not allowing it to warm up or do the bleed procedure. As soon as you start the car keep eye on the temp gauge. It should not exceed the normal operating range which is in the middle. What you want to do is let the car warm up & for the cooling fans to come in twice to ensure there are no air locks. The funnel may release bubbles which is normal bleeding air out & the coolant may try to come out of the funnel. Volcano effect its normal as it gets hot. Turn the car off, exiting maintenance mode. Now restart as normal & go for a drive & top up as necessary over next 2-3 cooling cycles it may need a slight top up. I appreciate this is a DIY guide & may not be the perfect method & may well have missed a step on here, but should it help anybody then thats great.. I have since done over 100 miles no issues. Upon observation I think the inverter coolant could easily go on another 50k the coolant was clear, however the engine coolant although not contaminated appeared cloudy so well worth doing I dont think it would have done the engine any favours for another 10 years. I probably wont touch it for another 5 years. Not a difficult job can be messy thats the only downside. Dispose of the coolant at a recycle centre & job done.

I would just do it for peace of mind. Why have that constantly worry in the back of mind that it might go at some point and it will be a very expensive job if it did compared to just doing the belt done. At some point you are going to have it done anyway so why not now unless you are not going to keep the car. Although if you were to sell it a new buyer would try and knock the price down if it hasn’t been done. Which means either way you don’t gain anything from not having it done. When I bought my 2004 car 18 months ago it had only done 7,300 miles yet Lexus still changed the belt because of the age of the car. They are also fitted new tyres and battery due to age. The radiator was changed as well but there seems to be some debate on the reliability of this on the SC.

Which makes it even more of a shame that they aren't selling the IS in the UK anymore. I would have seriously considered it as my next car if they had.

Hi all I've recently noted the private market increase in asking price for the IS300H lately . Has anyone else noted this ? Some 2014/2015 plate F sports are just shy of the 20k bracket ..(euros)

After owning my UX for a couple of years the five things I really like and use! Number one:the hands free boot release,once you get the knack it’s just so easy,for my sins I play golf 3 or 4 times a week and walk my dog every day so I’m always loading and unloading so this is a great feature. Number two: the Mark Levinson sound system with CD player,I know it’s old fashioned and I do have music on usb sticks but a I have large collection of cds(I still purchase Vinyl and CDs! but it’s a bit hard to play the vinyl in the car!) Number three: the heads up display,this is just so useful and easy and the fact that you never have to take your eyes off the road has got to be good thing. Number four: the heated and chilled seats,I’ve never had chilled seats before but when we do have a nice hot sunny day wow they are fantastic! Number five: this one will be contentious but I use the sport mode and paddles when I’m on a nice bit of road,I know it isn’t a sports car and I know it doesn’t have a gear change but it still puts a smile on my face. What five things do you like and more importantly use?

Age will be a factor too, so yours is still the original now 20-years old?

Same here. The newest version of the IS300h is super cool. I want to keep mine for a long time (partly because they don't sell the new one) but I admit that if they were to have it available in the UK, I would be looking forward to upgrading in a couple of years or less (fortunately my car can't read this so she won't be offended).

Holding their value at the moment a couple of factors. - The used car market after Covid went crazy due to lack of supply - EV/Hybrid now trending in comparison to diesels - Londons ULEZ expansion charge driving out old diesels - Low road Tax What I find interesting is Lexus/Toyota were well ahead of their time the IS300H if i'm not mistaken was initially in released 2013 production up until 2020 7 years is a long time yes their were upgrades & facelift version. It does show they it may not have been so popular 10 years ago because they were deemed as boring to drive now with the used car market alot of people are taking an interest & all of a sudden they are in demand. Well done to Lexus they were leading the 'Green' environment game way back. Same could also be said for Honda.

I think in the UK tyres should be rated for pothole damage resistance,noise levels when going in and out of them and road hump performance to give a true level of service life, comfort and noise levels. 😀

You are correct sir, it was definitely on AT a while ago ....

I'm sure that Hydrogen plant is a Saltend in Hull. If it isnt i think one is planned. Pleased to see one of our Cllrs keeps shouting about future is Hydrogen as well.

The Kama Sutra also gives some useful positions. It may also help you get into a position to access your fuse box.

Hi Guys I got a C-Tec battery charger at Christmas. They supply two connection leads, the usual one with crocodile clips and another to stay constantly fitted to the battery leads. I have just fitted the second one and it is brilliant, such an easy job to do and makes connecting up a doddle. I would also add that having used the charger, it is light, compact and works well to keep the battery fully charged. Anthony

Since I couldn't edit the title of the similar sounding thread I thought I'd re-do it so it's as clear as day. I was getting codes 1210 and 0273 after scanning with my copy of techstream. Permanent check VSC and engine light on and Brake light on and ABS light on my dash. It was really peeing me off. I don't know what made me check the connection from the wiring loom to the ABS pump but OMG I'm glad I did. How the hell water got into that multiplug I've no idea. These pictures tell the story. Anyway I had no choice but to get a replacement ABS pump which I did c/o ABS pump specialist in Cork Ireland through eBay. You have to be careful when choosing a pump because there are quite a few different ones even though they look the same. On top of the pump unit, the black plastic part, you'll see a series of numbers. Make sure you get matching numbers to what's on your cars pump. Anyway today I went to a local garage and the guy swapped over pumps and bled it. No more lights on my dash yippeeee. So if you're getting the check VSC etc etc disconnect the multiplug from the ABS pump to check for water ingress damage. If water got into mine then there's no reason it won't get into yours.

Already put this on Facebook but thought I would also put it here for a bit of fun. ”The management team approved my latest SC purchase and even checked the timing belt had been changed” “They must have been watching Toy Story as I caught them trying to take my car for a joy ride”

This is really bad news. I think you would better to cut your losses and dump it.

That's the thing.... for me the ES isn't an alternative because it's too large to handle it through the narrow streets of where we live, plus my driveway and garage are a bit tight. I like the interior of the ES but the wheels Lexus sells it with are way oversized for the engine and he type or car it is (most cars do nowadays).

Thanks! Excellent tutorial. Something I hoped to do on my own in the near future.

Just spent an age checking out the invaluable advice and products on toughleads.co.uk. I’m an electronics engineer (communications) and always smile when someone calls me an electrician, which I am not. Those guys have knowledge and skills on technical detail and regulations that I do not. While I understand the issues perfectly, when explained, my discipline lies elsewhere. Most helpful, once again. Thank you. Great idea. This is my approach. All I need now is the car, still showing for the 4th of May. May the 4th be with me!!

From the 49.2 estimate I got 42 miles this included about 12 miles on motorways.

Ditto

I also have a permanent cable attached to a 13amp socket in a waterproof wall box with the connector/cable located in a bracket/socket from Halfords.

You're still missing the point Eric. People aren't saying that these things happening are the conspiracy theories, and instead it's the claims made about the evil motivations behind them that veers into bacofoil land. You're like a weather forecaster who says it will rain tomorrow, because the government planted chemicals in the atmosphere, and then claiming you were uncannily right all along when it rains. Seriously though, I don't know what I make of digital currencies. In principle it sounds ok, and of course, like anything, it can be used for nefarious purposes. Our present currency isn't based on anything tangible anymore though, and is really just a voucher with a nomimal value, open to manipulation, so I'm not sure how much diffference it will make. I guess we'll have to wait and see. Personally I'd like a 10 minute commute, but some evil schemes are impractical, and you just have to compromise 😉 Happy Easter, by the way 🙂

Parking charges can be expensive, have you compared the cost with either using a taxi or hire car? Your car may not be stolen or broken in to, but there is always the risk of door dings etc in a public car park, may be worth the additional cost for peace of mind.

OK for at home, but not much use when parking elsewhere though. So doesn't meet my needs.

I don't suppose he sweeps chimneys?

I think the "concern" is that times are uncertain, the 2nd hand market has gone a little crazy, mostly due to the pandemic and with electrification rampant it's hard to predict future values, who is to say there won't be a double dip in values in a few years? All cars lose value so it's not like I'm pretending it's some sort of investment. However it would be annoying to buy a used one at peak value, my desire to own one doesn't extending to paying more than I should and I dislike having conversations with sellers listing out issues to address before paying inflated prices! You can pick up a 2019 850i for 10k less than 2017 LC500's that's bonkers, also I don't want an 850i I want an LC500 😛

I find my 9 year old grandson is flexible and small enough to do this sort of thing

It will help if one's completed a four-year-long apprenticeship with Cirque Du Soleil, and one's mastered dry-shaving with a broken bottle whilst in a backward somersault. But don't worry if not (we all have to start somewhere!)

There's only three main places for fuse boxes, those being the engine bay, the driver's footwell and the passenger footwell. There may be a couple of other locations but they're only small ones (2 or 3 fuses) and are local to the devices they protect. You're not looking hard enough. Lie on your back with your head looking towards the top of the dashboard and ye shall see 'em. EDIT: It's possible that you may have to pull the carpet out and away to see it.

I haven’t followed Clarkson for many years but am surprised to hear that he still manages to irritate people. Surely what he says about a car is less important than the entertainment value he aims to provide by saying it (not always successfully).

Thank you Malc, it was a job I was putting off but glad I did it. Took the car for a few miles drive along some twisty bits of road and the body roll at the rear has gone. Threw it from side to side while driving as well, nobody behind of course, and it feels miles better. Before you could feel the body roll a lot at the rear. Top mounts looked fine to me and the bump stops were fine as well, insulators were goosed with the bottom few inches had detached. I should have taken a video of the new shock v old shock when compressed to see the difference. I have take videos of the old shocks though and you can see they have lost their performance. Probably not the most technical of test though but gives some idea. One is worse than the other. A new shock takes quite a lot of force to depress the shaft into the shock body and it then moves out quite quickly with force. The better of the two, decent amount of pressure needed to compress the shock but should need more and it does move out again although not as fast or with as much pressure as it should have. IMG_2322.mov The worse one of the two, very little force needed to compress and after compression the shaft just stayed there and would stay there. Maybe it would eventually come back out. IMG_2321.mov

Happy Easter, to those of us still here and those of us who have risen.

It is not unknown for aspiring thieves to activate alarm systems in the hope that they will eventually be turned off. But if it’s something you’re determined to do - at least until any possible little critter dies a natural death - then maybe consider additional measures if you haven’t already. Such as: Leaving the wheels on full lock. Fitting an overnight steering wheel lock. And depending on where you leave the car overnight: Installing security lighting. Installing security cameras. Fitting security gates - or those neat little posts that can be locked upright to block a driveway. Buy a spray can of some suitable insect killer.

I believe prevention is better than cure! 😁 i therefore greased the pivot and contact points with old fashioned grease. The rubber seals were rejuvinated and made supple with Shin-Etsu grease, which I thoroughly recommend. 👍

On a roll over the holidays, replaced the rear shocks, top mounts, insulators and bump stops this morning. All OEM apart from the shocks which are KYB to match the fronts. I had put off this job because I’d read that it’s a pain removing the rear struts, needing to compress the springs on the car to remove the strut. After watching a YouTube video using ‘the method’ for doing this, it turns out it’s a load of hogwash. There is no need whatsoever to compress the spring on the car to remove the strut. All that is needed is to remove the bottom shock bolt, knock the shock off the hub, remove the top mount nuts (if not removed already), push down on the hub so you can lower the strut enough so the top mount studs clear the fixing holes, rotate 90 degrees, lower the bottom of the strut into the gap between the suspension arms, tilt towards you and remove. Absolute piece of cake and I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was. Invest in a white paint marker pen and mark everything on the existing strut while on the car to make things easier later on for alignment. Once the struts are off the car the tricky bit is aligning the shock, spring and top mounts so it’s in alignment to fit back on the car. I can’t document exactly how to do this but you need to use your noggin, comparing the strut you removed with the alignment marks and transpose them to the new shock and top mount. If you have no idea how to do this type of thing then don’t attempt it. Having an impact wrench on the spring compressors helps with reassembling the struts, the strut doesn’t move as much. Release the spring compressors gradually while checking the alignment is correct and adjust as needed. You can always compress the springs again and redo it. Getting the bottom of the shock to fit back in the hub isn’t straightforward because the bottom mount is not square to the shock. I found the best way is to push down on the hub and get the shock started at the back into the hub - aligned as best you can, using a mallet so as not to damage the new strut whack on the bottom ‘eye’ mount bit to get it into the mount. It won’t be perfectly aligned but it’s in. Then using a round tapering pry bar inserted through the mounting, jiggle it about to align it so the bolt will go through completely or about 2 inch, then tap the bolt with a mallet or hammer to get the both through. Putting the rear seats back in was a a pain because I was knackered, body was complaining and getting cramp in legs and fingers. Job for tomorrow was going to be the engine mounts, had a enough for a few days - my old body needs time to recover. Maybe a job for Monday😀

Good morning, I (we) have been bitten by the Lexus bug and had a GS300 and now an IS250. Both were planned as just a cheap ‘stop gap’ car but we have kept the IS250 as our London car as it is great for that (reliable, small enough, auto and a few scratches!). I’m keen to get a ULEZ compliant bigger car as our family estate can’t go into London as not compliant. I have always liked the LS460 and that might be the answer. Is the SE-L actually longer than the SE? I know the levels of kit are greater but unsure on length. Prices seem to be rather broad from £5000 - £10,000, for seemingly the same car, but I am after the cheaper end of the market. Thanks for the help and I hope to be able to do a new car thread on here soon! Dan

'Customer service' in UK from most of the big companies is generally pretty deplorable at the moment, especially if you need help and assistance (as opposed to Sales). Having said that, I was very happy with my handover from Lexus Edinburgh. I wasn't rushed, despite it being the first day of the new 72 plate registrations. The cakes and coffee weren't as luxurious as the Japanese ones in the video (but were nice enough) and my freebies were limited to a couple of bottles of Lexus labelled water and a Lexus pen. Not as generous as the hamper I got with my last new car but, hey, they're free extras and I now have a nice pen that I didn't have before. I was contacted after a week or so to see how things were going. Overall a very good. but not exceptional. experience.

Thanks to all those that are interested, yes the difference is remarkable, there are 5 main settings, eco,norm,p1,p2,and p3, each mode has 9 steps other than norm! Now I don't know if E1 is more economic than e9 but its like driving in snow setting! P1to p9 you will feel a difference P2 to p9 is where the fun begins and I leave it in P2.6 which is how it came, and is very noticeably quicker, P3.9 max is quite electrifying although to me a bit harsh, (makes the wife scream and grab hold of the door handle, something I haven't done for years!!) Now a query for you techy guys if fuel consumption is measured by throttle position then is not altering the throttle setting going to give false readings? Since fitting this I am averaging 25.4 mpg with some very spirited driving and a couple of 3 fig runs, at the local airport runway 😄

I’ve previously purchased Weathertech rubber cargo liners for a number of my cars, they fit perfectly. I contacted them in the US (as Weathertech Europe don’t have them), ordered two, then after a while they canceled my order (as they don’t like customers using freight forwarders?), instead they quoted to send them to me themselves and it virtually doubled the price!! So the reason for this post is, that I have found a UK based company (www.simplycarmats.co.uk) that Custom makes cargo liners and thought I'd share. I sent them a template and recently took delivery. It’s a reasonably thick, heavy, black rubber mat and whilst not quite as fancy as the Weathertech, it does the job well and I really like it. It cost me £37 & P+P (total £50), which was a shedload less than Weathertech :o) My contact is Dan, you can email sales@simplycarmats.co.uk

Morning Phil, I also just got my RX450h and it’s away for it’s MOT before I go to play with it. I love it so far and am looking forward to engaging with the group as I get to know it more.

Hello Phillip and welcome to the best Lexus forum there is and to the world of the RX. What made you go for the RX? Coming from a 3.0l jag was an interesting move. What kind of service history does your RX have? We like to see pics of new members cars hint hints. I'm sure you know of the dedicated RX section of the forum. Some very clever and decent folk in there. I use to have the RX. Mine was F-sport. Cracking car and only sold it because of finance troubles I had at the time.

Forget ADT - I have an IP Camera - I fitted it myself, its a standard PTZ job with night vision and alarms and all the usual bells and whistles I found out from my research that many cameras are the same and just re badged - so that £400 PTZ camera may well have the same lens as the boggo ebay job that costs £130 - what you really pay for is conmnnectivity and software. I have a Synology NAS which acts as a HDD but my camera is one of the boggo cheap ones (£150 or so) but with essentially the same lens as higher priced models - the unit works fine, remote access and app etc but if I was picky I would say that its IP functionality - ie communicating with Synology and NAS devices is a bit weak but I can live with it for now - it is easy enough to upgrade if I want to - this was really just a tester to see how they work out

Interesting. I have it booked in on Thursday considering my insurance paid over €5000 for the repair I would have expected the job to be perfect. I will probably get a shrug of the shoulders and a lot of Gallic excuses!

Had Exactly the same problem when i purchased my Gs450 it was noted to me by the dealer when had first Service. I took it to my local Body Shop the took bumper of and found the (crash pad i think thats what he called it) had a bow in it not allowing the bumper clips to align with it. He had it done within an hour he charged me £50 been ok since

I would say that the gap shouldn't be there. Here's mine:

Great post and pics your car looks stunning Glyn like the 4 windows down looks great, might give it a go when I've caught up with my electric bills😀

The sun broke out today so I took the opportunity to fit the window module. It was pretty straightforward just undo two plugs, fix those into two on the module then the other two on the module plug back in where the original ones were after removing the boot trim. This then left running two wires under the rear seat to the centre console box. The worst bit was feeding these two wires through from the boot which was a fiddle as the hole they needed to come through was just up behind the seat back. I was being lazy as if I had removed the back of the seat as well it would have been a lot easier. It then enters the centre console compartment at the back where there is a plastic cover you pop out to release the boot manually if you ever need to. On testing the unit everything works well as you can see in the photos. A couple of observations are 1. The suppled cable is only long enough to reach into the centre console compartment so if you wanted to plug it in where the ashtray is you would have to extend the cable. 2. When you raise the quarter windows up or down you need to press once then again to go fully down or up. These are not really a great issue though it you want to be able to control your quarter windows independently to the roof. The instructions are very clear but at the moment I haven’t committed to memory the sequence for which button to press when. I haven’t driven the car yet so cannot comment if there and difference to wind buffering in either the up or down position.

I can highly recommend HikVision CCTV systems, with a Network Video Recorder (so that you can access and view from anywhere) and ColorVu cameras. We've had ours in for about 3 or 4 years now so the equipment has most likely been superceded by now, but this is how they look in both daylight and darkness: